TALENTS OF AN ARCHITECT - William H. Vanderbilt 640 Fifth Ave. New York, NY First Floor Plan

 

William H. Vanderbilt 640 Fifth Ave. New York, NY First Floor Plan

As an Armchair Architect  I admire people who can walk into a room and sketch a floor plan.  Here we have an Architect who can take texts from an earlier post I did on the William H. Vanderbilt property "Beetlehead's" 640 Fifth Avenue and create the first floor plans. 

As far as I know original plans have never been seen.

TALENTS OF AN ARCHITECT.

DECORATION OF A MILLIONAIRE'S RESIDENCE

William Henry Vanderbilt - 640 Fifth Avenue, New York City

 THE interior of the mansion lately completed for Mr. W. H. Vanderbilt, in Fifth Avenue, New York, is described as being of unequaled magnificence. 

ENTRANCE OF THE VANDERBILT HOME

 The main entrance from Fifth Avenue is by a large vestibule, which gives admission on the left to Mr. Vanderbilt's own dwelling, and on the right to that of his daughter, Mrs. Sloane. Another daughter, Mrs. Shepard, has the northern half of the part of the building to the right of the vestibule, which is entered from Fifty-second street. The whole house can, however, when desired, be thrown into one vast suite. 

THE MAIN VESTIBULE
with the Demidoff Malachite Vase

 The walls of the entrance vestibule are of African marble, with a frieze of figure subjects in mosaic, and with applied decorations of bronze. The pilasters and mouldings are decorated with rich mosaic, as are also the spaces between the bronze beams of the ceiling, where they are not filled with stained glass. The floor is likewise of mosaic. The mosaic work of this vestibule, and that of the smaller vestibule on Fifty-first-street, which gives access to the picture gallery, were made of glass and of marble by Pacchina, of Venice, from designs made in New York.

FRIEZE 

 Around the walls of the vestibule are seats and tables of a beautifully-coloured African marble. 

THE GHIBERTI'S DOOR

 Passing now to the right, through the gilded bronze doors, which are copies of the famous Ghiberti Gates in Florence (and which were made by Barbedienne, of Paris, and exhibited there in 1878), the visitor finds himself in a square, vaulted vestibule, with walls and architraves of a pale yellow marble, richly carved over the doors. Three bronze doors (besides the one already described) give access—the one on the right to cloak-rooms and dressing-rooms, that on the left to Mr. Vanderbilt's private reception-room, and the third to the main hall. 

PERSPECTIVE OF THE ATRIUM GALLERY

 This vast hall extends the full height of the house with galleries on each storey leading to the private living-rooms. Square columns of a deep red marble, with rich capitals of bronze, support the galleries. 

ATRIUM GALLERY - THIRD FLOOR

 The friezes around the hall on each storey are a mass of figures, wreaths, and garlands in high relief, coloured in harmony with the surroundings. 

THE ATRIUM GROUND-FLOOR

 The hall has a richly-carved wainscot of English oak, about 12 ft. high, and opposite the entrance is a mantel-piece built up the whole height of the storey, in the shadow of the gallery. This mantel is of the same red marble as the columns, adorned with a profusion of bronze ornament, and flanked by bronze female figures in high relief.

STAIRCASE
 With Lampidiere by Noel

 To the right as one enters is a wide staircase. The newel, not yet completed, is to be, a female figure, holding an urn from which a light will issue—the whole to be of bronze, marble, and enamel, skillfully blended. 

COMMERCE BY LA FARGE
 Stained Glass   Designed by Lafarge

 The staircase is lighted by nine large windows with stained glass by Mr. John La Farge, noticeable for the fine arrangement of colour, and especially for the management of greens and blues. All the stained glass is Mr. John La Farge's work. All of the marble was imported especially for this house, and much of it is very rare, especially the beautiful red and yellow Numidian or African marble. The latter was brought from distant quarries long disused. The onyx, used particularly in the drawing-room, is also from Africa, and much more beautiful and delicate than the greenish-toned Mexican onyx, which is better known. Messrs. E. L. Fauehere & Co. made all the marble work. Admirable finish and workmanship are shown in the bronze work, which is used in many parts of the interior in connection with marble and with wood, besides as stair-railings and balustrades around the hall, and in the massive entrance doors. Mr. Henry O. Bernard, of New York, had the charge of its execution. The outside railings and the lamps were the work of Berseau Brothers, of Philadelphia.

ENTRANCE INTO PICTURE GALLERY FROM HALL

 Halfway between the first and second stories is a landing as large as an ordinary room, from which one may pass to the gallery of the aquarelle room, which looks out through a wall arcade into the picture gallery. Similar arcades open from the conservatory opposite, and from the second storey hall, the latter being intended for the musicians when an entertainment is given.


