Buckle Your Safety Belts...

Your Mama thinks someone is smoking some serious real estate crack in New York City where a phenomenal French Gothic-style townhouse on East 80th Street is about the hit the market, according to the New York Times, with a blistering–and publicity generating–asking price of $90,000,000.

That's right, puppies, ninety million clams.

The opulent 35-foot wide pile was built in the early 1900s by dime store tycoon Frank Woolworth for one of his three daughters, Jessie, Edna and Helena. Mister Woolworth also built each of his other daughters equally sumptuous mansions on either side of the one that's about the hit the market.

The limestone-faced house stands seven stories with more than 18,000 square feet and includes soaring 14-foot ceilings on the parlor floor, 10 bedrooms, 11.5 bathrooms, 3 kitchens, an elevator, a full-width paneled library and a formal dining room that can accommodate 50 for a sit down meal.

The townhouse last transferred hands in 1995 when ladies health club entrepreneur Lucille Roberts bought it, according to property records, for $6,000,000. Miz Roberts went to meet The Great Trainer in the Sky in 2003 and the grand mansion is now being sold by her family.

Frank Woolworth, the son of a potato farmer, not only built extravagant homes in New York, he also built Winfield Hall (above), a baronial 62-room Italian Renaissance-style behemoth in ridiculously affluent Glen Cove, NY with 9 bedrooms, 10.5 bathrooms and a pink marble staircase oft said to have two million bucks to build. A marvelous cache of photos of the palatial property can be seen here and a fascinating video tour of the vast mansion can be see on the Old Long Island blog.

The 16-plus acre estate is currently owned by Martin Carey, the brother of former New York governor Hugh Carey who himself owned a house on Shelter Island that captured the attention of real estate gossips a couple of years ago. Mister Martin has had the property on and off the market a number of times. It was recently on the market with $19,500,000 asking price but was quickly de-listed after a production company leased the property for the filming of a remake of Mildred Pierce starring Kate Winslet, Evan Rachel Wood and Guy Pearce.

photo (Woolworth mansion): Brown Harris Stevens via New York Times
photo (Winfield Hall): James Robertson