"A building's details, materials and social spaces should reflect their time, but they should also transcend it." Robert A.M. Stern

44 FEET IN WIDTH
On the Gold Coast of Manhattan's Upper East Side - from East 60th to East 96th Street, from Fifth to Park Avenues - there are only 11 mansions that are 44 feet or wider, and no other house on the market is available at this extraordinarily rare width. Yet the most remarkable aspects of this particular mansion at 50 East 69 Street are the dazzling interior light, both front and rear, in a building of this width, and the stunning, classic limestone facade.

OTTO DOMMERICH
Otto Louis Dommerich was the senior partner of L.F. Dommerich & Co., an international cotton factor firm founded by his father that had been in business for over 50 years with annual sales exceeding $ 15 Million in 1915. The New York operation was housed on Greene Street, with an additional 65 feet of frontage on Wooster Street, plus a third emporium on Worth Street. Dommerich also had extensive interests in insurance companies and was a director of twelve insurance companies. His 11 bedroom Rumson estate on 13 acres was purchased fully furnished and was adjacent to another massive estate owned by Jacob H. Schiff.

"BANKERS' COLONY" was "BILLIONAIRES' ROW"
Just as many of today's billionaires are congregating around Central Park in an area that has come to be known as "BILLIONAIRES' ROW", the section of Madison and Park Avenues between East 68 and 71 Street was referred to as "Bankers' Colony" at the turn of the last century as so many prominent families in finance choose this particular location. "The most suitable site in all of New York for a dwelling would appear to be the southwest corner of East 69 Street and Park Avenue," as it "was not a matter of cost but rather one of choice that drove this decision" according to a published report in THE NEW YORK HERALD of Sunday, October 14, 1917.

It was noted in the press of the day that at the exact same time Dommerich was planning his magnificent mansion on East 69th Street, three other magnates, Henry P. Davison of J.P. Morgan & Co., William Sloane of W & J Sloane, and Harvey Gibson of Liberty National Bank were also erecting their mansions on the very same block between Madison and Park Avenues, intentionally choosing this location over Fifth Avenue. The fact that the four men who "wanted only the best selected the same corner" gave rise to the belief that "this corner is the best residential site in the city" and "developing what is to be Fifth Avenue's greatest rival." An article in 1916 announces that "There is no section which shows more promise of usurping much of Fifth Avenue's social prominence than Park Avenue."

THE ARCHITECT
Henry C. Pelton demolished two earlier houses to create this mansion in 1917 The Dommerich Mansion is a Beaux-Arts beauty in the Neo-French Classic style that instantly surpassed many of the palaces of Fifth Avenue. Elegant to the core, his design was a synthesis of classical themes to create a refined yet comfortable residence.Pelton later designed Riverside Church, funded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., considered to be the finest stone structure with stained glass of its era and the most prominent architectural work along the Hudson River from midtown to the George Washington Bridge.

BLUE LINEN FLOOR PLANS OF THE MANSION AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT ARE AVAILABLE

36 original drawings survive that encompass all details of the construction and most importantly show that the building is nearly column free, allowing for great flexibility in future design.

THE MANSION TODAY
Currently configured as 7 levels plus a basement with 15 foot ceilings, this house offers 21,070sf above grade and 5,040sf below grade with over 3,350sf of outdoor space in a second floor terrace, a terrace off the solarium and an additional roof terrace possible with views of Fifth Avenue and Central Park. There are two original elevators, serving all levels, and a third commercial grade hydraulic elevator between the first floors and high ceilinged basement level. Built 44 x 102 on the lower and entry levels, it scales to 70 feet in depth from the second through the fifth floors, providing an excellent opportunity for outdoor space approximately 30 feet deep on the parlor floor. It has an original penthouse level with indoor and outdoor areas.

There are 14 marble fireplaces, each one unique.

An original curved staircase approximately 22 feet in diameter ascends upward to a glorious stained glass dome illuminated from above - an architectural detail unmatched by any townhouse to ever come on the market.

The current owners engaged John Saladino to create a luxury medical facility but in such a way that the great rooms and basic floor plan elements remain intact.

A CENTENNIAL OPPORTUNITY
Otto Dommerich and his colleagues sought to create an exceptional environment for their families and the today's buyer can benefit from the fact that their efforts are largely intact in the exquisite streetscape of this particular block. And as this mansion was completed in 1917, its new owner - and only the fourth - would have the rare opportunity to celebrate the centennial of this mansion in 2017!

"ROLL CALL" on EAST 69TH STREET
"A rich and changing block of varied architectural styles, all of human scale and greater than the sum of its parts."

After width and faade quality, the third most critical element giving great value to a mansion is its location, and this particular block creates the most desirable streetscape, both north and south sides.

SOUTH SIDE
-52 East 69th Street: 18.5 feet wide, built 1916 for Henry P. Davison, a partner at J.P. Morgan and a Founder of Bankers' Trust-42 East 69th Street: 50 foot wide, built 1921, originally built by CPH Gilbert for Arthur Sachs, grandson of Joseph Sachs, a Founder of Goldman Sachs
-38 East 69th Street: 50 foot wide, built 1928, owned by Jonathan Rosen, former Chairman of First Republic Bank, Mesopotamian art collector, originally built for Russell Leffingwell, Secretary of the Treasury from 1917-1920.
-36 East 69th Street: 25 foot wide, built 1903, faade by Carrere and Hastings (architects of the NYC Public Library), originally owned by American author Theodore Pratt
-34 East 69th Street: 20.5 foot wide, built in 1928, Richard Feigen gallery
32 East 69th Street: 20 foot wide, built 1880, new faade 1946, originally single family and now owned by gallerist Hauser and Wirth, and renovated by Annabelle Selldorf

NORTH SIDE
-35 East 69th Street: 25 feet wide, built 1910, Episcopal Private School designed by Walker and Gillette
-33 East 69th Street: Single-family 25 foot building, built 1899, former residence of renowned AmFar founder Dr. Mathilde Krim and former United Artists and Orion-Pictures Chairman Arthur B. Krim. Lightly rusticated limestone.
-31 East 69th Street: Consulate of the Republic of Austria, 25 feet wide, CPH Gilbert design from 1917 for paper manufacturer Augustus Paine. Built in 1918.
-29 East 69th Street: Owned for over 20 years by AD100 Designer Juan-Pablo Molyneux, 22 feet wide, single-family, neo-Classic French style built 1919.
-27 East 69th Street: 23 feet wide, built 1925, a 27 foot wide building originally built for Albert and Lucretia Strauss, Mr. Strauss was the Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve in 1918.
-23 East 69th Street: 28 foot wide, built 1910
-21 East 69th Street: 20 foot wide, built 1927