Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe’s one-time Clinton Hill townhouse is $8,000/month
Photo fo Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe via Rena Silverman/Flickr
The second floor of this Clinton Hill townhouse at 160 Hall Street once housed punk legend Patti Smith and her then-boyfriend, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The year was 1967, and the rent was $80 a month. As the New York Post points out, that translates roughly to about $600 a month today. Now, the completely renovated townhouse dating back to 1901 is on the market for a whopping $8,000 a month. And it’s far from “aggressively seedy” as Smith once described it.
Here’s how Smith described the apartment in her memoir Just Kids:
“We had the entire second floor, with windows facing east and west, but its aggressively seedy condition was out of range of experience,” Smith — a poet and singer/songwriter best known for the popular “Because the Night” track co-written with Bruce Springsteen — writes in the memoir. “Robert cut a deal with the landlord, agreeing to clean and paint it himself provided we pay only one month’s deposit, instead of the required two. The rent was $80 a month. We paid $160 to move into 160 Hall St. We regarded the symmetry as favorable.”
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A renovation restored the original pine floors and exposed oak beams. Those elements are joined by painted brick walls, air conditioning and LED lighting.
A spa-style master bathroom finished in Carrara marble, with a walk-in rain shower with steam generator and a soaking tub, awaits behind sliding doors. There’s also a new open chef’s kitchen with a spacious island counter, plenty of cabinet space, Bertazzoni stove and Whirlpool dishwasher.
The three-bedroom, three-bathroom house spans a total of 3,500 square feet. There’s plenty of closet space throughout, two of which are walk-in.
Finally, you get two outdoor spaces. The rear yard was designed for barbecuing and relaxing, while the rooftop deck is a nice lounging spot.
This early 20th century Clinton Hill townhouse looks pretty good from the exterior. Though its history is fascinating, and the neighborhood has improved, it’s still located slightly off the beaten path, one block from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and a walk away from the G train at Clinton/Washington Avenues.
[Via the New York Post]
[Listing: 160 Hall Street by Brooklyn Properties]
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Photos by Trisha Webster for Brooklyn Properties
