177A Bleecker Street
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GREENWICH VILLAGE – NEW YORK
On the corner of Bleecker Street and Fenno Place stood a three-storey townhouse. Believed to have been built in the late 19th century, it also rather curiously contained an odd architectural mix from the art deco, regency and neoclassical periods. Dominating the structure was a large ornate window in the zinc-panelled slopping roof. The size of the window had led to speculation that the original owner had been an artist who’d had it designed specifically for his studio on the third storey. Not a wholly unreasonable assumption given that Greenwich Village had become at that time the bohemian heart of New York.
But for others the circular window left them feeling uncomfortable, as it felt like a malevolent eye was watching them, tracking their every move as they made their way down the street. This reaction however may have more to do with the rumours surrounding the site where the Victorian brownstone now stood, rather than the window itself. For it was said to have had a dark past that included: where pagan sacrifices were performed, being used as a pauper’s graveyard, then cursed by a shaman, before becoming the headquarters for a satanic cult.
It was these very extraordinarily supernatural, if somewhat macabre events that made it the perfect location to build this particular house, where ley lines ran beneath its very foundations, making it a unique focal point for all manner of mystical energies
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Upon crossing the threshold it becomes immediately clear that all is not as it would appear. For here, the laws of physics had been turned on their head. Time, space, size, and even shape have no meaning.
*
Steps led down from the entrance into the first floor’s massive circular foyer where a magnificent staircase dominated the centre of the room. The foyer was softly lit leaving the room largely in shadow, but shedding enough light to reveal a rich colour pallet of browns and greens that covered the walls and the sturdy columns that encircled the whole room. Into the curved walls were a series of specifically built alcoves containing cabinets, pictures and plush sofas. The beautifully tiled floor with its intricate patterns kept with the colour scheme of the rest of the room, but added a third in the form of a burnished orange which gave the room a warm glow.
*
Going up the sweeping staircase led to a mezzanine landing, where a distortion in time and space had allowed the creation of a series of labyrinthine corridors. Along each of these corridors were an infinite number of doors, both literal and figurative, that led to endless chambers linked to an unimaginable number of dimensions.
*
The first floor contained the accommodation areas. It was split into two wings. One was for the use of the current tenant and his staff, while the other was at the disposal of any guests that came to stay.
*
The second mezzanine landing contained another remarkable corridor. But unlike those found on the first landing, this one resembled the ground floor foyer. Beautifully carved alcoves that resembled works of art lined the endless hallway. Housed within each alcove were bookcases, figurines and chairs.
Called the Rotunda Corridor, its purpose was to lead you to a raised anteroom that possessed three glass doors known as the Rotunda of Gateways. These didn’t send you to different dimensions. Their purpose was closer to home. The glass doors were portals from which you could enter various locations here on Earth. With the twist of a dial positioned on the frame surrounding the portals it was possible to access locations such as: snowy mountaintops, rainforests, deserts, and even the ocean.
*
The Sanctum Sanctorum took up the whole of the top floor.
Three quarters of which was dedicated to the Chamber of Relics. Behind towering glass and wooden display cases were all kinds of mystical artefacts: lamps, quarterstaves, wands, blades and daggers. There was also one cabinet that was conspicuously empty…
The remaining quarter was taken up by the Room of Reflection that was continually bathed in light from the enormous window known as the Window of Worlds. Artefacts were displayed here too. On one side of the window was an axe and shield. While on the opposite side was a curious looking suit of armour. The Room of Reflection was primarily a meditation chamber, but it also contained an extensive library of mystical and occult texts. Off to the side in its own little anteroom was what looked like nothing more than a crystal ball, but the Orb of Agamotto was so much more.
**
This then was the New York Sanctum, a protective shield that masqueraded as a modest Victorian townhouse, where the notions of size were turned up-side-down, while rooms could be fixed in place or could choose to move at whim.
177A Bleecker Street is the residence of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Stephen Strange…
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