April 3, 2015

Mad for Modern: NYC Homes That Are Cooler Than Don Draper’s Park Avenue Pad

We admit it: We’re a bit obsessed with mid-20th century modern design–its architecturally and socially advanced concepts so often result in a perfect mix of aesthetic appeal and livability. Sometimes met with suspicion and derision in its earlier days, modernist architecture has endured the test of time and is having an enormous resurgence in popularity and appreciation. How else could you explain fans' obsession with the award-winning and pitch-perfect mid-mod sets on Matthew Weiner’s “Mad Men.” It’s often said that the best ideas in home design are the ones that make the home a great place to live; the origins of modernist design had that idea at their heart. We've rounded up a few of the city’s mid-century architectural treasures and a handful of homes that embody modernist style.
More on the 'Mad Men'sets and NYC's Mid-Century Modern gems this way
April 3, 2015

Goodyear Wanted to Create a Giant Conveyor Belt to Carry People Between Grand Central and Times Square

Those shuttle trains between Grand Central and Times Square can certainly get crowded during rush hour, so imagine bypassing the underground connection and hopping on a giant conveyor belt in clear, gondola-like cars? We're not exactly sure if this sounds more or less appealing, but it's exactly what the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company proposed in 1951, hoping to transport 60,000 New Yorkers daily a third faster than the subway thanks to a continuous loop.
More on this never-built conveyor belt
April 3, 2015

Inside Artist and Poet John Giorno’s Beautiful Bowery Home; William Hearst’s Penthouse Now $14M Less

Artist and Poet John Giorno gives the Times a tour of his three-loft “Italian-inspired palazzo for the beggars.” [NYT] William Hearst’s penthouse gets at 137 Riverside Drive $14 million price cut. [NYDN; listing] Inside Mickey Rourke’s former Meatpacking apartment, now an Absolut Elyx vodka hangout. [NYO] New look and teaser site out for Bryant Park’s long-stalled […]

April 3, 2015

$2.5M Hamilton Heights Musée Maison Mixes Historic Charm with a Myriad of Curious Artwork

Portuguese-born architect/artist Luis Da Cruz bought the run-down brownstone at 532 West 148th Street in 2006 for $995,000. He then embarked on a complete renovation, turning the three-family home into his own personal playground. Cruz beautifully restored original features of the 1920 house like carved wood stairways and railings, gorgeous moldings, five fireplaces, beamed ceilings, and exposed brick walls. But on that historic canvas he overlaid his signature art pieces made with repurposed objects and decorated the space in an industrial/Victorian mash up. Luis also used the townhouse, dubbed Musée Maison (aptly, Museum House), as his studio and workshop and often hosted art shows there (including trapeze shows in which he participated) where all of the work was for sale. He's now put the 3,500-square-foot Hamilton Heights house on the market, asking $2.5 million.
See the rest of this one-of-a-kind home
April 3, 2015

Hillary Clinton Sets Up Campaign Headquarters in BK Heights; How Chocolate Bunnies Became Associated with Easter

The first major exhibition of Brooklyn-born artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s notebooks opens today. [Brooklyn Museum] Sources are reporting that Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters will work out of two full floors at 1 Pierrepont Plaza in Brooklyn Heights. [Politico] This 1974 government document shows how to make a proper cocktail. [Washington Post] There’s an Occupy Wall Street walking tour. […]

April 3, 2015

$7.25M Historic Alphabet City Townhouse Has Five Outdoor Spaces with a Few Surprises

Who would've thought there was a backyard like this hiding in Alphabet City? Built in the 1880s, this historic $7.25 million townhouse at 263 East 7th Street was masterfully redesigned by one of the architects behind the DIA Beacon Museum, and it comes with two layouts. The current floorplan is an owner's duplex, an income suite, and separate guest quarters. Option two is one giant, 4,900-square-foot single-family home with 2,400 square feet of exterior space. Plus, it's located on one of the most charming blocks in the neighborhood.
More pics inside
April 3, 2015

Manhattan Millennials Who Can Afford to Buy Are Still Choosing to Rent

Young professionals living in Manhattan who have the means to make a down payment on a seven-figure property are still opting to rent. Why make payments towards someone else's mortgage when you can be paying your own? It's a lifestyle choice, the Observer notes in a new article exploring the trend. "With their increasingly mobile jobs and lifestyles, successful New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s are shying away from making a commitment to one city, let alone one apartment. And despite Manhattan’s astronomical rents, it’s costlier still to buy here, with the average Manhattan apartment now going for $1.73 million."
More on the trend ahead
April 3, 2015

