Touring a RARE Historic New York City Carriage House | Landmarked Ep 3

Welcome back to my new series, Landmarked, the real estate home tour show that asks the question, could we build like this still? And if so, why don't we? We're in the heart of the Upper East Side, which is the Mecca for limestones, some brownstones, but mainly limestones, and in this case, uniquely, carriage houses. So in the city, I believe there's only 75 carriage houses remaining, and we're about to tour one of them. In my opinion, one of the most unique. Just get a look at the size and the scale of this thing. We have six stories. It was built in 1903, and this block is very unique because we don't have just this one carriage house, but we have four next door that were built in 1880. So this is a little later, and back when these were built, they weren't desirable. People weren't looking to live in carriage houses, but obviously with the invention of the automobile, horses out of the way, the carriage house became very attractive. The Upper East Side, for a history nerd like myself, is a treasure trove for these old types of homes. Even look across the street. This is a school that was built in 1925, and if you look at the top, it says, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people. So for me, when I tour these homes, I really wonder, what was society like when they built things like that, and houses like the one we're about to tour right now? It's imposing. It is massive. It's definitely one of the types of apartments in the city where when you walk past this, you stop and look, mainly because of these two gargoyles. These are actually, fun fact, the owner's dogs who passed away, unfortunately, and they had immortalized as forever guard dogs of their carriage house. Having your own garage in your townhouse is so rare in the city. For example, a parking spot in the city in this neighborhood, about 1,000 bucks and a good lot. Seriously, maybe down to like $600 a month. So to have this in your house, check this out. Let's finally go inside. So as soon as you enter, you're technically in the garage, but in a house like this, it's not your normal garage. We have a 1970s Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith parked right in the entry level. We have 22 foot high ceilings in here. If you look over here, this is the home of a very famous artist right here. There she is with Bill Clinton. And as you see, when we go out through the space, all the eclectic artwork. Below our feet, we have terracotta tiling. And I just want to point out the pieces as I go throughout the home. Look at this tapestry here. Look at this daybed carved out of... If you are a historian, comment below where you think all this is from, or if the owners are watching, drop a comment, but yeah, for me, this is a treat. But you head down this half floor to your very own private backyard space. And if you come all the way back here, so if we switch spots, Blake, look at this house. How beautiful that is. And also how huge it is. Six stories, and it even has this backyard space, which I love. Greenery everywhere. It's also sunken, which is really important so the sound, it's quiet here. You're not gonna hear your neighbors, they're not gonna hear you. Making our way back in, we have the lower level of the house. And I love, this is crazy. It actually scared the crap out of me. Look at all these wooden figurines here with all the HVAC. You've got your chef's kitchen right by the creepy dolls. And at the very back here is your fitness center right out of the 1970s. I love the wood they use. And check this out. Home sauna. Pretty large one, too. And then you even have just a bunch of equipment down here, but again, the owners have been in this house, I believe, since the 70s. And you can tell in the best way possible because of all their art. I love when you walk in a house and you can immediately tell the personality of the person who lives there. I think that's a cool thing. And this house, you definitely get that. Wow, even look at this. Let's take another look at this. With all the greenery. So pretty. Tranquil, very tranquil. So making our way back up, I was actually informed that this is not a secondary staircase, but this is actually, well, you'll see in a second. Follow me. This home is full of twists and turns. Actually, look at this. It's like almost a Don Quixote, a little door, which leads up. Here you can go first, Blake. Tight squeeze. Look at this. This is a little in-law suite with masks everywhere. Look at all the masks on the walls. Wow. This room is like its own sanctuary. And at the very back, the whole wall here is glass with these windows, which open up to a little intimate outdoor space above the sunken backyard. Here, come on out here. How cool is this? It's just lush green everywhere. It feels like you could be upstate or somewhere. Definitely not in the heart of the Upper East Side, that's for sure. But let's go back in and look at some of these masks. These are incredible. I wish that the artist was giving us the tour. I feel like I'm almost not doing it justice. There's a little window where you can look down at the first lower level, and you can even look, well, don't get too much of a look because we haven't seen that yet, but you can look across and see what's to come in the tour. But let's make our way back down. This is so sturdy. Get a look at that. That is beautiful. I