As every New Yorker who spots a celebrity at Duane Reade knows, thousands of art and pop culture luminaries have called the city home. From Whitman to Warhol, this is a quick guide to the places notable New Yorkers have lived and worked.

Often overlooked, doors are perhaps the most important feature of a building. They are the means by which we escape the often crowded and chaotic streets of the city. Every building has one (well, maybe except for the Raymond Street Jail which was accidentally constructed in 1836 sans front door), but some outfit this largely utilitarian feature with more panache than others. This collection highlights some the city's loveliest historic doorways, from the simple but classic columns of early 19th century Federal rowhouses to the gloriously geometric brickwork of Art Deco apartment houses, and everything in-between.

155- 159 Willow Street, ca. 1975. The series of three brick Federal style homes at 155-159 Willow Street are considered some of the best examples of the Federal style in the neighborhood. They likely date to the 1820s. The two at left (nos. 155 and 157) retain their pitched roofs dormers, while no. 159 has had a full third story added (many surviving Federals have been altered in this way). The front of these three buildings to do sit completely parallel to Willow Street as they predate the creation of that road as it exists today. No. 155 was owned by Arthur Miller in the 1950s and he wrote 'The Crucible' while living there.

155 Willow Street, 1971. We discovered that Arthur Miller owned this building and lived there while writing “The Crucible” and an early version of “A View from the Bridge.” He only gave up living there when he left his wife for Marilyn Monroe. Miller was born in Manhattan and lived as a boy in Harlem in a spacious apartment overlooking Central Park. His father, Isidore, a Jewish émigré from Poland, owned a clothing business that allowed the family a certain level of luxury. The stock market crash of 1929 was financially devastating to the family and they moved to a smaller, more affordable residence in Brooklyn. After a short stint at 1277 Ocean Parkway, the Millers bought a six-room house on East Third Street and Avenue M in the Parkville section of Brooklyn for $5,000. Arthur Miller loved Brooklyn all of his life. After marrying his college sweetheart, Mary Slattery, the couple settled there, moving to different places and finally purchasing the federal townhouse (pictured in our Historic Image Archive) at 155 Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights. The pair of three-story row houses at 155-157 Willow Street is typical of many brick houses built in the Federal period, which lasted from the Revolutionary War through the 1830’s. Modesty, simplicity and restraint were the hallmarks of the architectural style, with even doorway and window trim kept to a minimum. Charles Lockwood, of “Bricks and Brownstone” fame, cites these two Willow Street houses (along with a third at Number 159) as “some of the best preserved examples of the period. Specifically, numbers 155 and 157 retain their original pitched roofs and dormers reflecting the period’s emphasis on classical unity.” Built in the 1820’s, 155 Willow Street is among the oldest dwellings in the Heights. A plaque on 157 Willow Street says that it hid an underground storage space that was used to hide runaway slaves as they escaped northward to Canada. Miller left 155 Willow Street when he traveled to Nevada to obtain a divorce from his wife in order to marry Marilyn Monroe.