NYC’s quirky Pumpkin House sells for $2M

After many years, several brokers, and a whole lot of real estate fascination, the famed “Pumpkin House”—the jack-o’-lantern-esque structure at 16 Chittenden Avenue in Hudson Heights—has found a buyer.

Randy Lombard and Renee Junewicz of Sotheby’s International Realty took over the listing in 2017, putting it on the market at the time for $4.25 million. It was pricechopped several times in the 18 months since then, and finally sold for $2 million, as first reported by the New York Post. The sale has not yet hit city records.

The unusual residence was built in 1925 for Cleveland Walcutt, an engineer, and has only changed hands a few times since then. Its previous owner, decorator William Spink, bought the house in 2000 for $1 million, and has made some improvements—a new roof, updating the facade—in his time in the place.

The buyers, according to the Sotheby’s rep, have previously purchased and revamped other properties, including a Brooklyn brownstone and a Victorian home in Cold Springs, in upstate New York. The quirky Pumpkin House is a new challenge for them, and per the rep, “everyone fell in love with the house and the views.” They were repped by Susan Malloy of Compass.

The home, which cantilevers off a cliff in upper Manhattan, is currently configured as a two-family home, with a one-bedroom apartment on the lower level and an owner’s duplex (plus a roof terrace) above. It comes with some of its original details, including a huge marble mantel in the living room, that lend it plenty of historic character. (Some of its rooms could probably use an update, though.)

There’s also a lovely little hidden garden on the grounds, and predictably gorgeous Hudson River views from its floor-to-ceiling windows, which lend the home its distinctive pumpkin-like facade.