A West Village Townhouse Tied to New York’s Arts Scene Lists for $18M

For decades, one Downing Street townhouse was a convivial hub for family, friends, and people in the arts. The nearly 9,000-square-foot townhouse in the heart of the West Village was, beginning in 1999, the home of David Doubleday Holbrook, an executive at the professional services firm Marsh & McLennan and an ardent supporter of New York’s cultural life. Holbrook served as chair of the Theater Development Fund—he was instrumental in moving TKTS from a trailer to its now-famous booth tucked under a broad flight of red steps in Times Square, which bears his name—and sat on the boards of the Joffrey Ballet, the Joyce Theater, and the Noguchi Museum.

His son, Chris Holbrook, remembers the house as a stage of sorts, where family milestones and gatherings of the city’s arts and culture leaders unfolded side by side. “We gathered as a family every Thanksgiving to celebrate together,” he tells Robb Report. “The fun was always in the main salon on the second floor. My father also held several benefits and cocktail parties here for causes close to him. Particularly memorable were the Joffrey Ballet and Joyce Theater gatherings.”

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Now on the market for $18 million with Lisa K. Lippman of Brown Harris Stevens, the house is a rarity in the neighborhood—nearly 30 feet wide, with six outdoor spaces, private parking, and an elevator that runs all the way from the basement to the landscaped roof deck.

The layout is sprawling and flexible. The ground-floor duplex, where ceilings soar to over 16 feet beneath skylights, could serve as an art studio, guest suite, or family office. The main residence begins on the second floor with an 80-foot-long great room, the spacious setting for all those Holbrook family holidays and fundraisers. Upstairs, the entire fourth floor is given over to a primary suite, complete with its own terrace, cedar closet, and lounge with a fireplace and wet bar.

“The best spaces in the house were obviously the main gallery,” Chris says. “Here my father displayed his collections of modern art and West African sculpture. And the studio apartments also hold special memories—each of my children and my sister’s children lived there right out of college as they launched their careers. He was so generous with the space.”

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After two years of holding onto the property following David’s death in 2023, the Holbrook family is ready, if bittersweet, to pass it along. “The house is so intertwined with my father that it is impossible to imagine living there without him,” Chris says. “It’s time for someone else to write the next chapter here.”

For buyers, the house offers room to dream. Lippman notes that many will likely refresh the kitchen and baths but otherwise leave the bones intact. “This is not your typical turn-of-the-century West Village townhouse,” she says. “It’s modern in design, incredibly wide, filled with light, and comes with the conveniences of an elevator, indoor parking, and plenty of private outdoor space.”

Click here to see more photos of the West Village townhouse.