Being a member of the 400 in Gilded Age new York carried with it expectations of grandeur
and elegance.
Hi everyone, ken here, welcome to this house.
Today we are exploring the Fulton Cutting Mansion.
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Fulton Cutting came from old money, his great grandfather was Walter Livingston, the first
speaker of the New York State Assembly.
His Uncle Robert Cutting was the president of the New York stock exchange.
With such an influential family, it was no surprise that fulton and his brother decided
to go into business together by pioneering the sugar beet industry.
Their business venture paid off and Fulton became incredibly wealthy.
In 1899, he hired Ernest Flagg to design his dream house.
This would be the first residential building to be designed by Ernest Flagg, kickstarting
his career as a world renowned architect.
The beaux arts style house at 67th and Madison avenue would take 4 long years to complete.
The elaborate limestone façade rose four stories, each floor boasting unique window
surrounds.
Between the third and fourth floor, a stone cornice wrapped around the entire house.
Above this were dormers rising above the parapet walls and intersecting with the mansard roof.
Entering the home, you would have been greeted by a large entrance hall with a floor to ceiling
carved marble fireplace.
The wooden parque floors were surrounded by a band of mosaic wood tiles sweeping the perimeter
of the room.
Pilasters flanked free standing boxed columns with iron banisters to either side.
Walking up a few steps, you would arrive in the stair hall with a sweeping stair case
taking you up to the second floor where most of the entertaining rooms were located.
Off the second floor stair hall was the drawing room.
Laid out with symmetry in mind, pilasters were set on the walls in even intervals with
either windows or murals laid between them.
At the far end was an oversized marble fireplace with a gilted mirror set above it, designed
to imitate the proportions and shape of the windows.
The dining room was less intricate, but just as grand in it’s own right.
The coffered ceilings contained a laurel motif and floated above the polished limestone block
walls.
Limestone was used for the dentil moulding, fireplace, and baseboards, creating a sense
of fortification in the space.
The floors, though mostly covered by a massive rug, were a rich wood type laid out in a parque
pattern.
The library seemed to tie together the two prior rooms by incorporating coffered ceilings,
reliefs, wood pannelings, and carpets.
Half height bookshelves with glass doors were set on either side of the carved stone fireplace,
the upper mantle was carved from wood and contained a mural in the center of it.
The den was more modest with a mix of painted wood trim and plaster details.
The walls were covered in silk and decorated with tapestries, trophies, and an assortment
of antique weapons.
The parlour was a more intimate space, with large furniture clustered together.
The walls were decoated with unpainted wood trim and pilasters, between which damasque
wallpaper had been installed.
There were several bedrooms and servants quarters on the upper floors including a sitting room
containing all white architectural elements.
The only bit of color could be found in the bronze wall sconces and the vibrantly colored
furniture and rugs set above a pale wood floor.
Many grand parties, balls, and charitable events took place in this houses as Fulton
was a member of Mrs. Astor’s 400.
We can imagine New york’s most elite being entertained in this house.
In 1918, Mrs. Helen Cutting passed away, leaving fulton with a large empty house.
He retired to their country estate, the Cutting House in Tuxedo park to live out the rest
of his years.
Fulton renovated His Manhattan mansion by dividing the upper floors into luxury apartments,
while setting aside the entire first floor for retail space.
Mr passed away in 1934, but the house continued to be used as apartments and retail space
until 1962 when it was purchased by a developer, torn down, and replaced by a utilitarian office
building.
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