Bernard Madoff Luxury Penthouse

History
The inspiration for creating a penthouse apartment was born in the 1920s, the decade called “The Roaring Twenties”, in which the North American economy, particularly the economy of the United States of America, was having a rapid growth. This contributed to a boom in construction. The high demand for living in urban areas and the wealth of Americans led to the inspiration for creating a luxury apartment on the top floor or floors of a building. One of the earliest penthouse apartments appeared in New York City, at the time, the heart of North American economy.
Publisher Conde Nast’s duplex penthouse at 1040 Park Avenue was one of the earliest penthouse apartments in New York City. The idea of this penthouse was created according to changes in building’s construction plan. In 1923, the original plan for the building was to have three units on each floor with additional maids’ rooms on the roof. However, in 1924 the building’s upper spaces were constructed to provide a grand duplex for Nast. Connected by a stair case to the rooftop entertaining salons, the corner unit at the top floor was redesigned to be private family quarters. The whole unit was decorated in the French manner by Elsie de Wolfe. Completed in 1925, Conde Nast’s duplex penthouse was used for many lavish parties which were made famous as much by guest lists as by the entertainment.