 The door at the east end of the hall, flanked by massive oaken seats, leads to the drawing-room. 

 The paintings for the ceiling of the latter stately apartment are by Galland, and are now on their way to New York, the present ceiling of blue and gold being only temporary. 

A PORTION OF FRIEZE AND CEILING
 Drawing-Room

 The woodwork of this room is profusely carved, and has beautiful inlays of mother-of-pearl. The whole is gilded and glazed with warm tints. The wall spaces are hung with a pale red velvet, embroidered with designs of foliage, flowers, butterflies, &, the colour scheme culminating in the cut crystals scattered throughout the embroidery, and suggesting dewdrops or precious stones. Around the room, at each side of the doors, stand rich columns of onyx, inlaid with bronze, and with bronze capitals, carrying baskets or vases made of bronze and rich stained glass, by means of which a mellow light is shed over the room. Clusters of lights springing from the vases give the more brilliant part of the illumination. In the corners of the room are female figures in solid silver, which carry clusters of lights, while the wall behind each figure is covered with mirrors. The carpet of the drawing-room was woven in one piece, by hand, to fit the room. The whole room gives an effect of richness and brilliancy of colour which is difficult to imagine or to describe.

NORTH-WEST CORNER OF DRAWING-ROOM
 With Portion of Galland's Fete

 At each end of the drawing-room gilded and carved sliding doors, draped with rich curtains, give access on the north to the library, and on the south to the Japanese parlour. 

THE LIBRARY SOUTH-WEST CORNER 

 The most striking feature of the library is the inlaid work, of antique Greek pattern, in mother-of-pearl and brass, upon a ground of rosewood, which forms the decoration of the book-cases, mantel, and doors. The furniture is designed in the same style and workmanship. The fretted ceiling is of rich work, with incrustations of small square mirrors.

THE ANTE-ROOM TO LIBRARY

 In the doorway, on the west of the library, hang heavy rich curtains of Oriental embroideries, which separate it from Mr. Vanderbilt's private reception room. The latter is fitted with a high mahogany wainscoting, with settles and book-cases of the same material, and a massive ceiling of mahogany, with decorations in stamped leather.

JAPANESE PARLOR

 The Japanese parlour, on the south of the drawing-room, testifies as strongly as any room in the house to the skill and resource which have been drawn upon so lavishly in the entire structure. It is modelled and furnished entirely in a free Japanese fashion. The ceiling is of bamboo, with an open truss ceiling of wood resembling the red Miaco or Soochou lacquer, which is the treatment adopted for all the woodwork, and is hero and there picked out in the low yellows and greens of the red Japanese lacquer work. A low-toned tapestry on the walls is covered in places with panels of Japanese uncut velvet, in curious designs, and the furniture and cushions, &, are also of this velvet. Around the room runs a low cabinet of fantastic Japanese shape, with innumerable shelves, cupboards, and closets. At different points are beautiful panels of bronze, of which the different details are picked out in gold and silver and in varied metallic colours. A screen of stained glass forms a recess on the Fifth Avenue side. By the door leading from the west of this parlour, access is given to the dining-room, which has also an entrance on its east side directly from the hall.

DINING-ROOM

 The dining-room is in the manner of the Italian Renaissance, and entirely distinct in character of treatment from any of the other rooms. It consists of an arrangement of glass-faced cases, holding the silver, porcelain, and glass, supported by rich consoles that rest upon a beautiful wainscot. The wood is of English oak, of a rich mellow brown-golden hue, and of great beauty. The panels of the ceiling are filled with fruits and foliage, beautifully modelled and picked out in different colours of gold. The furniture is in a style to correspond, of English oak, with brass ornaments, and covered with stamped, highly coloured leather of special designs.

THE PICTURE GALLERY

 The entrance to the picture gallery is at the west end of the main hall opposite the drawing-room, so that a vista of the whole depth of the house is obtained in that direction. 

THE PICTURE GALLERY

 The picture gallery, with its entrance on Fifty-first-street, occupies the whole rear of the house. It is 48 ft. long, 32 ft. wide, and 35 ft. high. Over the doors on the north, east, and south sides are balconies connecting with the second storey of the house,the balcony on the south side over the Fifty-first-street entrance to the gallery opening into the conservatory, that on the east side over-the main entrance from the house opening into the second story hall, and that over the north door opens into the second storey of the aquarelle room. The west wall of the picture gallery is occupied by a monumental mantelpiece of red African marble, the overhanging cove being inlaid with glass mosaic work. The woodwork of the room is black oak with San Domingo mahogany for the caryatides and pilasters. The fire-place is in a deep recess with seats on either side.

