A historic townhouse in the West Village, venerable at 189 years old, continues to captivate visitors with its storied past. This charming home has played host to an illustrious array of residents including the composer of “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, and the celebrity duo Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner. It even served as the backdrop for a notorious mob-run poker incident.
Now, the celebrated red-brick Georgian residence at 80 Washington Place embarks on a new journey as the venue for this year’s prestigious Kips Bay Decorator Show House. Recognized since 1973 as a leading event in high-end design circles, the showcase has raised over $33 million for the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, echoing its influence in both philanthropy and upscale interior design.
This historic property is being reimagined by an elite group of 22 designers, including Carrier and Company, Peter Dunham, TORREY, Marmol Radziner, Ten Plus Three, and Nicole Fisher Interiors. Together, they are transforming it into a dazzling modern masterpiece, a creative sanctuary that will be open to the public for a month beginning on September 16.
Nazira Handal, director of special events and corporate partnerships at Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, expressed her excitement for the project. “When we saw 80 Washington Place, we were immediately struck by its immense potential,” she said. “This beautiful historic townhouse is full of character with its six levels, terraces, a wellness floor, and a rooftop overlooking Washington Square Park. Our designers were thrilled to take on the challenge of reimagining such a diverse and interesting array of spaces.”
The townhouse was recently listed on the market for a striking $21 million, though it was withdrawn from listings in June, keeping its next chapter eagerly anticipated.
It’s slated to go back on the market once the showcase ends, listing broker Melissa Olson, of Douglas Elliman, told Gimme Shelter.
“It’s currently a construction site, filled with designers running around and lots of plywood. But it’s going to be amazing,” Olson said, adding that when the home returns to market, it will be at a new, still-to-be-determined price.
While the exact designs are currently under wraps, they will include upgrades to the kitchen and bathrooms, she said.
“Some of the top designers in the world are making it amazing. It benefits everyone, including Kips Bay,” Olson said.
The current owners purchased the six-story spread for $17 million in cash in 2024 after it had lingered on and off the market for 12 years. It originally asked $31.5 million back in 2012.
The owners, who wish to remain anonymous, then listed the home for $22.5 million a few weeks after the poker bust last year — and around eight months after they bought it.
“They didn’t buy it as an investment, but their plans changed,” Olson said.
The six-bedroom home is around 8,700 square feet, and comes with six baths and three powder rooms. It also features four landscaped terraces totaling 1,566 square feet.
Reimagined after an architectural restoration, the home is now a mix of historic brick, original stone, glass, steel and wood.
The townhouse’s past lives “make for great cocktail conversation,” Olson said.
The home’s glossy present is far from its reality just a few years ago, when neighbors were calling 311, and the ritzy residence was the site of multiple mob-linked assaults, according to an unsealed 2025 federal indictment and related court filings.
From 2021 to 2023, the townhouse was allegedly the site of rigged poker games backed by the Gambino and Genovese crime families, with the Bonanno family sharing in the proceeds after the game merged with one of its operations in 2023. The games were fronted by NBA stars and coach Chauncey Billups to lure victims, according to the accusations that broke last year.
Two assaults happened at the home, according to federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York. In November 2022, Bonanno associates allegedly assaulted a gambler over an unpaid debt — and around a year later, two mobsters armed with a gun and a baton allegedly stormed the home and assaulted the game’s organizer.
The home’s history includes ownership in 1919 by the American composer and band leader John Philip Sousa. It later became a boarding house, where one of its tenants was the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Willa Cather. In 2021, Scott was renting the townhouse while Jenner, then pregnant with their second child, was mainly residing in LA with their daughter Stormi — although she was spotted staying at the townhouse with Scott during the time he rented it. The now-former couple had no involvement in the alleged poker scandal.
History aside, details inside the six-floor townhouse include a skylight that floods all floors with light — down to the basement media lounge.
A garden floor features a foyer that opens to a chef’s kitchen, along with a double-height great room with a gas fireplace and floor-to-ceiling glass doors leading to a garden made for indoor-outdoor living and entertaining.
Two guest suites take up the third floor, while the entire fourth floor is devoted to a primary bedroom with a fireplace, a private terrace, a spa-like bath and a walk-in dressing room.
The fifth floor is for wellness, including a home gym, a glass-enclosed sauna and a terrace.
The crown jewel is the roof deck, with a grill, a bar, a dining area, a lounge — and views from Washington from Square Park to One World Trade Center and the downtown city skyline.