Rosario Candela's One Sutton Place South - A Very Brief History

Updated: Dec 3, 2023

New York Public Library Digital Collection

One Sutton Place South, with its limestone-clad exterior and marvelous triple-arched entrance, is home to the wealthy and famous. It is considered to be one of New York City's toniest addresses. Past residents include some very prominent, moneyed families such as the Astors, and Annenburgs. Guests, and even a sister of a president, Patricia Kennedy Lawford.*

The building was designed and completed in 1927 by Rosario Candela and Cross and Cross for the Phipps family, particularly Amy Phipps Guest. She was the daughter of Henry Phipps, the American Industrialist, real estate developer, and Andrew Carnegie's partner in Carnegie Steel Company.** No slouch herself, Amy Phipps married Frederick Edward Guest, the grandson of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, and first cousin to Great Britain's finest Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.

During the 1920s, a growing number of wealthy New Yorkers were moving from private homes to apartments. Rosario Candela's One Sutton Place South set new standards for living with his gracious designs. Understandably, Phipps Guest's penthouse was the crowning jewel in this fashionable dwelling. It had 17 rooms, with 5000 square feet of interior space and 6000 square feet of exterior space.***It was rumored that the marble floor in the penthouse was recycled from her father, Henry Phipps's demolished 5th Avenue mansion. With its two ballrooms, a massive dining room, and an expansive terrace with awe-inspiring views, one could imagine the glamorous dinner parties that Amy Phipps Guest must have given.

One Sutton Place South had two rather exclusive amenities that were enjoyed by its well-to-do residents. It had its private garden and a yacht (yes, you read that right...yacht!) landing on the East River.**** This was certainly one lavish apartment building!

New York Public Library Digital Collection - Winston Guest

Frederick and Amy Phipps Guest would eventually gift the penthouse to their son, Winston and his wife. Winston Guest, the polo player, and C. Z. Guest, the fashion icon, apparently thought it was too large for them, so the lower floor was subdivided into three separate apartments.*** After living at One Sutton Place South for nearly four decades, the Guests sold the penthouse in 1963.

At the time of this writing, the penthouse was on the market. Click on the link below to see what the penthouse currently looks like.

1 Sutton Place South, PH New York, New York, United States – Luxury Home For Sale (sothebysrealty.com)

C.Z Guest at home at One Sutton Place South Photograph by Lord Snowdon via Vogue (1959)

In the early 2000s, One Sutton Place South's private garden was the subject of a major dispute with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Beginning in 1939, the garden area had been leased from the city for $1 a year. The lease expired in 1990. It would take almost two decades for One Sutton Place South and the City to negotiate a deal. NYC Parks and One Sutton Place each agreed to pay $1 million for the design and construction of a 10,000-square-foot park, allowing the public to "have access to a beautiful piece of the waterfront," City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin said in a statement. ***** This piece of land linked two other NYC Parks that are part of the "Five Parks".

New York Public Library Digital Collection

Pictured below is what was proposed for the Sutton Place Park.

Site plan from NYC Parks

Below is a portion of that park. The NYC Parks' website states that the statue of the wild boar is a replica by the Italian Renaissance artist, Pietro Tacca. This bronze statue is called "Porcellino" which means piglet in Italian. One could reflect on why this particular statue was chosen for Sutton Place Park....maybe a question for the ages.

One final note, does that bridge and view look familiar? The Oscar-nominated film, Manhattan, used this view as background for one of the most iconic scenes in movie history.