Oliver Smith Residence / Truman Capote Residence
overview
Legendary theater designer Oliver Smith purchased this Brooklyn Heights residence in 1953 and lived here until his death.
From around 1955 to 1965, he rented the garden apartment to Truman Capote, who wrote his best-known works, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood during this time.
Jerome Robbins, John Kriza, Michael Kidd, Janet Reed, and Muriel Bentley in "Fancy Free" (1944), with sets designed by Oliver Smith. Photo by Maurice Seymour, courtesy of © Ronald Seymour. Source: Library of Congress, Music Division, American Ballet Theatre Collection.
Oliver Smith in an undated photo. Photographer unknown. Source: Broadway.com.
Oliver Smith, set design for "My Fair Lady," 1956. Source: Library of Congress.
Oliver Smith, set design for "West Side Story," 1957. Source: Library of Congress.
Truman Capote on the back porch of 70 Willow Street, 1959. Photograph from the cover of "Brooklyn: A Personal Memoir by Truman Capote with the Lost Photographs of David Attie."
Truman Capote in his apartment at 70 Willow Street, 1958. Photo by Slim Aarons.
70 Willow Street, Brooklyn Heights, 1936. Berenice Abbott. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York. 49.282.234
70 Willow Street, Brooklyn Heights, c. 1965. Photo by Edmond Vincent Gillon. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York. 2013.3.1.938
History
Oliver Smith (1918-1994), called “one of the most prolific and imaginative designers in the history of the American theater” by the New York Times was also a co-director of the American Ballet Theater. A 25-time Tony Award nominee, he created the original sets for such Broadway shows as My Fair Lady (1956), Auntie Mame (1956), Brigadoon (1957 revival), West Side Story (1957), Camelot (1960), and Hello Dolly! (1964) and such ballets as Rodeo (1942), Fancy Free (1944) and Fall River Legend (1948).
Smith purchased this Brooklyn Heights residence in 1953. He was associated with a prominent group of gay writers, artists, and intellectuals, and perhaps influenced by his time at February House (a noted gay commune that once stood at 7 Middagh Street, since demolished), he established his own home as a center of gay culture in Brooklyn. Smith’s studio was in the attic.
From around 1955 to 1965, he rented the garden apartment to Truman Capote (1924-1984). In 1959, Capote published an essay called “A House on the Heights” about his stay here, that opened with the lines “I live in Brooklyn. By choice.” During these years, he wrote his best-known works, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) and In Cold Blood (1966).
Entry by Jay Shockley, project director (March 2017).
NOTE: Names above in bold indicate LGBT people.
Building Information
- Architect or Builder: Unknown
- Year Built: 1839
Sources
Christopher D. Brazee, Gale Harris, and Jay Shockley, “Gay Pride Month 2013,” New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (June 2013).
Jack Anderson, “Oliver Smith, Set Designer, Dead at 75,” The New York Times, Jan. 25, 1994, B9.
Joshua Barone, “A Son’s Sleuthing, A Father’s Archive and a Lost Brooklyn,” The New York Times, July 22, 2016, C21.
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