The Schinasi Mansion @ 351 Riverside Drive

The mansion as it appears today

Ever wonder where all the mansions in New York City went? Did you even know that NY was once populated with sprawling limestone mansions?? 

Unfortunately for us, nearly almost all of New York's mansions have been torn down and replaced with hideous 1970s architecture, but as the only single family free-standing mansion left in NYC, 351 Riverside Drive gives us a glimpse into the luxury living of New York's past. 

Having lived three blocks from the mansion throughout my teenage years, the Morris Schniasi mansion is undoubtedly one of my favorite buildings in New York. In so few works, its freakin' SICK...now let me tell you why. 

The Schinasi Mansion was built in 1909 by William F. Tuthill, who later went on to build a fairly recognizable landmark in New York known as Carnegie Hall. Did Schinasi, the millionaire Turkish tobacco baron actually pay Tuthill for the 12,000 square foot, 12 bedroom, 11 bathroom, 4 story limestone mansion with a private tunnel to the Hudson River... Absolutely Not. But that's chill right? 

The Schinasi's lived in the mansion until the baron's death in 1928. It       was during this period when most wealthy New York families were selling  their mansions to real estate developers and reconstructing their mansionettes  atop luxury apartment buildings. The Schinasi mansion was sold to the  Semple School for Girls in 1930 for a mere $200,000 (someone invent time  travel for me PLZ) and then again in 1960 to Columbia University and  turned into a Day Care..(Like actually ew). After being passed around like a  kid in foster care, the battered and deteriorating gem was purchased by Hans  Smit, a Columbia Law Professor, in 1979 for $325,000..OK--but like FOR REAL THOUGH?!

The original library

In 2006, 351 Riverside Drive was put back on the market for a whopping $31,000,000 (just say it with the Dr. Evil accent). After sitting on the market for years, the inevitable happened and the price was reduced to $25,000,000 At that point, I was ready to rob a bank or sell a kidney. Like whichever. I guess things got a little desperate after the market crashed in 2008/09 and the owner let USA film a few seasons of White Collar in it. Just when I had given up all hope, my sweet darling princess decided to stop playing hard to get and reduced her price to a mere $14,000,000. But alas, Mark Schwartz of Goldman beat me to the punch and purchased my limestone lover. Better luck next time Kenz.