You Can Buy The Vanderbilts’ Manhattan Mansion…If You Have $50 Million
People who live in Manhattan's Upper East Side tend to be very, very wealthy. The area has become well known for being home to some of the country's most well-off families and individuals. Most people who live in New York City have to squeeze into tiny apartments, but in the Upper East Side, there are mansions over 18,000 square feet in area.
The Vanderbilts, one of the richest families in America, set up shop in the Upper East Side in 1924. They bought an 18,504 square foot mansion in the area, and now that mansion has been put up for sale for $50 million. These rare pictures give us a unique look into the Vanderbilts' expensive living space.
Welcome To East 72nd Street
No, this is not a photo of an apartment building. All seven stories of this place belong to one giant house that's located on East 72nd Street in Manhattan. East 72nd Street is one of the most famous streets in the city. It's located just one block from central park.
In this photo, you can see part of the exterior of the mansion, but really only get to see four of the mansion's floors from this angle.
Long, Open Hallways
This photo showcases the mansion's unique open concept design. When you look down the hallway from this angle, you can see straight through several rooms. It almost looks like you're being transported through multiple dimensions.
On the left-hand side of the photo, you'll notice a feature that most realtors would call a breakfast nook, although this nook is the size of many full dining rooms. You can also see that the kitchen is equipped with a double oven and a gas-burning stove.
A Whole Room For A Shower
Past the double sinks and frosted, double glass doors, the room just kind of turns into a shower. Rather, a shower room. The marble floors even seem to expand directly into the shower space. If only we had a photograph from inside the shower, perhaps we could solve the mystery of the vast number of shower handles. There must be some sort of hurricane setting.
The person who would probably know that answer is Gloria Vanderbilt's father's first wife, Cathleen Vanderbilt, who was the great-granddaughter of a prominent New York real estate developer.
A Bedroom Plus A Living Space
While this giant room is considered a bedroom, its expansive windows and massive square footage make it easily convertible into another living space, or a bonus room. The designer even has a couch and coffee table accompanying the bed, which also has a large fabric bench at the foot of it.
While the features of this room may seem superfluous, Gloria Vanderbilt was an artist, author, actress, and fashion designer. With that many balls to juggle, a space with this setup may have been perfect for the heiress.
A Sectional That Goes On Forever
A big house needs a big couch to go along with it. The room pictured in this photo is quite large, so it makes sense that designers decorated it with a single, super long sectional couch. Several couches would have broken up the space, but a single, continuous sectional emphasizes the length of this gorgeous room.
This room is one of the few in the house that has windows wrapped around the room, offering stunning natural light.
A Spacious Kitchen Island
Now let's take a closer look at that kitchen. This kitchen has gorgeous limestone floors, which isn't a feature that's normally seen in kitchen setups. All of the appliances and fixtures are quite modern because the house was remodeled just five years ago.
The large kitchen island is made out of a Calacatta marble slab. That Island is so big that you could almost ice skate right on top of it. The whole room looks perfectly pristine.
A Very Minimal Toilet
This room isn't actually one of the many bathrooms in the Vanderbilt mansion. Technically, it's a powder room. It's not given bathroom status because this room doesn't have a bathtub or a shower in it. There are eleven full bathrooms in the Vanderbilt mansion.
The toilet in this powder room looks like something straight out of a modern art museum. Its minimal design makes this whole room look a little more refined. Unsightly toilet tanks are so last season.
A Marvelous Set Of Stairs
When you want to get a bit of exercise, though, you could always take the stairs. And what a wonderful set of stairs to take. Brass railings adorn the staircases, which are made of marble flooring.
Even though Gloria Vanderbilt climbed these stairs, the Vanderbilt fortune began way before Gloria was even a glint in her parents' eyes. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Gloria's grandfather, invested in the railroad industry back in the 1800s, just in time for the Industrial Revolution. That smart investment definitely paid off.
