This Gilded Age mansion in New York just had a $14m price cut
A Manhattan mansion with design origins dating back to the opulent Gilded Age era is yet to find a buyer.
The nine bedroom, 12 bathroom and three kitchen stately home at 4 East 8th Street, is reportedly the largest private residence in New York City to hit the market.
It’s listed for U$49.95 million ($79.4 million). It might not seem like it, but this is a discount.
The property was listed in November last year with an asking price of US$59 million ($94 million), a drop of US$9 million ($14 million).
Back in 2017, it had a price tag of US$90 million ($140 million).
The Woolworth Mansion, as it’s locally known, was built in 1915 by acclaimed US architect, Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert, for retail mogul Frank Woolworth.
The Upper East Side property is one of three built by Woolworth – one for each of his three daughters; Edna, Helena and Jessie.
The French Gothic estate spans more than 1800 square metres across seven floors, all connected by both stairs and a lift.
It has been painstakingly restored to its original glory, with stunning chandeliers, framed frescos, ornate handcrafted carpets and gilded wall panels.
The stately entry hall features an intricate mosaic floor. It also has a massive fireplace with hand carved detail, an elegant powder room and a sweeping master staircase.
The four-metre high ceilings of the second floor tower over an elegant drawing room that connects a wood panelled formal dining room that can seat more than 50 people on one side. There is also a kitchen and kitchen mezzanine on this level.
A wood panelled library with a wet bar lives on the third floor. On this level is also a two bedroom suite with two full bathrooms and ample closet space.
The master suite is on the fourth floor. The luxury room has vast closet space and a vestibule. The room is book ended by two full baths with separate dressing rooms.
Four large rooms are on the estate’s fifth floor, which the new owner could use as bedrooms or home offices.
As well as its original features, modern amenities have been added over the years.The sixth floor is set up with a gym and a sauna and has an open concept space, which could also be turned into a bedroom or study room.
Staff bedrooms and two more bedrooms are on the seventh floor. There is also a kitchen, a sitting room and rooftop lounge on this level.
Another kitchen is located on the lower level, along with executive offices, a conference room, two bathrooms and entry to a private back yard.
Lucille and Bob Roberts bought the estate in 1995, paying just US$6 million.
It was a short move, with Roberts living just two doors up the road. The renovations were another thing altogether. It took five years to complete.
Lucille made her fortune building an empire of women’s-only gyms. She died from cancer in 2003 at just 59.
In an obituary published in the New York Times, she was remembered for ambition of wanting to create “the McDonald’s of health clubs”.
She had a chain of 50 gyms with 200,000 members in New York. She charged minimal fees.
”It is only the upper classes who are into exercise for health,” she said in an interview with The New York Times in 1997.
”The middle classes just want to look good. We have tried health classes. They just want to fit into tight jeans.”
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