6sqft’s top 10 ‘distinctive homes’ of 2023

This year, 6sqft has published hundreds of stories on ‘distinctive homes‘ around New York City, from one of the city’s most expensive townhouses (a Gilded Age home on the UES for $65 million) to an 1870s Clinton carriage house rebuilt as a Passive House (and as Brooklyn’s first mass timber single-family residence). Ahead, take a look at the 10 most popular features of residences that hit the market this year.

1. 190-year-old West Village wooden house with storied history asks $6M

A 19th-century wooden house in the West Village that has lived many lives over its nearly 190-year-old history is now on the market. Built in 1834, the property at 392 West Street (also known as 6 Weehawken Street) was originally part of the open-air Greenwich Market and later operated as a tavern, cigar store, pool hall, speakeasy, and two gay bars. The building’s last owner, Jean-Louis Goldwater Bourgeois, made headlines in recent years after claiming he would leave the home to the Lenape people, the original Manhattanites. But when Bourgeois died last year, the house went to his estate and is now on the market for $6,000,000, as Gothamist reported.

2. Famed photographer William Wegman just listed his Chelsea townhouse/studio for $16.5M

American artist William Wegman, best known for his archly anthropomorphic portraits of Weimaraner dogs, is selling his Chelsea home at 245 West 18th Street. Built in 1915, the two-story, 45-foot-wide building formerly housed the Chelsea Day School; it has served as the artist’s main studio as well as his family home for three decades. The live/work townhouse itself has a total of 5,834 square feet of interior space, along with a cellar. With 18,235 square feet of additional development rights, a curb cut and indoor parking, the property adds up to an unusual New York City opportunity.

3. An 1870s Clinton Hill carriage house, rebuilt to Passive House standards, asks $7.5M

This one-of-a-kind townhouse at 329 Vanderbilt Avenue on the border between Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, Brooklyn, is a showcase of innovative architecture and peerless modern design, undertaken by architecture firm Schiller Projects. The directive: re-imagining an 1870s carriage house with a focus on sustainability, design, and efficient engineering, in accordance with Passive House standards. The result is Brooklyn’s first mass timber single-family residence, currently asking $7,500,000.

4. Annie Leibovitz lists her Central Park West home for $8.6M

Celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz has listed her home in the Brentmore co-op at 88 Central Park West for $8.6 million. As 6sqft previously reported, Leibovitz purchased the “classic-seven” co-op in 2014 for $11.25 million in a building known for celebrity residents like Robert DeNiro, Paul Simon, and Sting. Leibovitz, whose iconic images feature luminaries from John Lennon and Yoko Ono to Mick Jagger and Demi Moore, thoroughly renovated the Upper West Side co-op, her Manhattan home base in the ensuing years. As the New York Times reports, she also owns a home in the West Village as well as a family home in Rhinebeck, NY.

5. $16.75M Brooklyn Heights townhouse has historic layout and modern extras, like a basement movie theater

The graceful brick townhouse at the aptly-named 25 Grace Court is a landmarked beauty in one of New York City’s loveliest historic districts. Asking $16,750,000, the five-story urban mansion is a 5,975-square-foot single-family home, perfectly renovated from top to bottom, but with rarely-seen care taken to preserve its original grandeur. The home has received architectural preservation awards from the NY Landmarks Conservancy and the Brooklyn Heights Association–and we can see why.

6. $65M UES mansion is a showcase of Gilded Age history, updated for a new era of grand-scale living

On a Central Park-adjacent block near Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side, the 35-foot wide limestone mansion at 4 East 79th Street is a historic testament to Manhattan’s Gilded Age; asking $65,000,000, it’s among a handful of the most expensive townhouses to ever be listed in New York City. The six-story home with over 15,000 square feet of interior space offers an opportunity for living and entertaining befitting a new era of opulence, including two elevators, a professional-grade catering kitchen, a security office, a wine cellar and reception room, a grand center stair hall, and a top-floor skylit gym.

7. $3.5M Flatiron condo channels a dreamy Paris apartment, with landscaped terrace and upstairs atelier

If you’ve dreamed of waking up in a Parisian flat and stepping out to the terrace for morning coffee and al fresco dining, this Flatiron condo at 10 East 22nd Street might be exactement ce que vous recherchez. Asking $3,495,000, this Manhattan penthouse is currently configured as a one-bedroom home, but a flexible floor plan has room for two additional bedrooms. A skylit atelier and verdant landscaped terraces make this two-story space a chic refuge from the New York City grind.

8. $9.4M four-family townhouse is an unspoiled West Village dream with a celebrity past

From the outside, this graceful limestone townhouse with a mansard roof at 70 Perry Street resembles a picture postcard of West Village life, on a leafy historic block that embodies the neighborhood’s charm. Just down the street from Carrie Bradshaw’s fictional “Sex and the City” address, the four-story, four-family property appeared as a backdrop in several films and was the actual home of celebrity chef and restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian and reporter Charles Grumich. Asking $9,400,000, the townhouse is comprised of a duplex with a dreamy back garden and three floor-through apartments. Unlike some historic multi-family homes, its original details and materials have been beautifully preserved.

9. $22M Upper East Side townhouse has picture-perfect private garden

A posh Upper East Side townhouse with five floors, over 8,000 square feet, and a pretty, private landscaped garden is available for $22,000,000. Located in one of New York City’s most coveted neighborhoods, the 20-foot-wide property at 14 East 81st Street combines classic elements of the city’s Gilded Age with a totally renovated interior for 21st-century living. Not even a block from the Met Museum and Central Park, this historic mansion is surrounded by the neighborhood’s renowned art and cultural institutions.

10. Gothic Gramercy Park townhouse of late fashion designer Oleg Cassini asks $13.95M

The neo-Gothic townhouse once owned by late fashion designer Oleg Cassini is for sale. The five-story home at 135 East 19th Street became part of an estate battle between the daughter and widow of Cassini following his death in 2006, ending only last year when it was sold in an auction for just $5 million. Now on the market for $13,950,000, the quirky townhouse measures nearly 7,000 square feet and features a double-height living room with a barrel-vaulted ceiling and massive stone fireplace, stained glass windows on every floor, a glass solarium, and more unique elements.