73 years ago today, the World’s Fair (1939 edition) had its grand opening with a whopping 206,000 people in attendance. [ more › ]
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The 1939 World’s Fair Opened 73 Years Ago Today, But These Photos Never Get Old!
Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a column that explores what set dollar amounts buy in the ever-growing list of cities that comprises the Curbed universe. Is one man’s studio another man’s townhouse? Let’s find out! Click here to view the full photogallery. This week in Curbed Comparisons we’re taking a look at a middling price point in the luxury market: $1.75M. It’s enough money to find some homes that were professionally designed and others that were expensively customized beyond most buyers’ recognition. Case in point, this 1951 build in Seattle. Purchased for just $535K back in 2002, the house has been substantially upgraded since then, and is now listed for a heady $1.7M. Some of those upgrades, like the, um, unique kitchen and bathrooms, might not appeal to all buyers, but others, like the well landscaped grounds and refinished decks add value to this midcentury spread. A black bottom swimming pool and stunning views of Puget Sound add further value to the five-bedroom offering. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ With the America’s Cup set to hit the waters off San Francisco this summer, this glassy condo in the city’s Russian Hill neighborhood is making the most of it’s choice vantage point. Listed for $1.798M, the high-rise, two-bedroom condominium boasts sweeping views of San Francisco Bay from all rooms, as well as a balcony, but the views inside are less impressive. The kitchen might have double ovens, but they’re ancient, as is the electric range, and the tile countertops aren’t exactly modern either. Of course, with a little work, this could be a showplace, just bring extra cash. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Back east in Philadelphia, the sum of $1.75M will secure one buyer a stunning stone shell, built in 1910, but also sidle that lucky individual with the task of tearing out the home’s current godawful interiors. The grand stone Tudor-style mansion sits on 2.8 landscaped acres and looks most deserving of a renovation, but the daunting task of fixing up the six-bedroom, 6,600-square-foot spread may turn off some potential purchasers. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ In Boston’s Back Bay, we had to go a bit over budget—to $1.795 —to find something suitable for this round-up. The full-floor three bedroom looks to be move-in ready, but is looking a little soulless, especially considering the historic building. The moldings and fireplace are all well and good, but the beige kitchen is playing spoiler. A little personalization and this could make a perfect family home in urban New England. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Ah, the Hamptons. Our $1M+ house hunts always seem to make a stop here (usually because you can’t find much in these parts for less). Even a budget of $1.75M fails to turn up many breathtaking homes in the land of the eight-figure price tags, but this quaint East Hampton cottage, listed for $1.75M, is a well-presented option, though it’s located in a relatively densely populated area that doesn’t seem quite as beachy as one would expect. The four-bedroom, three-bath shingled home has a good-sized swimming pool, a detached garage, and a porch perfect for wiling away summer afternoons. · 10019 Radford Ave NW [Zillow] · Russian Hill [Sotheby's] · 1221 Wrack Road [Zillow] · 113 Commonwealth Avenue [Sotheby's] · 40 Cooper Lane [Elliman] · All Curbed Comparisons [Curbed National]
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Curbed Comparisons: What You Get For $1.75M Around the Curbed Universe
Click here to view the full photogallery. Another day, another grand old Savannah mansion. The Wall Street Journal reports that Marc Jacobs president Robert Duffy has listed the William Hunter House for $3.8M. The Italianate-style beaut, built in 1872, is located in the city’s Landmark Historic District and has six bedrooms, six baths, preserved period details, a charming double-height porch, and a swank 45-foot-long pool that the fashion honcho had installed. Duffy, who recently bought a super-skinny Manhattan townhouse and whose place in Provincetown, Mass., was featured in the Nov. 2009 issue of Elle Decor, was apparently unsatisfied by the mansion’s 8,500 square feet—”he’s looking for more space for guests,” according to his broker. The next owner will just have to make do. · Marc Jacobs’s President Robert Duffy Lists in Savannah, Ga., for $3.8 Million [WSJ]
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On the Market: Marc Jacobs Honcho Lists His 19th-Century Home For Sale
Joycians and drinking enthusiasts, prepare yourselves! The brains behind San Francisco’s Litquake will be bringing their literary bar crawl to book-and-beer loving Brooklyn ! Manhattan has had its own event since 2008, but this year the city’s getting not one but two booze heavy fests, one of which will take crawlers to about a dozen different venues in Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill. Next month, lovers of the written word can get their drink on at Lit Crawl Brooklyn , which will feature over thirty authors and offer up fourteen separate events, like literary-themed trivia, Taboo, and a cabaret. [ more › ]
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Look Out, Literary Lushes! Litquake Is Coming to Brooklyn!
