Ep.1: 660 Fifth: William K. Vanderbilt mansion

In Beyond Gilded Ep.1: 660 Fifth We visit the New York City mansion of Alva and William K. Vanderbilt. Designed by Richard Morris Hunt, 660 Fifth transformed Gilded Age architecture and defined the look of American Luxury.

[@greutera]

These beautiful structures being torn down continues today with older more historic homes viewed as dispensible. Truly a tragedy that so many of our treasures haven't survived.

[@maggiemae7749]

They are erasing history

[@GodsFavoriteBassPlyr]

They are works of art. It's like dumping the Mona Lisa in favor of a paint-by-number.

[@cassandraralph5906]

Dare I say it, but most of these mansions were very expensive to maintain, and keep them safe from deterioration. Those that are still standing today, frequently struggle to keep up with the costs of water, heating, electricity etc, and maintenance plus the taxman, which is why so many of them have been turned into hotels, conference centers, and museums, and high class apartments. Bluntly honest with you.

[@mrsdashwood9700]

Thank you so much for not having annoying background music!

[@katjustice7937]

I was actually annoyed by the tag team male and female narration.. What was the purpose of that??

[@mrsdashwood9700]

@@katjustice7937 I agree, that was kind of weird.

[@jomama5186]

@@katjustice7937 I

[@odannyboy3338]

If I could hit 1,000 thumbs up, I would on this comment!! Thank you, great video

[@ladytron9188]

It was an absolutely crime to demolish that beautiful house.

[@lynnetmb4706]

Lady Tron Screw it. Dead rich people’s houses. Buying history through art purchases. I see dead rich peoples estates as museums, but only for the shit they collected, or hoarded. We have enough damn buildings in New York.

[@musicom67]

@@lynnetmb4706 Yup. In 2021, let's continue the trend by removing Trump Tower on Fifth Ave. except the only thing DJT hoarded were empty KFC buckets and Trump Grill "Taco Boat" containers.

[@catcook3324]

The cretins that relied to your comment have no concept of what craftsmanship is, or what it feels like to create such beautiful exquisite works of art. Carving marble, wood or gilding anything completely eludes them.

[@ILoveManCity.]

@@lynnetmb4706 Do you realize that the Vanderbilts are part of the city"s and countrys creation as we know it? NYC exist thanks to the Vanderbilts who made the railways so people could reach the filthy unsuccessful island that it was at the time? and the Rockefellers who constructed the first skyscrapers and the Carnegie's whos steel production made the US the first economy in the world. I also think is a crime to demolish the buildings that were part of the creation and success of this country most importantly from families who were very poor before becoming powerful the last couple generations of those familes could be trash if u say so but let not forget the patriarcs. .

[@musicom67]

@@catcook3324 Perfect example is how Trump made his first F-U to the city by stripping the old Commodore Hotel by GCT and making into that glass-walled bedbug-fest that is sked for renewal only 40 years later...

[@pmn2821]

Brings tears knowing this is no longer with us.

[@GodsFavoriteBassPlyr]

Outstanding presentation. I have seen photos of the outside of this amazing work of art many times, but until now had not seen any of the interior. Nicely done,,, and thankfully, no irritating background music or computerized voices.

[@smylsie]

Bloody awful computerized voices make me turn off immediately.

[@anonz975]

Excellent narration. Both voices blended perfectly.

[@njhawk89]

A wonderful look at the start of the Gilded Age! For the inside story behind 660 Fifth Avenue, a great account is in the book FORTUNE'S CHILDREN: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF VANDERBILT. Alva was an unforgettable character, who kept re-inventing herself and became a leader of the Women's Suffrage movement. Truly an American original!

[@solangedesantis5515]

Great book. Alva was indeed more than a "society lady." Fascinating character.

[@FumariVI]

Yes, Alva was an unforgettable character, but not in a good way. The more I have read about her the more repulsive she seems.

