Harry Houdini's House Is About to Disappear from the Market
The magician's New York City townhouse, which was listed for $3.6 million, has found a buyer.
If you’re just wild about Harry Houdini, the world’s most famous magician and escape artist, here’s your chance to see inside his New York City townhouse. The Houdini House, located at 278 West 113th Street in Harlem, hit the market last year with a $4.6 million asking price and went into contract after the price was reduced to $3.6 million. Scroll down for a look inside.
The five-level house (including a basement) was built in 1895 about three blocks from the uptown edge of Central Park.
Houdini bought it in 1904 for $25,000 and lived in it with his wife, Bess, and various relatives until his death in 1926.
The entrance features original doors and brass hardware.
A Historical Landmark Preservation Center plaque states: "The magician lived here from 1904 to 1926 collecting illusions, theatrical memorabilia, and books on psychic phenomena and magic."
Since Houdini’s time, the 6,008-square-foot house has had several owners.
It's been chopped into three residences: a two-bedroom duplex, two-bedroom floor-through apartment, and a one-bedroom apartment. The duplex features this 18-foot by 43-foot backyard garden.
Morning sun floods this kitchen on the lower floor of the duplex.
Listing agent Beverly Draggon of Douglas Elliman said that one open house was crowded with Houdini fans who traveled from across the country. "They are in awe of the house," Draggon says. "They came to the open house and would not leave."
Throughout the years, renovations have preserved many of the building’s original details.
Including the entrance foyer’s mahogany staircase and detail work.
The building was more than just Houdini’s home.
It was his workshop, too. Wild About Houdini, a website devoted to the magician, says Houdini installed a gigantic sunken bathtub and large mirror "to practice his underwater effects." Today, the tub is smaller, and the bathroom features his and hers sinks.
The master suite contains upgraded, herringbone-pattern oak floors.
Aand a decorative fireplace that could be outfitted with a gas insert.
The showman also wired the house for sound "so he could amaze visitors with mind reading effects," the site says.
Here’s the living room with original, built-in bookcases and 15-foot ceilings.
The duplex’s lower level contains a bedroom/office with another decorative fireplace.
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