• Craig Newmark and his wife purchased the 52 W. 9th St. co-op for $5.9 million through Brown Harris Stevens.
  • The property was formerly owned by the late Robert Pirie, attorney and banker.
  • The home comes with a library, eat-in kitchen, wine room and two fireplaces.

There’s not much you can’t find on Craigslist these days, but the website’s founder, Craig Newmark, couldn’t find a house he wanted on it.

Instead, he looked to a luxury real estate firm for a listing in Greenwich Village: a three-bedroom co-op that Newmark and his wife purchased for $6 million that was listed for $18 million just last year.

This is no standard co-op, either, and it’s great for a eclectic collector. The former resident, the late Robert Pirie, was an avid book collector, among his other pursuits.

[Tweet “Craigslist founder scores big on Greenwich Village co-op”]

As stated above, Mr. Newmark did not find this home on Craigslist, with Mary A. Vetri of Brown Harris Stevens serving as listing agent. Vetri did not responded to requests for comment.

The carriage-house-turned-library.

The carriage-house-turned-library.

The three-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom co-op sold for $5.9 million. Although the total square footage for the Newmark’s residence has not been shared, the total for the townhome is just over 6,000 square feet.

The library was transformed out of the carriage. Two-story ceilings and intricate woodwork frame the room. There is a temperature controlled wine room and wood-burning fire places. Stained glass windows allow sunlight to dance in the powder room, eat-in kitchen, and wet room.

There is also access to an outdoor solarium, as well as the backyard.

Hans Hofmann, a famous abstract expressionist painter, housed his art school in the co-op in the 1930s. It was in the walls at 52 West 9th St. where Jackson Pollack’s future wife, renown abstract expressionist Lee Krasner, would introduce Hofmann to art critic Clement Greenberg.

For the next 20 years, the critic covered Hofmann’s work, which helped catapult both to fame.

Email Britt Chester

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×