Thursday, August 22, 2013

66th Street East Side Big White Brick Apartment Building-- supposedly, the first of many

Everyone who has come down Second Avenue knows this big white block of apartments that supposedly was the first of the kind..

Let me see what I can find out...well, in 2007 they gave it landmark status (along with Lord and Taylor's and the Eberhard Pencil Factory):

Manhattan House, 200 E. 66^th St.

Manhattan House, the sprawling full-block, modernist white-brick icon on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, attracted such renowned tenants as actress Grace Kelly and jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman. Set between a block-long garden and two driveways, the 21-story, 10-tower structure elevated white brick as a fashionable building material and popularized balconies, green spaces and driveways in many new residential high rises constructed in New York City after World War II.

“Manhattan House set a new standard for apartment construction in New York City and gave modernism a strong foothold here,” said Commissioner Tierney. “Although Manhattan House inspired many new architectural imitators, very few came close to what it achieved. It joins a growing list of modern landmarks we’ve designated since 2002, such as the Summit Hotel and Socony-Mobil building.”

The New York Life Insurance Company commissioned the New York office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the Chicago-based firm that was at the forefront of the development of modern architecture in the United States, to design Manhattan House. Completed in 1951 and occupying a block between 65^th and 66^th streets and Second and Third avenues, the building reflects the theories of Le Corbusier, the renowned 20^th century French architect who was known for setting enormous, slab-like apartment buildings in open spaces.

In addition to Grace Kelly and Benny Goodman, some of the Manhattan House’s tenants included such design luminaries as George Bunshaft, the lead architect of the building for Skidmore, Owings &Merrill; Elizabeth Potts, founder of the American Institute of Interior Designers; and furniture designer Florence Knoll. Actress Grace Kelly lived there for a brief period in the early 1950s, as did jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman, who died in his apartment in 1986. Former New York State Governor Hugh Carey and Frank Hardart, co-founder of the Automat restaurant chain, also lived in Manhattan House.

Now let's see if we can find some typical apartment there...found one listing, place which sold for $2.7 million two years ago ( why do they keep listing it? They do this all the time..I can never figure it out, they keep the listings running for places long since sold).

200 East 66th Street #E607 in Lenox Hill

This property is currently listed by Nestseekers for $3,049,000

StreetEasy: 200 East 66th St. #E607 - Condo Apartment Sale at Manhattan House in Lenox Hill, Manhattan

Condo
Lenox Hill

1,700 ft²
$1,600 per ft²

5 rooms
3 beds
3 baths

Common Charges: $1,762
Monthly taxes: $1,181

LIVING IN A LANDMARK. Centrally located in the heart of the Upper East Side and designed in 1950 by master architect Gordon Bunshaft with Skidmore Owings and Merrill, Manhattan House was designated a New York City Landmark in 2007. Enter through one of two private porte-cochere entrances on 66th Street into stunning 24-hour attended lobbies. North and South exposures with lovely treetop and private parks views surround this 1700sf three-bedroom, three-bathroom floor-through residence with gracious living room featuring 4 inch wide solid rift cut white oak floors with natural finish, custom crown mouldings, a windowed-kitchen with Viking Professional Series stainless steel appliances with wine cooler and Ann Sacks glass tile backsplash, and washer-dryer. All bathrooms feature radiant heat flooring, with white Thassos marble in the master bath, Zocalo Creme marble in second bathroom and ceramic tile in the third bathroom. Manhattan House offers unparalleled amenities including one of the city's largest private parks, Exhaler Mind Body Spa Fitness Center and Yoga Studio, exclusive five-star, hotel-style concierge services, private rooftop Manhattan Club with panoramic skyline views complete with landscaped outdoor seating, indoor children's play room and onsite parking with valet services available. IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY.

Building Amenities