at the height of new york's skilled age carolyn astro ranges the unrivaled queen of the social
scene hi everyone ken here welcome to this house today we are exploring mrs astor's lavish mansion
in manhattan make sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an exciting episode
of this house following the death of real estate tycoon william backhouse astor junior his widow
carolyn astor built her dream house along fifth avenue in manhattan's upper east side neighborhood
the house would become the central focus of new york's high society it was constructed
in 1894 and would come to rival the home of cornelius vanderbilt ii just down the street
the design of the home was reminiscent of a duplex on a massive scale
carolyn would live in the northern half of the mansion while her son john jacob astor iv
would live in his southern half of the mansion carolyn hired richard morris hunt to design her
lavish family home hunt like with many of his other notable designs chose to create the house
in the french renaissance architectural style to be reminiscent of a french chateau entering the
home you would have been greeted by a large dome vestibule branching off from the vestibule was a
grand hall adorned with the bust of caroline's ancestors from the grand hall you could enter
the great hall clad in marble and heavily ornamented in boasting a grand floating staircase
its design wrapping steps around the master newell post the walls were decorated with
exquisite paintings and sculptural reliefs seem to protrude from the walls and intervals
if you were visiting this house as a guest you would have been welcomed by a servant and brought
through the great hall to the receiving room passing by all of this granger along the way
as you sat on some of the finest furniture you had ever seen looking up was a portrait of carolyn she
would walk in the room and stand beneath it to welcome you to her home walking with her into the
great hall you would then arrive at the entrance to the ballroom in carolyn's previous home her
ballroom had gained a reputation in new york for coining the term the 400. the 400 was an official
list of new york's high society members during the gilded age it was created by carolyn astor's
close friend ward mcallister to describe the only 400 people in fashionable new york society
it was a list of elitists who felt at ease in the ballroom anyone who was not on the list was
considered to be out of fashion and at risk of making the 400 feel uncomfortable in a ballroom
setting even the vanderbilt family was snubbed from the social ranks because they were considered
to be new money carolyn did not acknowledge the family and acted as the gatekeeper for new york's
most prominent families it has long been rumored that this all changed when alva vanderbilt hosted
a grand costume ball and rescinded carolyn's invitation because she had never called on
the vanderbilt family not wanting to feel like an outcast it is said that carolyn changed her mind
to accept the vanderbilts as new york elites but all of this was now in the past at least
in some ways new york's population was booming and new money was rivaling old money carolyn's
new ballroom could now comfortably entertain 1200 guests with ceilings soaring four stories above
and spanning the width of the home the ballroom was the largest of the rooms in the mansion the
walls were covered in satin and decorated with carolyn's art collection the parquet floors were
covered by oriental rugs which had 16 persian rugs overlapping them at the far end of the ballroom
was a large marble fireplace with its chimney piece extending four stories up to the ceiling
at its base were men carved from marble holding an intricately painted panel
depicting a gala at the palace of versailles at the opposite end of the ballroom
was a minstrel gallery with screens to separate the musicians from the sight of the guests
if you were lucky enough to see the rest of the house you would have exited the ballroom going
back into the great hall and found the drawing room furnished with rugs woven from feathers
oriental carpets and guild framed mirrors spanning the walls continuing further down the great hall
would bring you to the dining room a spectacular display of opulence which held a large statue of
venus that had previously decorated her former dining room going back into the great hall and
ascending the stairs would take you to carolyn's second floor suite complete with her bedroom full
bathroom and closets there was also a dressing room and a domed boudoir in this private space
the remaining floors of the house contained guest suites and servant's quarters carolyn would live
out the rest of her life and her side of the mansion until dying of natural causes in 1908
her son john jacob astor would perish a few years later while he was aboard the titanic this left
both sides of the mansion empty and abandoned benjamin winter senior a real estate developer
purchased the mansion and later had it demolished in 1926. today it is the site of the congressional
emmanuel of new york thank you all for watching i really hope that you enjoyed this video make sure
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