A legacy of creativity on South Mountain Road. Brook House. Not just a residence, but an important chapter of local, American history. Nestled within the legendary South Mountain Road artist community, this 5+ acre compound offers total privacy and is a rare combination of 19th-century architecture and a 20th-century avant-garde soul.
For over a century, Brook House has been a sanctuary for world-renowned creators. It has seen only four owners in the last 110 years, serving as a testament to its enduring appeal. Kurt Weill & Lotte Lenya, the celebrated composer and singer lived here for over 30 years. It was within these walls that the sounds of The Three Penny Opera - "Mack the Knife" and "Alabama Song" echoed. Rollo Peters, a prior owner, was a prominent American stage actor, director, and best remembered as a co-founder of the Theater Guild.
Current owners of Brook House for the last 33 years have completed a masterful restoration of the property and structures and seamlessly blended mid-19th-century charm with modern structural integrity. They worked with a NYC based interior designer extraordinaire, Gail Jacobs, who liked the provenance of the property and designed homes of other musical luminaries, including Leonard Bernstein's apartment at the Dakota in NYC. Gail worked thru the years collecting the "right pieces" locally and abroad, to fit perfectly into Brook House. Her curated collection can be purchased separately. Many of the light fixtures are Gail's favorite, Ann-Morris, New York, and antique holophane style lighting.
The home boasts ancient hand-hewn beams and breathtaking old boulders/stones, that make up some of the interior & exterior walls of the home and property. The main house boasts 4 fireplaces. Mantels include 19th century wooden design and a c. Louis XV style French limestone mantel. The interior features tall ceilings in the living room with wide white oak floor boards, tray ceiling, and French doors that go out to the garden. The layout of the MAIN home includes 7–8 rooms, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The guest house and outbuildings give an estate like feeling the minute one drives thru the gate. The property is zoned as a legal two-family, offering versatility for guests, a creative studio, or rental income. It features a fireplace in the living room, full kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and a walk-out lower-level den. There's also an oversized garage currently utilized as a workshop, and additional outbuildings include an old brick potting shed, a large garden shed, chicken coop and artisan well that continually flows.
The 5+ acre parcel is a private arboretum of flowering gardens, ancient stone walls, and rolling fields. A highlight of the property is the rebuilt, arch-supported stone bridge spanning the west branch of the Hackensack River, which flows directly through the property. The South Mountain Road artist community is surrounded by the legacy of neighbors like playwright Maxwell Anderson, artist/architect/potter, Henry Varnum Poor, sculptor John Mowbray-Clark & painter Arthur B Davies, who financed their properties (on S Mountain Rd) to fund the groundbreaking show at the Armory on Park Avenue in NYC, in 1913. This show dramatically changed the American Art scene to be akin to European trends. Other influential residents thru the years included Burgess Meredith, Adolf Zucker, head of Paramount Studios, John Huston, and many early writers for television shows, Mick Jagger & Jerry Hall, and others!
Brook House is surrounded by 8 acres of West Branch Conservation Land Trust, donated by Lotte Lenya, when she owned the property. It borders the 91-acre Davenport Preserve ensuring permanent privacy and a connection to nature. High Tor State Park is minutes away, offering hiking trails and panoramic views of the NYC skyline. Local amenities include a working farm at the west end of the road and the 18-hole Paramount Country Club golf course.