A Sea Of White
If you haven't noticed already, this home is very white. When the designers remodeled this mansion, they wanted the whole space to feel like a continuous blank slate that somehow still holds a lot of character. This room may be pure white, but it also has some interesting design features.
The circular indentation in the ceiling is a style choice that opens up the room even more by offering elevated ceiling space. All of the geometric shapes in this room work together effortlessly.
A Wet Bar For Entertaining
Anyone who lives in a house this large can definitely afford to entertain guests on many occasions. For such occasions, this house has a wet bar that's set apart from the living room with some simple crown molding.
Unlike the rest of the house, the wet bar contains more wood tones than white tones. The wooden cabinetry adds to the sunken in feel of the room. This space is perfect for keeping drinks cool and available while large parties are happening.
A Bedroom To Suit Anybody's Needs
This bright room would be excellent as another shared space, as the designer has it currently set up, or as another bedroom or bonus room. The hardwood floors can be overlaid with a soft rug to provide a feeling of comfort, or can remain exposed for added depth and function.
The square space can be moulded to be anything from a yoga room, to a guest room, or a more formal office. A walkin closet to the left is ideal for storage, while the window allows natural light to spill into an already light room.
A Room With A View
A similar size to the previous bedroom, this space offers a more aesthetically pleasing window view, with enough space for trees to caress the sill. However, the modern art on the wall is far too stale for the style that Gloria preferred to do as an artist.
Gloria created hundreds of paintings over her lifetime, all of which were bursting with color and patterns. Her vivid artwork may be attributed to her fashion sense, seeing that she was also a fashion designer and the one responsible for making denim jeans designer.
Bringing The Outdoors In
A uniquely designed stair railing lines this bonus space that exits through a large sliding glass door. Beyond, the incredible city view encourages any guest to explore what lays beyond, in an obviously spacious rooftop courtyard.
When Gloria Vanderbilt left this house with her mother upon her father's death, her personal life became rather severe. After a popular custody battle, Gloria became the ward of her aunt Gertrude once her mother was deemed an unfit parent.
A Gorgeous View Of New York City
To anyone who has visited New York, you know it's urban areas can be a bit... challenging. The state holds nearly 20 million people, and while some of them live outside of the city, many are squished into its many metropolitan areas.
When it comes to Upper Eastside Manhattan, the dirty and grungy aspects that come with any overpopulated, urban area seem as unrealistic as a childhood ghost story. This view off of the estate reveals the clean, historically kept New York that the Vanderbilts helped build.
A Relaxing Patio Setup
The outdoor area of this mansion is enough to build a whole other house. In fact, the design of the space pictured here is oddly reminescent of the first living space we looked at. Like that space, this area offers a long dining room table beside a sitting space. Addtionally, the cement floors are uniformly designed with square crevices, and an outdoor rug offers a homey impression.
However, unlike the indoor living spaces, the view out here is panoramic.
City Life All Around
This second outdoor living space has enough room to accommodate plenty of guests, or even to have a wedding. The surrounding skyscrapers give the feel of being completely submerged in city life. Though, having all eyes on you can come at a cost.
Gloria Vanderbilt was such a huge figure that she had to license her own name in the 1970s. She eventually sold the rights to her name and started the company GV Ltd. Unfortunately, Gloria ended up owing millions in back taxes and had to sell two of her New York Estates. They say more money more problems, but this mansion just might make up for it.
Lots Of Room For Lots Of Kids
There is plenty of space in this mansion for up to twelve kids to all have their own rooms, but the designer of the house decided to equip this room with a set of bunk beds, just in case the kid who sleeps in this room wanted to have a friend over.
Gloria Vanderbilt, the heiress who lived in this home, had four children in total, one of whom is CNN television anchor Anderson Cooper.
Getting To The Seventh Floor
Navigating a house this large can be a real challenge. Imagine climbing up seven flights of stairs several times a day! Thankfully, if you bought this house, you wouldn't have to. The house comes with a fully functional elevator.
