New York City, New York story
Brooklyn by Choice
Truman Capote once wrote the line, I live in Brooklyn. By choice. He spent ten years living in a garden apartment at 70 Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights. From 1955 to 1965, this…
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Truman Capote once wrote the line, I live in Brooklyn. By choice. He spent ten years living in a garden apartment at 70 Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights.
From 1955 to 1965, this house—originally built in 1839—served as the quiet sanctuary where he finished two of his most acclaimed works: Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood. The dwelling is an imposing structure with over 9,000 square feet of interior space, but for Capote, the basement apartment was where the magic happened. Walking past this home today, you can almost imagine the author at work, choosing the serenity of Brooklyn over the chaos of Manhattan to craft some of the 20th century's most famous prose.
Updated June 2026