Since the Dutch settlement of Manahatta in 1624, the city has been rebuilt and remodeled so many times that we tend to forget what New York once looked like. Even in our own lifetime, the city has transformed dramatically. It surely doesn't help that nearly all of the mansions and estates built during what I call the Golden Age of real estate (1880-1920) in New York have been torn down. Unfortunately, my parents didn't buy me that time machine I requested for my 22nd birthday--So I have decided to take matters into my own hands and take us back 100 years when the streets were lined with sprawling mansions, cured gardens and enough marble swag to make an evil modernist change their ways. Here are the top 8 most iconic and sadly missed mansions in New York.
Alright, let's go.
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8)
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| The Triple Palace at 640 & 642 Fifth Avenue at 51st Street |
Although one of the richest men in America (worth $100 Million at the time of his death), Cornelius Vanderbilt was considered "new money" and barred from New York's aristocracy. The third generation of Vanderbilts changed all of that and broke into society by building illustrious mansions like the Triple Palace at 640, 642 Fifth Avenue and 2 West 52nd Street, which were so grand that photographers struggled to capture all three in one frame. After inheriting nearly all of his father's fortune ($90 Million to be exact), William Henry Vanderbilt hired architect John Butler Snook to build three "modest dwellings" for himself and two daughters, Margaret and Emily Vanderbilt.
You know, kind of like when your parents give you rent money.... 640 Fifth Avenue actually outlasted just about all the mansions on Vanderbilt Row, which stretched unobstructed to 680 Fifth Avenue. The mansion was like a frat house for the really really wealthy party people of NY. The Vanderbilt galas ranged anywhere from $10K to $250K. By the 1940s, the area was overrun by skyscrapers and commercialism. So in 1943, Grace Vanderbilt the ultimate social butterfly, threw one final banger* in the mansion. Finally, in 1944, the last of the Triple Palace came face to face with the wrecking ball. RIP my brew. Now... there's an H&M there; sweaters range from $12.95-$49.50
#FML
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7)
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| The Beekman Estate at 50th & First Avenue |
The Beekman Estate at Mount Pleasant was built by James Beekman in 1763. We're talking Colonial Swag. Located on a bluff at 50th Street and First Avenue with unobstructed views of Turtle Bay, it served as the Beekman's country estate. The houses exterior reflected the Dutch colonial mansions of the previous century while the interiors were designed with European period rooms, stained glass, black marble and a seventeenth-century carved mahogany wood fireplace that stretched to the ceiling. I'll take two of those please! The British took over Mount Pleasant during the Revolutionary War and the Beekmans did not return to their estate until 1783. They did however send a rent bill to the British Government...which I personally think is awesome. The family loved the estate so much that they paid thousands of dollars to move it a block South to avoid its destruction while The Grid of 1811 was being laid. At its new home, the house sat twenty feet proudly above First Avenue until 1874 when in the old battle between land value -vs- architecture .... well you know how it played out. Sorry MT. P .. WE MISS YOU
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6)
Le Petit Chateu @ 660 Fifth Avenue
So we're just going to stay on the Vanderbilt train for a little while. This mansion serves as a great lesson for everyone: if you want to make your wife happy, give her an unlimited budget, and let her build her dream home. Pictured above is the William Kissam and Alva Vanderbilt house at 660 Fifth Avenue. With the help of renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt, Alva Vanderbilt set the precedent of luxury living in NYC by building the first Beaux-Arts mansion with a limestone facade in New York. And just in case you didn't know who the HBIC* was, in the Spring of 1883, Alva threw a Masquerade ball with a guest list of 1,000 and a price tag of $3 Million. In 1925, Le Petit Chateau was sold to a real estate developer and demolished. Today, there is a 41-story office tower that stands boringly in its place.
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5)
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| The Astor Mansion at 65th & Fifth Avenue |
Coming in at number five is the unforgettable Astor Mansion (not that I was ever there) located at 840 Fifth Avenue on the corner of 65th and Fifth Avenue. Mrs. Caroline Schermerhorn Astor was the matriarch of NY society and when she built her limestone mansion North of Vanderbilt Row, the rest of the aristocracy moved with her. Her mansion was most famous for her ballroom in which New York's Elite 400 could gather for the most lavish parties in NY. Her ballroom was gold and marble and if you made it into her ballroom, you made it in society. With five floors and over fifty rooms filled with priceless antiques and artwork the mansion surpassed the lives of both Mrs. Caroline Astor who died of old age, and her son, John Jacob Astor IV who died on the Titanic. In 1926, the mansion was torn down and replaced with Temple Emanu-el. L'chaim to it not being an office building.
