Take a look inside Taylor Swift’s old Cornelia Street apartment

No, that wasn’t a joke and yes, the Swifties are taking this breakup very, very personally.

Last weekend, Entertainment Tonight announced the supposed breakup of miss Taylor Swift and her longtime lover, Joe Alwyn, and die hard fans have got the 2019 track ‘Cornelia Street’ on repeat. In fact, Chart Data reported that the song got its most daily streams since its initial release in the immediate aftermath of the sad, sad news.

The ninth song on the album Lover, ‘Cornelia Street’ focuses on the beginning of a relationship that takes shape at a place on New York City’s Cornelia Street. Taylor rented a townhouse there in 2016 and the song is thought to be about Joe Alwyn, who she began dating around that time. In the song, Taylor sings that she wouldn’t be able to “walk down Cornelia Street again” if they ever broke up. Hence the bouquets and swarms of mourning fans.

Cornelia Street is in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, a relatively quiet street near Washington Square Park, at least it was until Swift moved into number 23 during the summer of 2016. Owned at the time by former Soho House executive David Aldea, he told Vulture that he “didn’t know who Taylor Swift was” when she first asked to rent his townhouse.

Built in 1910, the 5,500 square-foot home comprises four bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, double-height living space, an indoor pool and a number of outdoor private terraces.

The relatively unassuming frontage hides three floors and a basement. Then-owner David Aldea said that Swift’s team liked the idea of a garage they could drive into where the musician could come and go as she pleased, although he confessed that it didn’t take long for fans to figure out where she was staying.

 

The basement has a huge double-height lounge with a grand Murano glass Chandelier and a private garden. On the same floor is an indoor pool, also with a double-height ceiling and Chandelier, as well as a gym area.

At ground level is the garage and then the first floor holds the kitchen, dining room, living room and one bedroom. Swift actually posted a video of herself writing the song “King of my Heart” in the living room for her album reputation and even mentions the rooftop in the song, singing “With all these nights we’re spending / Up on the roof with a schoolgirl crush / Drinking beer out of plastic cups”. The song is also thought to be about Joe Alwyn.

Swift supposedly rented the entire house and all its contents for summer 2016 while her own Tribeca apartment was being renovated.

On the top floor, the master bedroom has its own small terrace and a free-standing bath. There’s also a rooftop terrace with a view over the city. The house since sold in early 2019 for $11.5 million.

All photographs: Chris Riccio, The Corcoran Group

This article was originally published in September 2022.