TRIUMPH OF CUPID

 The description of the second storey of the house may begin with the family parlour at the north-east corner, looking out on Fifth Avenue, a room 18 ft. wide by 20 ft. long, entirely finished in ebony, inlaid with ivory. The large mantel-piece at the north side of the room is capped by a frieze painted by Mr. Christian Herter, consisting of an allegorical representation of the Triumph of Cupid. The ceiling is divided into small panels with paintings of children at play. The walls are covered with a dark blue silk brocade made in France from designs furnished by Messrs. Herter Brothers, who have executed the whole of the decorative work. 

"DAWN"

 The next room on the Fifth Avenue is Mrs. Vanderbilt's bedroom, finished by Alard of Paris, the walls hung in silk and white marble, and the ceiling covered with Lefebvre's painting of the Awakening of Aurora. The frieze and cove of the room is in rosewood and mahogany. One curious feature of Lefebvre's painting is that, as placed at present, the sun rises in the west. The room is 20 ft. square. 

MR. WILLIAM H. VANDERBILT'S BEDROOM

 Adjoining it is Mr. Vanderbilt's room, finished in rosewood, inland with satin wood, the ceiling divided off in painted panels one foot square.

 Some notion of the magnitude and cost of the work in connection with Mr. Vanderbilt's house may be inferred from the fact that between 600 and 700 men were employed upon the interior decorations for a year and a half. Sixty foreign carvers and sculptors were employed for two years, having been engaged in Europe for the work and brought to the United States under contracts which assured them pay at an average rate of $60 a week and passage both ways.

 Click on the Label - Vanderbilt - below for all past post on 640 Fifth Avenue plus other Vanderbilt Family homes.

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Suite in the Vanderbilt Hotel

December 20, 1911

VANDERBILT’S “APARTMENT”
It Will Consist of the Two Top Floors of the Vanderbilt Hotel.

Vanderbilt Hotel -- Park Avenue and 34th Street
Daytonian in Manhattan

Alfred G. Vanderbilt will make his home upon his return in the most luxurious "apartment" ever designed as a private home. It will consist of the two top floors of the new Vanderbilt Hotel, Park Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street. It has been estimated that similar accommodations, reckoned upon a floor-space basis, would cost approximately $40,000 a year(over a million today), not including meals.

The main dining hall is two stories in height and occupies the space of four rooms. It can be altered, by a special arrangement of doors, to make either a small informal dining room or a large room for elaborate dinners. Bedrooms, breakfast room, and tearoom are from two to four times the size of ordinary rooms of similar character.

From, the windows Eastward in clear weather can be seen the buildings of Coney Island, and even the sea beyond, while to the west one can see far beyond the Hudson.

The entrance hall to the Vanderbilt suite was designed and built as though it were for a private dwelling.

Views of the Home of the Women’s City Club of New York, formerly the town residence of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred G. Vanderbilt, in the Vanderbilt Hotel. New York Tribune January 2, 1916

From the street to the living room of the Vanderbilt suite was like going from asphalt to asphodel. Photograph shows living room corner.

Another view of the living room in the Alfred G, Vanderbilt suite in the Vanderbilt Hotel.

The Vanderbilt suite in the Vanderbilt Hotel was the equivalent of a complete town house. Photograph shows a part of the breakfast room.

Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt had in their hotel apartments a library as complete as that of a private house. Photograph shows part of the Vanderbilt suite library.

Alfred G. Vanderbilt's bedroom in the Vanderbilt suite. He left this room to sail on the Lusitania. He went down with the torpedoed ship after seeing that his wife(no, not his wife) and other women passengers were safe, in lifeboats.

In these apartments the youngest son of the man who perished on the Lusitania was born. They will be remodeled to suit the needs of the club. These are the first photographs ever published of the rooms occupied by Alfred G. Vanderbilt in the hotel which bears his name.

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt

Alfred Vanderbilt occupied the top two floors as a residence for his family. The New-York Tribune noted that the Vanderbilt Suite was “the equivalent of a complete town house”. He occupied the space with his wife, two sons and a staff of servants. In April 1915, Vanderbilt and his valet boarded the RMS Lusitania for a trip to London.

The night before sailing, Alfred and Margaret saw the Broadway play A Celebrated Case, coproduced by David Belasco and fellow Lusitania passenger Charles Frohman. The following morning, the Vanderbilts awoke to find a startling notice in the local newspapers. Framed in black, a warning from the Imperial German Embassy reminded travelers that a state of war existed between Germany and Great Britain and anyone sailing on a ship flying the English flag “do so at their own risk."

