One of Manhattan's last surviving Gilded Age mansions — spanning about 18,000 square feet with a marble foyer, three terraces, and 14 fireplaces — is on the market for $65 million.
Located at 15 East 63rd Street, the historic townhouse was designed by architect John H. Duncan and built in 1901 by financier and philanthropist Elias Asiel.
According to the listing, Duncan was one of the most influential architects of the late 19th century and the designer of Grant's Tomb, the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant also located in New York City.
Listed by Louise Beit and Sotheby's International Realty, the home is described as "a glistening survivor, one of the few remaining and most architecturally intact [mansions] of its Gilded Age splendor on the Upper East Side."
Here's a look inside the historic home and its tumultuous history.
The grand townhouse is located in New York City's Upper East Side.
The exterior of 15 East 63rd Street.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
The townhouse at 15 East 63rd Street has six floors above street level and is about 18,000 square feet and 25 feet wide, per the listing.
In addition to its seven bedrooms and 12 full baths, the home has four powder rooms and three terraces, two of which are roof terraces with views of the city and Central Park.
The property is listed at $65 million, and according to the listing, monthly taxes will total $15,816.
It's in one of the city's most desirable neighborhoods, just off Fifth Avenue and less than a block from Central Park.
An interior living space.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
It's also centrally located to the Museum of Modern Art and the Frick Collection.
According to the listing, past residents on the block include Frank Winfield Woolworth and Oscar Hammerstein, while Neil Diamond still maintains a residence on the street.
True to its Gilded Age roots, the home features historic fireplaces and chandeliers fit for royalty.
A sitting room with ornate chairs, a fireplace, and a chandelier.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
There are 14 fireplaces scattered throughout the massive single-family home.
Many of the home's details are original to its construction, including a winding marble staircase.
The marble staircase in the home's entrance.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
The staircase leads to a unique circular dining room upstairs.
The dining room features ornate wood paneling and 12-foot ceilings.
The dining room with ornate wood-paneled walls.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
You enter the dining room, which features herringbone wood floors, through glass doors.
The luxurious details don't end there. Each of the home's seven bedrooms has an en-suite bathroom and six have their own fireplace.
The home has been decorated to reflect the building's lengthy history.
A gallery wall inside the home's foyer.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
Paintings and busts inside the home's marble foyer reflect its history, making the home look almost like a modern Palace of Versailles.
The opulent home has had multiple famous owners through the years.
An interior living space.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
The Real Deal reported that the home was once owned by fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who was the stylist to former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis during her White House years.
Cassini's namesake label is still a popular wedding dress brand.
It was most recently owned by Marianne Nestor Cassini, Oleg Cassini's widow, and her sister Peggy Nestor.
An interior living space.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
Nestor is the primary owner involved in the sale of the home, which is being listed by Louise Beit and Sotheby's International Realty.
However, the home's sale doesn't come without its fair share of scandal and intrigue.
Ceiling and door moulding inside the home.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
After Oleg Cassini's death in 2006, his estate was marred by controversies concerning the distribution of his assets.
The dispute even resulted in a $350 million lawsuit filed by Nestor Cassini against Nassau County officials, whom she accused of trying to "loot" the late designer's $55 million estate, The New York Post reported in 2022. None of the defendants listed in the case agreed to the Post's request for comment on the claims, and the case is still pending as of March, according to The Real Deal.
The Real Deal also reported that before the home was reconverted into a single-family residence, the Nestor sisters fought a 30-year-long eviction battle with interior designer Thomas Britt. He lived in the building from the 1970s until he agreed to move out in 2018.
According to court documents, Nestor Cassini transferred her ownership share in the townhouse to Nestor in an "unrecorded deed" in 2016. In 2018, Nestor became the sole owner of the property.
The spacious property has faced threats of foreclosure in the past.
A view from the living space into the hall.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
The Real Deal reported that the home first faced foreclosure action in 2019 after Nestor reportedly missed three payments on a $9.5 million loan taken out on the property.
By filing bankruptcy just one day before the house was set to hit the market, she narrowly avoided foreclosure on the house or having to repay the massive loan immediately.
Nestor filed for bankruptcy in April 2023, according to court documents.
The sale of the property could mean a fresh start for its current owners.
The interior living space looks out onto the staircase.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
According to a statement given to The Real Deal by an attorney for Nestor, the townhouse's imminent sale is included in Nestor's bankruptcy plan.
If a judge allows it, the sale may also allow Nestor to refinance the debt owed or create an alternative debt repayment plan.
The property could be kept as a single-family residence or split into apartments.
The marble staircase inside the house.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
The home occupies eight floors — six above ground level and two below — making it possible for it to be reconfigured into multiple apartments.
The next owner should definitely have a taste for grandiose details.
The conservatory.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
Many of the rooms were modeled after traditional French architecture styles, like this mirrored room that leads out onto one of the home's three terraces.
There's no backyard, but the home gets plenty of natural light from the terraces.
The conservatory.
Evan Joseph for Sotheby's International Realty
In addition to the conservatory, there's also a drawing room, fitness room, and a library.
The home is one of the last surviving Beaux-Arts mansions in New York City.
Decorative moulding above one of the mirrors in the conservatory.
According to the Chicago Architecture Center, the key characteristics of Beaux-Arts architecture include "a focus on symmetry," classical features like columns or pediments, and "highly decorative surfaces," such as carved doorways and crown molding, and statues and figures, such as the face adorning this mirrored wall arch.
