New Year Old World: Gilded Grandeur on the Upper East Side
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- Опубліковано 3 лют 2021
- Looking for some grandeur this New Year? Join FRIENDS to revel in the architectural glory of the lost Gilded Age mansions of Fifth Avenue. On this virtual tour with Architect Gary Lawrance, we’ll make our way down what was once known as ‘Millionaire’s Row,’ revisiting the sites of the George J. Gould Mansion, the William A. Clark House, and the William Salomon Mansion. We’ll discover the rich history behind these fabulous facades, consider the context of the turn-of-the-century Upper East Side in which they were built, and discuss the dynamics of urbanism that led to their demolition.
How sad that all those lovely mansions were torn down...The buildings had so many character...not the ugly steel and glass ice cube trays that are standing in the city now
Right and it wasn’t like they had been around for centuries, only what 20 to 30 years.
corporation's care nothing for beauty
It's so thrilling to see these beautiful old mansions and hear the stories about them.
how could these pieces of art be destroyed.
The ' The Gilded Age ' TV Show brought me here :D As a german, all this is soo interesting to me , so thank you for a wonderful lecture, I really learned so much !
It's insane that these great houses were all torn down. It wasn't actually that long ago. 130 years is nothing but they've nearly all disappeared.
It's why Europe looks amazing and American neighborhoods, unless brand new look tacky (some exceptions of course).
Done Completely without any comprehension of what they were destroying
@@meidassecondsoprano150 Some progeny lost it because they didn't have to work for it. Then maintenance of them alone is prohibitive. Imagine replacing the roof, maintaining the systems, and cleaning it. Business took over.
It just goes to show, that despite how amazing some architecture can be, it is worthless unless someone can use it for something. Take the Parthenon in Rome for example, it lasted all these years simply because it became a Christian church.
Many were torn down because they were located in areas that were no longer considered good residential locations. In NYC, the rich kept moving further north and commercial buildings bought the old unwanted residential properties. The former owners didn't care-- they moved to a better area.
What a terrific presentation! Thank you so much for providing this for the public.
In the mansions, the scale of the chairs to the ceiling height gives a good indication of just how big the rooms were. Also, how large the paintings were.
I love seeing NYC history
This was so much fun to watch! I appreciate all the hard work put into this documentary. It kept me engaged the entire time and I hated that it was over at the end ☹️
Thank you!!
A superb documentary. And yes, we should never forget the stone and marble sculptors, the craftsmanship of the decorators who, for the most part had recently arrived from various European countries, and were the main contributors to the famously called Gilded Age !
Yes. For the mansions to be torn down in 20;or 30 years, god what a waste
@@seriejohnson698 That's what greed does! I really dislike New York City, and that's very diplomatically stated, for this and many other reasons. It is a place where greed thrives and is rewarded. There is no elegance and grace left; it's a temple to capitalism and decadence. I would give a lot to go back 130 years to see all this.
@@katjasipple868 When you say ‘That’s what Greed does!’,
Are you referring to the progressive income tax that made staff, heating, maintenance expense etc. for these large mansions cost prohibitive?
I could never live on the upper East side NOW, never mind back then.
But I’m enthralled by stories from that period, and NYC.
This is a fabulous presentation. Thank you!
There is a sermon in all those fascinating facts. I appreciate your not preaching; but rather just showing us the beauty. It was very enjoyable.
Enjoyed, TYVM!
Fantastic Share.
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
This was an outstanding lecture. If more people were socially conscious, everyone could live like kings and queens in my opinion. 😃
NARRATOR IS VERY GOOD!
Friends are good. History rocks!!!
It is very weird that Americans, who, when in Europe, marvel at the amount of ancient buildings, once at home never hesitate to demolish most of the USA's more "historic" buildings.
Really great job. Totally fascinating!
Well done!
Why was the Vanderbilt mansion even allowed to be torn down? It’s absurd to think all that building had to offer and nobody rejected or fought to save it. It’s a treasure
Greed
Commercialization had crept up the Avenue and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt and Mrs. Astor both moved for that reason. The property was probably considered a white elephant, perhaps no longer fashionable, and expensive to maintain; and as Mr. Lawrance mentioned, servants were hard to come by and young people preferred apartments.
