Penthouse 7

Behold Penthouse 7 in No. 5, once again on the market. It is a two bedroom, two bath affair, spread out over three levels, the top being a roof terrace ‒ with another terrace on the first floor. This is also the penthouse that movie star Charlton Heston rented in the 1950s as his New York City base, and where he gave his celebrated interview with Edward R. Murrow on Person to Person.

The price is listed by its real estate agent, Douglas Elliman, at $4,795,000.

The living room has views toward the east and south, 18-foot ceilings, and a wood-burning fireplace. 

The first terrace, a long strip which winds down the building. 

The roof terrace.

Check out its page on the Douglas Elliman site, here. And for more on Charlton Heston, click here.

EXITING the THEATER

A return to an offshoot of Tudor City promotion, that which is aimed at the theatergoer ‒ particularly the theatergoer forced to leave early to catch the 10:52 to Westchester. These are from 1929.

There's another one leaving for Forest Hills whispers one chorine, surveying the audience. . . Do they talk like that about you, or do you live in Tudor City?  

There is no excuse for being late to the theater ‒ not even commuting ‒ when you can live at Tudor City and walk to any play in time to see the curtain rise. . .  

Suppose the first violin got up in the middle of the last act and with considerable commotion marched out of the theatre. You'd be annoyed. And it wouldn't help if it was explained to you that he was a commuter and had to catch a train. . .

Look 'round! He's sitting next to you. . . Mentally, he's a wreck. . . But he's reading this programme, too. Perhaps he is wise in his generation and this autumn you may meet him again ‒ in Tudor City. From there he will walk to the theatre and there he will enjoy all the conveniences of life. . .

More of the same here.

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Another matter altogether is the listing of Penthouse 4 in No. 5. It is among the most desirable of the penthouses since its terrace has views of the Chrysler building. In 2023, it was on the market and sold for $3,200,000. Now it's back again, for $3,750,000. We took a look at the virtually staged premises, both in 2023 and 2024.

2023

2024

We think 2024's virtual styling is far superior to 2023's, but is it worth $550,000 more? See the current listing via Douglas Elliman, and compare it to our original post. Then decide. Comments are encouraged. 

REAL ESTATE REPORT: What's Your Apartment Worth?

  Recent Tudor City sale prices via Streeteasy.

Sign in No. 5 Lobby

The Cloister 

$795,000, Apt 812, two bedroom

$710,000, Apt 310, two bedroom

Essex House

$962,500, Apt 701, two bedroom

$962,000, Apt 601, two bedroom

Haddon Hall
$785,000, Apt 1101C, one bedroom
$781,000, Apt 703C, two bedroom

Hardwicke Hall
$740,000, Apt 702B, two bedroom
$325,000, Apt 303B, studio 

Hatfield House   
$335,000, Apt 408A, studio
$338,120, Apt 1103A, studio

The Hermitage 
The Hermitage is a rental-only building. Recent monthly rentals:
$6,395, Apt 805, three bedroom

$4,998, Apt 1004, two bedroom

The Manor  

$475,000, Apt 206, one bedroom

$450,000, Apt 315, one bedroom

Prospect Tower, No. 45
$550,000, Apt 707, one bedroom
$487,500, Apt 1807, one bedroom

Tudor Gardens, No. 2
$1,225,000, Apt 9HS, two bedroom

$950,o00, Apt 15ES, one bedroom

Tudor Tower, No. 25
$435,000, Apt 1205, one bedroom
$425,000, Apt 1519, one bedroom

Windsor Tower, No. 5
$475,000, Apt 1125, one bedroom
$450,000, Apt 1920, one bedroom

Woodstock Tower

$745,000, Apt PH-3206, one bedroom

$465,000, Apt 2310, one bedroom

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The entrants for best million-dollar listing include a two bedroom unit at $1,199,000 or a three bedroom spread with a terrace at $1,900,000, both of which are in No. 2. There is also a three bedroom in the Essex House for a cool $1,580,000.

And then there is this one bedroom at $1,950,000 in No. 5. Yes, it's a penthouse. And one of the least expensive ones because of its smaller size ‒ around 1,000 square feet. But it's arranged over three floors, one of which is a swell little terrace. 