Not only is the elevator great for elderly people who can't climb stairs, but it's also great for new parents who have to lung around cumbersome strollers. Gloria Vanderbilt had just been born when her parents moved in, and I'm sure her mother, or rather her nanny, appreciated not having to carry a stroller up the stairs.
A Full Bathroom
Now this is a bathroom, equipped with marble everthing, a tub, a built-in shower shelf, and double mirrors. There are also two showerheads, and a separate handle for each one. However many people will be bathing at once in this bathroom, all of them will be simultaneously good to go.
Speaking of being good to go, before Cornelius Vanderbilt passed, he gifted the founder of Vanderbilt University in Nashville all that he needed to open the school in 1873. Cornelius passed just four years later, in 1877.
Nothing Special To See Here
The bathroom we just saw is actually the least impressive in this house. It will continue upward from here, you'll find this gorgeous room. The hardwood provides an accent wall, unlike anything you've ever seen. The deep wood contrasts the stark white double sinks, marble floor, and stand-alone bathtub.
While the design of this house is superb, it only makes sense that it be so if it fit the Vanderbilt standards. After all, the Vanderbilt family spent 50 years at the turn of the century building East Coast palaces.
Another Mansion In The Area
Located in Newport, Rhode Island, the Marble House is a summer home designed by Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt and then built by the architect Richard Morris Hunt. Completed in 1892, it resembles the United State's White House.
Although today it is used as a public museum by the Preservation Society of Newport Country, it was once a social landmark that helped transform Newport from a small summer town to a place millionaires wanted a house of their own.
The Biltmore House
The historical Biltmore Estate is located in Asheville, North Carolina, built specifically for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. Currently, is the largest privately-owned house in the United States, having 178,926 square feet of floor space.
George Washington Vanderbilt II built the mansion after frequently visiting his mother in the surrounding area. He fell in love with the scenery and decided to build what he called his "little mountain escape," covering more than 8,000 acres.
The Unique Architecture Of The Biltmore Estate
Having already designed houses on other Vanderbilt properties, Vanderbilt hired New York architect Richard Morris Hunt for the job. Using French Renaissance chateaus as inspiration, and made several trips to France and Britain to study some of the most prominent houses there.
All of the houses that inspired the Biltmore Estate were all highly decorated and ornamental, including sculptures of gargoyles, pitched roofs, turrets, and scenic lookouts. Of course, the house was also fit with stables, carriage houses, and a protective courtyard.
Another Vanderbilt Home
The Eagle's Nest was commissioned by William K. Vanderbilt as a summer estate in Centerport, New York. Also known as Willie K., he was the great-grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. The entire property is comprised of 43-acres with the actual home being a 24-bedroom Spanish revival mansion.
Currently, the property is used as a museum as after it was donated to the county of Suffolk. The property was completed in stages between the years 1910 to 1963.
The Eagle Hasn't Landed
Since being transformed into a museum, the Eagle's Nest has had issues between the parties that own and those that run the museum. The Suffolk County officials have also been having a difficult time allocating funds in order to maintain the property and to keep the museum running.
Unfortunately, William Vanderbilt was caught i[ om stocks and bonds, which made him an unreliable financier. As of today, at some points, the museum is even known to not even have a payroll.
A Summer Home In Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island is home to a bevy of expensive mansions, so it’s no surprise that the Vanderbilts have one there, too. Cornelius Vanderbilt II had a summer home built in Newport in 1895 at 4 Ochre Point Avenue.
The mansion was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, who based the style on the Italian Renaissance. There are a total of 70 rooms spanned across five floors that sit on 125,339 square feet.
No Fire Is Getting Past These Gates
When one arrives at The Breakers, they are greeted by a 30-foot-high sculpted iron gate, that is a part of a 12-foot-high fence made of iron and limestone that borders the entire property on all sides except the ocean side.
The structure of the building uses steel trusses and no wooden parts because Cornelius Vanderbilt wanted the home to be as fireproof as possible. You would too if you paid $450,000 for the property in 1885, which today is marked up to a whopping total of $12.5 million.
