Beekman Place is one of the city's most sought-after residential addresses. With its immaculate, quiet streets lined with trees and handsome residences, Beekman Place has maintained a reputation as one of the most desirable places to live on the East Side of Manhattan. These small enclaves along the East River in midtown have some of the finest buildings in NYC. They have a gracious ambiance that is elegant but not too formal, impressive but not too overwhelming. Beekman Place has some of the city's most sumptuous apartment buildings and town houses, many of which have lush private gardens and unobstructed views of the East River.
Beekman Place is very handsome and elegant. It was named after the site on the northwest corner of First Avenue and 51st Street of James Beekman's mansion, Mount Pleasant that was built in 1766 near East 51st Street and used by the British as their military headquarters in the city during the Revolutionary War. The site is now occupied by the Romanesque Revival school building that once served as the United Nations International School. As might be expected in such an exclusive neighborhood, Beekman Place is home to many executives, professionals and entertainers. The list of famous people who have lived there includes John D. Rockefeller 3d, Irving Berlin, Gloria Vanderbilt, Rex Harrison and Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, the twin sister of the last Shah of Iran.