[@nicoledamico4428]

I’m pretty sure it was this type of “rarefied” taste that Edith Wharton wrote of with horror in her novels about the society she grew up in. Seeing this video, my guess is, Alba Vanderbilt was part of the composite of real-life NY socialites which informed characters like the self-obsessed Undine Spragg in her brilliant oeuvre, The Custom of the Country. Mrs. Wharton explains that old New York families saw homes like this as garish, and the poor taste of Nuveau Riche, whose ostentation undermined the foundation of what American aristocracy stood for. Alba drew prominent families to her home by being undeniably wealthy and offering her guests rare amenities like an enormous ballroom, but they looked down on her unbridled displays of wealth which flaunted the principals of accepted American aesthetics. The most venerable families lived in homes valuing architectural temperance and thrift, built by the heirs of their ancestors who founded our country. It was the blood linage that mattered more than the size of the bank account.

[@jimbrown8818]

Many of the architectural elements (and RM Hunt's genius) can be seen in GW Vanderbilt's Biltmore House in Asheville, NC.

[@vincentestone5764]

This was VERY entertaining & informative. DO MORE !!!!

[@penelope-oe2vr]

Absolutely beautiful! Thank you for not having annoying background music!

[@zajournals]

Such a shame these amazing architectural artworks are gone.

[@pavelow235]

Glad to have KZbin recommend this video hope you restart the series and get a surge of subscribers. Very interesting, thank you.

[@Belit01]

Fantastic home of a lady who had nothing to lose by aiming for the stars with her choices of architects, interior designers and bountiful funds to support it all. Alva did very well for herself and her family in accepting William Kissim Vanderbilts proposal of marriage. Being the favored son only added luster to their lives when he inherited the bulk of his fathers fortune. Too bad these great houses could'nt've been moved to their own estate where smart trusts could've maintained them for posterity.

[@FumariVI]

Alva Vanderbilt was a self-centered, arrogant woman. Everything she did was for her own self aggrandizement, including pushing her daughter Consuelo into a loveless marriage to a European royal who was having financial difficulties. Willie K. probably breathed a sigh of relief when he and Alva divorced. By the way Willie K. was not the "favored son" of William Vanderbilt. He and his brother Cornelius Vanderbilt II shared the bulk of their father's estate when William H. Vanderbilt died.

[@radamik]

Yes Alva by all accounts seemed to be a despicable and repulsive person, hardly mitigated by her fabulous taste and so forth. There are plenty of good decent people with “fabulous” taste.

[@kaimarcus7966]

Sorry to be so offtopic but does anyone know a tool to log back into an instagram account..? I stupidly lost my account password. I would love any tips you can offer me

[@rogershane8676]

@Kai Marcus Instablaster :)

[@kaimarcus7966]

@Roger Shane I really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and Im in the hacking process atm. Seems to take quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@rainwalker2254]

You just can't take it with you. Places like this are nice to visit, like a museum, but they don't feel like a home. Give me a cozy tiny home on a small plot of land, over all this opulence. The older I get the more I yearn for simplicity. Oh, how I wish I had felt this way twenty years ago.

[@gaylejohnson8579]

you are reading my mail!! LOL

[@cattycorner8]

Homespun yearnings

[@rollingtones1]

I highly recommend the book "The Myth of the Robber Barons" to put the Vanderbilts and other industrial giants of that era into their proper context.

[@keithcaddick4168]

Thank you so much for the book recommend I love reading all about the lost and remaining mansions Thanks again

[@ameliaflowers9836]

Thanks

[@Jinka1950]

Yes,,,,,,fabulous read!

[@jamesmcinnis208]

@@keithcaddick4168 recommendation

[@donaldbrown4711]

Supposedly built in 1882. Looks like a mud flooder to me with first floor windows below ground. No one builds a retaining wall for basement windows.

[@HankMeyer]

You should do a video about their son Willie Jr.'s house next door at 666 Fifth Ave. Not just because it's an interesting house, but also because it lives on as the architectural inspiration for a recent Dungeons & Dragons gothic horror adventure called "Death House."

[@sandypompilii6901]

I agree. Would love to watch that video also.

[@brendatanner1259]

Yes. Rich satanic families. Literally.

