Maybe it does pay to write about Washington Square Park.
Emily Kies Folpe, independent scholar, educator and author of “It Happened on Washington Square,” has listed her three bedroom Greenwich Village duplex at 2 Fifth Avenue, across from the park, for $4.25 Million. The co-op apartment has a large rooftop terrace which looks onto Washington Square.
Kies Folpe very much pushed for the creation of the controversial Washington Square Park Conservancy. She now sits on the board of the private organization formed behind closed doors by four wealthy neighborhood socialites.
I did reference Kies Folpe’s book, It Happened on Washington Square, a lot when I started this blog. It’s a great book and I learned much from it.
From the New York Post:
Author Emily Kies Folpe lists $4.25M NYC ‘cottage’ duplex
Art historian Emily Kies Folpe, 80, author of “It Happened on Washington Square,” is selling her Greenwich Village duplex that comes with its own rooftop “cottage” — for $4.25 million.
The three-bedroom, two-bath co-op, at landmarked 2 Fifth Ave., overlooks Washington Square Park and Stanford White’s iconic Washington Square Arch. It boasts a landscaped roof deck with that cottage-like structure, which features 10-foot-6 ceilings, French doors and transom windows.
The cottage is currently used as an office, but can be converted into another bedroom, a den or an art studio.
The apartment features a main bedroom and a living room, both with park views. The living room also opens to a terrace.
There’s also a separate dining room, and lots of closet and storage space.
It’s at the top of a five-story red brick Emery Roth-designed portion of a 20-story midcentury building overlooking the north side of the park. It has more than 350 units.That portion was designed to blend in with the red brick townhouses that line part of the square, at developer Robert Moses’s request.
Building amenities include a library, a gym, a private driveway, a library, a residents’ lounge, a children’s playroom and a garage.
Kies Folpe, who serves on the board of the Washington Square Park Conservancy, bought the unit in 1993. She published her book about Washington Square in 2002.
“The massive roof terrace and the ‘cottage’ are so unexpected. To be up there and see the arch and the treetops is magical,” said Compass broker Bill Herbst, who shares the listing with Ralph Gilmartin, also of Compass.
The listing can be found here.