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Gilded Age Mansion for Sale in NYC for $65 Million: Photos

Posted on by angelo
Gilded Age Mansion for Sale in NYC for Million: Photos

The Upper East Side mansion was built in 1901, at the height of New York’s Gilded Age.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

  • An Upper East Side mansion built during the Gilded Age is for sale for $65 million.
  • This seven-bedroom, 16-bathroom townhouse features decorative details and a massive floor plan.
  • The property once housed the studio of fashion designer Oleg Cassini, stylist to Jackie Kennedy.

One of Manhattan’s last remaining Gilded Age mansions — spanning about 18,000 square feet with a marble foyer, three terraces and 14 fireplaces — is on the market for $65 million.

Located at 15 East 63rd Street, the historic townhouse was designed by architect John H. Duncan and built in 1901 by financier and philanthropist Elias Asiel.

According to the list, Duncan was one of the most influential architects of the late 19th century and the designer of Grant’s Tomb, the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant also located in New York.

Listed by Louise Beit and Sotheby’s International Realty, the house is described as “a sparkling survivor, one of the few remaining and most architecturally intact (mansions) of its Gilded Age splendor on the Upper East Side.”

Here’s a look inside the historic home and its tumultuous history.

The large townhouse is located on New York’s Upper East Side.

The exterior of 15 East 63rd Street.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

The townhouse at 15 East 63rd Street is six stories above street level and measures about 18,000 square feet and is 25 feet wide, according to the listing.

In addition to its seven bedrooms and 12 full bathrooms, the home has four powder rooms and three terraces, two of which are rooftop terraces with views of the city and Central Park.

The property is listed at $65 million and, according to the listing, monthly taxes will be $15,816.

It is located in one of the city’s most desirable neighborhoods, just off Fifth Avenue and less than a block from Central Park.

An interior living space.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

It is also centrally located to the Museum of Modern Art and the Frick Collection.

According to the listing, past residents of the neighborhood include Frank Winfield Woolworth and Oscar Hammerstein, while Neil Diamond still owns a residence on the street.

True to its Gilded Age roots, the home features historic fireplaces and chandeliers fit for royalty.

A living room with decorated chairs, a fireplace and a chandelier.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

There are 14 fireplaces scattered throughout this huge single-family home.

Many details of the house are original, including a spiral marble staircase.

The marble staircase at the entrance to the house.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

The staircase leads to a unique circular dining room upstairs.

The dining room features decorative woodwork and 12-foot ceilings.

The dining room with ornate wood paneled walls.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

You enter the dining room, which has herringbone wood flooring, through glass doors.

The luxurious details don’t stop there. Each of the home’s seven bedrooms has an en suite bathroom, and six of them have their own fireplace.

The house has been decorated to reflect the building’s long history.

A gallery wall inside the entrance hall of the house.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

The paintings and busts inside the house’s marble lobby reflect its history, giving the house the appearance almost of a modern Palace of Versailles.

This sumptuous residence has had several famous owners over the years.

An interior living space.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

The Real Deal newspaper reported that the home was once owned by fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who was stylist to former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis during her years in the White House.

Cassini’s namesake brand is still a popular wedding dress brand.

It was recently owned by Marianne Nestor Cassini, the widow of Oleg Cassini, and her sister Peggy Nestor.

An interior living space.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

Nestor is the primary owner involved in the sale of the home, which is listed by Louise Beit and Sotheby’s International Realty.

However, the sale of the house was not without its share of scandals and intrigues.

Ceiling and door moldings inside the house.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

After Oleg Cassini’s death in 2006, his estate was marred by controversy over the distribution of his assets.

The dispute even spawned a $350 million lawsuit filed by Nestor Cassini against Nassau County officials, whom she accused of trying to “plunder” the late designer’s $55 million estate, the New York Post reported in 2022. None of the defendants named in the case accepted the Post’s request for comment on the allegations, and the case remains ongoing as of March, according to The Real Deal.

The Real Deal also reported that before the home was converted back into a single-family residence, the Nestor sisters fought a 30-year eviction battle with interior designer Thomas Britt. He lived in the 1970s building until he agreed to move out in 2018.

According to court documents, Nestor Cassini transferred his ownership interest in the townhouse to Nestor in an “unrecorded deed” in 2016. In 2018, Nestor became the sole owner of the property.

This spacious property has already been the subject of threats of seizure in the past.

A view from the living space towards the hall.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

The Real Deal reported that the home was first foreclosed on in 2019 after Nestor allegedly missed three payments on a $9.5 million loan taken out on the property.

By declaring bankruptcy just one day before the house was to go on the market, she narrowly avoided foreclosure on the house or having to immediately repay the huge loan.

Nestor filed for bankruptcy in April 2023, according to court documents.

The sale of the property could mean a new beginning for its current owners.

The interior living space overlooks the staircase.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

According to a statement made to The Real Deal by a lawyer for Nestor, the pending sale of the townhouse is included in Nestor’s bankruptcy plan.

If a judge allows it, the sale could also allow Nestor to refinance the debt owed or create an alternative debt repayment plan.

The property could be kept as a single family residence or divided into apartments.

The marble staircase inside the house.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

The house occupies eight floors – six above ground level and two below – allowing it to be reconfigured into multiple apartments.

The next owner will certainly have to have a taste for grandiose details.

The veranda.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

Many rooms were designed in traditional French architectural styles, such as this mirrored room that opens onto one of the house’s three terraces.

There is no backyard, but the house benefits from plenty of natural light thanks to the terraces.

The veranda.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

In addition to the veranda, there is also a lounge, a fitness room and a library.

The house is one of the last remaining Beaux-Arts mansions in New York.

Decorative molding above one of the veranda mirrors.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

There are only a handful of Beaux-Arts mansions left in New York City.

According to the Chicago Architecture Center, key characteristics of Beaux-Arts architecture include “an emphasis on symmetry,” classical elements like columns or pediments, and “highly decorative surfaces,” such as carved doorways and crown moldings, as well as statues and figures, such as the face that adorns this mirrored wall arch.

The fate of the house is uncertain.

A gallery wall inside the house.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby’s International Realty

No buyers have been confirmed for the listing yet.