Of course, the magnificent mansions for the very rich also implied the filthy tenement houses for those who built those mansions. Beauty is ever in the eye of the beholder and there are very ugly economics underlying that architectural beauty.
Secondly, Manhattan is an island with very many people competing for a very limited amount of real estate. Necessity dictates that that museums dedicated to the greed of a former era should give way to the needs of the present day.
It makes you wonder what happened to all the materials: the marble, carved wood, flooring, etc..
@@amitisshahbanu5642 I wonder how we built them to begin with
What an amazing Channel and Organization this is! I just discovered you here and am blown away by the history and photos of these (mostly) lost treasures. Thank You for your work and passion!
Wonderful documentary...Thank you for sharing it.
I’m amazed at how they built so many huge houses , how long did it take to build one ? And then they didn’t have the equipment to build like we do now .
Great story. Thank you.
What a great spin on History???
I love listening to you. You have a nice voise and cover your stories like a pro and know what your talking about. There are some that do not. thank you.
Thank You for sharing, you are very knowledgeable. Beautiful era !
Your commentary is just perfect and makes this so interesting. I was able to get a new copy of the book Mansions of the Gilded Age: 1879-1901 and was thrilled to find it autographed by the authors! The 60's was such a destructive era, both culturally and architecturally. It seems every beautiful edifice of the 19th century was destroyed in the 60s, which didn't contribute anything to our history.
Thank you very much for your lecture!
It's haunting to think of the splendor that John Jacob Astor lived in compared to the horrendous way he died in the frigid North Atlantic where his wealth was of no use. It was said he had $30K in a money belt when his body was recovered and taken to his elaborate coffin aboard the recovery ship. Until it was found, his son was insistent that the wreck be raised in order to facilitate its recovery. I guess if you have unlimited funds, anything is possible?!
These old houses, while gorgeous in their time, were never energy efficient or healthy inside. It's a shame they had to be torn down, but between impossibly expensive to heat and the mold and no one needing a home that size anymore, it does make sense they'd go derelict and be torn down. I do wish a new building would be erected in their stead though that was also architecturally significant though eco-conscious, energy efficient, and beautiful in the same old-world way, just built for today's world.
Beautiful rooms with majestic vibes but how sad that only a "few" were able to enjoy this type of luxury. Maybe that's another reason why these mansions didn't survive because there was such a divide on the haves and have nots. The distinction was made clear in the sand. There are many lessons to be learned here.
We should've expropriated these houses and made them into co-ops for working class people.
Are you saying we should all be limited to equal housing, that no one have more beautiful houses than any other? There would be no great beauty and no excellence. We would suffer in perpetual mediocrity.
@@shadetreader Hugo Chavez recently tried this in Venezuela… It didn’t work out well.
Amazing how radically NYC has changed from the 1800s. Love to dive back in time. Thank you, sir. Lovely stories.
Thank you so much for a wonderful talk Gary Lawrance. I love the history of grand houses/ mansions here in the UK, but is was very interesting to learn about former mansions and their occupants in New York from your talk. You have inspired me to do more research on this subject in the future. Thanks again :-)
Europe has a much different attitude toward their history. They revere it. Everything in the states seems to be considered disposable.
I really think u all should focus on the Lynnewood hall Guilded Mansion in P.A.
That pearl necklace would be worth over $15,000,000.00 today!!!
A major contribution to their demise was the inheritance taxes which began in 1900 and in 1913, the 16th Amendment was ratified, permanently legalizing an income tax. These taxes put a major dent in these personal fortunes making the extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy less and less viable.
When artisans and laborers worked for pennies. The skill and craftsmanship put into these architectural masterpieces could never be achieved now. Persons of their trade back then were passionate artists. Today they are not.
