7. Bergdorf Goodman Penthouse Apartment
Bergdorf Goodman once had a seventeen-room hidden apartment overlooking Fifth Avenue and Central Park. When Edwin Goodman, who bought out Herman Bergdorf’s share of the company in 1903, decided to move the store to its current location on the corner of 58th Street and Fifth Ave., he made sure the new building would include a private apartment for his family. Bergdorf Goodman even had a private elevator that only made two stops–Goodman’s office on the seventh floor and the penthouse suite.
But here’s the kicker: due to zoning laws, Edwin and his son Andrew had to call themselves janitors in order to live inside the store! Bergdorf Goodman sits on the site of the former Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion, so it’s not surprising that the Bergdorfs would also want that great view of Central Park. Andrew Goodman and his wife Nena lived there until the 1980s. The apartment was eventually turned into a salon.