From the Wall Street Journal yesterday, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim bought the last remaining townhouse on 5th Avenue in NYC for $44M. The Beaux Arts townhouse is located at 1009 5th Ave on the corner with 82nd St, across from the Met. It is known as the Duke-Semans mansion because it was built by tobacco magnate Benjamin Duke in 1901. Surprisingly, the price was only the fourth highest ever paid for a townhouse in NYC. The highest was $53M for a townhouse on 75th St just off 5th Ave. Full article here. Just goes to show the endless variety of townhouses, which are the fundamental building blocks of cities.