A dazzling Fifth Avenue mansion designed by the famed Gilded Age architect Stanford White is back on the market — this time with a major price cut.
The sprawling 16,000-square-foot limestone home at 973 Fifth Ave., located directly across from Central Park, is now listed for $49.9 million, a significant drop from its original $72.5 million price tag in 2023.
This architectural gem is “unbelievably rare,” co-listing agent Andres Perea-Garzon of Corcoran told Mansion Global, which reported on the listing. Perea-Garzon shares the listing with colleagues Carrie Chiang and Lesley Schulhof.
Specifically, this is one of two Stanford White-designed townhouses in Manhattan that were intended for single-family use and remain that way today, meaning this offering boasts an incomparable pedigree, not to mention a special opportunity to own a real piece of New York City history. White’s work during his career included the Washington Square Arch and the Players Club; he had been affiliated with the firm McKim, Mead & White, best known for the original Penn Station and Madison Square Garden.
Overall, White’s own work included a number of other existing townhouses around the city today, though they’re used for other purposes. They total eight, and include 12 W. 56th St., being used for a store and offices, and 457 Madison Ave., being used as offices, stores and a hotel. White also designed the 32 houses on Striver’s Row in Harlem, though it’s unclear how many are still occupied as single-family dwellings; he also lent his touch to 18 and 19 St. Austin’s Place on Staten Island.
This listed home’s current owner, who purchased the home for $42 million in 2012, embarked on an extensive restoration, bringing the mansion “back to its original glory,” Perea-Garzon said. “Everything was fully either restored or put in brand new,” he added.
“It’s an homage to Stanford White.”
Inside, the 11-bedroom estate is a lavish step back in time, featuring nine hand-carved woodburning fireplaces, a grand limestone staircase, restored stained-glass windows and soaring ceilings.
While the home retains its early 20th-century charm, it has also been upgraded with modern conveniences, including advanced air filtration systems, a new elevator, and five kitchens — one of which boasts a marble waterfall island.
Additional amenities include a climate-controlled wine cellar, a Venetian plaster steam room, a jewelry and silver vault, and a rooftop terrace with 360-degree views of the Manhattan skyline.
The home was built over a three-year period, between 1902 and 1905, White’s great-grandson, architect Samuel White, told The Post.
“Some of the interiors may have been Stanford White,” Samuel said. “But I suspect that the owners over the years have changed the interiors around.
“I’ve only been in the house once and I photographed it about 25 years ago. There is one room where there are sort of wooden beamed ceilings and another room with a sort of panel molding on the walls.”
The property has been on and off the market in recent years, with fluctuating price tags.
After originally listing for $72.5 million, the price dropped to $65 million, then $58 million before landing at its current asking price.
Perea-Garzon said the adjustment reflects the broader real estate market, explaining that “if you look at what has sold in the past two years, [there’s been] somewhat of a correction.”
“It’s an amazing house,” Samuel said. “I mean, this is a good, solid granite facade that has been carved in this most beautiful way. So I think what people would be buying, and in addition to the address, is the location and it’s an enormous house. I mean, a really big house. They would be buying a really elegant facade.”
Despite his successes, White’s career was cut short in 1906 when he was gunned down in a scandalous murder at Madison Square Garden.
His killer, millionaire railroad heir Harry Kendall Thaw, was obsessed with White’s past relationship with Thaw’s wife, the model and showgirl Evelyn Nesbit, which included allegations of sexual abuse — though historians agree Nesbit’s claims remain shrouded in ambiguity.