[@John_Fugazzi]

So sad to see craftsmanship on this high level destroyed. For the record: William K. Vanderbilt died in July 1920. 660 was sold to the Empire Trust Co. They sold it in 1925 to Benjamin Winter, a developer, who tore it down to build a 20-story residential building. Winter and fellow real estate speculator Frederick Brown tore down most of the mansions on Fifth Ave. to build larger buildings. That building was subsequently torn down and replaced with a 40-story skyscraper. Now (2020) it is being completely remade into a glass-walled tower by Brookfield Properties.

[@19gregske55]

It would be interesting to know if there is any architectural salvage from the house that one can see, today...

[@Engelhafen]

Booooooo

[@FumariVI]

One of those New York city lower end real estate developers was Fred Trump, father of former (thank Gawd) president Donald Bozo Trump.

[@heathernewman5272]

Thank you. I was wondering what could possibly be the reason for demolishing such an amazing place.

[@brianaquinas216]

Welcome to America...We ruin much of our past time after time.....tragic.

[@brandismith9050]

Brian Aquinas , amen. I don’t believe most Americans know true culture.

[@cynthiamorton3583]

Sadly, many countries and communities do the same.

[@Higherseeker]

Great example of Tartarian Architecture. No matter how the history books lie to you.

[@charliemoore-ward6219]

Wow! You both did an excellent job with this!

[@bristolblue11]

thank you, charlie.

[@4444colin]

I always cry when I think if I could have saved them. Think if the Dakota building had been torn down. We now revere that building. Melbourne Australia has lost some gems too.

[@bar10ml44]

4444colin Imagine Melbourne had it been preserved as a Victorian city. What a treasure. Many of Glasgow’s buildings have been saved and it’s like in part a living museum. I cry when I see what they did to the interior of Flinders Street Station.

[@Samantha-ys2pp]

Such a great channel! I wish you'd upload more. Very well executed.

[@abuiel]

Alva was never acknowledged as "Queen of New York society." When it began to be obvious that Caroline Astor (the actual Queen) was fading, she started jockeying for position with Mamie Fish and Tessie Oelrichs, but none of them commanded the respect that Caroline had. The best they could do was form a triumvirate of "frenemies" but none were actual society leaders on their own and soon just faded away.

[@FumariVI]

Well said, *Alex*

[@styldsteel1]

Oh, no, no, no. Today this is completely unacceptable. All of these buildings must be torn down immediately to make way for a soul-less glass box with a huge starbucks in the 5 story lobby.

[@lastnamegordon3893]

Haha exactly. It’s exactly that right now. It’s a hollister now.

[@mariaboletsis3188]

it's a true crime!

[@styldsteel1]

@@mariaboletsis3188 it is! There is nothing more cold then a glass box.

[@davidkovach-fuentes1374]

to be fair, this was in 1926 when NY was expanding but even then it should’ve stayed. little did we know this would be the end of an era of amazing architecture and it transitions to ones of soulless concrete boxes

[@styldsteel1]

@@davidkovach-fuentes1374 I don't even think there's people around that know how to build these grand structures anymore. Can you imagine if something catastrophic happened to the Woolworth building?

[@salvatorem1959]

Great new series on HBO named The Gilded Era . Last episode this weekend, today is March 15 2022 , a Tuesday and it will appear on Sunday , I recommend binge watching this series . You won't regret , even to just see how they dressed and what homes looked like and New York City itself

[@paulabrown6840]

Also Alva and her daughter Consuelo became intricately Involved with the Suffragette movement in later years.

[@cattycorner8]

Oh! Consuelo was her daughter!?

[@groupetgr8010]

It’s a shame they demolished this beautiful house! It would be a gem to visit

[@biggerock]

Just a couple comments: at about 5:19 you quote Alva as saying that her house was the first "important" house in New York not faced with brownstone and without a high stoop. I guess it depends on what is meant by an "important house". The A.T. Stewart mansion was the most magnificent home in New York when it was completed in the late 1860s; it was faced with marble and lacked a high stoop. in 1869 Mary Mason Jones completed a row of marble-faced town homes on Fifth Avenue, just a few blocks from where the Vanderbilt mansion would later be built. Her row of houses were built in the then popular Second Empire style and also lacked the high stoops common to brownstones. At 4:30 you stated that Mrs. Astor lived in a Murray Hill brownstone. That might be a little bit of a stretch. It was only a block outside of what is considered Murray Hill so, again, it could be a matter of interpretation.

