Newsletters
Real Estate
Erin McDowell
- An Upper East Side mansion built during the Gilded Age is for sale for $65 million.
- The seven-bedroom, 16-bathroom townhouse features ornate details and a massive floorplan.
- The property once housed the studio of fashion designer Oleg Cassini, JackieKennedy's stylist.
Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview
Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go.
Advertisem*nt
One of Manhattan's last surviving 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 listing, 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 City.
Listed by Louise Beit and Sotheby's International Realty, the home is described as "a glistening survivor, one of the few remaining and most architecturally intact [mansions] of its Gilded Age splendor on the Upper East Side."
Advertisem*nt
Here's a look inside the historic home and its tumultuous history.
Advertisem*nt
The grand townhouse is located in New York City's Upper East Side.
The townhouse at 15 East 63rd Street has six floors above street level and is about 18,000 square feet and 25 feet wide, per the listing.
In addition to its seven bedrooms and 12 full baths, the home has four powder rooms and three terraces, two of which are roof terraces with views of the city and Central Park.
The property is listed at $65 million, and according to the listing, monthly taxes will total $15,816.
Advertisem*nt
It's in one of the city's most desirable neighborhoods, just off Fifth Avenue and less than a block from Central Park.
It's also centrally located to the Museum of Modern Art and the Frick Collection.
According to the listing, past residents on the block include Frank Winfield Woolworth and Oscar Hammerstein, while Neil Diamond still maintains a residence on the street.
Advertisem*nt
True to its Gilded Age roots, the home features historic fireplaces and chandeliers fit for royalty.
There are 14 fireplaces scattered throughout the massive single-family home.
Many of the home's details are original to its construction, including a winding marble staircase.
The staircase leads to a unique circular dining room upstairs.
Advertisem*nt
The dining room features ornate wood paneling and 12-foot ceilings.
You enter the dining room, which features herringbone wood floors, through glass doors.
The luxurious details don't end there. Each of the home's seven bedrooms has an en-suite bathroom and six have their own fireplace.
The home has been decorated to reflect the building's lengthy history.
Paintings and busts inside the home's marble foyer reflect its history, making the home look almost like a modern Palace of Versailles.
Advertisem*nt
The opulent home has had multiple famous owners through the years.
The Real Deal reported that the home was once owned by fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who was the stylist to former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis during her White House years.
Cassini's namesake label is still a popular wedding dress brand.
It was most recently owned by Marianne Nestor Cassini, Oleg Cassini's widow, and her sister Peggy Nestor.
Nestor is the primary owner involved in the sale of the home, which is being listed by Louise Beit and Sotheby's International Realty.
Advertisem*nt
Advertisem*nt
The spacious property has faced threats of foreclosure in the past.
The Real Deal reported that the home first faced foreclosure action in 2019 after Nestor reportedly missed three payments on a $9.5 million loan taken out on the property.
By filing bankruptcy just one day before the house was set to hit the market, she narrowly avoided foreclosure on the house or having to repay the massive loan immediately.
Nestor filed for bankruptcy in April 2023, according to court documents.
Advertisem*nt
The sale of the property could mean a fresh start for its current owners.
According to a statement given to The Real Deal by an attorney for Nestor, the townhouse's imminent sale is included in Nestor's bankruptcy plan.
If a judge allows it, the sale may 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 split into apartments.
The home occupies eight floors — six above ground level and two below — making it possible for it to be reconfigured into multiple apartments.
Advertisem*nt
The next owner should definitely have a taste for grandiose details.
Many of the rooms were modeled after traditional French architecture styles, like this mirrored room that leads out onto one of the home's three terraces.
There's no backyard, but the home gets plenty of natural light from the terraces.
In addition to the conservatory, there's also a drawing room, fitness room, and a library.
Advertisem*nt
The home is one of the last surviving Beaux-Arts mansions in New York City.
There are only a handful of Beaux-Arts-style mansions left in New York City.
According to the Chicago Architecture Center, the key characteristics of Beaux-Arts architecture include "a focus on symmetry," classical features like columns or pediments, and "highly decorative surfaces," such as carved doorways and crown molding, and statues and figures, such as the face adorning this mirrored wall arch.
The home's fate is uncertain.
No buyer has been confirmed for the listing, yet.
Read next
Advertisem*nt