Opulent Steven Gambrel-Designed UES Co-Op Looks to Make $6M Flip

Before we get into this listing, we just have to point out that the owner of this lavish prewar co-op at 79 East 79th Street is a man named Timothy O'Hara from Savannah, Georgia. We wonder if he has a fictional ancestor named Scarlett. We also wonder if he hasn't heard that joke a million times in his life. O'Hara and his wife Dara purchased the Upper East Side home for $7.25 million back in 2012, and in a flip for the ages, it's back on the market for nearly double that price, at $13.5 million. However, this newly renovated home's custom millwork and bold lacquer paint finishes create a blend of subtle sophistication and vitality that just might be enough to lure buyers to drop some serious cash.
Tour the elegant abode here
April 2, 2015

Sotheby’s New York Sale: The Weirdest and Most Wonderful Things That Sold (and Didn’t)

The highly anticipated New York Sale, an online auction hosted by eBay and Sotheby's, took place yesterday. The first platform of its kind, the sale offered 91 NYC-related lots, including many photographs and artworks, as well as rare city mementos like Andy Warhol's 1963 lease for his first studio on 87th Street (which sold for $13,750, over the $12,000 high-end estimate). Not only does the auction site feature pricing information for the items, but it offers thorough descriptions and historic information about them, accompanied by relevant media. In total, the sale raked in $2,101,814 for Sotheby's, with the most expensive item being a replica of Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi's clay model of "La liberté éclairant le monde"(the Statue of Liberty) that sold for $970,000. Other top sellers include a gold "freedom box," the Mets Bullpen Cart, and a Tiffany & Co. silver Art Deco cigar box.
See all the top sales and those that didn't make the cut here
April 2, 2015

Believe It or Not: The World’s Population Can Fit Inside New York City

Though New York City is expected to surpass its 2020 population projections this year, rest assured that there's plenty of space for all of these folks—and then some. An amusing and quite informative experiment conducted by Tim Urban of the blog Wait But Why takes a look at just how much space you would need to fit the world's population comfortably(ish). The investigation, which puts 7.3 billion folks cozily shoulder to shoulder, hinges on the assumption that you can fit ten humans into a square meter.
learn more here
April 2, 2015

Zachary Quinto Nabs a Sprawling Noho Pad for $3.2 Million

Zachary Quinto–"Star Trek"'s new Spock who's also known for his roles in "Heroes" and HBO's "Girls"–just dropped $3.1625 million on a two-bedroom Noho pad with longtime boyfriend, model Miles McMillan. The 2,300-square-foot full-floor loft at 43 Great Jones Street was initially listed at $3.7 million in March 2014, but it suffered a few price chops before the LA transplants scooped it up. Their new home is the definition of a sleek and modern downtown pad, with walnut floors, oversized windows, and a stainless steel gourmet kitchen.
More pics inside
April 2, 2015

Revealed: East Harlem Rental Building by Gerald J. Caliendo Architects Rising at 2183 Third Avenue

Here's our first look at 2183 Third Avenue, an under-construction mixed-use project in East Harlem being developed by Sharon Kahen and Haim Levi's East 119th Street Development LLC. The parcel at the northeast corner of East 119th Street and Third Avenue is giving rise to a 12-story, 64,000-square-foot building designed by the prolific Gerald J. Caliendo Architects. The building will contain 59 rental units, retail space, and a medical facility at ground level. In 2003, East Harlem underwent a 57-block rezoning spearheaded by the Bloomberg administration's City Planning chair Amanda Burden. The revision, the neighborhood's first in 40 years, increased density allowances along First, Second, and Third Avenues, while preserving the human-scaled midblocks in between. Over the past decade, more than a dozen residential mid-rises, roughly 8-12 stories, have blossomed along the area's wide, well-trafficked corridors. Recent developments spurred by the rezoning include Barry Rice's 119th & Third, Hunter College's Silberman School of Social Work, and Kahen and Levi's own CL Tower at Third Avenue and East 121st Street, two blocks north of their current project site.
More details on the new project here
April 2, 2015

Innocad’s Ultra-Modern Chelsea Penthouse Pays Homage to Marilyn Monroe

The super-modern, asymmetrical building at 459 West 18th Street undoubtedly makes a statement in the Chelsea streetscape, but all those angles present a very untraditional interior composition. So when designing the penthouse, the architects at Innocad made a conscious decision to embrace the building's angled individuality, mixing European design and New York lifestyle to create a fresh atmosphere. They also added a very unexpected and subtle art piece that pays homage to Marilyn Monroe (can you spot it?).
Take a look around
April 2, 2015

EVENT: Tour the Jewish Lower East Side and Enjoy a Passover Feast at the Museum at Eldridge Street

