Patricia Altschul Spills Details on the $12M NY Mansion She Shared with Late Husband

For Patricia Altschul, an opulent, luxurious lifestyle is nothing new. The Southern Charm matriarch recently revealed to The New York Times that during her most recent marriage to Arthur Altschul (who passed away in 2002), she and her husband had two abodes — an apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York City that was decorated by “Prince of Chintz” Mario Buatta (which, by the way, Zillow currently values at $19 million) and an enormous Long Island mansion.

Dubbed Southerly, the home was built in 1958 and is located atop 10 acres on Centre Island, which is accessible by car and overlooks Oyster Bay and the Long Island Sound. Patricia and Arthur purchased the 30-room home in 1997 and soon counted Billy Joel and Rupert Murdoch as neighbors.

 Also decorated by Buatta, the home's interior were utterly regal... but Southerly gained its notoriety from its lush grounds. “When you come into the property, there is a magnificent allée of 100-year-old linden trees,” Patricia told The Times. “One of the reasons why we bought the house are the wonderful trees. The view is sensational, magical, you can see the water from every room in the house.” 

While the interior includes a two-story entryway, an elevator, a library, a servants wing, eight bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms, the exterior’s myriad terraces, rolling lawns, rose garden, formal hedges, sandy beach, and deep-water dock are what guests (and Patricia!) cherished most.  “We live out there in the summer,” she said.

When The Times visited Patricia during a broker's open house back in the day (er, 2007), she had the sprawling property listed for $15.8 million. It eventually sold in March 2009 for $12.5 million. After that, Patricia decided to relocate down south, purchasing her storied Isaac Jenkins Mikell House in Charleston.

And the rest is history!