Gilded Age Mansion Sold for $46 Million in NYC: Photos

The home is located near the corner of Fifth Avenue and 79th Street in Manhattan. It occupies 25 feet of prestigious Fifth Avenue real estate.

Henry H. Cook, the original commissioner of the building, hired the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White to lead the project.

Construction on the building began in 1902 and was completed in 1907, two years after Cook’s death in 1905.

There are only a few Beaux-Arts-style mansions still remaining in New York City.

Key characteristics of Beaux-Arts architecture, which was popular in the US in the late 19th century and early 20th century, include “a focus on symmetry,” classical features like columns or pediments, and “highly decorative surfaces,” such as carved doorways and crown molding, according to the Chicago Architecture Center.

White is one of the most famous architects in history. He is known for his style inspired by the Italian Renaissance and is one of the most famous architects to emerge from the Gilded Age in Manhattan.

He is also famous for his death, which was shrouded in scandal.

On the night of June 25, 1906, Pittsburgh millionaire Henry Shaw shot and killed White at Madison Square Garden because of a prior relationship between White and Thaw’s wife, chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit, the National Park Service reported. Nesbit was just 16 when she met White.

White was 52 when he died, and much of his architectural legacy was tainted by the scandal in the years after his death.

However, he is now recognized as one of the most influential architects of the early 20th century.

In the decades following the Gilded Age — and amid financial challenges and changing tastes and values — many of the largest mansions in New York City were torn down or repurposed.

Corcoran’s Andres Perea-Garzon — who listed the property with Carrie Chiang and Lesley Schulhof, also of the Corcoran Group — told Mansion Global that the home is one of only five mansions designed by Stanford White still in existence in New York City.

Of those, only two — including this one — are single-family townhouses in Manhattan.

The floorplan has been updated from White’s original design but retains many of his choices.

The renovated morning kitchen, pictured above, has a Carrara marble waterfall island that reflects more modern trends.

The home has also been updated to reflect 21st-century living, with upgrades like a “modernized” elevator and nine restored wood-burning fireplaces, per the listing.

The home has five separate kitchens, including a family kitchen, a chef’s kitchen, a butler’s pantry, a staff kitchen, and a serving kitchen.

The scullery and butler’s pantry also each have a dumbwaiter to accommodate service across the entertaining levels.

Many of the home’s most impressive features, including its limestone flooring and staircase with a wrought-iron railing, have been restored to their original condition.

The mansion, which spans over 16,000 square feet and has 11 bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, and three half-baths, was cut from its original price of $80 million in 2021, The New York Post reported.

Inside the home’s double grand parlors, there are 16-foot-high ceilings fitted with wooden beams as well as hand-carved marble fireplaces, according to the listing.

The home embodies upper-crust living with a climate-controlled wine cellar, a steam room, a linen room, and a silver and jewelry vault.

Every room across its seven floors has a separate HVAC zone, per the listing. Humidifiers and a water purification system were also added.

The listing states that the home can be used as a private residence, an embassy or mission, a nonprofit foundation office with a limit of 50 employees, or a non-commercial art gallery.

The home is located on Cook Block, a zoning district that restricts buildings to six stories or fewer for a full city block. This prevents new construction from restricting the home’s sweeping views.

“As one of the last private mansions of its kind, 973 Fifth Avenue is an irreplaceable masterpiece, fully restored to its original grandeur while discreetly integrating modern luxury at the highest standard,” the listing read.