Harry Winston’s Old Fifth Avenue Co-op is a Diamond in the Rough

This co-op, located in one of the most white-glove buildings on Fifth Avenue, was once owned by legendary jeweler Harry Winston. All the flats in the building are full-floor, so they’re all quite large, and this one is on a higher floor, which means it has better views and is, thus, more desirable. The six-bedroom, five-bath apartment is available at $32.25 million via John Burger at Brown Harris Stevens and Louise Beit at Sotheby’s.

The 12-story limestone-clad Italian Renaissance building was completed in 1917 by Warren & Wetmore, architects of Grand Central Terminal, and is one of the more fabled apartment houses on Fifth Avenue. Besides Winston, residents have included Mary Tyler Moore, CNN newscaster Paula Zahn, financial big shots Marc Rowan and Scott Bommer, as well as some red-tailed hawks, whose attempted removal caused a New York kerfuffle several years back.

It appears from the décor that the 5,740-square-foot co-op hasn’t been updated much since the Winston years. The 14-room spread, with 55 feet of frontage on Central Park, is ready for a tasteful refresh. As the real estate cliché goes, location, location, location is supreme, not the current decorative status, and this flat is centered just above the beautiful Conservatory Pond with views of tiny sailboats in spring and autumn.

Much of the apartment seems to be just as it was before the war, which is the way we like it, with high ceilings, vintage moldings, old fireplaces (four in this case), and large windows. And besides the charming view of the pond, the park and skyline views are epic. All views are protected, according to the listing.

Interested? Interested parties better have some deep pockets, an impeccable social resume and not too high a public profile. This building rather famously rejected Barbra Streisand as a tenant so while rich, rich, rich is a must, must, must — so are low key and non flashy.