A 1902 Carriage House Just Became Manhattan's Most Talked-About Listing

Lucía Torres · 2026-10-21

Walk past 165 East 70th Street and you'd never guess what's hiding behind that limestone facade. This is a home that started life as a stable — and just hit the Manhattan market as one of the Upper East Side's most extraordinary single-family residences. ### From Horse Carriage to High Luxury Back in 1902, renowned architect C.P.H. Gilbert built this Neo-Italian Renaissance carriage house for banker Henri P. Wertheim. The structure was deliberately wide — 33 feet by 100 feet — so horses and carriages could roll through with ease. In 1920, it became chauffeur's quarters for Stephen C. Clark, heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Banking heir Paul Mellon and his wife, Bunny, bought it in 1965. The property sold in 2009. Then, in 2011, the current owners began the slow, painstaking work of turning it into the home you see today, represented by The Agency New York's Mike Fabbri. ### A Four-Year Transformation That Respects the Past Architecture firm Sawyer | Berson spent four years reimagining the interiors while keeping the soul of the original structure intact. The result? Six bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, six wood-burning fireplaces, and three private landscaped terraces — all designed so every floor feels connected rather than chopped up. "A lot of times, these grand homes can feel cold," Fabbri told us. "But one of the most welcome features of this one is how warm it is and how much it feels like a place that deserves to be filled with people and memories and laughter." That warmth shows up in the details. Think quarter-sawn, hand-pillowed oak floors, Venetian plaster walls, custom silk carpeting, heated sidewalks, and a curb-cut driveway — which, in Manhattan, is a genuine luxury. ### Room by Room, Floor by Floor Mirrored Horus bronze doors open into a Petit Granit-floored private garage that doubles as an entertaining space. A honed Beauvallon limestone foyer wraps around a wrought iron and limestone staircase climbing 46 feet toward a skylight. - **The lower level** holds a custom mudroom, a 13-seat soundproof theater, and private guest quarters with a full kitchen and living area. - **The second floor** is all about entertaining: a living room overlooking 70th Street, a glass-enclosed dining room, and an eat-in chef's kitchen with a quartzite island and walk-out terrace. - **The third floor** pairs a Sapele Mahogany-paneled library with the primary suite and its dual dressing rooms. - **Up top**, three ensuite bedrooms open to a 598-square-foot terrace, while the fifth floor adds soundproof offices, a solarium, and rooftop access. Below grade, a double-height cellar packs in a Jacuzzi and cold plunge, steam room, sauna, massage room, and a gym walled in original two-inch virgin chestnut salvaged from the old horse ramps. There's also a temperature-controlled 6,319-bottle wine cellar. ### Why It Matters Homes like this don't come around often. More than 1,350 square feet of private outdoor space, walls independent from neighboring structures, and a century of history folded into every room. It's the kind of property that makes you stop and imagine the life inside it.