D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A an apartment at 10 Gracie Square, which is right around the corner from us. At the time of this writing, I have not heard a confirmation of a sale. 10 Gracie is one of those residential buildings in New York that has always been a bastion for Society as well as Financial and Political power in the world. And therefore a literal literary goldmine of abundant good and bad fortune in individual lives. Its main feature, aside from the beautifully maintained building and ultra private qualities, is that it has, because of its location, very quick access to highways and airports. Built at the height of the
1920s stock market boom, it is on the East River and covers the entire east side of the block between 83rd and 84th Streets (that block on 84th is also known as Gracie Square, overlooking Carl Schurz Park). It’s a wonderful, much quieter neighborhood (generally). It is named after Archibald Gracie who more than a century ago owned the house on it known as Gracie Mansion, which became the official mayoral residence in the city when Fiorello La Guardia became its first official resident. The building’s 86-year history is a plethora of Who’s Who in New York and the world; Mellons, Hitchcocks,
Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Astors, Wall Street tycoons and major art collectors, all with magnificent views of the worlds beyond the rivers and complete quiet and privacy in your own comfortable, elegant residence have lived there for generations. When 10 Gracie was completed, there was no East River or FDR Drive. Instead there was actual riverside where residents could dock their boats. Young John Hay (Jock) Whitney had one of the first apartments, and often traveled downtown as well as to Greentree, his family’s estate in Manhasset, on his yacht. Brooke Astor once lived there when she
was the widow Marshall, before she married Vincent Astor who lived just around the corner on 85th and East End. Madame Chiang Kaishek, the former Mei-ling Soong, lived there from the mid-1970s until her death at age 106 in October 2003. As a private apartment residence, the gated drivethrough passage (entering on Gracie Square and 84th Street, and exiting on East 83rd Street) adds to the residents’ privacy. The building has three different elevators—north, middle, and south for the 41 apartments. It is a very quiet area, devoid of the din of traffic and becalmed by the river majesti-
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