PH5: Entry level main room with 18-foot-high ceiling.

PH5: Top level garden terrace.

We wrote about this same penthouse back in 2017, when it was off the market; more about it here. And its up-to-the-minute listing here from Compass.

Penthouse 4

A recent visit to Streeteasy turned up the newly-listed Penthouse 4 in No. 5. This is a first-time item on the site, and we're particularly taken by the cartouche on its rooftop terrace, part of its jaw-dropping view. The price is $3.2 million.

The living room with its 17-foot ceiling.

Reverse view showing the staircases and, below the painting, the fireplace.

Dining room on second floor.

One of the two bedrooms.

The other bedroom. Note that all photos are "virtually staged." What this exactly means is never explained, but in the photo above, we can see the flooring turn from white to brown. 

The terrace, eastern view. Towering above it all is the only weathervane remaining in Tudor City. 

The western view from this one-of-a-kind terrace.

Floor plan.

The Other Penthouses

A look at Tudor City's other penthouses, those resting atop the more modest sized buildings. They never got much attention, but the reasons they remain in demand is outside access, always at a premium in New York. Even if the access is long and narrow, and the apartments on the small side.

A corner of The Cloister.

A roof garden on The Manor.        .

Looking west, a variety of greenery on No. 2, the 3H's and Essex House.

From No. 2, looking north toward The Woodstock.

This Essex House penthouse has an eastern view of No. 25.

Atop Haddon Hall, facing northwest. The view includes the water towers of the 3H's, the Hotel Tudor and The Woodstock.

Summer in Tudor City

 A look at an article published in the September, 1929 edition of The Voice, published by the French Company for its employees. 

"Tudor City has brought summer comfort in town within the reach of the average man. A community of modern apartment houses on a hill swept by river breezes, and grouped around two large, beautifully landscaped parks ‒ here at last is the answer to the busy business man's hot-weather problems."

"In these parks reigns genuine peace. Here, as nowhere else in New York, one's ears are unassailed by the constant roar of swiftly-passing motors; one's nostrils unoffended by their poisonous exhaust fumes. For there is no through traffic in this oasis of quiet."

"Mrs. Tenant finds it good on a warm day to sit in the shade on a comfortable bench and gaze upon the smooth lawns, with the murmur of the fountain mingling pleasantly with the voices of her children playing in the sand-boxes nearby. And what could be more delightful to her husband, as a soothing aftermath to a tiring day in a hot office?"

"Of course, if one happens to have a penthouse apartment, he need only step out on his own private roof space to enjoy them. Especially delightful is the view at night, with the million-jeweled city on one side, on the other the dark water with the lights of the river craft gliding slowly to and fro ‒ and always the cool, invigorating breeze."

Castle in the Air

This slick art deco ad publicizing a posh Tudor City penthouse ran in the New Yorker in 1932. Its illustration ‒ complete with a grand staircase, swooping balcony, and mammoth, Citizen Kane‒esque fireplace ‒ reeks of swank.

The ad copy calls it a "studio apartment." The term had a different meaning then, referencing a lofty artist's studio. (In 1932, one-room apartments were known as just that ‒ one-room apartments. It wasn't until the 1960s that they became popularly known as studios.)

The ad, enlarged for your closer inspection, below.

Residents: MERCEDES MATTER

Above and below, Mercedes Matter photographed by her husband, Herbert, in 1940.

This episode of notable Tudor City residents profiles painter Mercedes Matter, a player in the New York art scene of the 1940s. Her life, in bullet points:

✫  Born Mercedes Carles in 1913, daughter of an artist and a model. Shows an early interest in art and begins to paint in the abstract style in her teens.

✫  Hired as an assistant/translator for Fernand Léger, famed French painter, in 1936. Léger goes on to introduce her to her future husband, Herbert Matter, a Swiss photographer and graphic designer.

✫  The couple hit it off immediately and Mercedes is soon living with Herbert in No. 45, where he rents two apartments: a modest studio used for sleeping, and a grand penthouse used for working.

Two illustrations of the work space, below.

Studio in New York (Tudor City) by Herbert Matter, ca. 1937.

