Cover The parlour floor of Harper House, hung with the David Wiseman wallpaper, its plasterwork ceiling and marble mantel intact, opening onto the entrance hall
The parlour floor of Harper House, hung with the David Wiseman wallpaper, its plasterwork ceiling and marble mantel intact, opening onto the entrance hall
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Behind the gates of Manhattan’s only private park, Harper House, a 19th-century townhouse tied to Mayor James Harper and Bob Dylan’s ‘Highway 61 Revisited,’ has been carefully restored, not reinvented, by Span Architecture over seven years
Gramercy Park is the only private park left in New York City, ringed by townhouses whose owners hold keys to its gate. Harper House, built in 1844 in the Greek Revival style, is the last of those houses still standing as a private home directly on the park. It takes its name from Mayor James Harper, whose term in office once lent the block its civic weight. “This home is located in Manhattan, New York, next to the historically significant Gramercy Park,” said Karen Marie Stonely, a founding principal of Span Architecture. “Several homes along the park, including Harper House, remain intact and show a time in New York’s built fabric history from the 1850s.”
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Above A close view of the ironwork bracket and fretwork above the entrance, its Greek key and scroll motifs catching the late-day light
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The house carries other layers. Its dining room was designed in 1879 by Stanford White as what Stonely calls the “Party Room.” Bob Dylan spent time there too: he sat on the building’s stoop for the cover of his 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited, and traces of house parties he held on the parlour floor remain part of the record SPAN worked to preserve.
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Above A parlour-floor sitting room hung with the David Wiseman wallpaper depicting monkeys and foliage, its ornate plasterwork and marble fireplace intact
A parlour-floor sitting room hung with the David Wiseman wallpaper depicting monkeys and foliage, its ornate plasterwork and marble fireplace intact
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Above The same wallpapered room, seen through to a staircase with detailed millwork and a checkerboard marble floor
Above A round dining table set beneath tall windows, framed by the carved mantel and Wiseman wallpaper
The same wallpapered room, seen through to a staircase with detailed millwork and a checkerboard marble floor
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Stephen and Allison Sullens, who bought the house as longtime clients of Span, are collectors involved in Americana music preservation and historic preservation, according to Stonely. She described what they wanted from the house simply: “a living homage to music, history, and philanthropy.” Partway through construction, they founded the Harper House Music Foundation, which supports musicians and the preservation of musical legacies.
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A dark, richly upholstered sitting area beneath a framed photograph, with a sheepskin throw and layered textile cushions
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Peter Pelsinski, Span’s other founding principal, said the firm’s job was to hold two things in tension. “We were uniquely positioned to strike a balance between the historic preservation components and the forward-facing design elements that embrace modern family life,” he said. The renovation ran from 2017 to 2024, through the pandemic, and Stonely said the house was never gutted. “The fact that the project was not gutted and that we restored and worked with many of the historical elements made for a more surgical, time-consuming process—but worthwhile endeavour,” she said. The original staircase stayed in place, running the full height of the house. Stonely said it ties the building together “from front to back and top to bottom, visually and physically.”
Above The double-height atrium linking the garden-level kitchen to the dining room above, framed by the tall steel-and-glass window facing the rear garden
Above The kitchen, relocated to the garden level, with blue cabinetry, patterned tile, and a stone-topped island
The double-height atrium linking the garden-level kitchen to the dining room above, framed by the tall steel-and-glass window facing the rear garden
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Above A family room with a curved sectional sofa facing a tall steel-framed door onto the ivy-covered rear garden
Above The restored dining room, with its dark panelling, coffered ceiling, and marble fireplace, original to Stanford White’s 1879 design, has a beaded glass curtain hanging at the window beyond.
A family room with a curved sectional sofa facing a tall steel-framed door onto the ivy-covered rear garden
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The house is about 10,000 square feet over six stories. Rather than add space, Span moved it around. The kitchen, once tucked away as a service room, was relocated to the garden level and rebuilt, in Stonely’s words, as “a living space rather than a service space,” opening onto a rear garden. A new atrium links that floor to the dining room above through a double-height window facing the garden. Pelsinski said view corridors were opened from front to back and skylights added to bring light deeper into the house. The attic became what Stonely called “a light-flooded office and family room.”
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Above Dark wood paneling frames a black lacquered cabinet, a pair of sconces, and glass decanters—a detail consistent with the historic dining room’s restored woodwork
Above A carved wooden archway opens onto a dining area, with a landscape painting and dried branches set against the balustrade beyond
Dark wood paneling frames a black lacquered cabinet, a pair of sconces, and glass decanters—a detail consistent with the historic dining room’s restored woodwork
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Above A beaded glass curtain filters light over a small bar cart stocked with spirits and barware
Above A hand-painted screen depicting trees and cranes, glimpsed beside an open doorway leading toward a sunlit room
A beaded glass curtain filters light over a small bar cart stocked with spirits and barware
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Specialists handled the restoration work. Carlton House Restoration returned White’s dining room to its Cuban mahogany panelling and oak ceilings, which Stonely said had been altered over the years; the firm’s work, she said, helped preserve “the historic aesthetic of the interior while allowing the broader renovation to balance old and new elements.” Ball & Ball Inc restored the wrought iron gas lamps tied to Harper’s mayoral tenure.
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A ping-pong table set beneath a run of leaded-glass doors, with a bar nook and stairs to one side
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The roof was the piece Stonely returned to most. “We worked hand in hand with the landscape firm RKLA,” she said. “The garden we created together at this level is wild and lush in contrast to the manicured gardens in the park.” She pointed, too, to a smaller detail: wild grasses planted around a skylight above the five-story stair atrium, which throw moving shadows into the interior below.
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Above A bedroom in muted, tonal browns, with a cane bed frame and a cluster of glass pendant lights overhead
Above A marble-clad bathtub set beneath a tall window, with a patterned wingback chair positioned alongside
A bedroom in muted, tonal browns, with a cane bed frame and a cluster of glass pendant lights overhead
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Colour followed light. “In the deeper portions of the home, away from natural light, we gravitated toward lighter tones and reflective surfaces,” Stonely said. “The perimeter rooms are highly saturated in deep, dark hues, and there is an abundance of greens and earth tones complementing the natural colours of the park outside,” Pelsinski said. Materials throughout were chosen to be locally sourced where possible.
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Another view of the rooftop terrace, with its lounge chairs and plantings set against the Manhattan skyline
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Some pieces were made for the house. David Wiseman Studio designed a chandelier around the family’s favourite flora and fauna. On the parlour floor, Wiseman also produced a wallpaper of monkeys lounging in a forest—a pattern Stonely said looks, at first glance, like a historic nature scene “until further inspection.” A rooftop mural by Robbie Simon spans old and new, and the art collection includes work by Thomas Struth, Diebenkorn and Neal Casal alongside Dylan memorabilia.
Pelsinski described the atmosphere the team aimed for as neither showy nor finished: “Modern but warm, absolutely timeless, and a place that was not so overly designed so that the newest stewards, our clients, would have room to make their own living marks on the home.”
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Jennifer Choo is Regional Managing Editor of Tatler Homes, covering architecture, interior design, and art across Asia. Based in Malaysia, she oversees regional content on luxury residential design and contemporary art collections. Legally trained but choosing to pursue her passion for design, she previously led notable design publications and worked as an interior stylist and art consultant for property developers, design firms, and private clients.