[@SheilaRamseySoprano]

Looking at the pictures of these beautiful structures was so fun and fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing. The drab black and white color doesn't do the magnificence of it all much justice, but listening to you guys narrate this documentary really helped me envision all the splendor of this gilded age.

[@Ne0c225]

Great video!

[@gerardomalave3664]

Extraordinary mansion ! Do you know, what happened with all those: Art, Boiserie wood and the magnificent furniture collection ? Thank for share !

[@theyrekrnations8990]

It's Magnificent! Tear it down. Joni Mitchell said we need a parking lot

[@christopherarnold1568]

it is a shame they torn this house down-wonder if anyone salvaged any architecture from it?

[@jamesofarcadia]

Most of the building would have been reclaimed, every fixture, floorboards, fireplace, etc... it's an industry which is still very much active today. if you do a little research you'll probably be able to find out where elements ended up.

[@Garbeaux.]

I have a book about the houses and what happened to them. Most of the interior was auctioned off by the new owner who got the house for nothing. The grand staircase didn’t find a buyer so they literally dumped it into the ocean.

[@moonraker30]

Lance Nobles Aww man 😔😔😔

[@Kimmolation]

Lance Nobles what is the name of the book? I’d love to read that!

[@cattycorner8]

@@Garbeaux. I have heard the "grand staircase from the demolished Fifth Ave. mansion dumped into the ocean" story about 6 times now from six different houses 🤣

[@scronx]

Very enjoyable!

[@KDawgKy]

Excellent documentary...As I watched this, what kept coming to mind, who were the lay people, the artisans, the carpenters, the masons, etc... that had the talent to bring this altogether? We are taught that we were ignorant and not well educated (beyond the 6th grade) during this time period.

[@meeeka]

I wish someone could find and highlight those amazing workmen, giving them their due.

[@cattycorner8]

Since our country was founded chiefly by Europeans, some of these immigrants brought their Old World artistry and craft here to America. One always hears of master sculptors from Italy accustomed to working in marble being brought over.

[@nancyyonce2906]

AWESOME . THANK YOU.

[@cattycorner8]

Well written, delightful to listen to!

[@tudorjason]

The New York mansions of the gilded age were stunning! It's pitiful, seriously pitiful, that the super rich of today build modern and post-modern boring boxes!

[@lynnetmb4706]

tudorjason Yep, everything looks so industrial 🏭 and ugly. They’re using shipping containers to build houses now.

[@libertygiveme1987]

tudorjason - It's SINFUL is what it is!!!! No IMAGINATION NOR TASTE!!!!

[@moonraker30]

Or Vinyl Villages

[@stevehansen932]

I was in NYC this winter and saw the new billionaire tower. Not even a balcony, seemed like all glass. Very minimalist, maybe like their lives?

[@moonraker30]

@@stevehansen932 😂😝😂😝😂

[@dilenaking4746]

Makes one wonder, what would the architecture be now if Mrs. Astor had just sent an invitation

[@peterpalmer9755]

WHY would they tear this down? Seems that it could've been designated a historic landmark.

[@moonraker30]

AB. B. 😂😝😂😝😂

[@larainejones4641]

Ghostbusters did it

[@suzyfarnham3165]

Most of the houses on 'Vanderbilt Row' in NYC were sold and demolished by 1930. Some of these homes only stood for 25 years before they were gone. It is a travesty.All the homes they owned at Newport R.I would have gone the same way had the preservation society not intervened and had them put on the National Register. As the families fortunes waned, these homes were too large and expensive on taxes and upkeep.

[@nygrl6102]

I hope they saved the stained glass windows when they tore it down. What a shame to lose that place.

[@midnightmilkman1]

"Out with Old, In with the New" thats why it's called "New York"

[@thomascefalo938]

enjoyable video!

