This past spring, Maison Gerard was honored by Sotheby’s with the task of furnishing the penthouse at the Walker Tower in Chelsea. The nearly 7,000 square foot condo, which just last year set the record for most expensive ever sold in downtown Manhattan, is already back on the market—this time, with a price tag in excess of $70 million.
The Walker Tower, once the Barclay-Vesey Telephone Building, was designed in the 1920s by Ralph Walker, architect of, among other noteworthy depression-era skyscrapers, the Irving Trust Building. The New York Times once referred to Walker as “The Architect of the century,” and a quick look at the Walker Tower explains why. One of the crown jewels of New York’s rich Art Deco heritage, the building soars into the lower Manhattan skyline, featuring great metalwork arches over the entrances and windows alike, and carefully arranged bricks of nearly a dozen shapes and half a dozen hues.
The penthouse boasts four bedrooms, a wraparound terrace, in addition to the spacious kitchen, living room, dining room, and study. And in every room a different view of Manhattan. We couldn’t think of a better place to arrange our own Deco treasures—and of course, we couldn’t help but drop in a few lush contemporary pieces, like Achille Salvagni’s Royal Oak cabinets, Carol Egan’s sinuous wall mounted shelves, and William T. Georgis’s sumptuous velvet upholstered sofa (to name a few).
