One of New York's last Gilded Age mansions goes on sale for $50 million
March 19, 2020 - Manhattan
A Gilded Age mansion owned by the five successor states of the former Yugoslavia is back on the market following a devastating 2018 fire.
The six-story Beaux Arts house at 854 Fifth Ave. is now priced at $50 million, the same amount it listed for in fall 2018, just two months before the fire broke out.
The restoration work was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and it stays true to the original state of the former residence.
The 20,000 square foot mansion counts the five successor states of the now nonexistent Yugoslavia as its owners - Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia.
Currently, the building is used as an office for the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the United Nations.
Robert Livingston Beeckman, a stockbroker and former Governor of Rhode Island, was the original owner of the landmark mansion, which was built in 1905. In 1912, Beeckman sold the mansion to George Grant Mason for $725,000, which was the most expensive price paid for a residential property in Manhattan during this time.
Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, the granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, was also among the list of prior owners.
She is responsible for the angel frescoes seen on the ceilings, as well as the gold cherubs on the moldings of the ceiling, all of which aligns perfectly with the Style Louis XV decor seen throughout.
"Most of the furniture is not original," says listing agent Tristan Harper, of Douglas Elliman. "Before the building was purchased in 1946, the estate of then-owner Emily Thorn Vanderbilt auctioned off most of the furniture and furnishings."
But, the mansion still has its fair share of Gilded-Age touches: "Two important 18th-century tapestries remain as well as hand-painted ceilings in some rooms and custom antique boiserie and gold leaf paneling," Harper says.
The property, which is located between East 66th and East 67th Streets, was declared a historical landmark in 1966.
Via House Beautiful
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