A carriage house once owned by composer Cole Porter is back on the market in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighborhood, listed for $3.9 million.
The two-bedroom home sits at 4 Sniffen Court, a gated, cobblestone cul-de-sac tucked off the street grid in Murray Hill. The property first listed in May for $4 million before being pulled over the summer. It has now returned with a $100,000 price cut, according to the listing.
Porter, known for Broadway works including “Anything Goes” and “Kiss Me, Kate,” once owned two neighboring carriage houses on Sniffen Court, according to listing broker Dan Fishman of Corcoran.
“He owned both No. 2 and No. 4; No. 2 is where he lived with his family, and No. 4 is where he had parties,” Fishman told the New York Post.
Fishman said Porter also had a lover who lived at No. 4, adding another layer to the home’s history.
The house has stayed in the same family for roughly six decades, passing from father to son. The current owners, who live in California, had used it as a Manhattan pied-à-terre but visited less as they got older. They have since removed their furniture, leaving the home vacant.
The 2,200-square-foot house spans two floors with two bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms and a living space with ceilings nearing 20 feet. It also has hardwood floors, a fireplace and a private roof deck added by the family over the years. Despite those updates, Fishman said a new owner will likely need to undertake significant work.
“The buyer will need a gut renovation,” Fishman said.
Fishman said the home’s appeal lies less in any single feature than in its history and setting.
“It’s one of the fun parts of the job, to try and listen to the walls that could talk,” he said.
Sniffen Court dates to the Civil War era, when its buildings served as horse stables before later being converted into private homes. It is one of several hidden streets scattered through New York City that offer a quieter, small-scale feel within dense Manhattan blocks.
The enclave has drawn past residents including Lenny Kravitz, Claudia Schiffer and Graham Norton, and its cobblestones appeared on the cover of The Doors’ 1967 album “Strange Days.”
Fishman said sales in Sniffen Court are rare. Aside from Norton’s former carriage house, which sold last year, he said another comparable property in the enclave had not changed hands in about a decade. Norton’s home listed for $5.59 million in May 2025 after a major renovation and went into contract in fewer than 50 days.
Fishman and Natassia Espina of Corcoran hold the listing for 4 Sniffen Court.