Welcome To The Morning Room
The first floor alone contains 15 different rooms and common areas, including an arcade, a billiards room, a music room, separate reception rooms for ladies and gentleman, and more.
There was also a morning room. This room was a sitting room with an east-facing window, where the Vanderbilts could bask in the morning sun. The room itself was designed by French designer Jules Allard, who designed and constructed the interior woodwork and furnishings in France before shipping it to Rhode Island for assembly.
Playing Cards In The Library
The library was designed with coffered ceilings that were painted with dolphins, which are considered a symbol of the sea and hospitality. The ceiling was made with walnut wood imported from Circassia and impressed with gold leaf.
While there were books in the libraries, it is said that this was the room where the Vanderbilts liked to play cards. There are two busts in the library: one of William Henry Vanderbilt II and another of Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
The Servants' Living Quarters
The second floor of the mansion was a bit more modest with the number of living spaces it contained. There was a room each fro Mr. Vanderbilt, Mrs. Vanderbilt, and their daughters Gertrude and Gladys. There was also a guest bedroom as well as two rooms that were suspected to be a nursery and a nanny’s bedroom.
The third floor and the attic had rooms for the mansion’s staff and domestic servants. There was also a basement that housed the servant’s restrooms and the laundry.
Actress Lauren Bacall's $26 Million Central Park Apartment
Lauren Bacall defined an era. The actress and singer, who was known for her sultry looks, distinctive voice, and timeless style was named the 20th greatest female star of Classic Hollywood Cinema by the American Film Institute.
You may recognize her as the face of film noir, with roles in To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage and Key Largo alongside her husband Humphrey Bogart. Throughout her career, Bacall has won Tony Awards, Golden Globe Awards and Academy Award nominations. It's no surprise that with all of her success, the actress had an amazing home. In 2015, just a month shy of her 90th birthday, the legendary icon passed away and left behind her amazing Central Park apartment.
Excellent Taste
The apartments directly across from New York City's Central Park are some of Manhattan’s most expensive real estate. Lauren Bacall’s mansion, which she called home for 53 years, went to auction last week at the price of $26 million. So, what the heck are you getting for $26 million?
Doesn’t that cost more than Taylor Swift’s mansion in Rhode Island? Yes; however, Bacall’s digs are located in the historical Dakota Building on the Upper West Side. With nine entire rooms, this apartment hardly feels like an apartment at all, but rather an entire house placed inside of the Dakota Building’s gorgeous architecture.
Nine Rooms In One Apartment
Lauren Bacall's apartment inside the Dakota Building (one of the most famous properties in NYC history) was gigantic, and the floor plan shows the sheer size of the rooms within. The master bedroom is a massive 22 feet wide and opens into a private study, bathroom and walk-in closet.
It also has a gorgeous balcony looking over Central Park. The kitchen is not your average NYC apartment kitchen. It’s not shoved into a corner. It’s actually an eat-in kitchen which opens up into a 24 foot by 19 foot dining room and a family room. Bacall’s home also includes a guest bedroom, a library and a gallery.
A French Dining Room
Bacall was a fan of French-inspired design. This is evident in her furniture choices, many of which are in the style of Louis XIII (you'll see what just a pair of Louis XIII-style chairs sold for later).
Bacall’s dining room brings these French elements together. The color pallet is flawless, opting for rusty reds and deep blues which can be seen accented in the chair upholstery, rug and wall hanging. The wall hanging is actually the star of the dining room. The Bell Époque French poster by Jules Cheret sold for a whopping $7,000.
French Posters On The Walls
Like most of the rooms in her massive, nine-bedroom apartment, Lauren Bacall had an overall French theme to her formal dining room. In addition to the Bell Époque French poster which sold for $7,000 in auction, the actress had a number of French posters hanging on the dining room's walls.
She paired these posters with expensive, highly collectible china, that instead of using she hung as art pieces next to the framed posters. This corner of Bacall’s dining room shows just how much of a collector she truly was, with decorative lamps and art-pieces topping the surface of every piece of furniture.