The New York Tribune May 1,1915 

The Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sunk. It was later reported that Alfred Vanderbilt removed his lifejacket and personally strapped it on to a mother holding an infant. Unable to swim, his act of heroism sealed his own doom. 

He left behind three sons: (by his first wife) William Henry Vanderbilt III, a future banker and governor of Rhode Island; and (by his second wife) Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt II, whose three own surviving sons would be the only members of the vast sixth generation of the "Commodore’s" descendants to carry on the family surname, and George Washington Vanderbilt III, a future explorer and big-game hunter.

Women’s City Club of New York

Vanderbilt’s apartment was taken over by the Women’s City Club of New York whose politically active members come to hear guests like George Kirchwey, Warden of Sing Sing prison. 

The renowned tenor Enrico Caruso later occupied the Vanderbilt suite and lived there until August 1921 when he died on a trip to Naples, Italy.

Manger Vanderbilt Park Avenue at east 34th street 600 outside rooms with bath and radio many Air conditioned - television. 1959

In 1941, the hotel was purchased from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company by the Manger Corporation and renamed the Manger Vanderbilt. Manger operated the Vanderbilt through the 1964 New York Worlds Fair but then closed the hotel. It was sold for $3,625 million to an investment group headed by real estate investor John E. Marqusee who converted the first six floors into offices and its upper floors into apartments.


Streetscapes/March 9, 2003 - The Former Vanderbilt Hotel, 34th Street and Park Avenue; It Was a Showcase for Terra Cotta. Much Remains.

https://blog.oup.com/2013/10/preservation-vanderbilt-hotel/

Mrs. Reginald C. Vanderbilt and Her Baby Gloria Laura

IN MEMORIAM OF GLORIA VANDERBILT by her son Anderson Cooper

Mrs. Reginald C. Vanderbilt and Her Baby

Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt having spent the early summer abroad have returned to Sandy Point Farm, Newport. The picture shown above of Mrs. Vanderbilt and her fascinating little daughter, Gloria Laura, is one of the most charming pictures of maternal beauty that Arts & Decoration has ever published. The pose is so tender and sensitive, revealing perhaps even more than a formal picture young Mrs. Vanderbilts rare charm and gracious personality.   It is easy to understand how this baby remained "good" long enough to have her picture taken with her eyes focused on so lovely a spectacle.

"SANDY POINT STABLES

COVER DESIGN:
Miss  Kendall   Lee—from  a   painting   by   Tade Styka.

Arts & Decorations

FESTIVITIES AT NEWPORT MR. VANDERBILT'S MARBLE PALACE THROWN OPEN

FESTIVITIES  AT NEWPORT.
Mr.   VANDERBILT'S MARBLE PALACE THROWN OPEN.
Newport, R. I. Aug. 19.— The marble palace was thrown open tonight for the first time since its erection, when Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt gave a select dinner party, followed by a musicale. The night was close and oppressive, with dense fog, but inside the gateway a lovely scene presented itself.

The whole space from the fountain to the iron fence was filled in with massive beds of vari-colored hydrangeas that stood out in fine relief under the blaze of numerous clusters of electric lights, illuminating the carriage drives, bringing out in distinct relief the magnificent front of the palace.

On entering the outer gates the watchman was met, with his loose frock, knee breeches, skull cap, with golden band, an usher of the black rod. The grand portico was a blaze of light, and liveried attendants were on hand from carriage to cloakroom.

When the entire building was illuminated by gas and electricity, the sight was one never before seen in Newport. 

The guests were received in the drawing room, which needed none other than its natural adornment.

The dining room was truly royal in its appearance and the table was a picture, being laid with a golden service, embellished with the most elaborate and tasteful table decoration ever seen in Newport.

The centre and end pieces were miniature lakes of night-blooming water lilies, with their own foliage, with many other aquatics of the most choice and rare variety. In the centre were the white and blue lilies of the Danube, and towering over all was the stately lotus of the Nile. Tiny water lilies, blue and white, floated in each flutter bowl, and each of these was connected with the centre and end pieces by a tracery of sprays and layers of fancy aquatic foliage.

The appointments of the room were in keeping. The floor was covered with a very large fine rug of crimson and gold, inworked with golden fleur de lis at the corners, and the high chairs were of a roseate red velvet, with double principal chairs at the head and foot of the table.

The menu was furnished by Mr. Vanderbilt's chef. The household staff, clad in black liveries with full breast cords and the sleeves and fronts studded with gilt garters and patent leathers with buckles, waited at table.

