One of NYC’s few remaining single-family homes, situated on what was once known as Manhattan’s mansion row, is back on the market with a $22.6 million price drop, but don’t get your hopes up–it still comes with a hefty price tag of $49.9 million. Thankfully, daydreaming is free…
The dazzling 25-foot-wide, 16,000-square-foot estate sits at 973 Fifth Avenue, directly across from Central Park, and is one of Fifth Avenue’s few surviving great residences–the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission notes that majority of the other town houses built during this time were unfortunately replaced by apartment buildings after falling victim to rising property values.
Designed by famed Gilded Age architect Stanford White and built in 1907, the limestone facade showcases Italy’s stunning Renaissance palazzo style. Eleven bedrooms and ten bathrooms make up the residence, which spans seven levels and features unrivaled privacy, natural light and open airiness, and breathtaking views of Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the NYC skyline.
A multi-year renovation has preserved the estate’s historic craftsmanship while seamlessly integrating modern infrastructure. The home features a newly modernized elevator, nine hand-carved wood-burning fireplaces, soaring 16-foot ceilings, original French stained-glass windows, painted wood-beamed ceilings, and a grand limestone staircase with its original wrought-iron railing.
Glamorous amenities include a rooftop terrace and landscaped garden, a climate-controlled wine cellar, a Venetian plaster Hammam steam room, a linen room, a silver and jewelry vault, and a rare private courtyard with a separate rear entrance. There’s even a dedicated guest and staff floor, complete with multiple bedrooms, a private kitchen, and an internal staircase.
Curbed writes that 973 Fifth was originally built for banker and railroad tycoon Henry H. Cook, who once owned the entire block from Fifth to Madison between 78th and 79th Streets. Cook originally lived in a bigger mansion on the property but “became tired of the large place,” according to late New York Times columnist, social historian, and architectural detective Christopher Gray. It was then Cook commissioned White to design the estate, which was one of the last buildings he designed before being shot and killed by his former lover’s husband. Sadly, neither Cook nor White outlived the building’s completion.
The house went to Cook’s daughter and was then passed through various hands before selling to businessman Victor Shafferman in 1977 for $600,000. The estate was listed once again in 2011, a few years after Shafferman’s death, for $49 million. It later sold for $42 million.
Truly a work of the art, the estate is the only fully restored Stanford white mansion on Fifth Avenue. Co-listing agent Andres Perea-Garzon of Corcoran told Mansion Global that today, there are only five White-designed homes that have survived in NYC, making the property unbelievably rare.