……well, quite, but can be put back. And there are Artisans who can do it. One of the most magnificent houses in the USA was Whitemarsh Hall. Why? Because it had the proper park grounds suitable for a great house. It was on par with the Duke mansion in NYC. Clean lines and austere classicism…inside and out. Much of the interiors were found at auction in London by the their designers, White and Allom of London, 15 Hanover Square. The same interior designers of Buckingham House and Windsor Castle re do after Queen Victoria passed away. Joseph Duveen was also greatly involved, Horace Trumbauer, Jacque Grabier and his father, Henre Leone Grabier did all the statuary. It could all easily be recreated exactly. The artwork is all around the world in museums…..all maintained even better then in the past.
The Stotesbury’s had it all, and they could’ve cared less who saw it and who was marry enough to critique it. They laughed al the way to the bank for the rest of their lives. And it was all hard earned. He worked till his dying day at 89.
AMEN...SND I BET THEY WONT FALL TO THE GROUND😆
But…,they are diverse
And still struggled to get paid
@@cravenmoorehead7099 I get your meaning...
Awesome
Very intriguing thank you so much
Its sickening how many of these propertys were destroyed across the nation and being only 20 to 30 years old at some of them! All of that time and skill it took to design and build those beautiful places. I Just don't understand
I need a time machine! It saddens me so much that all these beautiful structures are no longer here for us to view.
You got the Vanderbilt ball wrong. Mrs. Astor's daughter, Carrie, was practicing in a quadrille that was to be presented at the ball. At the last moment, Alva "suddenly realized" that she couldn't be, as she hadn't met Mrs. Astor. Mrs. Astor then was driven to the mansion and the Vanderbilts were IN.
Really interesting. Thank you!
Wonderful lecture, a real pleasure to watch
Wow, great presentation! But you are right, it is a shame that these buildings were eventually torn down... Too bad, also, that color photography hadn' t come along in full force, I'd seen a couple of colorized photos of the interiors, and there write one or two in your presentation. Would be interesting to see these photos in color, but they are still amazing in black and white. Thank you very much!
the depth, intricacy, freshness, elegance and atmosphere of places such as these, I'm certain, cannot be served well in even a color photo.... our city in the 50s was so shining clean, and the environs exceeding in lively color and verve! the sun was yellow then, and soft in the morning. animals today found only out in the country thrived in city neighborhoods back then. when the land is developed all changes. when $$ becomes the first motivation quality becomes very rare. when skilled people pass on, life also says farewell to what they created and worked to achieve. life is much, much more than we comprehend at present.
@@megenberg8 Very well put!
Great talk Gary! Wonderful!
This was very enlightening information, as I find this period in history fascinating. I put destroying beautiful architecture and interior design on the same level as destroying art, such as the Mona Lisa. Once it's gone it can never be replaced, especially from this period. We'll never see the likes of those artisans who came in great quantities from Europe with their skills. The focus on our world now is technology; not art and creating beautiful things. I wonder if they would have been so quick to destroy these beautiful structures back then had they known the art of creating these homes would be lost to time.
Yes, a total waste of art and history….not to mention all the work the workers pot into every detail of those mansions
Amen! That is my argument against the destruction of monuments across the U.S. in the past couple of years. The statues were beautiful. Even the pediments are gorgeous.
@@cattycorner8 The base that the Robert E. Lee statue was on in Virginia was gorgeous. We don't have artisans who can carve stone like that anymore, and now it's completely destroyed with graffiti and spray paint. Couldn't we have just removed the statue, and left the base there to remain a beautiful structure, and maybe even used it for something else? No, everything has to be desecrated...
This is fantastic.
Still confused, i can't comprehend this destruction.. You had no war, no issues like we had here, why.. ? Why to destroy so much beauty.. ? Its like imagine destroying Vienna.. :) unbelievable
Really amazing! Nice explanation!
Excellent presentation. Having traveled to NYC many times never knew about these losses. Also, always wondered why the decorative plinths over the Met entrance appear to not be finished. What was supposed to be there? Saw previous video on Duke mansion that looks out over the top of Metropolitan Museum and never noticed before. Mr. Lawrance is great.
It breaks my heart that many of these buildings were torn down. I also can imagine the cost of upkeep for these homes. I do wish current billionaires could have purchased some of these homes for upkeep, vs building their own homes. Historical homes are now just pictures.
