Built in 1899 and available for the first time in 53 years, 243 East 48th Street is a charming and cozy 5-BR townhouse on an elegant, tree-lined street, one of the lovely original brownstone townhouses which back up to and share the famous Turtle Bay Gardens. Turtle Bay Gardens, conceived by Charlotte Hunnewell Sorchan in 1918, is the exclusive common garden enclave covering the gardens of 9 houses on East 48th and 11 houses on East 49th Street between Second and Third Avenues. The gardens themselves are an oasis of mature trees and flowering shrubs that share a common path down the center, with a fountain copied from the Villa Medici and statues. It feels like a secret garden sanctuary dropped into the middle of Manhattan. A review from 1920 Architectural Record stated that "each owner has, visually speaking, surrendered a part and received back a beautiful whole." The Gardens have attracted a variety of personalities from its first purchaser, Maria Chapin, founder of The Chapin School, to Time Magazine co-founder Henry Luce, June Havoc, Garson Kanin, and screen legend Katherine Hepburn.
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