The Father of the New Navy, as he was called, helped the US to establish itself as a military
superpower, and became incredibly wealthy in doing so.
Hi everyone, ken here, welcome to "ThisHouse" Today we are exploring the Whitney Mansion
in Manhattan.
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William Whitney grew up in a well to do family, so it was no surprise that when he attended
college at Yale, he became a member of the Skull and Bones Society which connected him
with some of the world’s most influential elites, including his future brother in law,
Colonel Oliver Payne.
After graduating, he practiced law, helping to weed out fraud in New York City’s Government.
Around this time he married his good friend, Colonel Payne’s sister, Flora and Payne
gifted the newlywed couple a mansion in Manhattan.
Later on, during the Cleveland Presidency, it was rumored that Colonel Payne bribed officials
so that his dear brother in law could become the United States Secretary of the Navy.
While in this position, William greatly expanded the Navy by ordering new fleets of ships,
helping to bring the navy into the cutting edge of the 20th century.
Because of this overhaul of the Navy’s resources, he is often referred to as “the father of
the new Navy.”
He awarded manufacturing contracts to his friends and family members including his brother
Henry who was president of the Metropolitan Steamship Company.
There are several unproved rumors surrounding how William became wealthy serving in this
position, and we won’t go into those, but by the end of his term he had amassed a 40
million dollar fortune, being worth the modern day equivalent of 1.3 billion dollars.
Now, being incredibly wealthy, He began to search for love, even though he was already
married.
But William had no regard for his allegiances, he began partying with JP Morgan aboard his
private yacht where he met Edith Randolph, Morgan’s mistress.
William and Edith quickly fell in love, then his wife Flora mysteriously died from an illness.
William was said not to be heartbroken, but instead excited to be able to bring Edith
into his life publicly, but Colonel Payne issued William a strong threat that if he
did not take the 2 years of customary mourning time to grieve his late sister that there
would be consequences for his actions.
So, William obliged, and waited a couple years to go public with his relationship, marrying
Edith.
The two began to start their new lives together, searching for a perfect house in Manhattan
to start their own family.
That’s when they found Stuart Mansion at 871 fifth avenue.
The second empire style mansion had been built 13 years earlier and was now considered out
of style.
While it had large rooms, they had been decorated by the previous generation and were lacking
the glitz and glam associated with the Gilded Age.
But there was something about the house they liked, its proportions were nice and it had
good bones on a corner lot on one of the world’s most desirable stretches of real-estate.
Instead of tearing it down to start over, they hired the architecture firm of McKim,
Mead, and White to reimagine the house in a more palatial style.
At the direction of Stanford White, the walls were ripped down to the studs and several
rooms were greatly expanded with a few new additions to the house being planned.
He began sourcing antique fireplaces, wood panels, and other architectural elements to
be shipped in from Europe while McKim and Mead reworked the façade into a limestone
clad, Beaux Arts palace.
When it was all said and done in 1902, the mansion now boasted 54,000 square feet of
interior living space with the cost of renovations reaching the staggering cost of 3.5 million
dollars, or the modern day equivalent of about 121 million dollars.
The entrance to the house had been moved to 68th street where a pair of bronze and wrought
iron gates, which had been reclaimed from the Doria Palace in Italy, greeted visitors.
Passing through the front doors, you would arrive in the entrance hall where coffered
ceilings towered above a solid marble fireplace with intricate relief work in its upper mantle.
To the side, marble stairs, complimented by carved marble balustrade swept along marble
block walls decorated with antique tapestries.
As you made your way through the entrance hall, you would see rare trophies strewn about
the mosaic stone floor with potted exotic plants contrasting against the white marble
halls.
Before exploring the rest of the house, you would be guided to the Louis the 15th reception
room beyond velvet curtains.
The room boasted antique wall panels with a subtle, but elegant, plaster vine draping
the ceiling.
As you continued through the house, the rooms became more and more grand with the drawing
room boasting intricately carved window surrounds set against wallpaper below a coffered ceiling.
The Library continued with half height book cases set against imported, antique panels
draped with embroidered, crimson colored velvet Ducal Banners below the ceiling’s ornate
millwork.
Entering the dining room was like opening a book from antiquity.
The tapestries displayed on the walls depicted scenes from the Iliad and were broken up by
marble door surrounds which had been salvaged from ancient roman temples.
And if none of these rooms had impressed you so far, the Ballroom, which was now the largest
in New York City, would leave you speechless.
It had been finished out in the Louis the 14th style and could sit 200 guests for grand
banquets.
In fact, before the house had been completely finished, the first ball of the new Millenia
was hosted here.
Of the many notable guests, Caroline Astor stole the spotlight when she wore an outfit
that was said to be adorned with more diamonds than the rest of the guests owned, perhaps
an exaggeration, but a detail nonetheless that helps paint a picture of just how grand
this ball was.
Unfortunately, before the house was finished and before this ball was hosted, Edith fell
off her horse, paralyzing her from the neck down.
She passed away shortly after
Nevertheless, William enjoyed the mansion, mingling with high society and hosting some
of the most lavish parties the city had ever seen until 1904.
Just 2 years after the mansion had been completed, his appendix ruptured.
After having it removed, he was found dead on the marble floors, possibly having taken
a fall while still recovering.
Within a few months, his heirs had finished auctioning off the house and all of its contents
to a single buyer, James Henry Smith.
He moved in immediately and began hosting huge parties, filling the halls with music
and cheer once again, but enjoyment never lasted long in the Whitney Mansion.
Less than 3 years after buying the house, James married his lover, Annie Armstrong.
The newlywed couple set out to Japan on their honeymoon where James ended up passing away.
William Whitney’s son, Harry Payne Whitney, then ended up buying the mansion for him and
his wife, Gertrude Vanderbilt to live in.
After Harry passed away in 1930, Gertrude spent less and less time at the mansion, preferring
to live at their country house known as the Manse instead.
In 1942, she decided to place the house up for sale, but she passed away before it sold.
Her heirs auctioned off the house and all of its contents.
At this time, New York was rapidly developing with mansions being replaced by skyscrapers
at an alarming rate.
Knowing that whoever would buy the mansion would probably tear it down, the heirs had
the foresight to auction off most of the architectural elements, antique wall panels, and elaborate
fireplaces.
In hindsight, this was a great decision as the developer who purchased the house had
it bulldozed without removing the remaining architectural salvage.
In its place, the apartment block at 870 fifth street was erected, replacing what was the
site of one of manhattan’s most lavish mansions.
Though the house has been lost to progress, we have these photos to remember it by.
Which room was your favorite?
Let me know down below in the comments section.
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