The Gingerbread House Hits the Market
The Gingerbread House, the famous Arts & Crafts residence designed by architect James Sarsfield Kennedy, is for sale. (While it is more popularly known as the Gingerbread House, Forgotten NY points out that its formal name is the Howard E. and Jessie Jones House.) The 5,800-square-foot structure of uncut stone sits on a verdant one-acre…
The Gingerbread House, the famous Arts & Crafts residence designed by architect James Sarsfield Kennedy, is for sale. (While it is more popularly known as the Gingerbread House, Forgotten NY points out that its formal name is the Howard E. and Jessie Jones House.) The 5,800-square-foot structure of uncut stone sits on a verdant one-acre lot at 8220 Narrows Avenue just a block from the waterfront. With its thatched roofs and endless interior architectural details, the 1916 house is definitely one of a kind. And it comes with a one-of-a-kind price tag of $12,000,000. This should be interesting.
8220 Narrows Avenue [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP
This house is GORGEOUS!!! There are several grand homes left in Bay Ridge from when the area was a weekend escape for the rich.
I love this house. If only I had the $.
It is landmarked but that doesn’t save the interior from being gutted. I do hope that the buyer preserves every inch of the place.
12million is probably a very far stretch even for this acre property. Probably will get 6-7million.
If the owners want to will it to me, I won’t say no. I’ll take care of and love this house.
Don’t be fooled – there are deep pockets in Bay Ridge (and Staten Island, for that matter). There may well be a buyer for this home… although I think we’ll see that 12 million is a tad more than it will actually command.
There’s a fabulous, albeit much less grand, arts and crafts home in PPS with a fountain room. Lots of tile, windows. Beautiful.
The house is landmarked, as I wrote earlier, but I don’t believe the sideyard, which is a separate lot, has landmark protection. One would be buying a landmark house and an adjacent acre or so lot in the nicest part of Bay Ridge. The only prob with the location is the large school across the street to the south. But that isn’t a big problem.
Montrosse, I’m afraid I only visited the house once at a political fundraiser. I’m not pals with the owners.
Dave, You do not enter the house through the fountain room you enter from a little medieval-looking vestibule that opens up into the manorial front room, very dramatic. The house is a masterpiece. The chimney looks like it was built by druids brought in from Stonehedge. It is a riot.
I’d rather have this for $12 million:
http://realestate.nytimes.com/sales/detail/1999-1601-2819531/2-Clifton-Pl-Irvington-NY-10533
Many would prefer to be situated in a park overlooking the Hudson River than next to a large high school. The Bay Ridge house is a Brooklyn gem but the only person who would pay that kind of money is somebody already in Bay Ridge like I said, who has always coveted it. It wouldn’t attract a wealthy Manhattanite who would likely choose other towns if they had to be 45 minutes from Manhattan.
A 12 mill war chest would make for a rockin’ PLUSA Holiday party 🙂 Just sayin’.
I’m with Legion. It’s nice, but doesn’t bowl me over, and I can certainly think of better uses for $12mm…
“can’t help but wonder…”, I meant
Broke- not for everything. Manual labor was the only way to get things done- I’m not saying society wasn’t hard. It certainly was- but look at what they were able to build without all the modern machines, materials and techniques we use today. Don’t have to go that far back- the building of the Empire State Building is a great example. True there was machinery, etc. Yes, cathedrals took hundreds of years, but damn! look at the result. But compare it to today when it takes 2-3 years to put up a condo building.
This is by far my favourite home in Brooklyn.
Although I can help but wonder if it would have been featured as the Horror Show Friday if Brownstoner was around then.