Because of fire codes, wooden houses in Manhattan are exceedingly rare. In fact, the Journal reports that there are only five left in the Upper East Side, and one of these charmers has just hit the market for $10.5 million. The 25-foot wide house located at 128 East 93rd Street belongs to former television producer C.C. Dyer, who purchased if for $6.6 million in 2000. She was moving from suburban New Jersey, and her daughters fell in love with the treehouse in the 48-foot deep backyard (and who wouldn't??). Over the years, the four-bedroom, 4,370-square-foot house has been extensively renovated and many pre-Victorian details?wide plank floors, wood fretwork, turned balusters, crown mouldings?have been lovingly restored.
The house was built as a three-story structure in 1866 for Henry W. Shaw, a maker of artificial limbs. That same year, the city fire code had banned all wooden construction below 82nd Street, but it wasn't until 1882, when the ban expanded north to 155th Street. In the 1920s, the home's front porch was removed, and a few decades later, the fourth story and sloping mansard roof were added.
Today, the home has four-bedrooms, five bathrooms, an elevator, wood-paneled library, butler's pantry, whirlpool bathtub, a finished basement, and a wine cellar.
· Listing: 128 East 93rd Street [Corcoran]
· What a Wood House is Worth [WSJ]
Loading comments...