[@agoogleuser4443]

Well at least the Biltmore house is still going strong here in NC! At least the idiots didn't tear that down too. So wasteful in America. Everything here is disposable. Sad.

[@allenbrown9069]

You dont know how close Baltimore house came to being demolished

[@suzyfarnham3165]

I visited there from Australia last February. What a masterpiece. It was the last Vanderbilt mansion I had left to see...and it was the most beautiful by far.

[@diwi1942]

@@allenbrown9069 if John Cecil, Cornelia's ex-husband, hadn't saved it it would be gone. Cornelia didn't want it. Thankfully he did.

[@cw5451]

Very interesting. I wish this had explained why the home was later demolished.

[@bar10ml44]

C W Simple. MONEY

[@cattycorner8]

Greed. They could build a highrise apartment building for 100 families on the same plot of land.

[@shadowartist8892]

Why was it demolished? Why cant we keep stunning architecture in this country?

[@NIKKIWORKZ]

My grandma was one of the friends of the owners. It's was said that at that time no one was allowed to enter this palace in shabby clothes.

[@grayb7420]

It would be cool to see the interiors in colour

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

imagine the cost of that chateau in today's 2020 money.. it boggles the mind...

[@moonraker30]

Nunofurdambiznez Do we even fathom? 🙄🙄🙄

[@zbrady]

Very similar style to the Biltmore Estate that Hunt designed for George W Vanderbilt in Asheville, NC.

[@Elizabeth-rq1vi]

While I can admire the craftsmanship that went into individual aspects of the building, it was a overall monstrosity. The Biltmore Estates on the other hand, is an stunning example of architectural beauty.

[@gnolan4281]

Agreed. It's hideous. Taken as a whole and at the end of the day it strikes me as a monument to the pretensions and ego of the arriviste who builds it more as a pedestal than a spring board.

[@StevenTorrey]

When it was built in 1882, servants would have been little better than indentured slaves so they could have as many as they needed. By the time it was torn down in 1920s, servants were paid wages, taxes took a bigger bite, and maintenance of these behemoth mansions took a huge amount of their income. By its end in the 1920s, the land was more valuable than the house.

[@henryphilipvige777]

Fabulous! A tribute to the beauty and grace of a long-forgotten way of life. I lament the destruction of such exquisite beauty!

[@bristolblue11]

thank you

[@dlghenderson2837]

It's deplorable that so much money was spent on that monstrosity when so many people in NYC at that time were living in abject poverty.

[@FumariVI]

I agree. Alva could have done a lot of good with that fortune if she hadn't been so full of herself. And the money that she so lavishly spent was her husband's fortune.

[@cattycorner8]

what a boor. go peddle your equal-opportunity misery somewhere else.

[@seanthorton3054]

That witchs hat is called a turret.

[@charlesvanderhoog7056]

It is curious Alva thought this house decoration to be the greatest art possible. Even in her own days, it must have been quite odd, a curiosum rather than a marvel. Remember the Impressionists had come on the scene while Art Nouveau was all the rage. This house is a horrible throw-back, a last-ditch effort to promote an acquired taste from the distant past. Perhaps Alva VanderBilt was a reincarnation of some old princess that never changed her taste through the centuries? At any rate, it shows how crazy rich folk become after a while.

[@ohmusicsweetmusic]

Ok, i actually feel like i'm in 9th grade English class and the teacher has asked Mary to read Girl #1 and Bobby to read Boy#2.

[@lisas2538]

ohmusicsweetmusic giggling

[@cary8575]

And the furniture!!

[@mynewyork165]

That was very informative. I agree, they should've never demolished the mansion. They should've made it a landmark & then fix it up.

[@imonit1177]

Vanderbuilt built the future. His kids squandered the wealth in 1 century partying.

[@Linda-pw8gx]

Oh why can’t people see the importance of these gilded structures!!! So much history gone, replaced by glass and steel, so sad......

[@cattycorner8]

I've decided that humans are often stupid and greedy.

