- Bedrooms: 5
- Bathrooms: 4
- Parking: 1
- Size: 427.35 m²
- Price: $2,295,000
A legacy of creativity on South Mountain Road. Brook House. Not just a residence, but a significant chapter in local and American history. Nestled in the legendary South Mountain Road artist community, this 5+ acre estate offers complete privacy and is a rare blend of 19th-century architecture and a 20th-century avant-garde soul.
For over a century, Brook House has been a sanctuary for world-renowned creators. It has had only four owners in the past 110 years, serving as a testament to its enduring appeal. Kurt Weill & Lotte Lenya, the celebrated composer and singer, lived here for over 30 years. It was within these walls that the sounds of "The Three Penny Opera" - "Mack the Knife" and "Alabama Song" echoed.
Rollo Peters, a previous owner, was a prominent American stage actor, director, and most remembered as a co-founder of the Theater Guild. Brook House's current owner of the past 33 years has completed a masterful restoration of the property and structures, seamlessly blending mid-19th-century charm with modern structural integrity. They worked with an extraordinary New York-based interior designer, Gail Jacobs, who has enjoyed the property's provenance and designed homes for other musical luminaries, including Leonard Bernstein's apartment at The Dakota, NYC.
Gail has worked over the years collecting the "right pieces" locally and abroad, to fit seamlessly into Brook House. Her curated collection can be purchased separately. Many of the fixtures are Gail's favorites, Ann-Morris, NYC, and vintage holophane style lighting. The home boasts hand-hewn antique beams and breathtaking antique stone/rock, which make up some of the interior and exterior walls of the home and property.
The main house features 4 fireplaces. The fireplaces include a 19th-century wood design and a French limestone Louis XV style fireplace. The interior boasts high ceilings in the living room with wide white oak planking, a coffered ceiling, and French doors leading to the garden. The MAIN house floor plan includes 7-8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms.
The guest house and outbuildings give a sense of estate from the moment you enter the gate. The property is zoned as a legal two-family residence, offering versatility for guests, a creative studio, or rental income. It features a living room fireplace, full kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, and a den with exterior access on the lower level. There is also a large garage currently used as a workshop, and additional outbuildings include an old brick potting shed, a large garden shed, a chicken coop, and a continuously flowing artesian well.
The 5+ acre grounds are a private arboretum of blooming gardens, ancient stone walls, and rolling fields. A highlight of the property is the reconstructed arch-supported stone bridge spanning the west branch of the Hackensack River, which flows directly through the property.
The South Mountain Road artist community is surrounded by the legacy of neighbors such as playwright Maxwell Anderson, artist/architect/potter Henry Varnum Poor, sculptor John Mowbray-Clark, and painter Arthur B Davies, who funded their properties (on S Mountain Rd) to finance the groundbreaking exhibition at the Armory on Park Avenue, NYC, in 1913. This exhibition dramatically changed the American art scene to resemble European trends.
Other influential residents over the years have included Burgess Meredith, Adolf Zucker, head of Paramount Studios, John Huston, and many pioneering television writers, Mick Jagger & Jerry Hall, and others! Brook House is surrounded by 8 acres of conservation land from the West Branch Conservation Land Trust, donated by Lotte Lenya when she was the owner of the property. It borders the 91-acre Davenport Preserve, ensuring permanent privacy and connection to nature. High Tor State Park is just minutes away, offering hiking trails and panoramic views of the New York City skyline.
Local amenities include an operating farm at the west end of the road and the 18-hole Paramount Country Club golf course.
5 bedrooms in New City
- 5 Bedroom Home for Sale in New City - New York - USA New City $1,800,000
- 5 Bedroom Home for Sale in New City - New York - USA New City $850,000
- 5 Bedroom Home for Sale in New City - New York - USA New City $695,000
- 5 Bedroom Home for Sale in New City - New York - USA New City $1,050,000
- 5 Bedroom Home for Sale in New City - New York - USA New City $1,200,000
- 5 Bedroom Home for Sale in New City - New York - USA New City $859,000