Brooklyn Beauty

Brooklyn--and particularly Brooklyn Heights, where this residence is located--is said to be New York’s first suburb. It was also the first historic district, so designated in 1965.

The far western end of Long Island was home to American Indians until the Dutch arrived in the early 17th century. Among the settlements they established was Breuckelen, which still was a very small place by the end of the 18th century. But New York grew, and with it Brooklyn, through which food grown on Long Island farms was channeled.

In 1801 the U.S. Navy opened a shipyard in Brooklyn, and 13 years later Robert Fulton started a steam-ferry service from Brooklyn Heights to Manhattan. Wealthy people began buying in the area and commuting ten minutes across the water. In 1834, Brooklyn became a city; from 1840 to 1845, its population nearly doubled due to immigration. In 1898, the borough merged with the rest of New York City.

Today, Brooklyn Heights is coveted for its views of Manhattan and the harbor, its proximity to downtown and its charm. There are more than 600 pre-Civil War buildings in Brooklyn Heights, and a promenade runs along the waterfront, atop a double-decker expressway.

This townhouse was built in 1836, perhaps as a spec house with the two next door (author Norman Mailer lives in one of them).

The current owners bought it in 1999 from Brooklyn’s Polytechnic University, which had been left the house by Donald and Mildred Othmer. The couple had amassed a fortune investing with Warren Buffett, the billionaire behind Berkshire Hathaway (nyse: BRKA - news - people ), but had no heirs. Despite their millions, the Othmers lived frugally, and the house had been broken up into several apartments, which they rented out.

After spending $2 million for the mansion, the current owners spent four years gut-renovating it. They attended to every detail, and although about the only original feature left is the curving wood banister, the property was redone in accordance with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The house is 25 feet wide, with a brick façade that was replicated from old photographs. It encompasses five stories of living space, which can be reached by stair or the four-person elevator. The back of the house faces the promenade and beyond it, the river, harbor and skyline.

The parlor floor includes a living room with hand-painted walls, intricate moldings and floor-to-ceiling French doors that open onto a wrought-iron terrace. The mantle is antique, imported from England; the sconces were made by Basques of Paris. A bar area with mahogany cabinets, onyx countertops and gold-leaf ceiling connects the living room to the formal dining room, which features silk-upholstered walls and a rose marble fireplace.

Below, the garden level includes a large kitchen with cerused oak cabinets and schist countertops. French doors open onto the limestone patio and English garden. The family room is graced with floors of quarter-sawn oak laid in a chevron pattern and an imported mantel.

The third floor has a library with walls upholstered in red velvet and light fixtures from Perrin of Paris. The adjoining office, separated by mahogany and etched-glass doors, has mahogany built-ins.

Down the hall, the master bedroom features upholstered walls and a floor covered in a silk-and-wool carpet. The ceiling above the bed was created by Hyde Park and was specially copied from a pattern at Manhattan's Frick Museum. There is an antique French mantle, crystal chandelier and floor-to-ceiling French doors opening onto the terrace. The master bath is clad in Rosa Aurora marble, cut and matched for the project. All of the edges are rounded, even the inside corners of the shower, and the heated marble floors feature a mosaic border.

The fourth floor has two guest bedrooms, one with a fireplace, a laundry room and child’s bedroom suite with a sitting area and bathroom. The top floor includes a screening room that was built with a floating floor and lead lining in the walls for soundproofing. It has walls upholstered in raw linen, a vaulted skylight and walnut cabinetry. There is also a gym, complete with rubber floor.

For more information, please contact Deanna E. Kory and Karen Kelley at the Corcoran Group.