Family’s NYC Real Estate Legacy Endures, 111 Years After Disaster

On this date in 1912, one of many richest males on this planet dined sumptuously aboard the White Star line’s latest and proudest ocean-going vessel on its maiden voyage throughout the Atlantic. Later that night, he would information his younger spouse Madeline to lifeboat No. 4 and be instructed he couldn’t be a part of her till all ladies had been safely aboard. He would later be glimpsed on the ship’s starboard bridge wing, talking with one other passenger.

This was the final anybody noticed of John Jacob Astor IV till his stays had been plucked from the icy Atlantic waters a full week later, certainly one of simply 333 our bodies recovered of the greater than 1,500 lives misplaced within the April 15, 1912 sinking of the Titanic.

This 111th anniversary of the disaster is as apropos a second as any to mirror on the wealthy New York Metropolis actual property legacy of the Astor household, a legacy that is still a civic treasure to today. The Astor title lives on in quite a lot of honored New York Metropolis settings, not least of that are Astor Place, the crossroad between the East and West Village, and Astoria, Queens, a bastion of worldwide tradition and public inexperienced house nestled between Lengthy Island Metropolis and Sunnyside throughout the East River.

The Astor

Additionally bearing the Astor title are myriad New York Metropolis buildings that harken to the town’s gilded age. Close to the highest of that record isn’t any much less a plum than the Waldorf Astoria Resort, constructed by William Waldorf Astor, nice grandson of John Jacob Astor I.

One other is The Apthorp, constructed by William between 1905 and 1908 to occupy a complete metropolis block bordered by Broadway, 79th Road, West Finish Avenue and 78th Road.

The constructing was operated by the Astor household for many years till its 1950 sale. It now could be a New York Metropolis-designated landmark listed on the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations.

Yet one more notable instance is The Astor. Located on Manhattan’s Higher West Facet at 235 West 75th Road, The Astor was commissioned by William in 1901.

Designed by busy New York Metropolis architects Clinton and Russell, the unique construction featured two southern towers. A 3rd tower, designed in 1914 by Peabody, Wilson & Brown, accomplished inside a yr and related in look to the unique towers, was designed to be 4 tales taller to permit for spacious penthouses. These had been focused at well-heeled New Yorkers then descending on the Higher West Facet, who had been predicted to flock to the constructing for its location on Broadway between 75th and 76th, and its proximity to the town’s unique subway line and Central Park.

New listings

The Astor launched new listings this previous autumn, the primary new stock within the iconic constructing in two years. Restored and upgraded for at this time’s most discerning purchasers, the residences function the sort of luxuries first-class passengers aboard the Titanic would have savored, had they entered a time tunnel on to 2023.

Included are formal entry foyers, herringbone-patterned wooden flooring, wood-burning fireplaces, up-to-date kitchens that includes top-of-the-line equipment packages and loos providing soaking tubs and radiant heated flooring.

“It’s uncommon to discover a residence in Manhattan that options each historic structure and up to date interiors with fashionable upgrades, particularly one which caters to at this time’s lively existence.” says Douglas Elliman’s Kyle Egan, who together with Randall Dolland and Michael Kafka is overseeing constructing gross sales.

“The Astor supplies this perfect mixture in one of many metropolis’s most sought-after neighborhoods. Discerning patrons in at this time’s market are searching for a singular product that may’t be discovered elsewhere. The Astor speaks to these searching for a lovely, inviting, spacious residence, and a particular piece of New York historical past.”

It seems precisely 111 years after the Titanic’s sinking, the cache of the actual property related to its most well-known passenger continues ascending.

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