Michelle Williams Buys Colonial Revival Mansion in Prospect Park South That Needs a Little TLC

Actress Michelle Williams is clearly a fan of big, beautiful Brooklyn houses. 6sqft got the scoop back in September that she was listing her lovely Boerum Hill townhouse for $7.5 million. The ivy-covered, corner-lot home came complete with a three-car garage and more space than is usual for the neighborhood. Likely for these reasons, she sold the house for well over the asking price ($8.8 million to be exact), just two months later. And after keeping us in suspense for seven long months as to where she and nine-year-old daughter Matilda would move, Ditmas Park Corner revealed today that Williams purchased an historic Colonial Revival-style home in Prospect Park South.

Last listed for $2.45 million, the eight-bedroom home at 1440 Albemarle Road is referred to as “The Tara of Prospect Park South” in the listing. It boasts a two-story front porch with fluted Ionic columns, dormer windows, eight fireplaces, and leaded and stained glass windows. The landmarked house is definitely in need of some TLC, but that shouldn’t be a problem for Williams, as she told a neighbor “I love living somewhere that feels like the suburbs but is next to an express train.”

The stately home was designed in 1901 by architects Robert Bryson and Carroll Pratt, who were responsible for many other homes in the Prospect Park South area, for J.C. Woodhull, a prominent Brooklyn lumber dealer. The entrance portico has grand Doric columns, and its cornice is in an unusual Gothic style. It’s this two-story front porch that has caused many to liken the house to Tara plantation in “Gone with the Wind.”

Inside, the entryway features a decorative spiral bridal staircase that leads to a skylight. The first floor has a double parlor, formal dining room, sunroom and eat-in kitchen.

On both the first and second floors are large entertaining spaces with spectacular curved bays of windows. The master wing is on the second floor and has a dressing room with built-in cabinetry, bathroom with original claw-foot tub, and indoor and outdoor porches. This floor also has two more bedrooms with en-suites, as well as a home office that leads to a private porch. Four more bedrooms are on the third floor, and there’s a roof deck, too.

Ditmas Park Corner reports that Michelle Williams found out about this house through friend and former Boerum Hill neighbor David Lindsay Abaire (the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright), who now lives nearby in her new neighborhood.

Clearly the house needs some repairs and upgrading, but the decor also needs a total overhaul (see the bedroom above). But judging by her last house, we’re not worried that Williams will have this place looking cover-ready in no time.

[Listing: 1440 Albemarle Road by Mary Kay Gallagher Real Estate]

[Via Ditmas Park Corner]

Photos via Mary Kay Gallagher Real Estate

RELATED:

• Michelle Williams Sells Boerum Hill Townhouse for $8.8M
• Michelle Williams Lists Her Boerum Hill Townhouse for $7.5 Million
• Film Critic Jonathan Baumbach Sells Prospect Park South Victorian for $1.8M