Real Estate

Duplex in a Pre-Civil War Wallabout Wood Frame With Mantels, Garden Asks $5,500 a Month

If you’ve been craving a cottage with a porch and a bit of green space, this wood frame rental in Wallabout may give you a bit of that vibe without actually leaving the city.

by Susan De Vries

08/20/2020 3 minute 0

If you’ve been craving a cottage with a porch and a bit of green space, this wood frame rental in Wallabout may give you a bit of that vibe without actually leaving the city. The duplex rental encompasses the first two floors of 81 Vanderbilt Avenue in the Wallabout Historic District.

Built about 1850, the three-bay wide house has touches of the Greek Revival on the exterior with ear moldings around the windows of the parlor level and a front door with a pediment and pilasters along with a transom and sidelights. It’s one of a number of pre-Civil War houses in the district, built during the initial development boom in the land bordering the Navy Yard.

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Part of a two-family home, the duplex unit has parlor, dining, kitchen, full bath and a bedroom on the slightly elevated first floor and two bedrooms with en suite baths below in the partly subterranean basement. The mid 19th century charm of the exterior continues inside with wide planked floor boards, full height windows with ear moldings in the parlor, and wood mantels in the parlor and dining room.

The kitchens has been renovated with white cabinets, black stone counter and dark gray tile floor. A door provides access to the backyard.

Downstairs, both bedrooms have simple wood mantels, closets and recessed lighting. Notably, they also appear to have fairly large windows, perhaps indicating a light well under the porch in front and around the side and back. Each bathroom has a shower. A washer/dryer in a downstairs hallway can be glimpsed in one of the bedroom photos.

Fencing encloses the private backyard, and the space appears to have some potential for someone with a green thumb.

The elevated BQE just at the end of the block might dispel the cottage illusion a bit, but the house is also within walking distance of Fort Green Park and the amenities of Clinton Hill and Fort Greene.

Listed by Douglas (Doug) Bowen and Zia O’Hara with Halstead, it’s asking $5,500 a month. Worth the rent?

[Listing: 81 Vanderbilt Avenue# 1 | Broker: Halstead] GMAP