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4) |
| Paterno Castle overlooking the Hudson River |
Let's head to Northern Manhattan in Hudson Heights. Ever wonder why it is commonly referred to as Castle Hill? Well, probably because Dr. Charles Paterno built himself a 35-room castle situated 125 feet above the Hudson River. Cue the beloved "Location, Location, Location!" line. In 1905, Dr. Paterno, now a real estate developer, purchased seven acres of land and commissioned architect John C. Watson to build his $500,000 estate and castle with acres of lush Italianate Gardens, an indoor pool and a guest house which still stands and is actually really cool!! I guess being a real estate developer and castle owner quickly becomes an anomaly. In 1938, Dr. Paterno announced plans to replace his sprawling castle with five cooperative apartment buildings. And by the end of 1938, the Paterno Castle was completely gone. Today, Castle Village stands in its place and apartments range from $250,000-$1.6M. I would include a picture, but morally, I can't. So go on StreetEasy.
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3)
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| The Cornelius Vanderbilt Mansion at 57th & Fifth Avenue |
The Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion located at 1 West 57th Street was truly something to write home about--and probably do a song and dance while you're at it. WE'RE TALKING THE LARGEST MANSION EVER BUILT IN NEW YORK CITY. The Big Daddy of Fifth Avenue.
OK--Here's the scoop. Cornelius II first built a sprawling limestone and red brick mansion on West 57th Street, just half a block from Fifth Avenue. Don't get me wrong, it was large. But with other millionaires trying to one-up his crib he expanded his mansion to encompass the entirety of 57th-58th Street overlooking the lush 843-acre Central Park. So how big was it, you ask?? Just a mere 130 rooms, no big deal (get it?!). But sadly, as the neighborhood became increasingly commercial and real estate taxes skyrocketed. The Vanderbilt family could no longer hold onto the jewel of Fifth Avenue. and in 1926, it was demolished and replaced by Bergdorf-Goodman.
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2)
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| The Tiffany Mansion at 72nd & Madison Avenue |
Completed in 1885 with a whopping 57 rooms, the Louis Tiffany House located at 27 East 72nd Street and Madison Avenue is one of the most magnificent Manhattan mansions of all time. YES, that is a fact. Designed by A-List architects Mckim, Mead & White, the residence was actually split into four separate apartments intended for the entire family, but only Charles Lewis Tiffany and Louis Comfort Tiffany's family ever moved in. The mega-large cottage-like mansion was a step away from the Beaux-Arts architecture that dominated the neighborhood, which is only one of the million reasons it was so downright awesome. With real estate developers hounding for more land to erect apartment buildings along favorable avenues, the Tiffany Mansion fell to the wrecking ball in 1936.
I thought diamonds were forever...
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1)
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| The Charles Schwab Mansion was once the largest West Side Residence |
And now, for the most iconic and the grandest mansion of them all. Ladies and gentlemen, the Charles Schwab Mansion at Riverside Drive and 73rd/74th Street. Yes, it really encompassed the whole block. The 75 room mansion took four years to build with a price tag of $6 Million. Just FYI my friends, that's roughly $150,200,700 in today's dollars. I guess being the president of U.S Steel during the Industrial Revolution has its perks. Even Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest men in American history was quoted saying, "Have you seen that place of Charlie's? It makes mine look like a shack." The 50,000 square foot mansion boasted a swimming pool, bowling alley, three elevators, 75 rooms and interiors in the styles of Henry IV, Louis XIII, Louis XV and Louis XVI. Schwab's empire however, was dwindling in the years following the Great Depression, and after failed attempts to sell his Chateau, he offered to sell the house to the City of NY as the mayoral residence. Mayor Fiorella La Guardia rejected.. #Ruuuude. In 1939, Schwab moved out of the mansion and into a hotel where he died only six months later. With the its real estate taxes exceeding $60,000 and a shortage of apartments, the most magnificent Manhattan mansion was demolished in 1946 and replaced with a brick building called the Schwab House.
Yes... it is as basic as it sounds.
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Well, that's all the emotional distress I can take for one sitting. I hope you enjoyed our tour of how amazing New York once looked. Anyone looking to build a mansion in the next few years.. shoot me an email.
*HBIC- head betch in charge
*banger- a wild party
