strictly speaking, it was the home of my aunt, uncle, and my cousins. my uncle just died last spring at the age of 98, and he lived here until the end. but i spent weeks and months living here, in childhood, and then later when i moved to nyc in the early 80s this was my launch pad until i found an apartment of my own. will be sad to see it pass on to another family.

https://www.zillow.com/homedet...10028/31541258_zpid/

are we not able to edit our posts any more? i just wanted to change it a bit. i don't know that i am really sad that it will have new owners. it's just that scrolling through the photos on zillow and remembering the many boisterous christmases and thanksgivings and how when i was in high school i would show up unexpected and ring the bell and get buzzed in to the delight of my aunt, who was always happy to see me.

some of the art and sculpture in the photos was in the house since the 60s. because my uncle was always photographing famous people there were often surprises when i showed up. like the enormous bouquet of white flowers marlene dietrich gave my cousin sitting in the kitchen. i had just missed her.

you can see my uncle's huge rolltop desk in a corner of one of the photos. the last time i slept there was with mr. pique, right after we were married. we came to nyc to throw a family reception. that memory is juxtaposed with memories of the many hours my cousin and i would spend at the met museum, sketching suits of armor and jewels and costumes in our sketch books, just a few doors down from the house. Or in the 1980s, when my uncle let me use the studio to get my portfolio ready for job interviews....

it was beautifully, wonderfully, opulently furnished, which of course you can't tell because now it is all whitewashed and bare.

Very cool!

What was the ground floor used for?

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
are we not able to edit our posts any more? .

https://well-temperedforum.gro...0004433/m/4603906897

eta: Oh, and very cool house!

quote:

What was the ground floor used for?

The ground floor was my uncle's photography studio. When he retired they rented the space out for a doctor's offices. the basement was part of the photography studio as well--dark rooms down there, dressing rooms for models, a kitchen for the staff, storage rooms for art and photography supplies. My youngest cousin also used the ground floor to garage his sports car for a while.

The room they are calling the "great room" on zillow was actually my uncle's office--a very private sanctuary at the back of the house, just up the back stairs from the studio. It was separated from the rest of the main floor living quarters by those huge stained glass doors, and then also had a heavy door to the office itself. He had a tiny kitchenette in there, the huge rolltop desk, a sitting area for clients, and projects littered everywhere. So much stuff in that room you'd never guess someone later would call it a "great room".

wtg thanks for that thread link. i am using Chrome. I don't know if i can find this site using firefox.... I will try.

aha! I have editing function on firefox!

Wow what a beautiful home!

And I really enjoyed reading about your time there pique, rather than sad perhaps the word bittersweet might fit?

indeed, sk.

That’s great space; I love it. A bit above my price range, though…

Same!

I wouldn't mind having that as my NYC crash pad. Not at all.

As an aside, I find it so bittersweet/weird to see houses I've previously lived in, especially childhood homes, on the market. The photos are very emotive.

nina, i have become fb friends with the current owner of the house i grew up in in annapolis, md. she turned the house into a showplace, and her son, who is (i am guessing) about 30 years younger than me, and who also grew up in this house (but in the 1980s), has also become a very good fb friend. we attended the same private school, and share many of the same interests and outlook on life.

he did me a great kindness and sent me current, detailed photos of every room of our childhood home. i was very attached to that house, and it meant a lot to me. and when it turned out that my old bedroom is their current guest room, they invited me to come visit and stay in it!

when the neighborhood threw a big party celebrating 100 years since it was established, she recruited a number of the neighbors (some who remembered me as a child), to reach out to me and urge me to attend. (apparently they decided to ignore the fact that I live almost 3,000 miles away).

I haven't taken up these invitations, but this connection has become a very familial one, and it is gratifying and removes some of the bitter from the bittersweetness.

Touchstones of our lives are precious.

Your uncle's house is a gorgeous, graceful home. Love it.