Imagine being the wealthiest person in the world, would you give all your money away? Hi everyone,
ken here, welcome to this house. Today we are exploring the home of Andrew Carnegie.
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In Scottland, the Carnegies lived in poverty. Their entire family shared an attic in an old
house, the same attic in which Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835. At the age of 12 years old,
he emigrated to the united states with his parents who were in search of a better life.
Andrew went to work immediately, helping his family pay the bills. He worked as a telegrapher
all through his teenage years, running letters around City. He had a great sense of awareness
and began investing what little money he earned in railroads, infrastructure, and energy. By 1860,
at the age of 25 years old, he had transitioned into selling bonds,
all the while investing money back into the stock market. With the railroad industry exploding,
he saw an opportunity. Steel was in short supply, but the demand for it was growing every day.
He began cashing in on his stocks and used the money to found Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company
which enabled him to become one of the wealthiest men in the US.
He attempted to blend into the upper echelons of society by building a large brownstone on
Millionaire’s row in Manhattan, but he never could get used to the lifestyle. The Vanderbilts,
Clarks, and other notable families were leading increasingly lavish lifestyles
and choking out the city with their obscenely large mansions piled one on top of the other.
He thought there must be better ways to spend so much money, that the amount of money his
neighbors had could be enough to change the world and really help the less fortunate.
In 1901 He would get the chance to put his philosophy into action
after selling Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company to US Steel, a newly formed organization set up
by J. P. Morgan for over 300 million dollars, or the modern day equivalent
of about 10 billion dollars, making him the wealthiest man in the world.
He hired architects Babb, Cook and Willard to design him a spacious home.
Andrew told them that he wanted the “most modest, plainest, and most roomy house in New York.”
The architects obliged and designed for him a neo Georgian estate rising 4 stories above ground and
descending 3 stories below ground. The façade’s first level was clad in limestone and proceeded
by two stories of red brick below a limestone balustrade concealing the finished attic.
The mansion was set in the middle of a large lot and surrounded by a wrought iron fence with mature
trees planted sparingly surrounding the property. the gardens were very important for Andrew as he
was quoted as saying, “the precious little life that comes to us needs the park and sunshine.”
The construction of the house became somewhat of a modern marvel
as it not only boasted a steel frame, but included air conditioning,
water filters, and boilers to provide steam to the house.
The interior of the home, while not as ornate as many mansions from it’s era,
was grand none the less. Entering through a vestibule
into the main hall, you would be brought to the reception room with high ceilings rounding out
overhead. The central window featured a stained glass portion crafted by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Traveling down the main hall, you would arrive at the library. With half heigh book cases
surrounding an intricately carved mantle adorned with busts. A wooden cartouche was centered above
the fireplace on the picture rail with graphic wall paper set below the crown molding. The
ceiling was a webbing of geometric designs with alternating patterns set inside each section.
Walking back into the hall, you would encounter a pipe organ. The organist would
arrive every morning and begin playing music at exactly 7 am to gently wake the household.
You could then find the dining room set along the back of the house with views towards the
expansive gardens. With parque floors set below half height wood paneling, the light piercing the
rounded windows gave this room a swarm glow which reflected from the from the coffered ceiling.
Going upstairs, you would find the teak room serving as the family’s private library.
Imported from both India and Burma, the teak was masterfully carved to create
intricate wood panels and corbels below the hand stenciled ceiling.
Going up further in the house, the stair hall boasted stained glass not only on the ceiling, but
set between the banisters on the floor to allow for an amazing array of natural light to flood the
lower levels with each level having a different geometric pattern set in the glass panels.
While living in the mansion, Andrew Carnegie became a model philanthropist,
the likes of which the world had never seen. He gave away over the 350 million dollars,
or the modern day equivalent of about 10 billion dollars to charities, libraries, and universities.
Upon his death in 1919, he left large sums for each of his family members,
including his servants who he said “are as members of my family.”
Mrs. Carnegie lived out the rest of her life in the house until 1946 when it was willed to the
Carnegie Corporation. In 1972, it was then donated to the Smithsonian Institution and
granted landmark status in 1974. Today, the mansion is mostly intact and open to
the public as the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and can be visited year round.
What did you think about this mansion?
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