All photos courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty
The Park Avenue penthouse owned by Maurice Tempelsman, Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s longtime companion, is now on the market. Tempelsman, who died last summer at the age of 95, bought the top-floor co-op at 1155 Park Avenue in Carnegie Hill for $3.3 million in 1999, as the New York Times reported. Now asking $5.5 million, the two-bedroom pre-war apartment is surrounded by an enormous, landscaped terrace, providing a serene rooftop garden with views of Manhattan and Central Park.
Tempelsman, a Belgian-American diamond magnate, was Jackie O’s partner for more than a decade before she died in 1994, according to the Times.
When Tempelsman first toured the Park Avenue penthouse, his son Leon told the Times his father was “struck by the grand scale of the rooms” and the “enormous wraparound terrace.”
“He was walking through the apartment with the broker trying to put on a game face, then he turned around with his hand cupped over his mouth and said, ‘I love it,’” Leon told the newspaper. “It was love at first sight.”
The entry foyer is on the 12th floor, with a staircase leading to the dining room. The penthouse measures about 1,800 square feet and has two bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, and a staff room. At roughly 3,600 square feet, the wraparound terrace is about twice the size of the apartment itself.
The dining room boasts floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors that lead to the terrace. The space seamlessly connects to the living room, which has a wood-burning fireplace and access to the outdoor space.
A spacious and sunny primary suite has two walk-in closets and an en-suite bath. A door leads out to the corner of the terrace with city-facing views.
Down the hall, you’ll find the second bedroom, which is currently being used as a library and home office. This room also comes with its own bath and direct terrace access.
A windowed galley kitchen gets the job done. The room is next to a staff room with a bathroom.
Accessible from every room, the magnificent outdoor space features an irrigation system, a fountain with koi, and is overflowing with plants. The Times reports the rooftop garden includes Japanese maple, weeping cherry, and crab apple trees, dogwoods, wisteria, and English ivy. The wide-open views and greenery make the terrace ideal for both moments of solititude and extravagant events.
Even more unique, the terrace has a wooden skiff from Martha’s Vineyard. “He loved telling people about the vertical journey involved in hoisting a 13-foot boat up 12 floors to the top of a New York City building,” Leon told the Times about his father. “This is most likely the first penthouse apartment to come with its very own skiff.”
The apartment building at 1155 Park Avenue was designed by Robert T. Lyons and built by Bing & Bing in 1915. According to CityRealty, architect Emery Roth later added the setback penthouses in 1915 and 1922. Amenities include a full-time doorman, concierge, live-in resident manager, a gym, package room, bike storage, and private storage for each unit.
[Listing details: 1155 Park Avenue, PH at CityRealty]
[At Sotheby’s International Realty by Allison B. Koffman, Juliette R. Janssens, and Nadia O’Reilly]
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All photos courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty