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This late, legendary community activist and urban theorist fought a megalomaniac developer, helped save Washington Square Park and wrote her seminal work, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” during the two decades that she lived in this landmarked West Village rowhouse.
Now, Gimme Shelter has learned, Jane Jacobs’ historic home at 555 Hudson St. is on the market for $5.49 million — half a million dollars less than its asking price last year.
Jacobs, who died in 2006, believed that grassroots activism matters, and that cities become great only when people unite and work together, with small business flourishing. Although Jacobs once foiled Robert Moses’ plan to destroy Washington Square Park, she was once dismissed by her critics as a “housewife.”
The red brick rowhouse was built in 1842. It’s on the same block where the White Horse Tavern, built in 1880, still stands, frequented over the years by dockworkers, immigrants and literary figures — including Dylan Thomas to Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, Jack Kerouac — and musicians like Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan. In fact, the cover of the 1961 first edition of “The Death and Life” is a photo of Jacobs at the White Horse Tavern’s bar.
The residence is about 16.5 feet wide. Outside, there’s a plaque that honors Jacobs. Inside, the 2,265-square-foot home features two bedrooms, a full bath, two powder rooms and three fireplaces.
The living room is also where Jacobs came up with the “Save the Square” protest to stop Moses from creating the Lower Manhattan Expressway.
The home’s garden level is a commercial space, with an additional fireplace, that opens to a private garden. When Jacobs lived there, a candy store flourished in it, according to reports.
Jacobs and her husband, architect Robert Hyde Jacobs Jr., bought the home for $7,000 in 1947 — about $106,000 today — three years after they wed. It’s where they raised their three kids. They moved out in 1968, when they left the US for Toronto, in part to protest the Vietnam War; their two sons were draft age.
Upstairs, there’s a private duplex — with a separate entry and stairs — and lots of light. The main floor boasts a great room, a dining area, a kitchen and a powder room. Above that is another floor with two bedrooms, a full bath and a private terrace overlooking the garden. In addition, there’s a basement level for storage, laundry and another powder room.
The seller is Susan Spehar, a former social worker who grew up in St. Louis. She bought the home for $3.32 million in 2009, after the passing of her financier husband.
“When I bought it, I didn’t know anything about Jane Jacobs,” Spehar told Gimme. “The house just had a really great feeling. I felt like I was carrying a torch for someone else. She must have had a powerful vibes. It felt like a home that a woman should have bought. It was a house that had meaning.”
Shortly after she bought it, Spehar walked outside one morning and about 50 people, on a walking tour, started to clap. “They thought I was Jane Jacobs!” she said. She gave the group a tour, and they left flowers on her doorstep the next day. For a time before she bought the spread, Spehar said she heard that Jacobs’ fans would lay flowers by the door once a year.
“People really, really respected her,” Spehar said. “It’s a great little house. I hope that somebody buys it who respects the person who lived there. She was really an amazing person. There’s a vibe there. If you pay attention, you can still feel her power.”
Listing broker Leslie Modell, of Sotheby’s International Realty, who shares the listing with her daughter, Missy Modell, also of Sotheby’s, agrees.
“Whoever is lucky enough to call this historical landmark a home will be living where the blueprint for modern city life was written,” Leslie said.
“It’s one of those rare West Village homes where the character is perfectly preserved, yet there’s so much opportunity to make it your own,” Missy added.
A new buyer will also have the option to build up 1,652 square feet, thanks to unused air rights.
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