The title of a popular novel and the upcoming television adaptation of the same, 666 Park Avenue is also a very real address, and an utterly spectacular one at that. Referred to by the Times as "surely the greatest maisonette ever constructed in New York," the 21-room apartment occupies three floors of the distinguished co-op at 660 Park Avenue. The apartment has always enjoyed its own devilish address, along with a formal entry on 67th Street, distinguished by inclusion under the building's awning. Completed in 1927 to designs by the venerable York & Sawyer, 666 Park featured interiors torn—most literally—from European homes, including a 50-foot drawing room with 24-foot ceilings and "17th-century pine paneling, brought from Spettisbury Manor in the west of England."
The first resident was the similarly distinguished Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, who parted with $185,000 for the space, then the most ever paid for a residence in Manhattan. By 1981, the maisonette was listed by then owner Leslie Samuels for $9M, and Imelda Marcos is said to have toured the property at the time. Today, the massive listing could fetch upwards of three times that, should it return to market. Owners aren't in the habit of letting go easily: the Samuels couple spent more than 40 years entertaining in this grand Park Avenue residence.
· A remarkable maisonette on Park Avenue [NYT Archive]
· 666 Park Ave. [Curbed]
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