Hudson Heights’ Famed Cliffside ‘Pumpkin House’ Returns for $5.3M

So titled for its window pattern that resembles a jack-o’-lantern (especially when lit up at night), this funky home in Hudson Heights has long been a hot topic in the real estate scene thanks to its unusual location extending over a cliff near the highest point in Manhattan, just north of the George Washington Bridge.

Built around 1925, the 17-foot-wide brick house was purchased in 2000 for $1.1 million by interior decorator William Spink. After doing a good deal of structural renovation, he listed it for $3.45 million in 2005, but after failing to sell, tried again in 2010 for $3.9 million. It sold the following year and is now back on the market asking $5.25 million.

The Pumpkin House in 1934 (L) and 1938 (R) via NYPL

As the Wall Street Journal reported back in 2010, the Pumpkin House was built in the 1920s “on a steel foundation sunk into a steep cliff at West 186th Street” and was “commissioned by Cleveland Walcutt, an engineer, on land purchased from the estate of James Gordon Bennett, the publisher of the New York Herald.” Walcutt ended up foreclosing on the house in 1927, but up until its 2000 sale, it only had four owners. As seen in the photos above, it originally stood completely on its own, however Castle Village was built around it in the 1930s.

The 3,144-square-foot home is configured with the main residence occupying the top two floors and a one-bedroom rental below. Upon entering on the parlor floor, you’ll find the bright living room, which has oversized windows on three sides, coffered ceilings, mahogany-paneled walls, an original marble mantle, and a balcony that provides panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline, the George Washington Bridge, the Palisades, and the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Also on this floor is the formal dining room that has even more coffered ceilings and ornate picture moldings, as well as a cozy, bookshelf-lined library and a refurbished “French country” kitchen.

Upstairs are two master bedrooms, three more bedrooms or studies, and two full bathrooms.

A roof terrace runs the entire length of the house and offers more incredible views.

The rental unit has a very large living room, its own terrace, and an updated kitchen. The house also comes with a garden and two-car garage.

[Listing: 16 Chittenden Avenue by Simone Song Properties]

[Via Gothamist]

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Images via Simone Song Properties unless otherwise noted