![]() ![]() Below is the listing in the AugNew York World. Several months later, Harry and Bess moved in with the Hardeens in Flatbush and put 278 up for sale at a "sacrifice" price of $18,000. But none of the newspapers mentioned Harry Houdini as the owner of the house. The papers reported on the incident and later the capture of the assailant, Frank Thomas. In 1907, Leo survived an attack by an intruder wielding a razor. Leopold was New York's first radiologist, and he set up his practice in the house. Leopold Weiss (well before the brothers had their famous falling out). Houdini even once referred to it as "my apartments."Ģ78 also became the home and workplace of Houdini's brother Dr. During these years, Harry and Bess were continually on tour, so 278 was open to any Weiss or Rahner in need of a room. It was a big step up from their previous dwelling at 305 East 69th Street. Houdini boasted it was "the finest private house that any magician has ever had the great fortune to possess." But he was really purchasing 278 as a new Weiss family home, and especially as a luxurious new home for his mother. ![]() In 1904, Houdini bought the house for $25,000 cash (purchase price $20,000 plus $5000 still due on the mortgage). The Lubins are still in the house as late as 1903. On January 28, 1902, a fire broke out on the second floor, resulting in $75 worth of damage to the building and $135 damage to the contents. The 1900 census shows David Lubin, a Polish inventor and agriculturalist, living at 278 with his wife, Flora, and their four children. (You can see that listing here.) On May 2, 1899, the house was purchased my Moses Kahn, his wife Henrietta Kahn, and Theresa Goldsmith with a $10,000 mortgage from Seamens Bank. The house is still on the market in May 1897. They are the ones selling in 1896 and may have been the original builders. The first occupants of 278 appear to have been Thomas K. But the earliest real estate listing for the house (and several others on the block) appears in the New York Herald on April 5, 1896. Real estate websites such as Zillow show the date as 1890. But exactly when 278 was built isn't entirely clear. Indeed, both Central Park and Morningside Park are within a few blocks, and it's said the area was populated with affluent German speakers. Including a few ghosts!Īt the time of its construction, "278" (as Houdini called it) was located in what the New York Times described as a "genteel enclave" of Harlem. Having looked at the house inside and out, top to bottom, today I take a look at the history of the house and its various owners and occupants. The big news of the last month is that Houdini's famous New York brownstone at 278 W 113th Street in New York City is on the market for the first time in 26 years. ![]()
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