Upper East Side Penthouse Listed for First Time Since 1930

For the first time since 1930, a penthouse at the Emery Roth-designed 784 Park Ave. residence has hit the market.

The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom duplex on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, which had been only previously traded via in-house deals, was listed Friday for $14.99 million. The penthouse, which is the largest apartment in the building, looks out onto Central Park and beyond from the 16th and 17th floors.

"A lot of brokers talk about a room with a view, but this is 14 rooms with a view," said listing agent Barbara Evans-Butler of Stribling & Associates.She and Claire Groome of Warburg Realty share the listing.

Those views can be seen as soon as guests and residents enter the penthouse from one of its two private landings. Beyond the "understated" marble foyer and the black spiral staircase is the apartment’s conservatory, which overlooks the park and West Side buildings and gets "incredibly brilliant light," Ms. Evans-Butler said.

The entire first floor is set up for entertaining, Ms. Evans-Butler said. "It has a very gracious, unique and open layout."

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In addition, it has "all the pre-war details people love," she said, including moulding, built-in shelving and a wood-burning fireplace in the living room with a marble mantel. The living room also features hardwood floors and has an adjacent loggia that leads to one of the apartment’s two terraces. A library shares access to the landscaped outdoor area.

A large dining room with original mahogany herringbone floors connects to the home’s eat-in chef’s kitchen, which also has double exposure, to the south and the west, to allow for more views and light in the room. There are two powder rooms on the main floor, according to the listing.

Upstairs, the master bedroom also features the same impressive city and park views and has access to the apartment’s second terrace. It features a dressing room and bathroom with several closets, the listing said.

There are three other en-suite bedrooms, and another bedroom that could also be used as a master sitting room. A fifth bedroom with a kitchenette can be used for staff quarters.

A separate, ground-floor apartment is included in the asking price of the penthouse. It has two bedrooms and looks out onto the building’s playground.

The building, located between 73rd and 74th streets, was designed and built by the renowned New York City architecture firm Emery Roth & Sons in 1930. Today it features amenities like a 24-hour doorman, state-of-the-art fitness center, bike room, storage and children’s play areas.

The elevators are currently being renovated, Ms. Evans-Butler said. She also noted that the building has no summer work rules, meaning that renovations can be made over the summer. Many buildings in the area don’t allow that, she added.

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Philanthropists Stephen and Anna-Maria Kellen were the long-time residents of the apartment, and lived in the building for more than 65 years.

They "raised their children on the other side of the building and then moved to a larger apartment once the children were grown up," Ms. Evans-Butler said, calling them "reverse empty nesters."

The German couple served on numerous boards of the city’s arts and cultural institutions, including the New York City Commission for Cultural Affairs and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They also co-founded the American Academy in Berlin, according to Ms. Evans-Butler. Anna-Maria Kellen passed away earlier this year; her husband died in 2004. The duplex is being sold by their estate.