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In 1869, the City’s new central post office and federal courthouse was built across the street in what is now the southern tip of City Hall Park. The Stones recorded several of their hits here over the next two decades and were frequent overnight guests, often allegedly drawing the members of Fleetwood Mac over for daytime pool parties or late night songwriting sessions. Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham lived just down the street throughout the ’70s at 2282 El Contento Drive. His first stay was in March 1861, on the eve of the war, when he was searching for ships to buy for the fledgling Confederate Navy.

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Yesterday, we heard that actor/comedian Andy Samberg and musician Joanna Newsom have purchased Moorcrest, the famed 1920s house where Mary Astor and Charlie Chaplin once lived. Today, thanks to the semi-secret listing site (hit cancel at the password prompt), we finally get a look inside the estate, and it is damn spectacular. We'd heard that the lavish residence combined several styles, from Moorish to Art Nouveau, but who could have imagined this? The large glass bubble visible in earlier aerial shots of the property is a beautiful, light-flooded atrium; the pool in the backyard is more like a movie set, with a little (man-made) cave and a stepping-stone path. Nearly every inch of the house is covered in what look like painstakingly-detailed patterns. Relax in a roomy 750 square foot Park Suite with swift access to the poolside lounge, patio, and fitness & wellness amenities.
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Inside, you will find many lovely original features, including a spiral staircase, ornate plaster and wrought iron work, French doors and windows, stained glass, and a turret. Arguably unassuming from the San Marco entrance, the property goes from street-to-street down to 2405 Holly Drive and boasts a gated parking area below. The three-story home encompasses three separate lots and contains a main house, guest house, a swimming pool, and a stream-fed koi pond. During the Civil War, The Astor House was one of 13 major hotels in New York set afire by Confederate spies on Nov. 25, 1864, following Lincoln’s re-election.

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The singer shortened his commute even more when he purchased a Bel Air house in the late 1940s for his family, selling the lakeside retreat. As the city expanded north, The Astor House’s prominence slowly faded over the later part of the 19th century. It was eclipsed by, among others, the Fifth Avenue Hotel (1859), the original Waldorf (named for the town in Germany where John Jacob Astor was born) and the Astoria hotels on 34th Street (1893), also developed by members of the Astor family.
Andy Samberg and Joanna Newsom Buy the Famous Moorcrest
First called the Rotunda Saloon, it became known as The Astor House Exchange and featured a large central mahogany bar with private dining rooms to the sides and two long, curved counters where businessmen could lunch. For decades, The Astor House Exchange was a favored meeting place and dining room for New York businessmen, professionals, and politicians. Ex-Saturday Night Live cast member and general funnyman Andy Samberg and harpist/singer/songwriter Joanna Newsom have, somewhat surprisingly, just purchased the famous Moorish-Gothic-Art Nouveau-Mission Revival estate in Beachwood Canyon known as Moorcrest, reports the LA Times. The early-1920s house, home to Maltese Falcon actress Mary Astor and little tramp Charlie Chaplin over the years, wasn't on the open market; Samberg and Newsom closed on it in late March for $6.25 million. After meeting the sultry Ava Gardner in 1948, Sinatra moved out of the Toluca Lake house and into a West Hollywood apartment building, visiting his children on weekends.
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While it's hidden away in one of Chicago's most historic, architecturally dense neighborhoods, Astor House Apartments is also conveniently located. Lake Michigan is one block to the east, and getting to North Avenue Beach and Oak Street Beach is easy as pie. Envision lovely sunset or sunrise runs along the Lakefront Path during the warm months. Restaurants like Hopsmith Tavern, Gibson's, Carmine's, Somerset Chicago, Maple and Ash, Lou Malnati's, Velvet Taco, and more are less than a 10-minute walk away.
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The expansive 920 square foot Grand Suite is a plush city escape—a stylish sofa and lounge chair set make a perfect living area for hosting, alongside an intimate dining table, breakfast bar, and a private balcony. A private balcony with views of the Hollywood sign, Capitol Records building and surrounding city lights sets the mood. Sprawl out and treat yourself to a spacious 1100 square foot suite, with the residential comforts of a kitchenette, living room, 6 seat dining table and two separate bedrooms, each uniquely decorated, with their own spa-like bathroom—plus a bathtub for the perfect nightcap, drink in hand. Unwind on your own private balcony overlooking Aster Park’s pool and patio, in the California sunshine. The Aster’s 750 square foot Pool Club Suite is an ideal urban retreat, with an en-suite living area, modest dining table, breakfast bar, and chic furnishings. Enjoy a private city-side balcony and stylish living area with a sofa, lounge chairs, breakfast bar and dining table—a relaxing space to lounge after a long day, or explore the in-room bar selection while you play host.