Her $6,875 Dresser
Though Bacall favored French design, she also included pieces from other countries and periods. Her antique George III oak Welsh dresser, which displayed her collection of fine china, was from the late 18th century.
Though the style is straight from the United Kingdom, George III pieces are actually an English interpretation of Rococo (in other words, they're based on that classic, French-style Bacall loves). Bacall’s dresser, which sold for $6,875, was made from oak, a unique choice for pieces from that time. George III style furniture typically uses Mahogany. Sometimes painted satinwood and giltwood would be used, but rarely oak.
A Unique Pink Master Bedroom
Like the rest of her apartment, Bacall's bedroom is dripping in prized pieces of artwork. Behind her bed is another gallery wall, undoubtedly worth a pretty penny. The master bedroom isn’t just something because of its furnishings; it also has a highly-coveted, unobstructed view of Central Park. Could this be the most expensive room in NYC real-estate? Maybe. Imagine a life where you sit in the bay windows of your mansion-sized apartment and look out on the peaceful, green Central Park. Imagine!
Bacall’s choice of color in her bedroom is also interesting considering most of her other rooms are blue, brown and white. Here she chose very feminine lavender and pink tones, which aren’t seen anywhere else in her apartment.
Antiques Everywhere You Look
Bacall liked to fill every inch of a room with antique furniture, art and collectibles. The master suite is the only place where something seemingly new is placed. Adjacent to the working fireplace, which is adorned by a number of collectible metal plates and figurines, is what appears to be a very modern lounge.
The lounge actually ties the room together quite nicely, making this room appear more cozy than cluttered (which is a fine line when you're a longtime collector like Bacall). Behind the lounge is a bookshelf, filled again with knickknacks and books. Guests who are enjoying the fireplace can also relax with some reading.
Bacall Had A Thing For Gallery Walls
The fireplace by the master suite is the perfect display case for Bacall's collection of decorative metal plates and candle sticks. Next to the fireplace is yet another gallery wall with framed portraits of ships and floral designs. Bacall is not afraid to use accents of color.
Next to what appear to be two clown figurines is a bright blue decorative piece that really stands out among the wash of browns. The reason Bacall’s apartment can have so much art is because the walls are a whopping 13 feet high. This place is definitely catered to an art collector because there’s a lot of picture frame real estate.
A Very Yellow Bedroom
Lauren Bacall went for an interesting choice in her guest bedroom – bright, cheerful, yellow walls. The pattern screams opulence whilst the color screams whimsical fun. Above the bed hangs a very expensive piece of artwork dating back to Spain in the 1920s. This piece, which depicts a woman holding a basket of fruit, was painted by Andrew Segovia and sold for a whopping $18,750 at auction.
Bacall kept her themes of robin's egg blue in the guest bedroom. Though the walls are a cheerful shade of yellow, the bedspread and rug match her living room couches and walls. She also has a unique, tiered shelving piece resting in the room’s right corner and adding an interesting touch to the overall look.
She Wasn't Afraid Of Color
Bacall's living room was quite formal, but she was known for her style. This is probably why she chose to paint the space a refreshing shade of robin’s egg blue, which brightens up the entire room and works wonderfully with the space’s natural light.
Throughout the room, there are blue accents that really tie her collection of vintage knick knacks together – everything from the statues on the fireplace mantle to the pattern on the comfy-looking couches. Bacall also collected animal accent pieces and had two Indian-inspired elephant statues set alongside a camel and crane statue.
Her Own Baby Grand
What's a lux New York City apartment without a baby grand piano? We don’t even want to think about how difficult it was to get that thing in there, but it’s absolutely gorgeous. The piano is by Mason & Hamlin, a premier New England-based piano company that was founded in 1854.
The piano sold for $6,875, just above the starting price for a new piano of that caliber. The original value was likely much, much more. Though Bacall was a great supporter of the arts, it didn’t look like she did much playing in her old age. The piano appears to be a more of a table for displaying her old family photos.