It's lovely to see Franny Eberhart, and looking so well. It's been ages. I knew her from my time at Historic House Trust. And hi Gary! I like the beard. Good program. Loved seeing the Salomon house, as I hadn't seen interior shots before. Thank you for this very interesting talk.
I could have lived in those beautiful mansions in NYC during the gilded age but would never live in NYC, no matter how luxurious, today. It’s a cesspool.
this is fascinating thank you!
A fine video lecture. Did the owners of the mansions use the main staircases or had elevators hidden away that they actually used ? At least some of the mansions still existed as museums, schools and offices. George Gould also owned the Wabash Railroad that ran to Chicago and St. Louis. The railroad had a fabulous railroad station in Pittsburgh that lasted from 1904 until it was torn down in the 1950s.
It just hurts me to see all of these torn down. We keep losing so much architecture. I may not have a gilded age mansion, but I have painstakingly restore my 1940 house back to its original details. Everyone wants cheap, fast and flat houses.
With no character! I hate modern architecture!
So sad, they are gone now..
I read somewhere, in regards to the Clarke mansion, that the tower was a quarantine wing! And that the staircase was actually dragged out, on a barge, and dumped in the sea. They tried to sell it, though no takers. Great viewing, thank you!
That’s NUTS 😧
Thrown into the SEA ?!!!
True. The floating marble staircase was dumped in a local body of water. I read the book Empty Mansions and it was fascinating.
@@facebookcom-ej7dm WHAT THE HECK WERE THEY THINKING !! That doesn’t even make full sense
Because that's America especially nyc tear down the past until the future or present because scary then it's sell and buy the past( nostalgia) for comfort.
A.T. Stewart = dept store on The Ladie’s Mile!
Wonderful show! I have family from NY whose name is Gould. I have some of their engraved silver. I will need to look it up!
Trovo che sia un vero peccato distruggere l' antica New York , palazzi così magnifici un vero peccato. Si potrebbero ricostruire per ritrovare la storia di un tempo
WHEN THESE MANSIONS WERE GOING TO BE TORN DOWN, WHAT BECAME OF THE FURNITURE? WHERE DID THAT GO? THE LIGHT FIXTURES I AM WONDERING.
Auctions
Love the fashion of the time and the exterior facade of these old buildings…not so much the interiors. Too busy with too much going on It makes me feel so less envious, and appreciate living in this modern time period. But that’s just me.
I loved every minute of this video…nice to learn about the people who built our nation. 🤗❤️🇺🇸
I thought the staircase at 660 Fifth Avenue was Caen stone, not marble. Why is the front door of 1 West 57th Street boarded up?
This was wonderful, I'm fascinated by the architecture of that era. Although it truly hurts my heart to see all these gorgeous mansions being destroyed. What a monumental waste!!
I have a question, I was wondering if anyone knows what was on the lot where the MASTERS Apartment building at 310 Riverside Drive was built in 1929? It falls right in that time frame when so many stunning mansions were destroyed and apartment buildings were erected. It has quite a fascinating history and I wondered if perhaps the previous mansion was owned by anyone connected to it. Nicholas and Helena Roerich's former home and they were very intriguing people!!
If you another of these check your audio.
I had trouble with the audio. Too much bass. I loved the pic though.
The house where I spent the happiest years of my youth was probably built around 1910 and though nowhere near the splendor of these gilded palaces, was gracious and elegant much like the houses that lined Orange Grove Ave (millionaire's row) in Pasadena, California. It was torn down about 1960 to build a horrendously ugly 60s moderne appartment block.
If only people still insisted on beauty. Maybe not quite the over the top guilded age standards but a little beauty and grace.
The last of those lovely houses on Orange Grove ave was torn down in the early 70s. I think of it as cultural vandalism.
I would enjoy living in 1890's NY but not today.It has lost so much of its beauty.
And its dignity
People always appreciate the past. The same thing will be said about the 2020s, 2030s, 2040s etc.
It is appalling that these magnificent homes were torn down so rapidly and frequently! Did no one have any sense of cultural history. It is simply insane.
Do plans exist for the floors above the second floor of the Clark Mansion ?
