Inside Truman Capote's Former Brooklyn Home

This is the Brooklyn, New York home where author Truman Capote lived when he wrote his critically acclaimed books Breakfast At Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood.

The eccentric author (pictured above) only rented the basement flat in this 3-story home, but the entire house has become known as the Truman Capote house.

“I live in Brooklyn. By choice.” Capote famously said of his time at 70 Willow Street. He rented the garden apartment from 1955 to 1965.

The Greek Revival townhouse had a bright yellow exterior when Truman lived there.

The dwelling was built in 1839 and has over 9,000 interior square feet.

Sometime in the last decade, the yellow paint was stripped from the exterior to reveal the original red brick. Black shutters were also added.

The Brooklyn Heights home sold a few years ago for $12 million. That is reportedly the highest price anyone has paid for a single-family home in the borough’s history, possibly because of its connection to the famous author.

Capote, who never actually held title to the home, and was just the basement tenant for a time, nonetheless lived there like he owned the place. Broadway producer Oliver Smith was the true owner during Capote’s tenure. But the home became legendary for the lavish, high-society parties Capote would throw in the house during Smith’s absences.

With 11 bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms, parking for four cars and a replica of the stairwell mural from the Kennedy White House, this is an opulent home by any standard.

These interior photos are from the listing when the house was last on the market.

You can almost picture the flamboyant Capote as the center of attention in these grand rooms surrounded with New York’s buzzing literati crowd of the ’50s and ’60s.

A unique feature of the home is the southern-style porch on the backside of the house.

It was, and still is, covered by a pergola of curved vines and branches which provide shade from the summer sun.

Capote was said to have fallen in love with the house when he first stepped out on the back porch, perhaps because it sparked memories of his boyhood days growing up in the deep south.