Novelist Sinclair Lewis often mocked American social mores and a growing wave of materialism he witnessed in the 1920s. However, when it came time for Lewis to raise a family, he did what many Americans of his day and since have done, and moved to the suburbs.
Now the 4,210-square-foot suburban home, where he lived from 1934 to 1937, is on the market for $3,365,000.
The Bronxville, NY, estate, only 15 miles from New York City, boasts five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and two half-baths. The home sits on nearly three-quarters of an acre, a large lot for the area where most houses are on a quarter acre, according to listing agent Kathleen Collins.
"When I'm in the house, I imagine the parties that took place when he was there," says Collins. "It's great entertaining space." Indeed, the likes of H.G. Wells and Noel Coward were guests at the Lewis home.
And it makes sense that Lewis, the first American to win a Nobel Prize for literature, had a library added to the home, which was built in 1924 by architect Charles Lewis Bowman.
"There's so many gorgeous details in the house," Collins says, referring to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, wide-plank oak floors, and barrel ceiling in the library. A wood-paneled dining room and the living room feature oversize windows flanked by original leaded glass panels. First-floor rooms open to terraces and formal gardens. For entertaining or just relaxing, there's an outdoor bar, heated pool, and cabana.
The home maintains its '20s-era charm but has been updated with modern amenities such as central air conditioning and the bathrooms have been completely redone, Collins says.
Bronxville, a small city of only a square mile in area, has been recognized for its old-time charm. In the '20s, a large number of artists and journalists flocked to the town noted for its Tudor-style homes, several of which Bowman designed. Its school system is highly rated, Collins notes.
In fact, Lewis reportedly moved there for the schools for his son. A new buyer will get to enjoy the school system for their children -- and perhaps stimulate the development of the next great American novelist.