Walking through Greenwich Village, you might mistakenly think this adorable clapboard farmhouse at 121 Charles Street is simply a remnant of a more bucolic era in the Village. But it actually came from the Upper East Side, on 71st Street and York Avenue!
In 1967, the house was moved five miles to this once-vacant lot on Charles Street. The owners, the Bernhards, were saving it from demolition by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who owned the land the house was on. According to NY Daily Photo, the house was moved, including the cobblestone driveway, at a cost of $6500 “down Second Avenue and across 14th Street.”
The house has a great courtyard garden and cobblestone driveway
By all accounts, the exact construction date of the house is unknown. GVSHP writes that it first appeared on tax maps in 1898 “suggesting that it was built elsewhere and moved to York Avenue in the mid-19th century.” Daytonian in Manhattan describes the restoration of the house by the Bieler family, who extended the house to accommodate their children. They writes that the extension of the house was done with “such compassion to the original structure that even the windows are crooked.”
Michelle is the founder of Untapped New York and the author of The Art Spy (HarperOne, forthcoming) Secret Brooklyn, Secret New York Hidden Bars & Restaurants, and Broadway. michelleyoungwriter.com
