Covered almost entirely by historic districts, some of the city’s most beautiful old homes are located in the West Village. Here we highlight some of the best, including a few that have recently been on the market.
35 West 12th St
35 West 12th Street (Image: Wikimedia)
This tiny West Village townhouse was once much larger than its current iteration. Built in 1840, the original 25-foot-wide home was cut in half in order to widen the building to the east. Though diminutive, the house boasts a beautiful mansard roof and stunning, Architectural Digest-worthy interiors thanks to a thorough renovation by former owner, Marc Jacobs president Robert Duffy.
354 West 11th Street
354 West 11th Street (Image: Wikimedia)
Notable as one of the few surviving residential homes from westernmost Greenwich Village’s earliest period of development, this 1842 Greek Revival home includes a handsome brick façade with brownstone details and period wrought-iron work. The home’s past residents include a number of merchants and tradespeople, as well as Susan B. Anthony’s uncle and British photographer Neil Selkirk, a contemporary of Diane Arbus. According to StreetEasy, the historic abode has been listed for sale, but not sold, a handful of times in recent years.
Grove Court
Grove Court (Image: Wikimedia)
Accessed by an iron gate on a charming stretch of Grove Street that meanders between Bedford and Hudson, Grove Court is a private oasis occupied by six connected three-story houses. Though modestly sized, the homes feature handsome brick facades adorned with charming white shutters that face the shared, lush garden. In 2011, 5 Grove Court made a splash by coming on the market for $4.25 million; it later sold for $3.4 million. The home was also featured in Architecture Digest in 2003 in a piece that notes the interesting dichotomy of living in an 1853 home with Empire State Building rooftop views.
132 Charles Street
132 Charles Street (Image: Wikimapia)
This distinctive, bright yellow clapboard façade of this charming house is actually modern siding — the result of a careful restoration after the home had been tragically coated in stucco in the 1930s. Originally built as a two-story residence in 1819, 132 Charles is one of the oldest houses in the West Village. The home was expanded to three stories in the 1850s as the neighboring wooden buildings were being replaced by Federalist brick residences and an array of commercial businesses. Today, it stands as a sunny reminder of a bygone era.
763 Greenwich Street
Built in 1863, 761 – 767 Greenwich Street once comprised a row of four identical two-and-a-half-story Greek Revival townhouses, but are now practically unrecognizable as related structures. Number 767 has been completely replaced by a modern structure, and the largest of the three remaining homes, stately number 763, was once owned by Keifer Sutherland. Under Sutherland’s ownership, the home was completely gut renovated in 2009 and sold for $17.5 million, twice his original investment three years later. The new owners further updated the home in 2013, but were unable to match Sutherland’s gains on the property when it sold for $17.75 million in 2015.
49 Downing Street
49 Downing Street (Image: Landmarks Preservation Commission)
Few residential constructs are as romantic and desirable as converted carriage houses. Perhaps it’s their rarity or their ability to remind us of a different, more genteel way of life. The 1896 building at 49 Downing Street, originally a stable and single family home, has been one of the most popular residential carriage houses in the Village since its conversion and expansion to multi-family use in 1986. Yoko Ono once owned the building’s penthouse residence, which she’d purchased for her son Sean.
56 Bank Street
With a roster of former celebrity tenants and owners — including Yoko Ono, Lauren Bacall, Alex Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter — 56 Bank may be the most star-studded townhouse in the West Village. The simple, elegant façade of the 1833 Greek Revival townhouse is covered in Flemish bond brickwork, and the high stoop’s wrought iron is highlighted by ornate newel posts topped with pineapples — a symbol of hospitality. The home is currently in contract after being on and off the market for more than five years.