July 1, 2009


Speaking, as we were, of the circus

and of circus tradition . . .

The stone mansion at 10 St. Nicholas place in Upper Harlem, near 150th Street, was built in 1886 by circus legend James Bailey. Original, animal-themed stained glass windows decorate the façade, and inside the crumbling interior (it was once a funeral home and has fallen into decay), there is a warren of bright rooms and narrow corridors. The back garden is spacious but overgrown, and some people call it a “modern Grey Gardens.” The mansion is full of features from the original construction, but needs several million in repairs. But for a gorgeous historic stand-alone mansion that includes about 8,250 square feet of interior space, the price tag is a lot lower than you’d ever guess.

(New York Magazine via a reversecowpie tweet)

posted by Sheila Ryan in architecture, entertainment, history, interior design, nineteenth century (sorry cindy)™ 

comments

6 Responses to “Speaking, as we were, of the circus”

  1. Lucy on July 1st, 2009 at 7:19 pm

    Now that’s what I call a Clusterflock Inn.

  2. Rick Neece on July 1st, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    Let’s all buy it! We can fix it up!

  3. Danny on July 1st, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    At $3,500,000.00, with 10 investors, we’d only need $350,000.00 each. Now, based on income required for a monthly mortgage payment of $13,305.15 (at a super low interest rate from the government of 2%), that would be $1330/month per person. Hmmm…which 10 of you Clusterflockers are ready to invest?

  4. Wil Freeborn on July 2nd, 2009 at 2:23 am

    thats incredible, feels like a Tenenbaum house

  5. Lucy on July 2nd, 2009 at 4:41 am

    Ok but then there is the small business of the ‘coupla million’ needed to fix it up. Though I agree it’s a very good price for the size of the place. I think you would really need to have a lot of loose cash hanging around to feel entirely comfortable about making an investment like this. Also, I shudder to think of what the annual property tax is.

  6. Kathy Hilen-Smith on July 2nd, 2009 at 9:28 am

    Danny, I think we’ll need a few more investors.

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