How Much Would You Pay To Rent/Save Poe's Cottage?

Photo by Tom Giebel

Edgar Allan Poe came to Manhattan in April of 1844 hoping to make a name for himself in the literary world, and two years later found himself moving to a cottage in the Bronx with his wife Virginia who was suffering from tuberculosis (she died there a year later). Poe eventually moved to Richmond, Virginia, but his time in New York is still making headlines; recently a letter was discovered in which he apologizes for his drunken behavior while in town, and now it's 163 years later and the Bronx County Historical Society is trying to save his old home.

According to the Daily News, they need $2MM to help with operating expenses; the director of the cottage told them, "We need to do this. There are so many things we are not able to do because of a small budget." They've raised just $20K so far, and are having a fundraiser on December 10th at the National Arts Club in Manhattan to raise more (tickets will be $100 each).

The cottage—located at East Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse—costs around $300K to run annually, with the city paying 40% of that. It's where Poe penned The Cask of Amontillado and Annabel Lee, which is surely worth something—so maybe they can rent it out to a Poe fan. How much does a single-family home (renovated, with a porch and yard!) go for in that area?

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on November 3, 2010 2:44 PM

Comments [rss]

Gertah

What a sweet cottage, and a terrific cause. I hope that it gets the right kind of publicity, reaching the right people. What a shame that they are entrusting such an important fundraiser to the incompetent, uncaring jerks at the "National Arts Club".

potsmoker

sure it costs about 300K to "run" a cottage...

its actually over 700k and the city pays 40%

117k for executive officer's salaries

23k for general expenses

212K for "OTHER" salaries and wages

20k for advertising expenses

9k for postage

10k for travel expenses

19k for office expenses...

theres more it adds up,

8300 for TELEPHONE EXPENSES!!!

$7260 under OTHER EXPENSES

plus $8403 under ALL OTHER EXPENSES...

nothing you cant look up yourself!

Bakey

Lots of 'others' here. Gotta love the big boys with fancy degrees lining their pockets.

fuboy

I would totally rent that place, sweet and sour jesus, I want to rent that house.

Bakey

How can it cost $300k annually to run?? What's the breakdown? How much of that goes back into the pocket of the director?

pollyannacowgirl

Just what I was thinking! I'd do everything - maintenance, cleaning, tours, etc. myself for a third of that!

Detex

yeah, that sounds WAY too high. It is a small house.

GalBklyn

Wow - my grandparents lived around the corner from Poe's Cottage in the 70's and early 80's. As kids, my brothers, cousins and I would wander (what were the adults thinking!!) around the dusty bottle filled two rooms in a small park among tall buildings. Glad to see an organized effort to save the history.