February House facts for kids
The February House was a special place where artists and writers lived together in Brooklyn Heights, New York City. It was like a creative home for them from 1940 to 1941.
A Home for Artists
In late 1940, a man named George Davis rented a large house at 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn. George was an editor for a magazine called Harper's Bazaar. He wanted to create a place where creative people could live and work together. He invited his friends to move in, hoping they would inspire each other.
Who Lived There?
Some of the main people who lived in the February House were famous artists and writers. These included W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britten, Paul Bowles, and Gypsy Rose Lee. The house itself was an old brownstone building that needed repairs. It had problems like leaky pipes and broken locks.
Many other famous people visited the house too. Guests included Salvador and Gala Dalí, Anaïs Nin, Klaus Mann, Jane Bowles, Richard Wright, and Pavel Pchelitchew. It was Anaïs Nin who gave the house its name, "February House." She noticed that many of the people living there had birthdays in February!
Creative Works Born Here
Living together in this creative space helped the artists produce new works.
- Carson McCullers started writing her book The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. She even found ideas for her characters by visiting a local bar.
- W.H. Auden published his book The Double Man.
- Jane Bowles began writing her novel Two Serious Ladies.
The House's End
By the end of 1941, most of the main residents had moved out of February House.
- W.H. Auden needed money, so he took a job at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
- Carson McCullers moved to Georgia to live with her mother.
- Gypsy Rose Lee went to Chicago for new opportunities.
- Benjamin Britten returned to England and later created his famous opera Peter Grimes.
George Davis stayed a bit longer, but he also left the house in 1945. Not long after he left, the February House was torn down. It was removed to make way for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, a major highway.
