138 Manhattan Avenue

Agent's Note

From Curtis Bain. Details about the apartment are drawn from the listing information provided through RLS by Compass.

This five-story Queen Anne townhouse on Manhattan Avenue offers about 3,600 square feet across its floors, a private yard, and a fifth-floor terrace. The exterior is by H. Gilbert, and the interior was shaped by Hariri & Hariri, so the two halves of the house are meant to read as one design. I find that combination convincing when the plan works as well as the architecture does.

Skylights and double-height floor-to-ceiling windows bring daylight deep into the house. The dining room has double-height ceilings, which gives a dinner gathering more volume than most rooms of its footprint. The living room has a working fireplace and a glass wall that opens the room onto the garden.

The chef's kitchen sits on the garden level, where the cooks and the diners both have garden views. It has designer cabinetry, top-of-the-line appliances, and a modern dumbwaiter. Keeping the kitchen on the garden level puts the cooking next to the outdoor space, which is useful if you host often.

The third and fourth floors hold the bedrooms and the limestone baths. The primary bedroom has its own working fireplace and a skylight, so it's the room you'll notice first on the upper floors.

The fifth floor is currently set up as an artist's studio, with a skylight, a terrace, and views of Central Park. A terrace on the fifth floor adds a second place to work or relax outdoors, separate from the garden. Reaching it means climbing the stairs, which is part of living in a townhouse of this height and worth weighing alongside its upkeep.

Central Park is about 2 minutes on foot, and the 103 St station on the B and C is about 4 minutes away. Osteria 106 is about 1 minute from the door, and Columbus Food Market is about 3 minutes.