
More than 100 firefighters battled a devastating blaze at one of New York's last Gilded Age mansions that's currently on sale for $50 million.

Flames burst out of the windows of the townhouse at 854 Fifth Avenue – which is home to the Serbian Mission to the United States – after a fire broke out on the third floor at around 8.40pm on Sunday.

The two-alarm fire was declared under control shortly before 10pm, CBS New York reported. Three firefighters and a civilian were injured in the blaze, the FDNY said.

The Beaux Arts mansion – which has 32 rooms, eight bathrooms and two elevators - on Manhattan's Upper East Side is listed for sale with an asking price of $50 million.

Built in 1905, it was designed by the same firm who worked on the iconic Grand Central Terminal. It has a storied history, and its residences include members of the Vanderbilt family and Soviet allies during the Cold War.

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More than 100 firefighters battled a devastating fire at one of New York's last Gilded Age mansions on Sunday night

Flames burst out of the windows of the townhouse at 854 Fifth Avenue after a fire broke out on the third floor at around 8.40pm on Sunday

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

It has remained virtually untouched as it passed through the hands of the Vanderbilt family until it was bought by Yugoslavia in the wake of the Second World War.

The 20,000 square foot mansion was then fortified with bulletproof windows facing Central Park and the top floors became a Faraday Cage so Cold War meetings could be held without being wire tapped.

During the Cold War, Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito hid out after an assassination attempt on him at the Waldorf Astoria in 1963.

It was originally built in 1905 for New York stockbroker Robert Livingston Beeckman, who later became the governor of Rhode Island, for $60,000.

He installed white marble balustrades, oversized murals and decorative wood paneling looted from French chateaux, according to Avenue magazine.

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White, granddaughter of railroad baron Cornelius Vanderbilt, and her husband Henry White moved to the mansion after buying it for $450,000 in 1925.

She put her stamp on it with even more ostentatious details, including unique cherubs covered in gold leaf in the ceiling moldings of the dining room and frescoes depicting angels on ceilings in parlor rooms.

The two-alarm fire at the townhouse on Fifth Avenue was declared under control shortly before 10pm

Three firefighters and a civilian were injured in the blaze at the property, which is home to the Serbian Mission to the US

The last of the Gilded Age mansions (pictured left, in the early 20th century and right, today) and remained largely unchanged until it was devastated

Fire crews work at the site of a blaze at the Serbian Mission on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue

The property, which is owned by the successor states to the former Yugoslavia, is currently on sale for $50 million

But after her death in July 1946, the Republic of Yugoslavia snapped up the property for a mere $300,000, thanks to the post-war depressed real estate market, and used it as their mission.

In 1961, Tito hosted the leaders of Egypt, Ghana, India and Indonesia to draft plans for the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement in one of the mansion's front parlor rooms, according to Avenue.

In 1975, a bomb was set off in a basement stairwell, damaging the first floor and shattering windows, in another assassination attempt.

People watch from a neighboring building as fire crews work at the site of a fire on Sunday

A firefighter is seen by one of the building's windows after the fire was declared under control

Photos taken on Monday morning after the fire show the burned out windows on the third floor of the lavish property

The cause of the blaze, that is believed to have destroyed large parts of the property, is still under investigation

The stone facade surrounding the windows, which are more than 100 years old, were badly damaged during the inferno

Three armed Croatian nationalists stormed the property two years later and shot one man in the stomach.

Today, the property is still owned by the nation's five successor states. Their ownership stakes were decided by the United Nations.

Serbia owns the biggest amount and bases its Permanent Mission to the United Nations there.

Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia have a portfolio of 50 properties across the world that are in the process of being sold off.

The 20,000 sq ft home on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue with a very storied past - is on sale for $50million. Pictured, the townhouse's upper landing to parlor floor

The townhouse at 854 Fifth Avenue (left, today and right, in the early 20th century) on Manhattan's Upper East Side was built in 1905 and has remained virtually untouched since then, retaining many of the original features

Beeckman installed decorative wood paneling looted from French chateaux as well as white marble balustrades and oversized murals. Pictured, the ballroom at 854 Fifth Avenue which is now used as a dining room

It was originally built in 1905 for New York stockbroker Robert Livingston Beeckman, who later became the governor of Rhode Island, for $60,000. Pictured, the property's main dining room

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White, granddaughter of railroad baron Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Henry White moved to the mansion after buying it for $450,000. Pictured, the petit salon on the main floor which faces Fifth Avenue

Unique cherubs covered in gold leaf were added to the ceiling moldings of the dining room after the Vanderbilt family bought the mansion

It has remained virtually untouched as it passed through the hands of the Vanderbilt family until it was bought by Yugoslavia in the wake of the Second World War. During the Cold War, Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito (pictured) hid out after an assassination attempt on him at the Waldorf Astora

The era of American opulence known as the Gilded Age often saw mansions spring up to resemble the chateaux of France. Pictured, an antique French tapestry on the mansion's Upper Landing

The Republic of Yugoslavia snapped up the property for a mere $300,000, thanks to the post-war depressed real estate market, in 1946. Serbia has its Permanent Mission to the United Nations based there