[@bill90405]

the house had simply become a white elephant, the 400 had moved on and the dirt under it too valuable. Similarly, one of my ancestors built a massive pile on the west side at 11 Riverside Dr. finished in 1907, demolished in 1947, barely time to pay off the mortgage! one of these monsters remains, The Frick Collection if you want to experience it.

[@LawrenceMartinez-fb1tt]

I recall Joan Rivers as saying that parts of the Vanderbilt ballroom was used in her penthouse that was one of the last gilded age mansions. It is rediculous to think that all that ornate craftsmanship ended up in a landfill….it was stripped bare and sold.

[@SKF358]

Good for them

[@rubywingo6030]

Anderson Cooper’s grandparents.

[@FumariVI]

That is not correct. William K. Vanderbilt was a brother of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, who was Anderson Cooper's great grandfather. Cornelius II's son Reginald was Anderson's maternal grandfather.

[@ejohnson3131]

Many downtown areas in most American cities have secluded neighborhoods with historical mansions built by prominent figures who were intertwined with the history of the city. I wonder why New York City didn't do anything to preserve this part of history? It would probably be a major tourist attraction today.

[@jamesmcinnis208]

$

[@creekbandit]

Give us more!

[@patrickbush9526]

It's hard for me to wrap my head around the wealth and opulence. What a shame they tore that treasure Palace down

[@cassandraralph5906]

Thank you for this most interesting and educational video! However I am of the opinion that these American Victorian mansions are very much the over the top and elaborate Americanized version of the great palaces and castles of Europe and England, which are often much nicer and less elaborate. Coming from a English/Welsh working class background, I tend to prefer a pared back smaller version of the English mansion.

[@fredh999harris8]

"...pared back smaller version..." - Do you mean like Blenheim Palace or Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle or whatever?

[@cassandraralph5906]

@@fredh999harris8, I mean a simplified version of no more than 4000 square feet. Buckingham Palace is now just basically a museum, and office space, and a lot of reception rooms. Blenheim Palace is now effectively a huge museum. Windsor Castle is mixture of museum, private accommodation for the Royal family, and their favorite staff, plus a large chapel and accommodation for the ministers who work in the church.

[@fredh999harris8]

@@cassandraralph5906 Buckingham P also contains apartments to house the Queen & others. Blenheim P also contains apartments for the latest Duke of Marlborough & his family.

[@nopenope7769]

Anyone else wonder just how haunted it must’ve been?

[@sarab6415]

Great content. New subscriber here:)

[@bristolblue11]

thank you, sara.

[@carloshugogeib7961]

What a pity they have demolished this château. What treasures desapeared in the dust

[@derrickharmon2]

So when they demolished this work of art, did they take the stained glass out first or was that destroyed too?

[@mariaboletsis3188]

All that hard work and amazing architecture - and for what? So they can tear it down!!! Gotta love New York....

[@tinasmith1770]

I hope that much of the interior was spared and taken out and used elsewhere before the home was demolished.

[@clairwaucaush874]

You guys ended the video too soon. What happened to the furniture in the house? Has any of it survived anywhere. Was any part of the house removed and saved when it was torn down? And why was it torn down? Are there any Vanderbilts around today?

[@SCAScienceLab]

And now, there’s a Zara and Hollister at 660 Fifth Avenue…

[@tonygarcia8720]

Yes the are beautiful it takes a lot of $$$ to up keep these palaces for only a few people to live in ?

[@marilyncole3560]

OMG they tore it down?

[@cambo1200]

Excellent video, but switching between narrators seems to stumble the flow of the narration. Each narrator has a great voice on their own.

[@jimjimgl3]

I went scrolling through the comments to see if anyone else was put off by the narration. Every time it switched from man to woman I lost the information being told and instead had to readjust to the new voice. I'm sure they are just trying to be equitable between themselves but from a production standpoint, not great for the viewer.

[@189beacon]

Narration sounds like two college students reading their term paper out loud to the class, complete with mispronunciations and poor delivery. Paper is interesting, but next time, hire a professional narrator!