You should show Monmouth university former Wilson hall shadow lawn mansion . I went to school there . The building is pretty opulent
Gilded Age - the gilding being a few fancy people, while the rest were in poverty. A debatable topic.
just like now, an incredible gap between rich and poor
…….except for one thing. The rich then gave back big time. They all gave or procured where newly Named as Universities. WealthyNew Yorkers today and everywhere else do very little for the poor. John Wanamaker financed the Williamson School to teach young men Joinery, and the Trades. Many so-called “robber barrons” of which they were not, had support systems all centered on self improvement through education. WhenA.T. Stewart’s body was stolen and held for ransom, John Wanamaker had his son Rodman design a mausoleum that did not look like a usual Greco Roman temple. It was and is a Lytchgate to a church cemetery with a beautiful gothic bell tower. Saint James the Less, still in use today.
These houses were designed in the beaux art style which pulled from the classical of not just CrecoRoman, but the gothic also. It’s called a minstrel gallery. Still in use today at Windsor and Buckingham. “Stanford White’s New York” is a great read.
It is known as the "Gilded Age" because of the gilding used in the decorative arts. That is all.
@@Wanamaker1946 They also kept many people employed leading up to and during the Depression. Not sure that today’s “robber barons” can say the same.
@@Wanamaker1946 thank you! I know most of the names from the universities they built.
what store did Mr. Stewart own ?
“Most of the people in the family didn’t receive a very large cut of what they should have had.” You mean, WOULD have had. I don’t think we can say they SHOULD have had this.
We lament their loss for the sake of architecture, but from a societal view, these mansions were built by the extreme wealth amassed before the passage of the federal income tax law of 1913. Built during the age of industrialization and it's accelerated rape of our natural resources, they represent a legacy we are now coming to terms with in the form of dispproportionate wealth, pollution and climate change.
@Tina Magnuson I bet you are a blast at parties
@@cattycorner8 How did you know?
At 36:00, the boys on the sidewalk have no shoes. Also, how'd that ivy get so big so fast on that building? The money spent went into a lot of pockets, spurred a lot of business and built the middle class.
Did the Astors have homes in other countries? What were the homes like if she did have homes in different t cou tries.
All I can say is Sad 😞 Sad 😞 😞 that these treasures were destroyed..
You know two presidents from brazil
"mud flood"
old tartaria
Tartarthia!
So you, americans, destroyed these beautiful houses... for ugly skyscrapers.. ? Confused European here... very confused :)
You're not alone, many Americans are just as confused as you are.
New York è una città fantastica peccato che molte architetture del passato siano andate perdute, era decisamente più interessante costruire il nuovo non al posto dell' antico . Piange il cuore vedere andati perduti molti begli edifici sarebbero potuti essere un' ottima attrazione turistica.
Gli americani dovrebbero bloccare queste distruzioni e conservare il loro passato
Sad it’s not in colour
✝️Eternal Father I offer Thee the most precious blood of Your Son, Jesus, in union with all the Masses being said all over the world this day, for the souls in purgatory🔥 ( especially Astor’s, Gould’s, Vanderbilts Friends of the Upper East Historic District🗽🇺🇸 )💎🎩👑
St. Gertrude the Great prayer she saw a vast number of souls leaving purgatory as she prayed this prayer often daily ✝️ “Read Me Or Rue It” Book imprimatu🇻🇦📔 Only we can help our friends into heaven ✝️in purgatory 🔥
I find it interesting that you all seem to believe that these houses were built in the mid 1800s with the tools they had and they built such architecture that it cannot be duplicated today. Clearly these buildings were built long before these few people that are wandering the streets. Why are there empty streets and these huge opulent houses. Even when there are people on the street there are two few to live in these massive homes. Which is going
This is the result of a reset. And you can look at the picture of The plaza Hotel and tell it was partially buried in a mud flood. The new plaza Hotel there is no way no way at all that the new plaza Hotel featured in this picture that I'm looking at now. No scaffolding can get that high. They did not have cranes. There's no way any of this architecture was done in the mid 1800s because it would have taken probably 10 to 20 years to build one of these buildings and probably would have taken 30 or 40 years to have built the new version of The plaza Hotel that you just showed.