While we were busy bemoaning the commercialization of Puff The Magic Dragon Passover, some people were out actually celebrating (*cough cough*) 4/20 around the city yesterday. And that included “Nappy,” a 24-year-old man dressed as an elk who smoked bowls in Central Park Friday afternoon with a group of like-minded, painfully sincere pot connoisseurs. “You would have no overdoses because they would be controlled,” he responded when questioned why drugs should be legal. Nappy: your trusty spotter in New York City’s futuristic lung gyms. [ more › ]
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Giant Elk Spotted Unironically Celebrating 4/20 In Central Park
The Staten Island ferry is one of the top tourist destinations in the city—as well as being a popular date location —but the buck stops there. Despite our valiant efforts to tell people of the fun things in the borough beyond, lots of folks won’t step a foot past the ferry terminal (unless maybe for a Steve Martin concert ). Which is why the borough is now looking for a few good volunteers. [ more › ]
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Staten Island Needs Volunteers To Hold Down Fleeing Tourists
Ikea is set on infiltrating your lives a little more: The Swedish furniture retailer and Swedish meatball pusher is rolling out a line of all-in-one entertainment systems , complete with flatscreen TV, WiFi, Blu-Ray/DVD player, speakers, and USB and HDMI ports… and the one remote will work through the cabinets! [ more › ]
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Video: Ikea Is Bundling Smart TV With Furniture, Won’t Come To U.S. Till At Least 2013
Writing apps for phones is not actually easy—and it is a lot harder with a billionaire breathing down your neck. That’s what some city tech developers learned, at least, after Mayor Bloomberg reportedly tried to use the city’s NYC 311 iOS app last February—and was so put off by the experience that, according to the Daily News’s Juan Gonzalez , he lost it on his staff. [ more › ]
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Report: Even Bloomberg Doesn’t Like The City’s 311 App
Click here to view the full photogallery. Restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow might not be a household name like Emeril Lagasse or Gordon Ramsay—don’t worry, they’re coming up in this roundup, too—but he’s profited handsomely in the restaurant biz. Through his holding company, China Grill Management, Chodorow owns more than 20 restaurants around the world, including NYC’s Bar Basque and China Grill, and has made enough cash to afford a sprawling apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower. The 3,700-square-foot, three-bedroom pad underwent a number of improvements during Chodorow’s tenure, including the replacement of some 40 windows to improve the view. “El Chod,” as he is known around the Eater universe, paid $5.35M for the three units and is now asking $18.8M for the combination. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Fiery-tempered British chef Gordon Ramsay has made a career out of cooking—and yelling at people about cooking—on television. His successful string of TV programs helped Ramsay weather the economic crisis while some of his famous restaurants foundered. Well, it seems it’s back to the good times for this hot head, who scooped up a $6.75M mansion in the tony Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air. Better yet, this doesn’t seem to be a permanent home for the Hell’s Kitchen star, but rather just a U.S. pied-a-terre. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ One of the pioneers of the celebrity chef phenomenon, Emeril “Bam” Lagasse turned the profits from his restaurant empire, TV appearances, and line of cookware into a lavish townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The 6,900-square-foot townhouse boasts five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two terraces, four fireplaces, and skylit solarium on the top floor. The lavish home might have been too much for Legasse, however, as he now has it listed for $13.5M. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ The former New York Times dining critic Sam Sifton leads a far more modest life than some of the celebrity chefs whose restaurants he evaluated. He paid a little more than $1M for this two-family townhouse in the up-and-coming Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook back in 2007. Apparently, Sifton rented out the large three-bedroom unit (pictured above) while occupying the garden apartment below, but tired of that arrangement and offloaded the house last August for $1.25M. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ The preppy culinary experimenter Christopher Kimball, publisher of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and creator and host of the PBS series America’s Test Kitchen, lives in a Boston townhouse befitting his bow-tied appearance. The ivy-covered brick house, located in the city’s revitalized South End, has five floors, seven bedrooms, and, naturally, a chef’s kitchen, all done up in very traditional fashion. Beantown’s favorite food guy, who is notoriously difficult to work with, has his home listed for $2.575M. · Restaurateur Jeff Chodorow’s Glassy Trump Pad Hikes Price [Curbed NY] · Inside Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Mean New California Abode [Curbed National] · 158 East 61st Street [GHK] · Food Critic Sam Sifton Sells Red Hook Home for $1.25 Million [Curbed NY] · Foodie Christopher Kimball Cuts South End TH Tag by $54K [Curbed Boston]
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Celebrity Real Estate: Houses That Food Built: Homes of Chefs and Restaurateurs
Photo by bahramforoughi /Curbed National Flickr pool SERENBE, GA. —HGTV has announced the location of its 2012 Green Home, and it promise to take earth-consciousness to “a new dimension.” Meanwhile, Curbed Atlanta calls out the network’s “greenwashing,” pointing out a few questionably major details that may actually detract from the eco-friendly thing. For one, the prize package comes with an SUV. [HGTV; Curbed Atlanta] NYC —Last week Jet Blue unveiled its new headquarters in Queens, and judging by the photos employees there will soon assimilate to eerie neon lighting and pristine white surfaces. [Jaunted] THE INTERNET —A big congrats to Zillow for their two Webby nominations: “Best Website, Real Estate“ and “Best Mobile App, Utilities & Services.“ [Zillow] NYC —According to a release, the 40th Kips Bay Decorator Show House—the grande dame of them all—will open to the public on May 16 and remain on view until June 14. Showhouse chair Bunny Williams will contribute to a room in honor of the late, great American decorator Albert Hadley; other participants include Charles Pavarini III, Charlotte Moss, Jamie Drake, Laura Bohn, Susan Zises Green, and Thom Filicia. [CurbedWire Inbox]
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CurbedWire: HGTV’s Green Home; Kips Bay Showhouse Dates Announced