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East-Side Elegance
A stunning example of Neo-French Renaissance architecture, this space is amply graced with width, square footage and light.

by Frances Maguire Paist

Spanning two centuries, the splendid estate at 4 East 75th Street in New York is a repository of who's who, having been home to such notables as New York real estate tycoon Nathaniel L. McCready; IBM founder Thomas Watson Jr.; Mrs. William Fox, widow of 20th Century Fox's founder; and Standard Oil heiress Rebekah Harkness. But more importantly, the home has been the place where great ideas have been born, where capital concepts have come to maturity and where those who would dance have done so with grace and aplomb.

Location: New York, New York
Price: $55 million
Square Footage: 20,000 square feet
Width: 50 feet
Special Features: Only steps from Fifth Avenue; five stories high; loft-like living space;14-foot ceilings and ample wall space with an atrium and large skylight resulting in great lighting throughout; private, outdoor space for a roof-top garden.
Additional Comments: Circa 1896, 4 East 75th Street is a most important Upper East Side residence built in the Neo-French Renaissance design that has offered shelter to well-known families as well as to aspiring dancers while housing the renowned Harkness House for the Ballet Arts.
And now it's available once again to the providential purchaser able to see its possibilities. Says Ann Cutbill Lenane of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, "The ample 20,000-square-foot, five-story space and generous 50-foot width coupled with an enviable Upper East Side address are what make this property amazing. Add in generous natural lighting afforded by an enormous skylight gracing the entire house with light front, back and middle, the loft-like living space awaiting creative expression and even an ideal location for a rare, roof-top garden, and the result is a perfect marriage of Neo-French Renaissance architecture and cutting edge, new millennium momentum."

Designed by Trowbridge, Colt & Livingston in 1896, the manse boasts such Neo-French Renaissance architectural characteristics as a copper-edged mansard roof, rusticated limestone and elaborate, pedimented window surrounds. It's right at home in a neighborhood known for prestige and glamorous sophistication where history is heavily weighted and historic district designations are the currency of preservation.

In the city that doesn't sleep, new residential construction is rare and ample residential square footage even rarer. Concludes Lenane, "Almost like new construction, this property offers limitless possibilities to the buyer. Its wide, open spaces allow personal expression to flourish. Truly, this is someone's dream come true."