Just north of New York City, one unique home features a design more reminiscent of fairytales than modern concrete jungles.
Dubbed Villa Keen after its original owner’s name, the nearly 100-year-old Irvington, New York, home is described by its realtors as a “Cinderella” castle. The 3,500-square-foot house sits on a roughly 2 ½-acre plot of land just off the Hudson River.
In the home’s century-old history, the deed has been passed between celebrities and other notable figures. It’s undergone a few modernizations but retains many of its original features, from millwork to stained glass.
Many historic homes can be found in the area surrounding New York City. Oheka Castle on Long Island, originally built 10 years before Villa Keen, is the second-largest private home in the US and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The sprawling mansion houses a library and a full-sized bar, and partially inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.”
While Villa Keen is much more modest, it still has a few opulent touches that make it fit for royalty.
Take a look inside the quaint castle home in Westchester County, New York.
The castle-style home was built by Joseph Keen for himself and his wife in 1929.
The home fits the genre of houses that came to be known as the “storybook” style that emerged in Los Angeles in the 1920s. Per the North Shore Heritage Preservation Society, defining characteristics of storybook homes include asymmetrical visual features, round, gothic-style windows, and stucco-clad walls, among other traits.
Adam Blankfort, one of the home’s realtors at Corcoran Baer & McIntosh, told Business Insider that Keen took a drawing of a California castle-home with him to New York, setting out to create the same design.
The home sits near the Hudson River, about 15 miles from New York City.
The castle is about 1 mile from the Hudson River in Irvington, New York, and is five minutes from the Irvington train station on the Metro-North Railroad’s Hudson Line.
Blankfort told Mansion Global, “It’s very hard to find something in this price range with this kind of historical significance so close to the city and the unbelievable river towns of Westchester.”
The 2.43-acre property features a pool and ample outdoor space.
The home sits among a sea of trees, with a walkway of colored stones leading to two ancient-looking carved stone pillars, which serve as the house’s front gate. A winding staircase then leads to the home’s front entrance.
Other outdoor amenities include a pool house and an enclosed courtyard.
The home’s ownership history is defined by celebrities and prominent figures.
Per the listing from Corcoran Baer & McIntosh, the home’s first notable resident after Keen was Lloyd Stratton, a prominent executive at the Associated Press who was integral to the publication’s reporting during World War II and the years following, per the New York Times.
After Stratton, Robert Wright, a TV producer best known for being the associate producer of “The Carol Burnett Show,” was a resident.
Following Wright, Tony-and-Grammy-winning actor Jack Cassidy and actress Shirley Jones lived in the home with their son while acting in the musical “Maggie Flynn” on Broadway.
A room with oak paneling served as the home’s library.
The listing agents said this was likely where Stratton worked during the tail end of his 40-year career at the AP.
The home also features light fixtures from Mackenzie-Childs.
Original elements from Keen’s construction remain in the home.
Arched windows are a common feature of the home, while much of the home’s woodwork and paneling is original.
The kitchen’s style harkens back to the 1950s.
Characteristics like the tiled marble floors, the bulky range hood above the stove, and an all-white finish give the kitchen a retro feel.
History can be found in other areas of the property, too.
Per Westchester Magazine, a tree on the property is marked with carvings believed to be the work of historic Native American peoples.
Chandeliers are common throughout the rooms.
Previously used as the home’s dining room, this room contains a Schonbek Austrian Crystal Chandelier. The light fixtures, combined with detailed wooden moldings and other amenities, give some of the home’s rooms an extravagant touch.
Altogether, the castle has five bedrooms and five full bathrooms.
Aside from the home’s two main levels, it also has a partial attic and semi-finished basement.
The living room simulates how the space looked during the mid-20th century.
When Cassidy and Jones lived in the home, the room featured a grand piano. While that’s been swapped out for a more humble upright piano, the fireplace still remains, complete with a Chesneys mantel.
The castle’s turrets aren’t just for show — each one contains a bedroom.
The castle’s two rotunda rooms have space for beds and feature designs lining the windows and the ceiling.
The home was last sold in 2023 for $1.65 million.
According to the listing, the home was sold in July 2023 after being listed in 2022. The home’s realtors told Mansion Global that the current seller is a tech entrepreneur who had renovation plans in mind when he bought the home from a decades-long resident.
Though he made a few modernizations, the realtors said, he had to cut the project short due to moving for work.
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