The long bluff over Riverside Drive was once a lookout for the indigenous Lenape people. Centuries later, one of the finest "three-bedroom, river view" apartments on Riverside Drive was built at this spot. Its wondrous aerial river views unfold from every picture window.

Non-pareil sunsets paint the sky. Admiring the outlook, Jasper Johns chose to live in the penthouse of 340 Riverside Drive. And Duke Ellington, the block now named after him, owned a Beaux Arts mansion across the street. On November 10, 1956, Billie Holliday performed at a sold-out Carnegie Hall.

Eight days later, she appeared in the 26-foot living room of Apartment 11A, singing at least eight songs, including "Good Morning Heartache," "Lady Sings the Blues" and "You Go to My Head." More recently, the Guarneri String Quartet rehearsed for thirty-five years in the living room. The apartment wraps the southwest corner of the building, the master bedroom suite and bath its exclamation point. There are two additional river view bedrooms, three full baths, a large home office and a washer/dryer.

From a brilliant open kitchen and dining room, one can see down-river for miles. High ceilings, original oak floors, oversized Panorama, single-light windows, through-wall AC and a welcoming luminosity add to the ambiance of this dramatic residence. Built in 1926, 340 Riverside Drive has full 24-hour doorman service, a bike room, bin storage and laundry.

It anchors a landmark block, one of three in a row featuring an array of splendid fin de siecle townhouses named the Seven Beauties and perhaps the grandest, stand-alone mansion in Manhattan with its own moat. Writer Daniel J. Wakin whose recent book details the history of the area said, "Being there conveyed a sense of arriving."

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