[imagesource: Christie’s Real Estate]

Once upon a time, in 1903, high society guests stepped from their cabriolets onto the curb at 123 East 35th Street in New York and looked up at an absolute masterpiece.

Even now, 119 years later, the James F.D. Lanier House in the historic Manhattan neighbourhood of Murray Hill is a work of Gilded Age art.

Since Christie’s Real Estate has put up the listing, there’s a rare opportunity to “own the New York City landmark and inhabit a living work of art”.

With latticed wrought-iron balustrades, gold leaf gates, and grand tiger oak doors, to name just a few luxurious finishings, it is only fair to ask for $33 million (around R496 million) to make that happen.

The Lanier residence, designed with the principles and influence of the Parisian Beaux-Arts style, was designated by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1979:

Upon walking through those antique doors, you’ll find yourself flanked by classical statuary and crowned with an antique crystal chandelier (see the image right up top).

The magnificent mansion has eight levels of some of the grandest residential features in the city, including “fluted Ionic pilasters, dentil and modillion cornices, carved stonework, stately stone porch, and copper mansard roof with three dormers”.

I barely know how to make sense of that.

Pictures might help:

Nine generous bedrooms (five of which are suites), seven luxurious bathrooms, and three powder rooms are offered in the Lanier House:

Plus, of course:

A staff wing includes an office, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. There’s a vast chef’s kitchen with a breakfast room, a fitness centre with a massage room and hot and cold plunge pools, two offices, a tranquil courtyard garden, and rooftop—with its clear view of the Chrysler and Empire State buildings.

A mahogany staircase and an oak-panelled elevator serve all floors. A service staircase rises from the sub-basement to the fourth floor, and a service entrance offers access from the garden level to the street.

Class at every turn. Let’s hope the new homeowner, whoever that might be, has enough style and grace to complement the property.

Although, it is not so much a home as a landmark and work of art, remember.

[source:christiesrealestate]