The Museum at Eldridge Street clearly knows that the best way to keep a crowd's attention is to offer a little something to eat. That's why their upcoming tour, Passover Nosh & Stroll – Jewish Landmarks of the Lower East Side, sounds like the best way to celebrate the Pesach holiday. Beginning at the landmarked synagogue "with a kosher-for-Passover 'feast' of matzo, cream cheese, jam, pickles and chocolate from Streit’s Matzo and The Pickle Guys," the tour will then visit the historic and culinary institutions of the old Jewish Lower East Side, including the Forward Newspaper Building, Jarmulowsky Bank, Loew’s Theatre, Bes Medrash Hagadol Synagogue and Economy Candy.
More details here
April 2, 2015

Soho Loft Featured in ‘Ghost’ Hits the Market for $10.5 Million

The incredible home that played host to Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze's sexy crime thriller "Ghost" has just hit the market. The Post reports that the loft located at 102 Prince Street is asking a respectable $10.5 million for its 4,341 square feet, which comes with a private key-lock elevator, double entry doors, cast iron columns, incredible downtown views and much more.
have a look inside
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April 1, 2015

The High and Low: Two ‘Mad’ Pads Offer Modernist Details, Timeless Appeal

In honor of the final season of "Mad Men," we've found a pair of current listings with the modern appeal of the Draper apartment at (fictional) 783 Park Avenue. Accents that might come straight from the pages of a mid-century magazine—like a sunken living room, wood paneling and a Nelson hanging light–or 21st century perks like open kitchens, floor-to-ceiling windows, balconies and city views add up to just as much modern cool as they did in the "Mad Men" era. $2.8 million gets you a serious mid-century pedigree, an enclosed balcony and a prime Greenwich Village location, but for $925,000, a top-floor Upper East Side pre-war pad with a recent renovation, city views and a compellingly modernist vibe looks like a serious deal.
Check out these two 'Mad Men'-worthy pads here
April 1, 2015

This Trailer Home in the Hamptons Wants $1.2 Million

The Hamptons have long been a summer playground for the rich and famous, with real estate prices reflecting just how badly folks want to be part of the scene. But this latest home to hit market had us scratching (and shaking) our heads over its crazy asking price. Offering one bedroom and one bathroom within a 48-year-old, 700-square-foot trailer, this modest mobile abode is looking to make a $1.2 million sale. No, this is not an April Fools joke.
Check out what it has to offer
April 1, 2015

Is the Meatpacking District the Next Midtown?

We tend to think of the Meatpacking District as more of an after-hours or weekend destination for cocktails and shopping, but a piece in the Times today looks at the "influx of office space and more" moving into the neighborhood. In addition to the much-anticipated opening on May 1st of Renzo Piano's new Whitney Museum along the High Line, a James Carpenter-designed 10-story glass commercial tower and Samsung's six-story flagship building are taking shape across from the Standard Hotel. And let's not forget about Pier 55, the $130 million futuristic floating park that is expected to break ground in 2016 off West 14th Street. With all of these new cultural attractions that will undoubtedly attract tourists, coupled with big-name companies joining the likes of Google in the area, is the Meatpacking District the new Midtown?
More ahead
April 1, 2015

West Village Townhouse is Formal and Fun with a Bold Palette, Eclectic Furnishings – and Penguins

New York City is rich with buildings from another time, each offering a unique blend of period details, classic lines, and historical features. As a result, the homes within, as beautiful as they are, can sometimes seem a little, well, stuffy. Faced with the challenge of bringing a more modern aesthetic to their client’s West Village townhouse while respecting the home’s time-honored elegance, Brooklyn-based design firm The New Design Project incorporated a bold palette, eclectic furnishings, and a whimsical family of penguins to instill a fun atmosphere and give the space a younger feel.
Those penguins and more this way
April 1, 2015

Mac Conner’s Vintage Illustrations Invite Us into the World of New York’s Real ‘Mad Men’

Referred to today as the "real Don Draper," McCauley "Mac'" Conner was one of the most important illustrators working during America's golden age of advertising. Conner, now 101 years old, came to New York in 1950 and flourished in the city's publishing industry, bringing an era of deep red lipstick, unabashed chain smoking and lunch-time martinis to the pages of America's most popular magazines. With crisp lines and carefully chosen colors, Conner's vibrant works not only captured a pivotal point in American history, but he also helped shape the image of a postwar nation. Ahead are some of his most notable—and provocative, for the time—images created for magazines such as Cosmo, Good Housekeeping, Collier's, Woman's Day, and many more.
See some of his incredible illustrations this way
April 1, 2015

Hop on Over to the Bunny Beauty Pageant; Mapping the Neighborhoods Most Used as Film Locations

Just by reorienting subway benches, researchers have discovered they can prevent drunken subway accidents by up to 90%. [Fast Co. Design] Calling all rabbit owners, you don’t want to miss tomorrow’s Bunny Beauty Pageant. [NYDN] Midtown, Williamsburg, and the Financial District have been used as filming locations the most over the past few years, according to […]

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