Herbert Matter's Studio by Mercedes Matter, ca. 1937

✫  They marry, and relocate to a rowhouse at 328 E. 42nd St. [since demolished], next to The Woodstock. Active in the emerging New York art scene, the couple socializes with a number of about-to-be-very-famous artists: Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning and Alberto Giacometti, among others. Given her striking looks, Mercedes is considered something of a femme fatale within the group.

Mercedes photographed by Herbert in Provincetown, 1940

✫  The Matters leave Tudor City around 1943, eventually setting down roots in Greenwich Village and East Hampton. In 1964, Mercedes founds the New York Studio School, a highly regarded art school emphasizing drawing from life, which proves to be her legacy.

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Years later in 2003, the Matters' only child, Alex, discovers a cache of reputed Jackson Pollock paintings in his father's storage locker. But that's a whole other story.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

On a penthouse terrace of No. 5, a terra cotta goat stands guard. 

The Bride Wore Purple

Tudor Tower wedding ceremony, September 21, 1970.

There have been countless weddings in Tudor City over the last 90 years, but one of the more unconventional ones took place in 1970 on a penthouse terrace atop No. 25.

The groom was Jon Haggins, fashion designer, and the bride, June Murphy, a model. It had been a whirlwind, six-month  courtship. When it came time to set the date, Haggins had a brainstorm, spelled out in the wedding invitation: Jon Haggins is in high spirits because he's going to marry June Murphy and present his holiday, resort and spring collection on the same day!

The hybrid event was held on the penthouse terrace of a Tudor Tower resident who was a friend of the groom. Most of the guests were press people intrigued by the gimmick of a fashion show ending with a wedding. Fashion shows at the time often ended with a bride, but never a real one.

It was the '70s, so the bride and groom both wore purple, she in purple chiffon with a matching scarf, he in a purple shirt and bow tie. The ceremony was Unitarian. At one point the wind caught the bride's long scarf and wrapped it around the couple, which was widely seen as good luck.

It was not a lucky union, however, ending after a year and a half. Years later, Haggins told the Times "we just had different visions." Despite "a bitter divorce," he confessed he "still has a little thing for her. It's something I never got over."

Thank you to David Reiff for the tip.

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REMINDER: The lighting of the enclave's Christmas tree takes place tomorrow night, Dec. 6th, at 6:30 pm in the South Park. This has been an annual Tudor City tradition since 1927, don't miss it!

PICTURE OF THE DAY

A penthouse in No. 5 with views of the East River, from a 1987 brochure.

RESIDENTS: Martin Munkacsi

Continuing our series on notable Tudor City residents, meet Martin Munkacsi, one of the most renowned photojournalists of his time, and tenant of No. 5. Here is his life, in bullet points:

Munkacsi and family

✱ Born in Hungary, 1896. Moves to Berlin in 1928 and gets a job photographing street life for a German picture magazine. His informal, freewheeling style seems very modern, and he quickly makes a name for himself.

✱ Abandons Berlin for New York in 1934 and reinvents himself as a fashion photographer. Reinvents the genre by taking his models outdoors and setting them in motion. Carmel Snow, editor of Harper's Bazaar, admires his work and puts him under exclusive contract. He's soon earning $100,000 per year, an immense sum during the Depression. "A picture isn't worth a thousand words," he quips, "it's worth a thousand dollars."

✱ Around 1940, he leases a showy triplex penthouse in No. 5, which becomes his studio.

Above, the artist and two ladies in his Windsor Tower studio, photographed from the second floor of the triplex. Below, after some minor rearrangement of furniture, there's room for a game of ping pong.

However, Munkacsi's success is short-lived. Following a heart attack in 1943, he starts into a slow decline. His much-imitated style is no longer so revolutionary, and he has difficulty transitioning from black-and-white to color photography. Turns to freelancing after being dropped by Harper's Bazaar. Moves out of Tudor City in 1952 and is eventually reduced to selling his cameras to make ends meet. Suffers another heart attack in 1963 and dies, near-destitute and long-forgotten.

Much admired by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Richard Avedon, Munkacsi today is regarded as a pivotal figure in photojournalism. Below, three memorable examples of his kinetic aesthetic.

From left to right, "Jumping a Puddle" (1934), "Having Fun at Breakfast" (1933), and Fred Astaire (1936).