A grand wood-burning fireplace, luminous picture windows, and an expanse of bespoke bookshelves make even a vast library feel welcoming.

Urban Legend

Designed and developed by icons, 740 Park Avenue is among the city’s most storied structures.

Words: Liz Wallace
Images: Donna Dotan and Lauren Naefe

Epitomizing Upper East Side glamour, 740 Park Avenue is an address as iconic as its residents. Home to a century’s worth of Manhattan influencers, the building was developed by Jacqueline Bouvier’s grandfather James T. Lee in 1929. Claiming the future First Lady herself and John D. Rockefeller among its early denizens, it came to be known as a “Tower of Power” by the 1980s, with financiers and celebrities alike engaged in bidding wars for record-setting prices. Retaining its storied appeal to this day, 740 Park represents one of Manhattan’s most desirable residences, counting Ron Perelman and Vera Wang as current key-holders.

Stately and serene, 740 Park Avenue’s exterior is as iconic as the stunning homes within.

“Candela’s genius was his ability to create individual rooms of exceptional scale while retaining a thoughtful layout through the entire apartment.” — Kyle W. Blackmon

Resting between 71st and 72nd Streets, this Art Deco landmark was designed by architects Rosario Candela and Arthur Loomis Harmon in 1929. “Candela designed 12 buildings on Park Avenue; of these, only 740 was clad in limestone,” notes Kyle W. Blackmon, Head of Luxury Sales at Compass. “With its elegant setbacks and a stately façade, many historians consider this building to be Candela’s greatest masterpiece.”

The dining room’s crown moldings and dramatic arched doorways impart instant elegance.

Much of 740’s intrigue lays in the duality between understated exterior and ornate interior. Beyond its threshold, the structure’s unassuming façade gives way to palatial dimensions, and the details — just as Candela had imagined them — reveal themselves. Original marble staircases, brass balustrades, picture moldings, and teakplank flooring are featured throughout expansive rooms.

Compass agent Kyle W. Blackmon surveys the home’s perfectly appointed living room.

Boasting midtown views and en suite bathrooms, the second floor’s private quarters are flooded with light.

“[Candela’s] genius was his ability to create individual rooms of exceptional scale while retaining a thoughtful layout through the entire apartment,” Blackmon says. “And his vision didn’t stop with the entertaining spaces; the private quarters at 740 Park Avenue are far larger than the master suites in new buildings today.” A seamless blend of prewar detail and modernity, the urban manse seen here typifies 740’s unique charms.

Handsome banquettes and custom shelving render an eat-in chef’s kitchen both practical and inviting.

Spanning two floors, its 14 rooms, three wood-burning fireplaces, private elevator, 21 closets, and 41 windows speak to a level of luxury not often seen in today’s modern market. The apartment’s graciousness elevates every facet of life within it: quiet Sunday evenings spent in its library, casual weekday dinners in its dining alcove, and retiring to its tranquil bedrooms all assume a rare, unstudied elegance.

Harkening back to Manhattan’s height of glamour, 740 Park Avenue transports all who enter it, affording them the opportunity to experience a New York that only a privileged few ever did — and that few ever will.

Original details and ample entertaining space lend old-world charm.

Meet Kyle W. Blackmon and continue touring 740 Park Avenue at compass.com.