[@terribruin9662]

I agree. Changing narrators every sentence looses the flow of the video

[@ccoppolaphoto]

these same buildings can be found on every continent.. they appear also from 1650-1800 and are equip with a type of "antiquitech" many that have studied this type of architecture would also be familiar with the structures ability to create their own electrical resonance and charge from the ionosphere. anyone that knows about American history and the robber baron cabal of the "industrial revolution" would add that many of these structures are far older than the 1800's. and that a great global reset of our known history and technology had taken place. check out the "mud flood"and the 1851 the crystal palace symposium. where our new history was started. it will surely blow your mind

[@ccoppolaphoto]

@samantha smith this is not colonial architecture nor was the colonial period 1650-1800 it was 1492-1763 it’s a neo-baroque architecture that we were taught brought by European settlers however this same Architecture can be seen in much earlier structures in Egypt turkey greece and much of India This you can see in a basic google search.when I was in art school I hated learning about this But after visiting these sites through the world it is clear they had another function entirely And we can see the narrative Is just that. A story Check out the mud flood and the worlds fairs It was like put on to destroy these buildings that were also found here under “ the mud flood” very interesting as there is no explanation of how, in a time of horse and buggy That’s these incredible 700,000 square foot megalithic gorgeous buildings were made. And then burned or destroyed Why is the question

[@ccoppolaphoto]

@samantha smith here are about 100 examples of identical architectural elements from the same period around the world Colonial styles of architecture include Baroque, Orientalism, and Art Nouveau. The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque (or Second Empire architecture in France and Wilhelminism in Germany), was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture and architectural sculptures which display important aspects of Baroque style, but are not of the original Baroque period. Elements of the Baroque architectural tradition were an essential part of the curriculum of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the pre-eminent school of architecture in the second half of the 19th century, and are integral to the Beaux-Arts architecture it engendered both in France and abroad. where I also studied and travelled extensively An ebullient sense of European imperialism encouraged an official architecture to reflect it in Britain and France, and in Germany and Italy the Baroque Revival expressed pride in the new power of the unified state.The Robber Barons of NY loved this architecture and kept it for their own. what I am saying is I don't agree with the age of these buildings, that we are being told a very different story of our recent past(last 200 years) and the tech we had built into these structures has been hijacked by those that wished to monopolize and profit from these technologies.(radiant electricity) But you wish to argue about historical details, missing the entire point of my original comment. Ironically, The Vanderbilt family is one of those families I speak of. . I was merely making a point by asking a question of our past "isn't it interesting" is all. My apologies, I didn't mean to blow up your pre-programmed world of academia, I asked you to think outside of the information we are fed and to come up with your own opinion of what resonates as the truth. I challenge you to use critical thinking, as well as your intuition and question the narrative of our time. While you come up with your own opinion, here are some examples of the same architecture at the same time, around the globe that I spoke of: Akasaka Palace , Tokyo, Japan Alferaki Palace (1848), Taganrog, Russia Ashton Memorial , Lancaster, England Belfast City Hall , Belfast, Northern Ireland Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace (1747), Saint Petersburg, Russia Bode Museum Berlin, Germany British Columbia Parliament Buildings , Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Burgtheater (1888), Vienna, Austria Cardiff City Hall, Cardiff, Wales Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark Cluj-Napoca National Theatre , Cluj-Napoca, Romania Ortaköy Mosque , Istanbul, Turkey Dolmabahçe Palace , Istanbul, Turkey The Elms Mansion , Newport, Rhode Island, United States Näsilinna (also known as the Milavida Palace) (1898), Tampere, Finland National Theatre (1899), Oslo, Norway Palais Garnier (also known as the Paris Opera) (1861-1875), Paris, France Port of Liverpool Building Liverpool, England Rosecliff Mansion , Newport, Rhode Island, United States Royal Museum for Central Africa , Tervuren, Belgium Semperoper (1878), Dresden, Germany Sofia University rectorate, Sofia, Bulgaria Zachęta National Gallery of Art Warsaw, Poland St. Barbara's Church , Brooklyn, New York, United States St. John Cantius Church , Chicago, United States Church of St. Ignatius Loyola , New York City, United States Church of Saints Peter and Paul , Athlone, Ireland Cathedral of Salta , Salta, Argentina Széchenyi thermal bath , Budapest, Hungary Volkstheater (1889), Vienna, Austria National Art Gallery of Bulgaria (the former royal palace), Sofia, Bulgaria Wenckheim Palace (1886-1889), Budapest, Hungary Stefánia Palace (formerly named Park Club) (1893-1895), Budapest, Hungary Gran Teatro de La Habana, Havana, Cuba Old Parliament Building, Colombo, Sri Lanka House of the National Assembly of Serbia Belgrade, Serbia. Durban City Hall, South Africa Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, Principality of Monaco

