Living in a castle in the heart of the metropolis: how much are unique homes in New York

At the beginning of the 20th century, the city’s elite built mansions on the model of French castles on Fifth Avenue. But those who did not have money or land to build whole castles could at least add to the existing houses one peculiarity - a tower, thus turning them almost into fairy castles.

A century later, the city towers that have survived to this day make the facades of many buildings in New York impressive. Most abandoned tower houses are in the Upper West Side area.

Take the building at 327 W. 76th St., located just a few houses east of Riverside. The magnificent townhouse with six bathrooms and seven bedrooms was built around 1891 by architect Charles T. Mott, and was commissioned by William Brewster, a leading American carriage manufacturer.

The house, which currently sells for 12,9 million dollars, has a brick facade so red that architectural critic Christopher Gray once called it a “five-star chili.”

In 2010, Leonard and Moira Zelin paid 8,8 a million dollars for a 8000 square foot townhouse. 59-year-old investment manager Leonard also likes the high ceilings of the house and the abundance of light.

“The round spaces in the house are very comfortable,” says Zelin. - The lower floor is used for reading and family conversations. The living room is the perfect place for our little piano. ”

Less than a block and a half away is 40 Riverside Drive - another impressive tower mansion. The entire Riverside Drive quarter between 76 and 77 streets, including 40 No., was designed by architect and builder Clarence True in the early 1890's.

The current owner, 53-year-old Roy Niederhoffer, describes the corner tower as one of the most attractive features of the 10 720 square foot home, with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. The tower at 40 Riverside also has a terrace.

Niederhoffer, who paid about 12 million dollars for real estate in the 2013 year, found that the fourth floor of the tower was "the perfect place to set up the piano."

“Acoustically, it was a lot of fun when we gathered musicians around every piano,” he recalls.

The Upper West Side is not the only area of ​​the city filled with towers. Harlem Townhouse at 730 St. Nicholas Ave. with a magnificent corner tower costs 5,1 million dollars.

The high-class Riverdale enclave in the Bronx is also full of fantastic castles-like buildings. Among them, a mansion of 1558 square. ft. owned by Alec Diack and his wife Susie Arensberg.

For 64-year-old Diaku, who founded the Rosalyn Yalow charter school near the Yankee Stadium, life in such a castle was natural: his father grew up in one of them in Greece.

Drive past 4720 Grosvenor Ave. in the 2004 year, Diaku saw the tower and asked if the house was for sale, and bought it for $ 1,8 million.

“It was love at first sight,” the man admitted.

Making the tower a practical part of the house was extremely difficult, adds Diaku.

“Inside the tower was a square bathroom with a foot bath next to the maid’s room,” he says. “When I upgraded the castle with modern conveniences (electricity and light, to say the least), I decided to expand the kitchen, which meant cleaning the bath, decorating the inside of the brick tower and turning it into a corner for breakfast.”

At The Shephard (1896 Storehouse of the Year at 275 W. 10 St, converted to apartments four years ago), a four-bedroom penthouse is selling for 20,95 million dollars.

Despite the fact that the building was originally designed as a commercial building, it has a curved corner corresponding to the aesthetics of the “turret” of that time. This means that modern residents take advantage of the redesign, but still enjoy cozy, rounded spaces and a regal exterior.

Perhaps a hundred years ago, the towers were an external manifestation of wealth, but the way they capture natural light, extending more than 180 degrees, makes them a valuable resource for living indoors. According to Niederhoffer, each floor of the 40 Riverside is filled with “magnificent light from sunrise to sunset.”

Although towers are associated with castles (indeed, such houses seem attractive to buyers with a keen sense of privacy), impressive facades are balanced by how open and spacious they are.