Some people saw the January 2016 blizzard as a lot of shovelling. Patrick M. Horton and his Brooklyn roommates saw a property listing. Their snow shelter came with a little entrance, two evergreen plants and enough interior styling to make the joke immediately recognisable: New York accommodation had found another unusual address.
The listing was real; a paid stay is another question
The group advertised the structure on Airbnb with an asking price of $200. Contemporary coverage preserved the listing and the photographs, before reporting that Airbnb removed it because it did not meet occupancy standards. That is the documented story; the price should not be turned into a claim that someone paid it or spent the night there. See the 2016 report and listing images.
The fun is in the presentation. There is a front garden, a styled sleeping area and little lights, all the ingredients of a cosy room squeezed into a mound of snow. The photograph taken from inside even supplies the classic property-tour view towards the entrance.
Why this was described as a quinzhee
Although the story travelled under the word “igloo,” the structure was described as a quinzhee: a shelter hollowed from a mound of snow. The familiar block-built snow house uses a different construction method. Those words help distinguish what is actually pictured without taking the smile out of the story.
Soft bedding and warm-looking photographs do not establish ventilation, structural stability or suitability for overnight occupation. This was a brief snow-day project and an accommodation joke, rather than a tested lodging recommendation. It is also long gone; the archive cannot be used to plan a present-day stay.
A snapshot of how a city responds to snow
Seen from the street, the shelter sits among everyday fences, windows and bare trees. That ordinary setting is what makes it memorable. It is a temporary object made from weather that had disrupted the whole neighbourhood, with a listing written in the language of everyday city life.
The same storm inspired a much louder response in Casey Neistat’s New York snowboarding film. For a wider look at snow structures and their very different settings, browse the igloo collection. The Brooklyn version earns its place for sheer commitment to the joke.
A property advertisement became the joke
The pillows, lighting and carefully framed entrance make the shelter resemble a miniature accommodation listing. Those details matter because the humour depends on using familiar property language for a structure that obviously belongs to a temporary snowstorm. The asking price was part of that presentation, not evidence of a completed rental.
The removal of the listing gives the joke its ending. The photographs briefly made a snow mound look like another unusual New York rental, but the platform did not accept it as suitable accommodation. That difference matters more than the asking price: an advertisement can exist without a completed booking or an overnight guest. Read the styled entrance, pillows and lights as parts of the presentation. Together they explain why the story travelled, while the reported response prevents a playful blizzard project from being mistaken for an operating place to stay.
The distinction between a block-built igloo and a hollowed snow mound is also useful, but it should not turn the anecdote into a construction manual. The photographs document the exterior and a styled interior, not a complete assessment of stability, ventilation or occupancy. As an archive story, the project captures how a major snowfall briefly turned a Brooklyn yard into a playful commentary on city housing.
Sources, photography and further reading
Original feature and image attributions:
- Bored Panda
- These Are 13 Of The Coolest Igloos From Around The World
- Glass Igloos with Magnificent Northern Lights Views in Finland
- So There’s An Igloo Village In The Mountains Of Europe. And It’s So Much Better Than You Think
- This Is Either Awesome Or A 15 Foot Death Trap. Either Way, I Want It In My Backyard.
- Patrick M. Horton / original listing photos
- Casey Neistat’s New York snowboarding film
- igloo collection
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