wanna show this. I don't believe, oh, it's here. This is the elevator. So it's six stories, but we do have an elevator. Very cozy elevator. And I'm gonna opt for the stairs. So if we make our way back past all the art, the tapestries, the Rolls Royce, towards the front of the home, take a peek at this. So right off the door, look at this shot. This is so pretty. So as soon as you walk in, you get a clear view up that staircase to the second floor. And before the second floor, this is the mezzanine. So you can look down below here at those 21 foot high ceilings down below to that ground level. And here we have pool table set up, artwork of the owners, piano here. Oh, this is actually pretty unique as well. So I love how they use light in the space and almost chop the floors up adding double height ceilings throughout the space. I like that because it allows the light to flow in through the whole space. That's another portrait of the owner of the house. You can look her up. Lana Gore, very famous artist. She actually has a museum in Israel. And this home itself is essentially a continuation of that museum with all of their art pieces. Up into the second floor. Now we're in the heart of the home and right off of the stairwell, look at this kitchen. And again, I've said this like three times now, this is the house of an artist. Therefore, almost every single element in the house is art in itself. I was gonna point out these, but I'm gonna point out this. This is, again, another painting of the museum that the owners have in Israel. And these are ancient urns. Comment below what you think these are. I love the fact that they have the LED light built right behind so you get that red brick and it highlights the base of them. And then below, look at this, all these copper pots and pans. So I'd like to thank the sponsor of this week's episode, Odoo. Now I know a lot of you watching are entrepreneurs, small business owners, or you're looking to take that leap to the next level. That's where Odoo comes in. Odoo is an all-in-one management software that provides entrepreneurs with a range of applications to really simplify the day-to-day management of their business. Now the Odoo website builder application with drag-and-drop elements makes creating a website quick, easy, and efficient. It is also free of charge with unlimited hosting and support. The website configurator guides you through the steps to one, define your goals, choose the color palette of the site, or insert your own logo, add pages, and choose your theme. And something else I really like about Odoo is that they keep pace with your own evolution, allowing you to add different applications as you grow, and more importantly, your needs change. Having a website for your personal brand is essential, and the Odoo website builder application is a powerful tool for really creating a website efficiently and most importantly, free of charge. Make sure to check out the link in the description to learn more, and thanks again to Odoo for sponsoring this week's episode. Raw, I love how it's a raw countertop. You can tell that it's been cooked in many times. Four-burner cooktop. We've got a built-in Sub-Zero here. Bar cart stacked with Jack Daniels. And then at the back of the house, look at this. This is your solarium. The whole back wall and ceiling juts out, so we have southern light here. Now, even on a cloudy day, so it's not the nicest day today, but even on a cloudy day, tons of sunlight pouring into the space, and then even you can pop your head out the window and get a look at your backyard. Well, actually, you can't even see yours because the trees are blocking it, but you can check out your neighbor's backyards, get some sunlight, and you can see from this drone shot the neighborhood. We are right by Central Park, which is where a lot of the value of this home comes from, the Upper East Side specifically, where we're at, like I mentioned at the start of the video, the nicest real estate in the city, the oldest as well. Bringing it back into the house, these guys are staring at me the whole time I was giving that little spiel. I don't even know what to say. These are pots with, I mean, human heads popping out. What do you, comment down below. They say art is good when it makes you feel something, whether it's you love it or you hate it, and this makes me feel something. I can't put it into words right now, but yeah, this is a one-of-one house in the city, and even as we just walk back through the space, look at some of the more details of the art, especially this kitchen. Look at this. I love the rug, too, below us in this kitchen. I like this as well. This is a nice little breakfast divider, having the kitchen on this side, and then your dining room here, where we have seating for, what is that, about eight? Seating for eight? More are, if you check these out, we were told that these are extremely expensive. We do not know the artist. Comment below if you know who created these. Off of the dining room, again, to let in that light, because we are north-facing, you can kinda look back down below to the pool mezzanine, and then you have the northern windows here, and then are everywhere. I mean, just switch sides with me. Look at this. Look at the texture of this. So again, we do have an elevator, but I kinda like taking the stairs. Again, the owner of the house, and now we are on the third floor, which is the