Hosting your event at the Astor House provides an elegant event while supporting the NYC community. Expanded over the years, the estate on Valley Spring Lane has continued to welcome resident families with its stunning back view of the lake, stately gated front entrance and deep sense of history. Bucolic Toluca Lake has entranced many celebrities over the years as the perfect place in which to raise kids, thanks to its small-town feel and proximity to motion picture studios. For Mary Astor, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee, one luxurious mansion on the shores of Toluca Lake offered the ideal spot to raise their families and set down roots. For all of them, their time there would be marked by both idyllic happiness and personal drama. What became of The Astor House’s furniture and its famous bar and other architectural remnants, including its granite cornerstone, is a mystery.
Astor House Apartments is just a few blocks from Potash Market and Plum Market, so getting your groceries will always be convenient. Charlie Chaplin tramped on in and rented the house at some time in the early 1920s. Actress Mary Astor's mother and father, Otto and Helen Langhanke, purchased it in 1925 and lived there with Astor for nearly ten years. It was eventually foreclosed-on and sold at auction in 1934 for $21,500, about a tenth of its estimated value at the time.
Hotchener designed other house in the area, as well, but this is the one she's famous for. While on the set of his first major film, Come September, in 1960, Darin wooed virginal 16-year-old screen star Sandra Dee (born Alexandria Zuck), whom he married six months later. Dee’s innocent screen persona in films like Imitation of Life, Gidget and A Summer Place hid her personal trauma stemming from years of abuse by her stepfather.
The Valley Spring Lane home changed hands twice before crooner Frank Sinatra purchased it in 1944 and relocated his family from the East Coast to Toluca Lake. Born in 1915 to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, the gangly, sweet-voiced young man started out with the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey big bands, then knocked the world off its feet as a solo performer before Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed him to a long-term movie contract. Sinatra starred in hit musicals Anchors Aweigh in 1945 and Till the Clouds Roll By in 1946, establishing a successful career on the West Coast. It was purchased by the New York Junior League as its headquarters in 1947 to facilitate training and membership events. The Astor House was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1967.
Built for The Maltese Falcon star and Academy Award winning actress Mary Astor when she was just 19 years old, the sprawling walled and gated estate has many stories to tell and many more to come. For years before the New York Times in 1904 left Park Row and moved uptown to Longacre (soon to be Times) Square and began the tradition of celebrating New Year’s Eve with a countdown, the city celebrated on Broadway in front of The Astor House. Located off Park Avenue on the Upper East Side, this beautiful mansion feels like home the minute you step inside.
Warm and welcoming, the Astor House employs an expert staff skilled at creating any kind of event. The Astor House is easily accessible to New York’s major public transportation hubs, including Grand Central, Penn railroad stations and The Port Authority bus terminal. Schools close to Astor House Apartments include Chicago Grammar School, Cornerstone Academy, Skinner North Classical School, Immaculate Conception - St Joseph School, Catherine Cook School, St Chrysostom's Day School, and The Latin School of Chicago.
This suite features a semi-private patio, 2 seat dining table and cozy breakfast bar setup for your in-room dining pleasure. The end came in in early 20th century in two awful blows, apparently because the two Astor heirs who then owned it did not get along. First, in 1913, the southern half (including the Rotunda and its famous bar) was demolished in connection with the construction of the BMT subway line (today’s R train) through the site. Vincent Astor, who controlled that part of the property, then built the “Astor House Building,” a modest office structure, in 1916, which remains there to this day (Staples is the main retail tenant). The northerly part of the now-gored hotel survived forlorn for a few more years before it too was demolished in 1926 to make room for the “Transportation Building,” today’s 225 Broadway. In 1852, the interior courtyard was covered over by an elliptical vaulted cast-iron-and-glass rotunda designed by James Bogardus, the cast-iron architecture pioneer.
Darin converted the old garage into a playroom for his son, and constructed a new garage to house their automobiles. Like other celebrity residents, the young couple loved the home’s close location to their work at nearby Universal Studios. For the best houses for sale, places to eat, wine to drink, things to do, and untold histories of Los Angeles's brightest stars and their Hollywood homes. Los Angeles | Lifestyle | Homes | Hollywood History | News | Nightlife | Architecture | Art | Food & Wine | by Jacqueline Tager, Sotheby’s International Realty. The crystal blue pool is magical and the property’s many meandering trails and lush private grounds offer plenty of spots to explore and inspire.
Astor testified during court sessions at night, while filming the movie Dodsworth during the day. A 2-story guest house with a wall of windows overlooks a fern grotto and the koi pond. Sure to be a favorite enclave for out of town visitors or artistic collaborators. New York can be cruel to old hotels, but The Astor House did have a very long and good run. It is telling that the oldest hotels in the city date only from the turn of the last century, such as the Algonquin (1902) and the Iroquois (1900), both on 44th Street.
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