Leonard Bernstein's Former Upper East Side Penthouse Lists for $29.5M

Composer Leonard Bernstein’s Former Upper East Side Penthouse Lists for $29.5M

November 10, 2020

Charles Hobbs,

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Photographs courtesy of Warburg Realty
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Leonard Bernstein’s magnum opus may have been set on the Upper West Side, but the composer lived across Central Park on Park Avenue. The cultural icon behind West Side Story’s music once called this Upper East Side penthouse home. Bernstein threw some of Manhattan’s most talked-about parties here. Specifically, it is where he and his wife, Felicia, threw a famous soirée in support of the Black Panther Party in 1970, dubbed “radical chic” by the New Yorker. An artistic and grand masterpiece on par with Bernstein’s best works, the duplex penthouse is a rare sight on the market seeking $29.5 million.

Accessed via a private elevator landing, the apartment spans approximately 6,300 square feet spread across two levels of its circa-1929 building. Bold and imaginative in its design, the space nevertheless feels traditional. A series of wood-burning fireplaces warm the living areas and bedrooms, and a solarium overlooks Midtown and soaks in sunshine in the process.

Made to entertain, the six-bedroom apartment opens to a 34-foot gallery that flows into elegant and spacious formal living and dining rooms. A library for the studious also carves out space, perfect for working from home. Each of these rooms overlooks the cityscape and Central Park, with access to the additional 700 square feet of outdoor space.