guest bedroom floor, so we'll head off to my right here. So this is the back bedroom. This is staged as a guest room, kid's room. Very minimal, I guess, compared to the rest of the house. I love the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves here. Man, I could spend the entire day looking through this. Look at the desk. I'm pretty sure the artist made this because she works with metals, and this is just a ton of metalwork here. Look how cool that is. Wow. And it is one of those houses where there are so many unique pieces where you really have to take your time. So I'm gonna slow it down a bit. I've been kinda rushing through this tour, but I'm gonna slow it down, and we're really gonna dissect this house. So this is the bathroom for that guest bedroom. This is the elevator right here. I'm not gonna open that up. Again, the stairwell for a little reference. Then towards the far end of the hallway, this is technically the junior primary suite because it's a little bigger than that one, and it's got a fireplace with a bunch of penis statues on the mantle there. You've got these two, I believe this would be on the front of a ship, and then below, look how ornate this metalwork is here by the fireplace. So stunning. And then even check this chair out, which is in the same fashion as that desk we saw in that last bedroom. We've got three windows facing the north. Oh, check that out. This home is one of those houses where you feel like you step back in time. For instance, my view out the window is of a life-size statue of Saint Jean the Baptiste. That combined with all the eclectic artwork, I mean, this is a treat. Comment down below, do you like apartments like this, or do you like something a bit more modern? You probably know what I pick, but this is the walk-in closet, and then this actually connects to the bathroom here. Oh, this is a separate bathroom. Pretty decent size. Soaking tub, dual vanity, and then you have another little closet across here. Let's make our way up to the fourth floor. And this is the fourth floor, and the entire fourth floor is the owner's suite, so no one's gonna be bothering you here. Behind me, look at this. This is the owner's bathroom. Feast your eyes on this space. You've got this cutout in the back wall where the ceiling heights go up to about 12 feet. These are old coffee makers. You've got a big soaking tub here. We've got skulls on the sides of this handcrafted metal chair here. To break down some of the actual finishes, we've got a dual vanity. I love how you've got the beauty light bars on the sides here. And look at the shower. Got this enclosed glass shower, two rainfall shower heads, a big urn in the window of the shower. You've got the little subtle shots of green there for some tranquility. Look at this mask. And then look at this mask. I kind of wish the owner of the house was here giving me the tour because I don't know anything about the art or why she chose it, and I wish I did. Out of the bathroom, down the hallway past the stairs, this is the owner's bedroom. And just like the rest of the house, it has me speechless because of the art. Another one of those chairs created by the artist. I love these. I love the mixture of the leather with the steel and the wood. Then we have a wet bar in here. But again, look at this. Another one of those ornate. I believe this is tea or coffee. Correct me if I'm wrong which one it is. But you have this little wet bar here. I love the fireplace. Look at the stone here. You've got the New York City red brick. You've got the antlers overhead, flat screen above. They have figurines of themselves. These are the owners right here. Immortalized as figurines above on their mantle. Then the far wall here. Again, more of that New York City red brick. Art pieces above the bed. I hate just saying art pieces because there's a lot more that goes into that than just an art piece. You've got a chair made out of tusks in the corner here. And then this is the closet. I mean, maybe just take a little peek in there because they are still living here. Just to show. Full walk-in closet. Samurai suit. What is? Mexico City. Wow. I would love to have the actual valuation of all the art in here. Oh, I want to mention that. The house, this house comes as is with everything in it, including the Bentley. We still have one more floor. So this is floor technically number six. You have your very own private rooftop with views of the old world. I mean, when I look at that, I don't know where I am. I don't know when I am, but I like it a lot. And again, this roof as is, you could put whatever you want up here, a hot tub, outdoor gym, really anything fully customizable. I want you to comment down below. What do you think of this space? The art and the space itself. Which brings us back to the question at the start of the video. If we can still build like this, why don't we? Because when I see something like that, a beautiful old world dome structure, it makes my soul sing. It makes me feel alive. And that's why I started this series because I want to share more homes like this with you watching because I think that's what the world needs. And I think architecture in general has gone down one path that, you know, it's kind of a dead end. And nowadays more than ever, people want to be inspired. So let me know what you think of this episode. And with that, I will see you in the next episode of Landmarked.