Lavish Prewar Penthouse on NYC's Billionaires' Row Asks $21M

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Location: New York, New York
Price: $21,000,000

In Midtown Manhattan, the stretch of West 57th Street right under Central Park has become a mecca of new super tall, super skinny towers, each offering expensive residences with expensive views. In the shadows of these projects giving the neighb' the nickname Billionaires' Row, however, remain some older but certainly still architecturally stunning buildings that promise the more traditional Manhattan penthouse dream—none of that modern glass box stuff. Take a gander at, for example, a recently listed penthouse in the Briarcliff, an elegant prewar building right across from Carnegie Hall. Currently owned by billionaire investor and art collector Wilbur Ross, the roughly 5,573-square-foot spread is at once a grand place for entertaining and a calming retreat in the sky.

The four-bedroom home's glamorous getup is the work of Mario Buatta, the noted American interior decorator who counts Mariah Carey, Barbara Walters, and Billy Joel among his clients. The main living room, featuring barrel-vaulted 19.6-foot ceilings and a row of huge French doors, is lavishly spacious and sun drenched. Other spaces, many with their own wood-burning fireplaces, include a gallery, library, chef's kitchen, and dining room big enough to host thirty guests. There are also many details to appreciate—custom-designed lacquer portals, hand-carved wood moldings, elaborative stonework, to name a few. Sealing everything together is a sublime wraparound terrace that comes ready with vegetation and a trellised gazebo.

∙ 171 West 57th Street, Penthouse [Sotheby's]
∙ All House of the Day posts [Curbed]