The Storied Gloria Crest Estate Returns To Market — After A $29 Million Discount

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The home that began its life during the Roaring Twenties for the descendant of a Polish count has still managed to hold its charm over its New Jersey town less than ten miles from Manhattan. Once called the &quot;White House of Englewood,&quot; Gloria Crest&nbsp;is a 24,000-square-foot mansion on one of Englewood, New Jersey’s historic streets. It was built in 1926 for&nbsp;Stefan and Edith Poniatowski (Stefan is said to be a descendant of a former King of Poland) but their fortunes soon crumbled when the stock market crashed in 1929.&nbsp;While their family’s fabric factory had once been earning $0.35&nbsp;per yard of silk at its peak, profits had plummeted to only $0.03 a yard and they soon had to auction their house&nbsp;along with most of their belongings&nbsp;in order to move to a condo in New York City. The home has had numerous owners over the years, and comes with the unconfirmed but oft-repeated rumor that it was occupied by film star&nbsp;Gloria Swanson while she was involved with&nbsp;Ambassador Joseph Kennedy (father of President John Kennedy) when he was president of&nbsp;Lincoln Savings Bank, who had ownership of the property for a time.

Its most recent&nbsp;sale history had it on the market&nbsp;for $39 million back in 2013 (making it one of New Jersey’s most expensive listings at the time), then nearly going to foreclosure a&nbsp;little while&nbsp;later, then almost finding a foreign buyer for $20 million.&nbsp;Throughout all this Gloria Crest is still standing, as an eight-bedroom, 14-bathroom home on five lake-front acres, with its original Mediterranean style design intact now asking $9.99 million for the entire estate.&nbsp;

Starting out with a tour of the indoors, Tiffany glass shows up in several rooms throughout the house, most impressively in the kitchen ceiling with a large inset over the island. The kitchen hides&nbsp;the fridge and freezer behind&nbsp;cabinet facades that match the rest of the room. Its three Palladian style windows look out on to the grounds and let in enough light to reflect against all the beveled edges of the Tiffany glass so it adds a touch of shimmer to the room.

Here the grandeur is on display with gilded moldings and&nbsp;a European-style mantle that is larger than the fireplace itself.

A separate&nbsp;den&nbsp;went for&nbsp;a rustic Swiss chalet&nbsp;design, though the chandelier has more of a Dale&nbsp;Chihuly look to it.

The screening room&nbsp;embraces&nbsp;a European&nbsp;theater design with paneled walls&nbsp;and lush carpets. The sky-blue ceiling makes the room feel open and airy but it easily becomes a cozy space once the lights go down.

The master bedroom with its tall ceilings and spiral staircase the office/dressing room is one of eight bedrooms in the house.

A shot of the exterior shows its terra cotta facade and strict adherence to Mediterranean design.

For more information see the listing page with agent Michelle Pais of&nbsp;Signature Realty NJ.&nbsp;

Follow @amydobsonRE

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The home that began its life during the Roaring Twenties for the descendant of a Polish count has still managed to hold its charm over its New Jersey town less than ten miles from Manhattan. Once called the “White House of Englewood,” Gloria Crest is a 24,000-square-foot mansion on one of Englewood, New Jersey’s historic streets. It was built in 1926 for Stefan and Edith Poniatowski (Stefan is said to be a descendant of a former King of Poland) but their fortunes soon crumbled when the stock market crashed in 1929. While their family’s fabric factory had once been earning $0.35 per yard of silk at its peak, profits had plummeted to only $0.03 a yard and they soon had to auction their house along with most of their belongings in order to move to a condo in New York City. The home has had numerous owners over the years, and comes with the unconfirmed but oft-repeated rumor that it was occupied by film star Gloria Swanson while she was involved with Ambassador Joseph Kennedy (father of President John Kennedy) when he was president of Lincoln Savings Bank, who had ownership of the property for a time.

Its most recent sale history had it on the market for $39 million back in 2013 (making it one of New Jersey’s most expensive listings at the time), then nearly going to foreclosure a little while later, then almost finding a foreign buyer for $20 million. Throughout all this Gloria Crest is still standing, as an eight-bedroom, 14-bathroom home on five lake-front acres, with its original Mediterranean style design intact now asking $9.99 million for the entire estate. 

Starting out with a tour of the indoors, Tiffany glass shows up in several rooms throughout the house, most impressively in the kitchen ceiling with a large inset over the island. The kitchen hides the fridge and freezer behind cabinet facades that match the rest of the room. Its three Palladian style windows look out on to the grounds and let in enough light to reflect against all the beveled edges of the Tiffany glass so it adds a touch of shimmer to the room.

Here the grandeur is on display with gilded moldings and a European-style mantle that is larger than the fireplace itself.

A separate den went for a rustic Swiss chalet design, though the chandelier has more of a Dale Chihuly look to it.

The screening room embraces a European theater design with paneled walls and lush carpets. The sky-blue ceiling makes the room feel open and airy but it easily becomes a cozy space once the lights go down.

The master bedroom with its tall ceilings and spiral staircase the office/dressing room is one of eight bedrooms in the house.

A shot of the exterior shows its terra cotta facade and strict adherence to Mediterranean design.

For more information see the listing page with agent Michelle Pais of Signature Realty NJ. 

Follow @amydobsonRE