Life in the River House

Curbed.com had a little mystery going as to which building had the $39 million eight-bedroom duplex on the east side. As Curbed has since figured out, that building in those photos is clearly the River House. The City Review describes the River House this way:

If you’re lucky, you’ll think you see Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers waltzing in the garden overlooking the river on which the very large lobby looks. The lobby, of course, is entered through the ornately gated and large, landscaped driveway on 52nd Street. The lobby has a black floor and large cloakrooms to accommodate the many guests that are constantly attending the very swank parties being given by the illustrious residents.

NYC-architecture.com says this:

Despite its vast size, River House contained only sixty-four apartments, among the most luxurious ever, with numerous duplexes as well as a seventeen-room, nine-bath triplex at the top of the tower. Many apartments were provided with balconies, and virtually all the roof surfaces were allocated to gardens and terraces.

What the piece doesn’t discuss is the infamous reputation of the exclusivity of the building. I was once asked by a selling broker in the buiding if my clients were “WASPS” or “Jews.” No idea if the broker was speaking for herself or the board, but it was definitely not typical in any case.
As it turns out, my clients were neither, and didn’t wish to proceed with that purchase anyway–but I would love to have known how their religious affiliation would have affected the purchase.