When a house is not a home: The fake townhouses that are just a front for hidden portals into an underground world

• It is one of a secret network of fake houses across the world which perform an more unexpected function
• Behind 58 Joralemon Street, in the heart of Brooklyn, is actually a secret Subway exit and ventilation point
• The white walls of 23 and 24 Leinster Terrace in Bayswater, London, hide an entrance to London’s Tube network
• At 145 Rue la Fayette in the 10th arrondissement of Paris there’s just a ventilation chimney for the metro
• Also in Paris, on Rue du Temple is a facade that looks like a secret passageway but is in fact an artist’s trompe l’oeil

It’s in an excellent location, within reach of local schools, has very low maintenance costs and the transport links are to die for.

But nevertheless, even the most cunning of estate agents would have trouble selling this Greek Revival brownstone townhouse… because it’s not a house at all. In fact, it’s just a front – literally.

Behind the rustic red-brick facade of 58 Joralemon Street, in the heart of Brooklyn, lies a gaping void of nothing whatsoever. 

It’s a front! Even the most cunning of estate agents would have trouble selling this Greek Revival brownstone townhouse… because it’s not a house at all

Through the keyhole: Behind the rustic red-brick facade of 58 Joralemon Street, in the heart of Brooklyn, lies a gaping void of nothing whatsoever

Air vent: It is actually a secret subway exit and ventilation point disguised as a terraced family home which towers above the New York City subway tracks

Historic: But in 1908, as the first underwater subway tunnel from Manhattan to Brooklyn was dug, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York bought the house, knocked it down and propped up its front with steel girders

It is actually a secret Subway exit and ventilation point disguised as a terraced family home which towers above the New York City subway tracks for lines 4 and 5.

It is one of a secret network of fake houses across the world which perform a far more unexpected function.

In 58 Joralemon Street‘s case, it was once a private residence built in 1847, according to the Messy Nessy Chic blog.

But in 1908, as the first underwater subway tunnel from Manhattan to Brooklyn was dug, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York bought the house, knocked it down and propped up its front with steel girders.

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