The guests were Mr. Hoyt, Mr. J. C. Furman, O. H. P. Belmont, Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Hunt, Miss Tooker, Miss Hunewell, Miss Wetmore, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sloane, Col. and Mrs. Jay, Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Sloane, Mr. Riggs, Miss Sloane, Miss Vanderbilt, and Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Vanderbilt


After dinner a delightful musicale was given, which was attended by a few of the intimate friends of the family.

When "Marble House" was For Sale

Mrs. Belmont's Tea House

http://www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house

FIFTH AVENUE, LOOKING NORTH FROM FIFTY-FIRST STREET, CIRCA 1880'S

FIFTH AVENUE, LOOKING NORTH FROM FIFTY-FIRST STREET, CIRCA 1880'S 

    At the corner is William H. Vanderbilt's 640 Fifth Avenue home. William K. Vanderbilt's home can be seen along with St. Thomas church and the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church further down the avenue. Follow THIS LINK for more. 

ENTRANCE TO HOUSE OF MRS. W. K. VANDERBILT SUTTON PLACE, NEW YORK

ENTRANCE TO HOUSE OF MRS. W. K. VANDERBILT SUTTON PLACE, NEW YORK
 MOTT B. SCHMIDT, ARCHITECT

   The panelled pilasters and delicate mouldings of cornice and pediment in moulded brick show great refinement and skill in handling.

   In this beautifully proportioned and detailed doorway adapted from the entrance to No. 2 King's Bench Walk, Temple, London, is found a perfect example of the adaptability of English precedent as developed by Wren and others for modern architecture.

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The Vanderbilt house, with its red brick facade modulated only by cornice and windows, is extremely restrained. So as not to interrupt the texture and monochrome quality of the facade, the pilasters and pediment of the front door are of brick. SOURCE

A foot-scraper with urns of yellow brass, stands sturdily at the front door of Mrs. Vanderbilt's house.  Harper's Bazaar 1922

   
    The houses of Sutton Place represent the first milestone in Mott Schmidt's career. In 1920 he was retained by Elizabeth Marbury, the literary and theatrical agent, to remodel a 19th century rowhouse at No. 13. Named for Effingham B. Sutton, who tried to develop the block in 1875, the riverside houses had little of the elegance then that we associate with the name today. Marbury persuaded several of her influential friends - notably Anne Vanderbilt and Anne Morgan - to buy other parcels on the block, thereby establishing a "society" enclave on the river's edge, away from Fifth Avenu. SOURCE

Ladies and Not-So-Gentle Women: Elisabeth Marbury, Anne Morgan, Elsie de Wolfe, Anne Vanderbilt, and Their Times

    Effingham B. Sutton (1817–1891), a shipping merchant and entrepreneur, was one of the few prospectors who succeeded in building a fortune during the California Gold Rush of 1849. In 1875, Sutton built brownstones between 57th and 58th Streets in hopes of re-establishing a residential community. By the turn of the century, however, the neighborhood along the waterfront had become neglected, suffering from poverty and blanketed with substandard tenement housing. Stanley Kingsley’s 1935 play about the area, Dead End, inspired several films depicting the area and the gangs. 

Anne Harriman Sands Rutherfurd Vanderbilt was the daughter of New York City businessman Oliver Harriman. Her first husband was sportsman Samuel Stevens Sands, who was killed riding to hounds in 1889; her second, Racquet Champion Lewis Morris Rutherfurd, died in 1892; her third, yachtsman William Kissam Vanderbilt, died in 1920.

   Sutton’s venture was saved by the arrival of  Vanderbilt and Morgan in 1920, which began the neighborhood’s transformation into a wealthy enclave. One of New York City's smallest and most exclusive neighborhoods, Sutton Place, is loaded with regal townhouses and lovely pre-war apartment buildings.

   A "Sutton Place address"—a generic term indicating that you had migrated as far east as possible somewhere in the Fifties—placed you among the knowing who considered Fifth Avenue absurdly passe and Park Avenue vulgarly ostentatious. It was here, on the northeast corner of Fifty-seventh Street, that Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt chose to erect a handsome Georgian residence when she abandoned her Fifth Avenue chateau. Her friends Miss Anne Morgan and Miss Elisabeth Marbury bought and rebuilt the adjoining houses.

ENTRANCE AND BRONZE DOORS OF THE VANDERBILT HOME

ENTRANCE AND BRONZE DOORS OF THE VANDERBILT HOME

   Unexpected view of the entrance into 640 and 642 Fifth Avenue. Click HERE to see what was on the other side.