A Sutton Place duplex once owned by the late Sen. Jacob K. Javits and his wife Marion is back on the market for $5.99 million.
The four-bedroom, three-bath home is at 322 E. 57th St. between First and Second avenues, with the famed Mr. Chow on the ground floor.
The 22-story building features a neo-classical limestone facade and has just 20 units. Over the years, it has been home to quite a distinguished group. Past and present residents have included Orson Welles; Clay Felker, the late founder of New York magazine; artist Tamara de Lempicka and Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher, according to reports.
Javits, a liberal Republican, served as a four-term senator for New York from 1957 to 1981. The couple bought the property in the 1970s.
The seller is film art collector and executive producer behind “Carol” and “Immortality,” Dorothy Berwin. She bought the 12th-floor duplex for $4.4 million in 2018. It had been with the Javits family for four decades, largely untouched, and had been originally envisioned by architect Joseph Urban. Berwin renovated it to maintain historic Art Deco details, such as the casement windows and circular mirrors in the living room. She then modernized it with help from designers Sandra Arndt of Studio AKTE and Sybille Schneider of Leroy Street Studio.
Berwin initially listed the duplex for $7.2 million in 2022.
“It’s the greatest home I have ever had in so many ways. Now, with the kids growing up and moving and a home in upstate New York, it’s time to downsize and do something else fabulous in the city,” Berwin told Gimme Shelter.
A private elevator landing opens to a large foyer with a curved staircase, complete with its original Lucite Bakelite banister — and an adjacent wet bar. An oversized great room features 18-foot ceilings, an original woodburning fireplace with a stone mantel and restored double-height, 54-pane, wrought-iron casement windows.
Details also include vintage restored wide-plank hardwood floors. The couple were excellent hosts and entertained frequently for guests including Henry Kissinger and Truman Capote, according to reports.
Javits’ former “cigar room,” adjacent to the living room, is now a lacquered gray media room with built-in sofas and a custom-built office with storage. The upper level, which has a bird’s eye view of the living area below, also features an open dining area and a windowed eat-in kitchen, while a hall leads to the private bedroom wing.
The main bedroom suite comes with lots of closets, and a windowed spa-like bath with marble slabs.
Maintenance fees are $11,689 a month.
The building, which dates to 1930, was designed by architect Harry M. Clawson as live/work artist studio spaces with double-height living rooms. It was a hotel until it converted to co-ops in 1959.
The listing brokers are Douglas Elliman’s Noble Black, Erik Ternon and Jamie Gagliano.
