House of the Week: A Fishtown rowhouse with a Barnes connection for $325,000
The two-bedroom house was a childhood home to Albert Barnes.
Maybe a half dozen years ago, social worker Kate Geitner would frequently leave her Fishtown rowhouse and head to the Ben Franklin Parkway to visit the Barnes Museum.
Geitner, who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, had come east from Denver because she missed “living in an urban center with a vibrant Jewish community.”
“Fishtown exemplified everything I wanted,” she said. “You could walk anywhere and see neighbors. People were friendly.”
She bought her Fishtown house in 2021 and had been living there for some time when she discovered an old real estate listing stating that Albert Barnes, the world-renowned scientist and art collector, had lived there as a child.
She contacted the Barnes Foundation and confirmed that he had indeed lived in her house, from his birth in 1872 through elementary school. She grew to love the museum’s eclectic and eccentric collection.
But now Geitner is moving to Point Breeze to be closer to her synagogue.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom Fishtown home has an open-concept first floor, with oversized windows and hardwood floors.
The kitchen has quartz countertops, marble slate flooring, stainless steel appliances, and a swing-up wooden countertop. There is a private patio.
The bedrooms are upstairs and the bathroom has a tub-shower combination.
The basement has the laundry room and abundant storage space.
The house is in a walkable location near Frankford Avenue’s restaurants and shops, with easy access to I-95 and public transit.
It is listed by Alison Simon of KW Empower for $325,000.