173 East 70th Street

Some townhouses seemed blessed by good fortune. They are on the perfect street. And on an exquisite block of that street. A street with an unmatched legacy of great architects from Fifth Avenue to Third Avenue. And owners so multi-talented they seem the creators of a modern-day Renaissance.173 East 70th Streetis such a townhouse. And it has just been reduced by$1.7 Million to$7.9 Million.

A RENAISSANCE MAN

In December of 1942, a couple moved into173 East 70th Streetand remained until 1991, over 49 years. Alexander Libermanrose from an entry-level job at Vogue to become the editorial director of the entire Conde Nast publishing empire, and over his 40-year span at Conde Nast, he was artistic director of 14 magazines: Singlehandedly, he was deemed in 1999 "the father of modern publishing... no man in the Western world held more power over modern media."

"THE WHITE SALON"

During Lieberman'sownership, entertaining levels of this townhouse were decorated completely white - a gleaming enamel banister, chairs in white vinyl, all books with white covers - and the parties his wife Tatiana created included luminaries from all the arts such as Yul Brenner, Marlene Dietrich, Jackson Pollock, RaymondLowery, Greta Garbo, Oscar de la Renta, and Irving Penn.

THE RESIDENCE TODAY

The home has two entries off the forecourt: a service entry on the western side of the house directly into the kitchen and the main entry to the east which leads to the foyer and offers immediate direct views of the lushly planted north-facinggarden. The eat-in kitchen is accessed from the foyer and includes a banquette, six-burner range, excellent storage, and an adjacent butler's pantry with a second sink and ample serving space for formal dining. There is a powder room and guest coat closet off the main hallway, which leads to a sun-filled living and dining room with a wood-burning fireplace. The north-facing garden is 38 feet long, planted on all sides with tall trees and rhododendron, creating a private refuge for relaxation and summer dinners. The parlor floor living room has 11'8" ceilings, a wood-burning fireplace and an arched entryway with pocket doors. On the landing is a coat closet and powder room. The stair bends gracefully on the parlor floor lending even more space for the large and gracious entertaining rooms. The south-facing library includes the third wood-burning fireplace and a wall of built-in shelves. Floors three and four comprise four bedrooms and four full baths that can be configured to place the master on either floor with three additional well-proportioned bedrooms remaining. Each bedroom has ample closet space and two large windows. There is a ladder to the rooftop, which could be developed into a garden. The basement ceiling height is 6'7" and includes building mechanicals and laundry. Above-grade square footage is approximately3,567sfwith an approximately 930 square foot basement and approximately 633sfrear garden.

GOING BACK TO THE FUTURE

Some say great ideas never die but rather reappear. Today,many favor light and white in our city homes,so we have virtually staged the photos of this house to suggest "A White Salon" of today to honor the past while suggesting a possible future interpretation.