A landmark townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a rare example of the opulent Gilded Age, has been sold for a staggering $42million.
The mansion, located on a tree-lined block of Fifth Avenue, was designed by famed architect Stanford White and built for the banker and railroad tycoon Henry H. Cook.
Though it was sold to an undisclosed buyer for $7million less than the asking price, the new owner bought a mansion full of history – much of the property has remained unchanged since its construction more than a century ago.
Mr White’s firm, McKim, Mead & White, was behind the redesign of the White House, the former Pennsylvania Station (which was in turn knocked down to make way for Madison Square Garden), and the Boston Public Library.
The mansion –located at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue – was once part of Millionaire’s Row, where the genteel aristocracy retreated after work each night. At his death, the sprawling Manhattan property was passed onto his family.
It was one of the last buildings Mr White built, as he was sensationally shot dead by the husband of actress Evelyn Nesbit. The architect, a known womanizer and 31 years her elder, had seduced her and led her into an affair.
According to the listing, the mansion comes with all of its turn-of-the-details in-tact, including a full servant’s quarters in the basement, cellar, living room, dining room, galleries, several bedroom suites, a library, and a massive roof overlooking Central Park.
The mansion is unusual in the sense that it has many features original to its construction, including the crown moulding, fireplaces, and even lead-glass windows. The floor plans remain true to the 1907 construction.
