Photo credit: Tim Waltman for Sotheby’s International Realty

On a postcard-perfect Central Park block on the Upper West Side, this Queen Anne-style townhouse at 53 West 85th Street is every inch a beauty, inside and out. A charming brick facade ends in a pitched gable roof, fronted by bay windows on the garden and parlor floors. Inside, the house is move-in ready, with elegant historic details forming the backdrop for tasteful up-to-the-minute renovations. Asking $8,495,000, the five-story home is less than a block from the park, but comes with its own backyard oasis.

Explore five floors

When he put his Upper West Side townhouse on the market for $8.2 million in April, 6sqft wrote: “With accolades like the Bram Stoker Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the International Horror Guild Award to his name, one might proceed with caution when entering the home of American author and poet Peter Straub.” But as we discovered, the Queen Anne-style home is anything but scary. Rather, it’s a historically preserved masterpiece with rich colors, tasteful furnishings, and plenty of character. And now, according to city records, it’s sold for $7,050,000, after Peter and his wife Susan called the residence at 53 West 85th Street home for 30 years.

Take a look around

With accolades like the Bram Stoker Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the International Horror Guild Award to his name, one might proceed with caution when entering the home of American author and poet Peter Straub. But we can assure you that his literary penchant for things dark and mysterious doesn’t extend to the distinguished Queen Anne-style townhouse that he’s lived in for thirty years.

The single-family residence at 53 West 85^th Street on the Upper West Side is one of a series of three similar brick townhouses built in the late 1880s along 85th between Central Park West and Columbus, and it’s now available for $8.2 million.

See inside the author’s home