A stately home, once owned by the former owner of Bergdorf Goodman, is for sale in Rye for $11.75 million.
The property, 19 Hilltop Place, was once inhabited by retailer Andrew Goodman, whose father created the iconic retail store, and it boasts all the opulence one would expect from a department store known for its luxurious clientele.
The property comprises 11,236 square feet, has nine bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. It also has a tennis court, pool, pool house and guest house. The grounds feature a four-quadrant formal English garden, a secret garden, a fenced in vegetable garden, and bocce court all sitting on 2.6 acres.
“This property is truly a one-of-a-kind masterpiece with such a special history,” said listing agent Donna McElwee of Houlihan Lawrence. “The stunning seasonal changing color palette of the trees and perennial gardens is simply amazing. It is just a magical place to live.”
The home, originally built in 1922 and which Goodman bought in 1946, served as his country retreat when he wanted a reprieve from the bustling operation that Bergdorf’s had become.
Goodman inherited the retail business from his father, Edwin Goodman, a tailor, who got his start as an apprentice to Herman Bergdorf. Edwin worked in Bergdorf’s tailor shop on Fifth Avenue near 19th street and later bought out Mr. Bergdorf. He evolved the business into a dress-making and furrier shop and moved the store uptown.
Andrew Goodman, who was not initially interested in the family business, joined his father at Bergdorf’s after a 1926 apprenticeship in Paris with fashion designer Jean Patou ignited his interest in fashion. Sensing that women had tired of the tedious and time-consuming practice of fittings, the father and son team revolutionized fashion by starting a first-of-its-kind ready-to-wear business, selling pieces directly off the rack. The concept immediately took off and expanded into the former site of the Cornelius Vanderbilt mansion at 1 W. 57th St. in Manhattan.
Goodman continued to expand the business and became its president in 1951. When his father died in 1953, he became owner of Bergdorf Goodman. Eventually he sold the operation to Broadway-Hale stores for $12.6 million and remained president until 1975.
Goodman lived at the at the Hilltop Place residence until his death in 1993. Its interior reflects the opulent style of the roaring twenties. Complete with high ceilings, large entertaining spaces, intimate sitting rooms and refined millwork, one could imagine it fitting nicely into a Fitzgerald novel.
Nena Manach Goodman, Andrew’s wife, continued to live there after his death. In 1998, a passerby named Donna Reiss fell in love with the house and made an unsolicited offer to Nena, which she politely declined. Five months later, however, she agreed to sell it to Reiss for $3.75 million.
Reiss undertook a to-the-studs renovation and expansion, but maintained many of the original details of the home, including the French doors, fireplaces, and millwork. She said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that she drew much of her inspiration for the renovation from Edith Wharton.
The garden, she added, was inspired by Wharton’s niece, Beatriz Ferrand, a famous landscape architect. She named the house Hillcrest and loved to host guests for formal dinners. Reiss sold the house in 2018 for $4.585 million.
The home, which is listed as Rye, is actually in the Harrison school district.
