Architecture – Vanderbilt Residences

Taking a break from Pritzker Prize winners I was going to go with famous staircases today. Then I got an email from Architectural Digest pointing out 5 former Vanderbilt residences you can visit. I thought there’s an idea, and one in honour of Gloria Vanderbilt who, at 95, passed away last week.

I start with the original testimonial Anderson Cooper did of his mother.

Don’t watch the second video without a box of tissues by your side. It was done later in reaction to the first.

I think we can later take this topic in all sorts of directions. We can explore the architects. The period. Or we can see how the Astors, the Fish, and the Baylies kept up with the Vanderbilt. Why do you think so many quarries of marble were emptied in the process of building the “summer houses” of Newport (another subject right there!).









I used Wikipedia as a starting point as there I found a list of important Vanderbilt homes organized by their patrons. So the Vanderbilt real estate empire can be broken down by who built what for whom. And so…

Cornelius Vanderbilt II 1843–1899

Townhouse, Cornelius Vanderbilt II House
1883, 1 West 57th Street, New York
Architect: George B. Post
Demolished




The Breakers
1895, Newport, Rhode Island
Architect Richard Morris Hunt
I visited this “summer house” several years ago. The largest “summer house” of Newport it set the bar quite high. At the time the family bequeathed it to the State, part of the agreement, I was told was that Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper retained the 3rd floor. That is no longer the case.




Oakland Farm
1893, Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Demolished

Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard
1843-1927

Townhouse, Part of Triple Palace
1882, 2 West 52nd Street, New York, New York
Demolished




Woodlea
1895, Scarborough, New York
by McKim, Mead and White
Now Sleepy Hollow Country Club

William Kissam Vanderbilt
1849-1920

Petit Chateau Townhouse
1882, 660 Fifth Avenue, New York City
In the style of the Gilded Age mansions
Demolished in 1926




Idle Hour
1879, Oakdale, Long Island
Destroyed by fire 1899




Marble House Summer House
1892, Newport, Rhode Island

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt
1852–1946, wife of William Douglas Sloane

Townhouse
1882, 642 Fifth Avenue, part of the Vanderbilt Triple Palace
Demolished




Elm Court
1887, Lenox, Massachusetts
largest shingle-style house in the United States
The 1919 “Elm Court Talks,” held at Elm Court, led to the creation of The League of Nations and The Treaty of Versailles.

Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly
1854-1952, Mrs. Hamilton Twombly

Townhouse
1883, 684 Fifth Avenue, New York
Designed by John B. Snook
Demolished




Florham
1897, Convent Station, New Jersey
Designed by McKim, Mead and White
Now part of Fairleigh Dickinson University




Vinland
Newport, Rhode Island
Now part of the Salve Regina University




Townhouse
1 East 71st Street, New York
Designed by Whitney Warren
Demolished

Frederick William Vanderbilt
1856–1938

Hyde Park
1899, Hyde Park, New York
Designed by McKim, Mead and White
Now Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site




Rough Point
1892, Newport, Rhode Island
Designed by Peabody and Stearns




Pine Tree Point
1901, Adirondack Great Camp, Upper St. Regis Lake




Sonogee
1903, Bar Harbor, Maine