Now Showing: New York Homes with Hollywood Connections
by INHABIT EDITORS
These Corcoran listings are ready for their close-ups.
From celebrity owners to on-screen appearances of their own, these show-stopping residences from King’s County to the Catskills have all played a role in the magic behind the movies. So grab your popcorn, silence your cell phone, and give a screen test to these spectacular properties, each one a case study in glitz and glamour.
Oscars not included.
Given that Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin collaborate to craft some of the most distinct aesthetics on the silver screen, it should come as no surprise that the duo’s Gramercy home is a visual stunner. Luhrmann and Martin have innumerable awards between them—including four Academy Awards in costume and production design for Martin—and their attention to mise en scène is thoroughly on display. This six-bed townhouse dates to the 1850s and sits squarely in the Stuyvesant Square Historic District, across East 17th Street from the eponymous Stuyvesant Square Park. Yet, much as Luhrmann films like Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby reimagine time periods and familiar stories, the home’s interiors present a contemporary conception of the structure’s 19th-century heritage. To see this in action, you needn’t look any further than the striking wallpaper patterns of the entry foyer.
Up one flight of stairs is the parlor-level living room, flaunting 16-foot ceilings, an ornately detailed fireplace mantle, and a separate alcove for Oscars, BAFTAs, and AACTAs. Round-arch windows peer south over the park as natural light washes over everything. The vibrant primary suite sits on the other half of this level and boasts a Juliet balcony seemingly plucked straight out of Luhrmann’s Verona Beach.
For many years, revered jazz saxophonist Clifford Jordan lived on the top floor of this townhouse. Nowadays, this section makes for an ideal guest suite—outfitted with a separate living room, bed, bath, bar, and gym. Take the stairs or ride the elevator down to the English Basement lower level, finished with a media room and a perfect home office space.
Come what may, whether you seek space for a Gatsby-esque blowout or the tranquility of an ivy-walled back garden, this home deserves your nomination.
A home to Cher.
It takes a lot to stand out among the rows and rows of historic homes in Brooklyn Heights. And yet, only one c.1829 townhouse in the neighborhood can say it has welcomed Cher, Nicolas Cage, and Olympia Dukakis into its hallowed halls—sort of. While 19 Cranberry Street’s Mansard roof and brick facade are unmistakable as the multi-generational home of the Castorinis in Moonstruck, exterior shots are all that were featured in the iconic romantic comedy. However, seeing how ready the home’s interior is for its close-up, the camera would undoubtedly venture inside if the film were made today.
If you thought this townhouse would have lost an ounce of its endless appeal all these years later, snap out of it! After a particularly eventful night at the opera, it remains a divinely elegant home to lay your head in. High ceilings sport remastered crown moldings and exposed beams, marble fireplace mantels are all original, and hand-carved detailing abounds. Curl up in a cozy fireside nook, breathe fresh air in the back garden, or head minutes east to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade for stunning views.
Restoration efforts renewed this home’s youth by adding modern elements to bolster the vintage ones. Balance between new and old is no more apparent than in the garden-level kitchen, where top-of-the-line Gaggenau and a custom Lacanche range perfectly harmonize with a wood-burning oven and antique cabinetry.
So call up Ronny, Johnny, the Cappomaggis, grandpa’s dogs—whoever. Kitchens are the heart of the home, and this one stands waiting to accommodate all the family and friends you can fit through the front door.
Taxi to the Catskills.
The mountaintop retreat of actor Judd Hirsch — nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 1980’s Ordinary People, Emmy winner for Taxi, Golden Globe winner for Dear John, and multiple-Tony winner for his work on Broadway — covers 77 acres and boasts multiple structures. The six-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom main house is set more than 2,000 feet above sea level, with views of three mountain ranges: the Catskills, the Berkshires, and the Shawangunks. Hirsch collaborated closely with architect Charles Michal to create a lyrical series of buildings that gracefully lead from one to the next. In addition to the primary residence, there are twelve additional buildings including two separate detached garages, each with an apartment above; a separate guest cottage; a pool house with a full kitchen, gym, and hot tub; a performance studio; a meditation studio; and a two-bedroom caretaker’s house.
The great room in the main house is framed with 200-year-old barn beams; other rooms also incorporate vintage beams collected from five disassembled barns. Most of the living areas also feature either a hand-crafted stone fireplace or a wood-burning stove.
Every room is thoughtfully designed, with unusual flourishes including colorful tile work and steam showers in the bathrooms.
The property encompasses 60 acres of untouched woods, all surrounded by New York City and New York State lands that preserve the privacy of the estate. There’s also a solar farm-to-power field, twenty geothermal wells that heat the main residence and the indoor pool, as well as multiple backup generators. Live off the grid (or close to it) in this beautiful Catskills getaway.