Harry Houdini’s one-time Harlem townhouse conjures a buyer at $3.6M

January 9, 2018

Houdini image: Wikimedia Commons.

The 6,008-square-foot four-story townhouse at 278 West 113th Street that once belonged to master escape artist Harry Houdini has sold for $3.6 million–a full $1 million below its original ask–according to Mansion Global. 6sqft reported last June that the former home of the illusionist, magician and one of the most talked-about celebrities of the early 20th century and his wife, Bess, had hit the market for $4.6 million. Houdini–born Erich Weiss, the son of a rabbi from Budapest, lived at the Harlem home for 22 years until his death in 1926.

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The home is currently set up as a three-family dwelling with an owners’ duplex on the first two floors and two floor-through rental apartments above, but it could easily escape the confines of that configuration to become an architecturally unique and grand 6,000-square-foot single-family home. Though it’s not a showcase of historic detail, ornate wood in the entryway, original wood floors and some tin ceilings remain.

278 West 113th Street, Cool Listings,Houdini, Celebrities, Harlem, townhouses,

278 West 113th Street, Cool Listings,Houdini, Celebrities, Harlem, townhouses,

278 West 113th Street, Cool Listings,Houdini, Celebrities, Harlem, townhouses,

On the garden level, a large eat-in kitchen could use an update, though the basics are present and accounted for. The kitchen opens onto a leafy landscaped patio that looks like it would make a great escape for anyone, magician or not. Also on the garden level are a spacious living room with tin ceilings and a bedroom with a full bath.

278 West 113th Street, Cool Listings,Houdini, Celebrities, Harlem, townhouses,

278 West 113th Street, Cool Listings,Houdini, Celebrities, Harlem, townhouses,

278 West 113th Street, Cool Listings,Houdini, Celebrities, Harlem, townhouses,

On the parlor floor is a master bedroom with an en-suite bath and a large dressing area along with tall townhouse windows and gorgeous herringbone floors.

278 West 113th Street, Cool Listings,Houdini, Celebrities, Harlem, townhouses,

278 West 113th Street, Cool Listings,Houdini, Celebrities, Harlem, townhouses,

The second-floor apartment has one bedroom plus a small office and can be rented for $2,800 (according to the listing); the top-floor apartment offers two bedrooms and an office and brings in $3,200.

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[Via MG]

[Listing: 278 West 113th Street by Beverley Draggon and Detria Davu for Douglas Elliman]

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Images courtesy of Douglas Elliman.

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