THE ROTHSCHILD MANSION

THE WALTER N. ROTHSCHILD MANSION ON THE LEHMAN GARDENS

HISTORY OF THE GARDENS

The common rear gardens on East 70th Street between Madison and Park Avenues create an open enclave measuring 66 feet wide and 103 feet deep, behind three massive mansions on East 70th Street and four on East 71st, a concept of rare civility in New York which dates to 1928.
The creator of the gardens, Alfred Rheinstein, took 42 East 71st Street for his family, and persuaded five of the other six owners to use his magnificent architect, Aymar Embury II, and the seventh owner at 45 East 70th Street choose Mott Schmidt to design his home in a manner consistent with Embury's style. It is a visual pleasure to note that the rear facades of these seven mansions are as carefully crafted as their front facades, as they were designed to be part of the elegant garden environment.

41 East 70th Street was built for Walter N. and Carola Rothschild and is available for sale. Carola was the daughter of Felix M. Warburg, and grew up in the mansion on Fifth Avenue and 92 Street which is now a museum; Mr. Rothschild was the Chairman of Abraham & Strauss. 45 East 70th Street was built for Arthur S. and Adele Lehman, the son of one of the founders of Lehman Brothers. Across from her parents, at 46 East 71st Street, lived Dorothy Lehman Bernhard and her husband, Richard, also a banker, lending the Lehman name to the unofficial name of the gardens. All seven families shared the giant garden where the children and dogs played in their private paradise. Today, low fences define individual gardens, but the green and peaceful impact remains intact.

THE ARCHITECT

Aymar Embury II provided the architecture in this unique enclave with distinctive yet remarkable cohesion. He had dealt with unusual projects such as the Triboro Bridge, the Whitestone Bridge, and the original zoo buildings in Central Park. While he designed several other residences, this collection of Georgian mansions are the only residential architecture he designed in Manhattan.

THE MANSION

Built in1929, Aymar Embury II maximized the impact of the 28' wide mansion which has the unusual feature of having lot-line windows to the west, as well as windows to the north and south, maximizing the interior light. The Rothschild Mansion includes six floors comprising approximately 11,256 square feet, not including the basement which features unusually high ceilings. There is a curved main staircase capped by a skylight (presented covered).
All floors of the mansion are flooded with light, due to the low mansions on East 70 Street to the south and the exquisite 66' deep garden enclave to the north. One can see the sky from the second floor! The sixth floor has a terrace to the south, and a splendid view of the Four Seasons Hotel, making this a rare townhouse with a view! This vista can also be seen from the roof, which can be developed into an additional garden, and feels like a mesa in the sky. The windows on the west wall could be further developed to bring in even more light, while the rear of each floor overlooks the gardens to the north, an exquisite aspect of this home.
This is a rare opportunity for the individual who seeks the irreplaceable impact of an extremely wide mansion on a garden enclave will never be duplicated.

EAST 70 STREET: THE PERFECT LOCATION

East 70th Street has long been held as arguably the finest townhouse street in New York because it is perfectly positioned in the middle of the Upper East Side. Anchored by The Frick Museum at 1 East 70th Street, which was built in 1906 by Henry Clay Frick and originally his private residence, this location was then deemed the most impressive house site available in the city. Costing $5 million at the time and designed by Carrere & Hastings, Frick created a French chateau which today houses a prime New York art museum.