The Wall Street Journal reports that the Seth Low House at 3 Pierrepont Place is up for sale. The record setting asking price – $40 million dollars. As for the history of that home Seth Low II, who served as mayor of Brooklyn from 1881-1885 and later mayor of New York City, grew up there. Our Karl Junkersfeld eloquently commented on Bob Furman’s piece for BHB about the Low family:
It should also be mentioned that Seth Low Jr. grew up in #3 Pierrepont Place with his brother A. Augustus Low who later inherited this fantastic house from his father which stands today next to #2, the house in which Alfred Treadway White lived.
A.A. Low Sr. had said many a time that the house on Pierrepont Place “was the most desirable place to live in the world.”
High praise indeed.
These twin mansions are called the “most elegant pair of brownstone mansions remaining in NY” by the AIA Guide.
It truly is a shame that 1 Pierrepont, the “Henry Pierrepont Mansion” was torn down in 1946 to build the BQE. A terrible shame. The Pierrepont playground is now in that present location.
WSJ: The building is currently subdivided into eight apartments, but the tenants are on short-term leases and the house can be sold vacant, according to the current owner, Jeff Keil. The building retains many of its historic features, including fireplaces with stone surrounds, high ceilings and a grand staircase with a central skylight.
Mr. Keil, a retired banker, bought the property for $2.3 million in 1991, according to public records. He is the former president of Republic New York Corp. He lives in a five-bedroom, two-story unit with his partner, Danielle Pinet, in the building. He said he is selling because they are spending more time at a home in Florida. He said he’ll miss the large Thanksgiving gatherings—34 people around a table—in their Brooklyn apartment.
Here are the photos:
