Penthouses
                        Lazy Day in the City  -  Upper West Side
Sophisticated New York
Penthouse Interior
Central Park South
And there are some that transport you to a different place altogether.
                                       Paris on Park Avenue
Hacienda on
Riverside Drive
Of course, the ideal is to overlook Central Park, Riverside Park, the Hudson River or the East River.


On Riverside Drive Overlooking the Hudson River

Overlooking the East River
Overlooking Central Park and Fifth Avenue from a penthouse on Central Park South
For further information on penthouses, see Penthouse Makeover or click on links at  the top right
or below for other information.

                               "Follow the Dream  . . . "


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All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Listed subject to errors, omissions, change in price, prior sale, rent
and withdrawal without notice. Photographs, description and information about the properties reflect conditions at
the time the photographs were taken. All dimensions and all square footage are approximate. For exact dimensions,
you must hire your own architect or engineer.
Copyright  ©  2005  Stock Properties.
All rights reserved.   No right to publish or reproduce any of this material without express written permission.  
450 East 85th Street, New York, NY 10028             tel/fax 212.535.4963    E-mail:  info@stockpropertiesny.com
s t o c k p r o p e r t i e s n y . c o m
Luxury New York City Apartments  •  Upper West Side  •  Penthouses  •  Relocations  
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                  "Follow the Dream . . . "
PENTHOUSE (above) overlooking the Hudson and Central Park West with Views of the
Statue of Liberty to the George Washington Bridge
Includes Seven Terraces


Follow the Dream

Breakfast on the balcony, evening drinks on the terrace while gazing at the sunset, looking down
from your eagle’s nest perch onto busy city streetscapes, on the serenity of the Hudson or East
rivers or Central Park, life couldn’t be any better than this.  

History

It wasn’t always this way.  Up until the mid-1800s, penthouses were the least desirable place to be
in an apartment house.  The first and second floors were always the most desirable spaces in an
apartment house and were designed with the highest ceilings, the grandest moldings, and the best
layouts the building had to offer.  Why?  Stairs!  Lots of them!  The higher and bigger the building,
the more stairs.  So, who lived on the roof?  The service people—the maids, the super.  Even up
until recently, I have visited the old maids’ quarters on the roofs of certain Fifth Avenue buildings—
rabbits’ warrens of little cubicles that no one would ever grace with the name penthouse as it is
perceived today.

Then technology intervened.  In 1854, Elisha Otis brought forth his new invention, an elevator brake
which made elevators a practical, safe way to ascend the floors in a building, and apartment houses
have never been the same since.  It still took many years for elevators to be incorporated on a large
scale into apartment buildings and for it to dawn on landlords that the penthouse could actually be
used as a luxury apartment. Then penthouses as we know them began to flower.  One at 50 Central
Park West, built about 1905, had a theater follie with Greek columns, big enough for full
performances, on its roof terrace.  And that was only  part of the terrace. It also has a raised eagle’s
perch, from which to sit and survey the terrace, Central Park West, the park and Fifth Avenue.

Serenity and Outdoor -  Indoor Living in a Crowded City

One of the chief delights of a penthouse is being able to sit out among the flowers and plants and
quietly read or dine, much as you would in the back yard in the country—but smack dab in the
middle of the city that’s the ‘capital of the world.’  The exciting, chaotic city is there at your
doorstep, but here in your penthouse is a serene world that is above it all—figuratively and literally.

Penthouse Types

In New York, there are several different penthouse types—it all depends upon your reason for
wanting one in the first place.  There are those in the $15 -$50 million (dare I say, even more?)
range meant to impress, but also to give their owners that inimitable feeling of being on top of the
world in the capital of the world, New York.                                             

There is nothing more exhilarating, more stunning, than looking down on the fairy, twinkling lights
of night-time New York, from river to river (there are always four exposures in this type—or the
owner paid too much!) from 50 stories up!  It’s like coming in over New York for a night landing in
your own private plane. (See first photo on this page.)

Then there is the sophisticated New York type. The inside is as important as the outside and the
style tells you you are in New York—smart, sophisticated, definitely not a country place.
3/10/9  ATTENTION PENTHOUSE OWNERS   3/10/9
Thinking of selling? I am looking for a two-to-three bedroom penthouse
with terrace overlooking Central Park for a buyer-client. Either prewar,
post-war or modern.
Please e-mail: mstock@stockpropertiesny.com OR submit the info on the
form located on the Home Page.