A Gilded Age New York townhouse that was once left in disrepair and infested with rats and pigeons is today one of Manhattan’s most glamorous mansions.

You might recognize the property from TV shows such as Law & Order and The Good Wife, because it’s regularly rented to the film industry – which just happens to cover the hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of property taxes each year.

The Daily Mail’s YouTube show High Life looks inside this fascinating six-story townhouse, where host Jessica Lessen goes back in time to discover the design that spans the 20th century.

Built between 1900 and 1901, the Beaux Arts-style home now has landmark status thanks to its current owner, but it was once nicknamed ‘House of Free Russia’.

Exiled Russian prince Sergei Belosselsky-Belozersky purchased the property in the 1940s and created a nonprofit to house Russian immigrants escaping the communist Soviet Union.

After falling into derelict condition over the decades, Randall Rackson, founder of the derivatives business for insurance and financial services at AIG, bought the townhouse in 1999.

Rackson took on a painstaking five-year renovation to design this current-day masterpiece. He even extended the floor plan, which now spans 12,375 square feet.

Today, 349 West 86th Street is one of the most luxurious townhouses gracing New York’s Upper West Side and is valued at almost $30 million.

Watch the episode in full on the Daily Mail’s YouTube channel and find previous episodes of High Life.