This is a reset. These people inherited this life. They walked into a life that was somehow abandoned previously and took over. There's no way that if you made a fortune by the time you were 40 and you died when you were in your 60s or '70s that in 30 years you could imagine the amount of Art and furniture that is in these houses. These people inherited these houses and they inherited everything in it from a previous reset.
Check out Josh Pawlak YT Channel
Jon Levi YT channel
@Puccini Fan soooo... No. These things would take 10 years to build now if we had the technology that could do it. But we do not have the technology that can build this with this kind of intricacy in this sort of monolithic size. And they did it with no cranes? No stone saws? No scaffolding big enough to go as high as needed? No safety harnesses. And why would they build a hotel that size? There weren't that many people. I think you all need to look at what is called the Reset.
You need to do your research. You are incorrect and probably not a scholar or knowledgeable about architecture.
@@Kaytecando in fact I am very well educated in architecture and history and more than that I am very well educated and aware of past resets mud floods and Tartarian architecture.
How much do you know about mud floods resets and Tartaria? I think you know nothing. Soooo... KAREN....
You are ... As your name implies.... irrational and wrong ...
@Puccini Fan nope. Not that could build these monoliths
I’m sorry but constructing homes like this in the mid-late 19th century is very easy to comprehend indeed. In comparison they managed to built “towering” cathedrals in “medieval” Europe - for example take Lincoln Cathedral in England; it was the tallest building in the world from 1311-1548 (thanks to the great storm of 1548 blowing down the building’s central spire), however its overall height would be completely unmatched until 1889! You see our ancestors were able to achieve a great deal “before” the introduction of modern technology.
Thumbs up, despite that the narrator (who clearly know his history) could not read very well, and stumbled over a number of easily pronounced words and names.. and the uncomfortable stammer, being unusually difficult to wade through, the information was fantastic, and the information sound.
I noticed this as well. I had difficulty understanding him at times; his ability to speak clearly as he did not seem to be opening his lips, a lot of small gasps between sentences and words with funny giggles under breathe...a very disconcerting and strange manner of speaking. His pronouncing was odd. He needed to slow down a bit and speak mpre clearly. The content was good it was the delivery which was problematic.
Judgmental much? Are you watching for the information or to put down someone's efforts to educate you. Y'all need to stfh. Be glad he did the damn video to begin with and stop being so judgmental.
@@kmrapanmedia3176 - What an emotionally stunted and mindless comment. If one ONLY wanted comments with opinions that THEY agreed with .. then perhaps they shouldn't open the comments up for opinions at all.
OR..... perhaps YOU could just write out little pre-approved comments for us all to choose from. That would be certainly be helpful. Not everyone is qualified to do the job they'd love to do. It doesn't make them mean or evil.. or stupid. Not everyone can be gifted as they'd wish in certain areas. Clearly, the guy has other talents. Doing this, however.. was not one of them.
@@GodsFavoriteBassPlyr Thank You for the opportunity! I think the gentleman was very clear and direct in his narration. I certainly got a lot from it. I would however like to delve further into this pre-approved comments idea I think that would be just the best all the way around. If you'll please make sure that people send their comments directly to this reply then the narrator of this fine video and I will choose the pre-approved comment that the poster will be allowed to make. Could that work for you? What a brilliant idea!
I love this video. Beautiful photos, drawings and narration. Just wish you hadn't put your head in the video. Your head is distracting.
A very nice documentary, thank you for this; in one piont, I'd rather to sy sorry, because the dialect is so terribly american, that on almost could not undrstand what is really meant.
His voice was sometimes not clear to Americans, either.
and today’s billionaires are literally burning limited resources to fly to space. Rich people dgaf about anyone but themselves. And thats the way the world ends.
And they want us to change our way of living due to climate changes, while their ocean front mansions get bigger and bigger.....it’s ALL lies.
Your lucky the Frick house still there.build more crap hi rises. at least these houses didn't spread legionnaires disease.and leave a global footprint🤑🤮
stolen grandeur you mean .where did these people get these this from where???????