[@dcllaw677]

All built on other people’s hard work,not on the owners.

[@jenniferthomas3875]

If Hunt was really as smart as they say, he would have designed it so it could be converted into an art museum. By selling the works of art William K. bought they could have acquired enough money to pay for stuff needed to keep that house going AND buy the greatest and most innovative paintings made in the early 20th century, before they became ridiculously expensive. Eventually this building could become what the museum of modern art is now, but it would be called the Vanderbilt museum and be more impressive than the Guggenheim. They could make the dining room an eatery where you could buy watermelon, honeydew melon and similar fruit and look at and read about all these fruits with pictures that covered every inch of the walls and call it the Carnegie Melon university.

[@melaniamonicacraciun9900]

Its such a good feeling fans, only dreaming that invisible web audience might enjoy with us such movie docs, when immigrants were welcomed and respected of running away from slavery and aristocrats exploitation abroad, when such boldly American owners were so socialist to give workers decent wages and respectable life style, the true American dream we still dream about, wellness is not possible if not shared with others, can you realize this concept?

[@pierrepigeon180]

can anyon help me. I try to find who painted the scene at 1:36. It is exquisite. Thank you

[@theculturedcommuter6833]

The painting is ‘La Soirée’ by Jean Beraud.

[@pierrepigeon180]

Thank you so much. Merci beaucoup @@theculturedcommuter6833

[@gorgeouspaintings]

So what was the reason for it being demolished in such a short time...

[@wade998]

Whitemarsh Hall was much larger and more beautiful and was razed to the ground in 1980.

[@Linda-pw8gx]

This mans voice sounds like James woods, the actor

[@cards0486]

At first I was thinking Alva was trying to push her way into society, and was looked on as Nouveau Riche. But the American Industrial Age was at a time when anyone making millions in America was “Nouveau Riche”. European wealthy families were ‘old money’. The United States was a young country, not old enough for ‘old money’. I love that about our country. Yes, Europe is ‘jaw dropping’ in its beauty. Castles like can’t be seen here are wonderful. But a new land provided a big expanse of “here it is; make your dream happen.”

[@FumariVI]

Alva most certainly WAS trying to push her way into society. If you think she had altruistic motivations you are sadly mistaken.

[@lindanichiliza6123]

Construction pictures please?

[@danielpenn1734]

Look people, the world movers. These are our problems

[@LS-ot7td]

I like both commentaries but the changing every "page" makes it a bit choppy for me, but interesting nonetheless.

[@terribruin9662]

I agree with you. They both are great narrators, but I wish they would alternate videos instead of sentences.

[@janecarolhogue3140]

Tears me up they build these magnificent mansions and tear it down like it doesn't matter

[@edithpiaf9250]

This lovely house met the same fate as almost all of the Gold Coast mansions built on Long Island in the same period...except the houses on Long Island have been demolished much more recently. People never learn.

[@kbflorida888]

I’m curious as to why Mrs Astor would decamp to Paris for 5 months? I could see 3 (Mar-Jun) otherwise it’s as cold or hot as NYC.

[@fredh999harris8]

Are you kidding? Mrs. Astor was an international society figure with friends in high places in Europe. Have you ever been in Paris? It has a vibe that nowhere else can match!

[@satanstrilogy2288]

W.O.W.

[@shellzzabat5950]

Sadly, now it is the Rockefeller Center block.

[@rubygreta1]

In 1926 this house was probably considered a hideous abomination. With commercial buildings all around, I doubt there was a single person who wanted to save it