New York City, New York story
A Basement in Brooklyn
Truman Capote once famously declared, I live in Brooklyn. By choice. For ten years, from 1955 to 1965, the acclaimed author rented a garden apartment at 70 Willow Street. This was…
Read the story
Truman Capote once famously declared, I live in Brooklyn. By choice. For ten years, from 1955 to 1965, the acclaimed author rented a garden apartment at 70 Willow Street.
This wasn't just a place to sleep; it was a creative sanctuary. Within these walls, Capote finished two of his most legendary works: the whimsical Breakfast at Tiffany's and the chilling non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. The house itself, built in 1839 by Adrian van Sinderen, is a massive structure with over 9,000 square feet of space.
But for Capote, the magic happened in that basement, where he penned the essay A House in the Heights and shaped the stories that would eventually define his career and captivate the world.
Updated June 2026