Near the Frick Museum, the Asia Society and Hunter College, 715 Madison Avenue has fabled neighbors and a neighborhood with a storied past. The proliferation of German beer gardens along the Post Road (now Third Avenue), encouraged the notable Jones and Schermerhorn families to lease their land for a commercial picnic ground, hotel, dance pavilion, sports, merry-go-round, and other entertainment for working-class New Yorkers. The area became New York’s first amusement park, known as Jones’s Wood and its popularity lasted until a fire razed it in 1894.

The Upper East Side may no longer be the playground of the working class, however, 715 Madison Avenue, built in 1900, rests besides such tony retailers such as De Beers, Roberto Cavalli, and Longchamp. The five-story building came under new ownership in 2017. The ground floor retail space covers 1,650 sq. ft. and proposed plans for its renovation include creating light and airy spaces by raising the ceiling two stories high, while retaining the third floor. Brass and white marble finishes are planned to add elegance.