Hey Santa!

Hey Santa? How about this gem? I have been a VERY good girl this year...

For a measly $64,000,000 in cool cash you could own the THE HENRY T. SLOANE MANSION

THE MAN

Henry T. Sloane was born in 1846, two years after his father, William Sloane, founded W & J Sloane, an innovational firm that built a national reputation providing luxury furnishings for the home. It quickly became the choice of the elite, functioning as an arbiter of taste for the next sixty years, and was the source for the interiors of The Breakers, the White House, Czar Nicholas II, glamorous Hollywood film sets, ocean-going yachts and even custom automobiles. Mr. Sloane graduated from Yale in 1866 and 46 years later gifted the Sloane Physics Lab completed in 1912 and still in use today. His uncle was married to Emily Vanderbilt, the sister of Cornelius Vanderbilt. One daughter married a French Baron, the other lived at 5 East 70th Street. William Sloane Coffin, Sr. was a nephew: he lived to 91, with homes in Dark Harbor, Maine, Southampton, L.I. and New York.Mr. Sloane's first mansion was built in 1887 at 9 East 72nd Street, where he entertained lavishly with his wife, Jessie, a noted beauty. They divorced after a 17-year marriage in 1899, and Jessie caused a scandal by marrying Perry Belmont, son of August Belmont, five hours after the decree was issued. Mr. Sloane never married again, and he prevented his two daughters from seeing their mother until they were 21 unless she could prove she was "leading a moral life". He then devoted his attention to his thriving business and to planning and building a masterpiece for himself, this time selecting CPH Gilbert to realize his vision.

THE ARCHITECT

The Great House era in New York lasted 50 years, from the opening of the Vanderbilt house in 1882 to the Great Depression. A great proponent of the Beaux-Arts style was CPH Gilbert, a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, who designed such mansions as the E. C. Converse house at 3 East 78th Street in 1895, the Isaac D. Fletcher House at 2 East 79th Street, three F. W. Woolworth mansions at 2, 4 and 6 East 80 Street, and the Felix Warburg Mansion at 1109 Fifth Avenue in 1908; the mature years of this construction, approximately 1901 - 1918, saw buildings created in America inspired by European styles which surpassed those being built in Europe, and the crowning achievement was this mansion.

THE MANSION

Designed at the peak of this prolific explosion, this masterpiece is a synthesis of grand scale and exquisite proportion, with the great authority of experience, infused with the styles of Europe but expressed in an entirely new American luxury architecture. Built on a plot 36 feet wide by 100 feet deep, comprising approximately 19,300 square feet, with stunning terraces and ceilings on several floors ranging from 13 to 15 feet, this home features 15 bedrooms, 17 baths, and 11 fireplaces; it was reported in the New York Times on October 3, 1941 that this mansion is notable for "the spaciousness of its rooms, its marble staircase and its costly wood paneling" and was ideal for the next owner's "extensive art and antique collection." The reporter continued that it "serves as an example of the type of home which leaders in business and the social world of a generation ago put up in an era of gracious living". Generations have passed and the page of history turns again. A new era beckons to the next owner who will now have the extraordinary opportunity to acquire The Henry T. Sloane Mansion.

Or, if that is a little more than your holiday budget can stretch, how about this tiny treasure?

One bedroom but completely renovated....

Rare opportunity to own an exquisitely renovated junior one bedroom apartment on the top floor of a full service Condop building steps from Gramercy Park and across from the Gramercy Park hotel. Partial views of Gramercy Park, beamed high ceilings, parquet floors, a windowed newly renovated fully equipped kitchen and a plethora of closets make this a very desirable home. Park Gramercy is a full service Condop with a laid back board that has no minimum down payment requirements, is investor and pied de terre friendly and sets no term limits on sub lets. The building has a full time doorman, a beautiful roof deck, bicycle storage and a central laundry in the basement and is pet friendly.

Personally? I love cute and cozy with a super view over glitzy and grand any day. Hmm...but I wonder where my butler, old Jeeves, would sleep? That is a concern...I must ponder this...

Well, maybe I will just stick with my little Midwest house that cost a 4th of that apartment. There are SOME perks that come along with living in Ohio and home prices are a big one! Still, it is fun to look isn't it? As a confirmed Lookie Louise, I could spend hours browsing homes and seeing the grand (and the cozy) interiors of homes from all over the US and abroad. Gosh but I love the Internet!

I must say though I am with most of you in your assessments about such grand homes...er...so called *grand* homes. The local one I showed? Well, like most of you, I would rather have my own little place. The upkeep on these mansions alone would be daunting and cost prohibitive. And like our dear Pamela commented, my moral compass would never let me rest if I COULD move in. Even in my little nest I am often overwhelmed with guilt that I can't do MORE for those who have less. *sigh* When I see homes going for millions and millions of dollars my mind turns to the children who go to bed at night wondering if they will live to see the sun rise. It is especially true at this time of year. Don't get me wrong! I take no issue with anyone who lives in a large home who worked hard for it and enjoys it! But, for me, less is more. And like our sweet Alice, I am a cozy clutter girl. So, I guess, grand just does not befit THIS Princess. Now, if you see a small log cabin somewhere we will talk! And old Jeeves will just have to adjust.

Love and Hugs,

Susie Q