‘Fortress’ made in Manhattan
Glass ceiling illuminates open, six-level townhouse filled with artwork
The red granite facade offers no hint of what’s inside the townhouse on Manhattan’s East 65th St. Which is exactly how the owner likes it.
The wealthy art dealer who runs his business out of his home values his security and privacy, says listing agent Régis Roumila of Christie’s International Real Estate.
“It’s like a fortress, difficult to get in,” Roumila says. But once inside, “you’re in a different dimension.”
Aseries of ramps are the initial attention-getters, as they zigzag through the open floor plan of the six-level residence.
Then there are the suite’s dimensions: 25 feet wide and running 100 feet to the back. With travertine-lined walls, mirrors and a glass ceiling that infuses the great room far below with natural light, the interior design is a sight to behold.
The effect, Roumila says, is an “airy alternative to a traditional townhouse” and the creation of an eye-popping showcase for a world-class collection of art and antiques where one gilt-adorned table alone is worth $700,000.
Built in 1940, the tall mansion was one of the first modernist townhouses in the heart of New York. It was designed by architects William Hamby and George Nelson, who were hired to create a home as “adventurous” as its owner, Sherman M. Fairchild., according to Christie’s.
The businessman, aviation pioneer and inventor was famous for the first synchronized camera shutter and flash, and aerial cameras, which were later used on Apollo space missions. Fairchild — party host, jazz aficionado and audio-recording whiz — resided, played and worked in his house, which avenuemagazine.com called a highly effi- cient “machine for living.”
Thanks to soundproofing, “the sights and sounds of the city seem very remote to the occupant, and the feeling of privacy is virtually complete,” reported Architectural Forum in 1943.
The current owner, a former banker, redesigned the exterior as well as renovating the interior when he bought the home more than 35 years ago.
The townhouse remains an “architectural tour de force unlike any other in New York,” observes Christie’s, which is tasked with finding a buyer following the failure of other firms during several attempts dating back to 2014.
The art-dealing octogenarian “doesn’t need the money,” Roumila explains, noting a price drop of $5 million that was slow to come.
(The owner told the realdeal.com he was selling because there’s no elevator connecting the basement level, where his office is, with the other five floors. The Rockefellers, J. Paul Getty and J.P. Morgan were reportedly among his clients.)
The almost 80-year-old building has much to offer and many options for use, Roumila says of the piece of real estate he terms “very, very rare for Manhattan.”
Its Upper East Side location between Madison and 5th Aves. is a short walk from Central Park and the city’s best restaurants, Roumila says. And it’s the ideal live-work spot for musicians and business owners or home base for a young or multigenerational family. Five bedrooms — including three masters — spread over three floors provide privacy and accommodation for a live-in maid or nanny, he says.