A 19th-century Upper East Side townhouse has hit the market for $13.9 million, with some history in tow.
The four-story red brick home, at 129 E. 70th St., was built in 1862. Despite never being landmarked, it’s the oldest house on the block.
At 19 feet wide with 5,608 square feet, it comes with four bedrooms, 4½ baths and has been fully restored, with attention to historical authenticity — including the addition of a new stoop and a conservatory.
The facade was also restored to what was believed to be the original Civil War-era colors, with tinted mortar and a dark green, almost black, color for the railings and fence.
Original details include hardwood floors, arched windows, a Gothic bay window, a Juliet balcony, a dumbwaiter, five woodburning fireplaces, a curved staircase and mahogany touches. But the renovation made the home thoroughly modern.
The main bedroom suite takes up the entire second floor, with walk-through ensuite baths and a private garden-facing study that can be converted to a guest bedroom. The remaining bedrooms are on the third floor.
There’s also a chef’s kitchen, a wood-paneled library, a gated front garden, plus a landscaped backyard with stone pavers and ivy-covered fences.
The townhouse is near Paul and Bunny Mellon’s former home, which “comeback billionaire” Jim Clark bought for $37 million in 2015, at 125 E. 70th St. That 40-foot-wide mansion was built in 1965 by Paul, the baking heir, and his wife, Bunny, who created the White House rose garden for her pal Jacqueline Kennedy.
It’s also a few doors down from a townhouse at 113-115 E. 70th St. that Jeff Blau, CEO of Related, and his wife, Lisa, bought from designer Reed Krakoff and his wife, Delphine, for $51 million in 2015.
The sellers at 129 E. 70th St. are choreographer Larry Keigwin and Christian Keesee, a philanthropist and chairman of Kirkpatrick Bank and Kirkpatrick Oil & Gas Company. Keesee, who bought the townhouse for $6.35 million in 2005, is also president and founder of the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, Marfa Contemporary, Green Box Arts and the Brett Weston Archive. Keesee has reportedly said that the home has “good karma.”
In 1913, Katherine Duer Mackay, depicted as Phaedra in a portrait by John White Alexander, rented this home after separating from her husband, Comstock Lode heir Clarence Mackay. She was also known for collaborating with one of America’s original starchitects, Stanford White, on her family’s Long Island mansion, as well as the Episcopal Trinity Church in Roslyn, NY, according to reports.
The listing broker is Chase Landow of Serhant.
