9916 First Avenue – The Bail Barn

9916 First Avenue – The Bail Barn

Home Description

This big red barn with the tower that looks like a silo was built in 1952 and is on the corner of First Avenue and 100th Street. It has a unique exterior design, historical ties to the Blair family of the famous Blair House, the President’s guest house in Washington, D.C., a secret passageway from the bunk bedroom to the Shell Bedroom, a secret extra hideaway under the eaves in the Ocean Bedroom closet, as well as many nooks and special places to read  – the downstairs tower, the upstairs tower, the famous blue sofas, the cabana, under the arbor.

Life of the House

The family writes: ”Welcome to the Bail Barn! As Mark Twain so aptly noted, “To us, our house was not insentient matter – it had a heart, and a soul, and eyes to see us with.” It became ours in the fall of 1994 when my three children ran up the steps of the tower and declared it so.”

Some of their favorite memories include:

~ Doing puzzles on the huge dining room table

~ Playing our favorite card game with Granny, Grandpa Joe, and Aunt Maureen

~ Sitting on the blue sofas for hours on end trying to decide where to go eat dinner

~ Hanging out back on the patio, snacking and waiting everyone’s turn for the outside shower

~ Lazy breakfasts in the kitchen that somehow just turn into lunch

~ Late night discussions and games in the tower

~ Racing all over the house at night playing Murder in the Dark

~ Having everyone who ever stayed with us write in our special blue book, predominantly in English, but also in French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Mandarin, Malay, Japanese, Hindi, Greek, Egyptian

Photos of the House