Historic Upper East Side Mansion Asking $2.5 Million—in Rent!

How much is that per minute?

Thursday, January 13, 2011, by Joey Arak

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What's the most expensive New York City rental out on the open market? The six-bedroom Cole Porter Apartment in the Waldorf Towers, priced at $140,000 per month. What's the most expensive New York City rental on the hush-hush market? Jennifer Gould Keil writes in her column today that the honor goes to a six-story limestone residence in the East 80s, whose owners are quietly asking $2.5 million in annual rent, or $208,333 per month. (And don't forget about the broker fee!) That would be a record-breaking amount for a Manhattan rental, but the couple that owns the 17,676-square-foot mansion—which sold for just $6 million in 1995, mind you—will leave their priceless antiques behind, so think of the monthly payment as both rent and museum tickets. Who can turn down a deal like that?

Keil writes that the mansion was commissioned by Frank Woolworth and built by architect C.P.H. Gilbert nearly 100 years ago, and using the magnifying glass that came with our Sherlock Holmes Junior Detective Kit, we were able to decipher the clues and identify the mansion as 4 East 80th Street. Who owns it? Years ago theObserver reported that it's none other than gym chain owner Lucille Roberts, who commissioned a five-year renovation of the 35-foot-wide behemoth. Added touches include a Cary Grant Suite (he was married to the house's former owner, Barbara Hutton) and a six-foot-high John Malkovich Room overlooking the kitchen, because what better to inspire the design of your French Renaissance-style mansion than a cult classic John Cusack movie?
· Going for the record [NYP]
· Will Lucille Roberts Finally Move Into Woolworth Mansion? [NYO]
[Photo via PropertyShark.]