The Composer Kurt Weill’s Former New York Home Lists for $2.3 Million

This quaint storybook estate tucked into a leafy enclave about 25 miles north of New York City carries a rare artistic legacy.

Located in the affluent Rockland County hamlet of New City in the Lower Hudson Valley, Brook House dates to 1880 and has been owned by just four families over the past 110 years. Among its former owners are German singer and actor Lotte Lenya and her husband, composer Kurt Weill, best known for the music of The Threepenny Opera, including the iconic song “Mack the Knife.” Another former tenant of Brook House was Rollo Peters, an American actor, theater director, and scenic and costume designer who co-founded the Theatre Guild.

The current owners have lived on the 5.5-acre property for the past 33 years and carefully restored the roughly 4,600-square-foot Colonial-style residence with the guidance of interior designer Gail Jacobs, who also worked on Leonard Bernstein’s apartment at the Dakota in Manhattan. Jacobs spent years sourcing antiques and furnishings for the home, which are available for purchase separately and were selected to complement its 19th-century details, including hand-hewn beams and wide-plank pine and white-oak floors. Four fireplaces with period mantels include one with a carved wood surround from the 1800s and another finished in a Louis XV–style limestone surround.

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The main residence spans four levels. On the ground floor are a modern, cream-colored kitchen and a spacious dining area featuring rustic ceiling beams, exposed stone walls, and a checkerboard tile floor that gives the space a warm, Old World feel. The upper floors lean a bit more contemporary while still preserving the home’s historic charm. A full-height mullioned bay window fills the mint-green living room with natural light, while French doors open onto a patio overlooking the grounds. In total, there are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, with the primary bedroom featuring soaring, peaked ceilings.

The grounds include rolling lawns, mature gardens, and a charming stone bridge arching over a branch of the Hackensack River. A detached guesthouse adds another two bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, along with a fireside living room and a robin’s-egg blue kitchen. The cottage also makes for an ideal creative retreat, tapping into the area’s history as an artists’ enclave.

The New City residence is on the market for $2.3 million with Richard Ellis at Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty.

Click here to see all the photos of Brook House.