Near the United Nations building in the area known as Turtle Bay lies an almost secret neighborhood. On the banks of the East River, Beekman Place is home to an eclectic mix of townhouses, mansions, and apartment buildings. (Just an FYI - the fabulous Beekman Hotel is NOT located here.) Beekman Place is a mere two blocks, but it's a mix of the old and new that transcends other New York City neighborhoods.
The origin of Beekman Place begins with a Dutch settler. Willem Beekman left the Netherlands to find his fortune in New Amsterdam. His influence can be seen in the names of several streets in lower Manhattan: William Street and Beekman Street. His descendant, James Beekman built his family home, Mount Pleasant, in 1765. His home would play a major role in the Revolutionary War and beyond. The British made Mount Pleasant their headquarters. American patriot, Nathan Hale was tried as a traitor and hanged in 1776 here. Newly elected President George Washington made several visits to Mount Pleasant. The house survived until 1874 when it was torn down. The newly named Beekman Place would be transformed from bucolic pastures to a residential neighborhood.
Over the years, the residents would see their share of prosperity and poverty. However, in the early part of the 20th Century, the fortune of the neighborhood began to rise again with a luxury apartment building, One Beekman Place. One Beekman Place, completed in 1931, was considered a high-rise structure for its day with 16 stories. Capitalizing on its East River views, this address was fashionable then and is still desirable today with apartments being sold for multi-million dollars.
Rich, powerful, and famous owners abounded in this area. Irving Berlin, the composer of "White Christmas" and "God Bless America", lived in 17 Beekman which later became the home to the Consulate General of Luxembourg. William Paley, CEO and founder of the CBS network, owned a townhouse at 29 Beekman and Gloria Vanderbilt lived in an apartment on 30 Beekman. Singer Tom Jones lived in 31 Beekman which is now home to the government of Tunisian.
Despite all these famous residents, one of the most notorious buildings in Beekman Place was owned by an architect, Paul Randolph, who was also the dean of Yale University School of Architecture. There were no scandals here except for the perceived scandal of building a penthouse on a brownstone.
Randolph began his journey living at 23 Beekman as an apartment renter. Later, he would buy the whole building. Over the next three decades of his life, Randolph continued to build and renovate this structure. It is now known as the Paul Randolph Apartment and Penthouse.
Originally built in the 1860s as a brownstone, Randolph added a penthouse with modern aesthetics to it in the 1970s. This penthouse had a very similar feel to one of Randolph's best-known works, the Yale Art and Architecture building.
With its brutalist design of concrete and steel, the penthouse originally left his neighbors befuddled and probably a bit peeved. However, due to the juxtaposition of the classic and modern design, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission would later designate this building as a landmark in 2010.