217 E 61 St St, Townhouse Lenox Hill, New York

This renovated four story home on one of the most beautiful townhouse blocks in Manhattan is complete with 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, garden, roof deck, terrace and formal dining room. On the garden floor, the eat-in kitchen leads to the dining room and den looking out over a beautiful garden. The parlor floor with sitting room and bar has majestic 12-foot ceilings with two fireplaces and astonishing mantles. The rear parlor leads out through French doors to a large terrace surrounded by greenery. The third and fourth floors each have two luxuriously appointed bedrooms. Each bedroom has its own fireplace and bathroom. This sumptuous home has separate zones of heating and air conditioning throughout. There is a cellar floor with washer and dryer and a second laundry facility on the fourth floor. No detail, comfort or convenience has been overlooked. Located on a tree-lined townhouse block in a small historic district on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, 217 East 61st Street was once the home of Broadway and Hollywood star Montgomery Clift. His many starring roles in movies include: ”From Here to Eternity” with Frank Sinatra and Burt Lancaster; ”Red River” with John Wayne; ”A Place in the Sun” with Elizabeth Taylor; and ”The Misfits” with Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. Taylor and Monroe were Clift’s frequent guests at 217 along with many other stars. The small bar on the double-parlor floor around which Clift entertained them was untouched in the complete renovation of the property which added modern conveniences to past elegance.

217 had a notable history before Montgomery Clift owned it. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt gave it to his daughter Alice as a wedding present (according to New York Magazine, June 4, 2006). Clift bought the property from Count Serge Obolensky, a Russian noble-in-exile and New York society figure.

In addition to its distinguished history and location, 217 E. 61st has the comfortable, traditional family friendly feeling that you may be looking for.