On the Market: Gated Alley Trinity in Queen Village
This century-old pure trinity on an intimate lane got reshuffled when it was renovated recently. (Unless, that is, the renovators found it in this mixed-up state.)
The gated entrance to this alley trinity in Queen Village is unusually open thanks to its location next to the small backyard of the house to its south. Once inside, the rear wall of that house’s neighbors creates a sense of intimacy that extends to the inside of 623-C S. American St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 | Images via Patterson-Schwartz Realtors
The four-story — that is, three stories plus basement — version of the Philadelphia trinity house has an established order of rooms from bottom to top.
This gated Queen Village trinity house for sale, then, is a heretic, for the people who renovated it have disrupted the established order. That is, if it hadn’t already been disrupted when they got their hands on this classic.
In a typical pure trinity, the kitchen is in the basement, the living room is on the main floor, and each of the two upper floors contains a bedroom, with the bathroom sharing the second floor with the smaller bedroom.
In this house, we start with this room at the bottom:
Basement bedroom (left), closet and laundry closet (right)
Yes, this house has two bedrooms of roughly equal size. One is in the basement, the other on the top floor. One of the basement bedroom’s closets contains the laundry.
So where’s the kitchen? It’s on the second floor, above rather than below the living room.
Living room (left) and kitchen (right)
The fireplace in the living room appears to be non-functioning but is original to the house. The kitchen has an island with room enough for both bar seating and a small dining table in addition to all-new Shaker-style cabinetry, quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances. (The dishwasher is located in the island.)
Bathroom
The bathroom was nicely redone with subway tile wainscoting as well as a subway-tile surround for its tub and shower. That combo has a very stylish glass barn door.
Top-floor bedroom
The top-floor bedroom has a skylight in its ceiling, carpet on its floor and a ceiling fan to help keep things cool more efficiently. Both bedrooms have custom closet organizers.
The alley this trinity sits on features a wrought-iron gate, some decorative art and attractive planter boxes. It’s located between South and Bainbridge streets off American Street, which puts it just a stone’s throw from both Head House Square and Bainbridge Green. And that, in turn, means that great dining options abound around you for those times when you don’t feel like cooking in.
You’re also close to the South Street pedestrian bridge that takes you over I-95 to the Delaware riverfront and Penn’s Landing when you need some outdoor space to enjoy.
Put all these things together with its modest asking price and they make this gated Queen Village trinity house for sale an outstanding value in a highly sought-after neighborhood. If you’re looking for a nice starter home, why not start here? I’m sure you will get used to its unorthodox room order, which will make raiding the fridge at night from your bedroom far easier.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 2
BATHS: 1
SQUARE FEET: 585
SALE PRICE: $290,000
OTHER STUFF: This house’s sale price has been reduced twice, most recently by $9,900 on Aug. 31st.
623-C S. American St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 [Megan Giordano Webber | The Sell Team | Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate]
