Chronicles: The Richest Apt in the World

740 Park Avenue has been called the “Richest apartment building in the world” and buying a mansion within its limestone walls is the dream of many aspiring millionaires. The hurdles to became one of the chosen few residents is a strenuous one and if the multimillion dollar price tag isn’t enough to stop you, the difficult co-op board is, turning down the likes of Barbara Walters, Joan Crawford and Barbra Streisand. In fact, in the building’s first few decades, the board did not even allow any person of color to become a resident and brokers have been known to use invasive tactics to get their clients approved including waiting for certain board members to go on vacation and coaching buyers for the arduous interview process.
 
Built in 1929, on the cusp of the great depression, 740 Park Avenue was designed by architects Rosario Candela and Arthur Loomis Harmon whom created the building facade entirely from limestone with just a hint of quintessential New York Art Deco. The builder was James T. Lee, grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Lee’s daughter Janet Lee Bouvier and son-in-law Jack Bouvier lived in the building and their daughter, Jacqueline grew-up there.

The building’s 31 units are famed for their opulence and their high ceilings (13 feet) and wide hallways are the largest on Park Avenue. The most impressive of all the apartments though is the ‘Rockefeller’ apartment bought by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1937 containing 24 rooms and 12 baths. Rockefeller resided there until 1960 and when recently sold to Stephen Schwarzman in 2000, went for around $30 million.
 
740 Park Avenue

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