A remarkably slender townhouse measuring just 8 feet, 7 inches wide has earned the distinction of being New York City's narrowest residential building. Located at 75½ Bedford Street in the heart of Manhattan's West Village, this three-story brick landmark stands proudly among the area's collection of 19th-century rowhouses, offering a unique glimpse into vertical urban living.
Built in 1873, the unusual home has recently undergone extensive renovation and is now listed for sale through Sotheby's International Realty. The restored residence represents more than a century and a half of architectural adaptation, transforming its extremely narrow footprint into a carefully designed sequence of intimate domestic spaces that maximize every square inch.
The townhouse's extraordinarily slender proportions create a heightened sense of spatial awareness for visitors and residents alike. Natural sunlight and air circulation take priority over sheer volume in the home's design philosophy. Upon entering through the distinctive Dutch door, guests step directly into a custom-designed kitchen featuring expertly crafted millwork and elegant Italian marble surfaces. Floor-to-ceiling French doors seamlessly connect the interior to a small but beautifully landscaped garden, creating a rare sense of openness within the dense urban fabric of lower Manhattan.
Inside, the home's layout unfolds as a continuous vertical journey, with a central staircase linking intimate rooms arranged along the narrow footprint. Each level features working wood-burning fireplaces framed in travertine stone, serving as focal points throughout the home. Rich oak flooring runs the entire length of the residence, emphasizing its distinctive linear geometry, while a large skylight positioned at the top of the building floods the upper story with natural daylight that filters down through the stairwell.
The primary suite, located on the second level, strikes a careful balance between simplicity and comfort. This master bedroom includes a small balcony that overlooks the rear garden, providing a private outdoor retreat. The accompanying bathroom showcases meticulous attention to detail with mosaic tile work, marble sinks, and high-end Lefroy Brooks fixtures, demonstrating the same careful consideration of scale and proportion that guides the entire renovation project.
Throughout the home, modern interventions and updates remain respectfully secondary to the townhouse's historic structure and character. This approach creates a seamless sense of continuity between different eras, honoring the building's rich past while accommodating contemporary living needs.
The narrow house has long captured the imagination of New York City's creative community, boasting a star-studded history that spans nearly a century. During the 1920s, the residence was home to a group of actors who performed at the nearby Cherry Lane Theater, including future Hollywood legends Cary Grant and John Barrymore. Over the decades, the building has housed notable figures from various fields, including renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead, celebrated cartoonist William Steig, and acclaimed poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, whose residency earned the building its affectionate nickname, "the Millay House."
The townhouse's modest scale, combined with its prime location on one of the West Village's most historically intact and architecturally significant blocks, has established it as a small but enduring symbol of New York City's unique residential architecture. This remarkable property continues to represent the ingenuity and adaptability that characterize urban living in one of the world's most densely populated cities.
