What Happened to Cornelius Vanderbilt II's Mansion in Manhattan? (SEE PINNED COMMENT)

[@ThisHouse]

This video has been updated with more photos and information: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJOvdoiBqayeo9k

[@elinfesty181]

My Swedish grandmother worked as the 2nd cook there, and told me she saw the mistress of the house only twice - her back entering a carriage. She cooked for all the servants while the first cook cooked for the mistress. And she learnt to drive by the German drivers inside the private park at the summer home.. It all sounded so exotic!

[@ThisHouse]

Wow! Thank you for sharing!

[@hatzlmike1]

poser weaks making up tall stories

[@sebas3177]

Amazing 😍

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Were the slave quarters in little shacks out back of the big house?

[@misterjones7522]

@@SymphonyBrahms Um the house was built after slavery ended and was not allowed in NY...geeze!

[@mrs.g.9816]

I've said this before and I'll say it again: Cities looked classier and friendlier with the old architecture. Modern cities look cold and soulless with all those glass skyscrapers. At least that mansion could have been turned into a hotel or a museum.

[@bigredc222]

The ground it's on is worth too much. Those houses cost a fortune to upkeep, some of the Vanderbilts went bankrupt trying to keep up their mansions.

[@mrs.g.9816]

@@bigredc222 You have a point, but there's more to life than money and business.

[@bigredc222]

@@mrs.g.9816 I love old things, I collect and restore old tools and machines, I've spent many hours fixing old things that would make much more sense to replace. I'm a construction electrician, and my house is full of old electric devices that I've saved from being thrown away.

[@muthrfuqrjonz3530]

Before the Democrats ruined all of the great eastern cities! Now the degradation continues along the great western cities.

[@brucedeerhaven]

@@bigredc222 The Federal Government instituted the Income Tax way back then, & that really did them in!!’n

[@hamie58]

I love that she tried to preserve as much of the mansion as she could and that some of it still exists today.

[@jthies2493]

!

[@davidlafleche1142]

It doesn't matter, because God is about to destroy the USA. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17, KJV). Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Establish the Kingdom in Jerusalem, and keep the world safe from Democracy!

[@chasbodaniels1744]

@David Lafleche Yeah sure buddy. Sadly, Zeus begs to differ.

[@tracylalonde4972]

@@chasbodaniels1744 Thanks for the chuckle. 😅

[@tommyspike1969]

Absolutely! ❤️

[@erikaleonard2848]

To me, it's a sin, taking these old homes down. They should still be standing if for no other reason than to use as a museum. The gate from the home at central park I've walked through a few times had no idea until now the significance of the gate. Thankfully Biltmore castle still stands bc that family was smart with it!

[@cjhoward409]

Well Biltmore was thankfully not built in a major growing city 👍🏻

[@penelopelopez8296]

Why is it a sin to tear down these huge monstrosities. They represent gluttonous wealth which is even more of a sin.

[@brucedeerhaven]

@@cjhoward409 Amongst its original 3,000 mountainous wooded acres!

[@jameslaskowski2540]

Part of the allure in visiting Europe for me is to see those old mansions. America was so anti Europe and greedy they destroy anything of visual value.

[@ScootsFromNewCastle]

Yeah but I’d be hard pressed to find anyone who could pass up $100 million lol

[@njhawk89]

This is fascinating history! The story of the family who lived in this mansion can be found in the book "Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt". A good read for those interested in the Gilded Age in New York City.

[@baffledanderanged2101]

I don't envy the rich lifestyle, however I do enjoy looking at the architecture of the houses that they have built.

[@claudermiller]

I love the grand public spaces from that time. The train stations, the theaters, the libraries, government buildings. It's as if there was a desire to make beautiful architecture available to the masses that you just don't have these days. Many have been demolished or privatized and turned into corporate space or luxury condos. The whole idea of providing great architecture available to everyone seems to have vanished.

[@baffledanderanged2101]

@@claudermiller my apologies for not responding sooner but it's been a hectic day 🙃. Yes I miss many of the older buildings along with the beautiful architecture that went with them. I can't stand to see beautiful old homes made into businesses or see them knocked down and some modern architectural buildings being put in their place. There were some very grand designs and it's my hope that we don't lose all of them that there are people out there who have the money to save them and keep them as homes and or businesses 😉. Have a good evening.

[@luislaplume8261]

@@baffledanderanged2101 I can tell you this, when I was a boy in the 1960s Mad Men era and we went sightseeing and walking around Midtown Manhattan the tall box architecture of office buildings did not appeal to me. But as we walked by older buildings they had class. The Pennsylvania station of today is nothing but a very large subway station for Amtrak and NJ Transit and Long Island Railroad trains. When compared to the original that opened in 1910 that replaced the one in Jersey City, N.J. that opened in 1890. That had ferries to the Financial District and the West Side of Manhattan.

[@davidlafleche1142]

Personally, I'd love a 2-br ranch house in Lancaster, N.H.; but, alas, I'm not a millionaire.

[@guyod1]

The outside looks grand but busy to me. The interiors are completely over done. Busy does not even begin to describe it. we complain about the rich today but these would be billion dollar homes today. Inflation equivalent do not work on these homes.

[@brokenglass849]

Bergdorf Goodman has occupied that location since about 1927, I never understood why the house wasn't modified to accommodate the upscale department store. They could have had the most sumptuous backdrop for their merchandise imaginable, and preserved an architectural marvel at the same time. I never knew Mrs Vanderbilt opened the house to the public before it was razed.

[@lj5801]

That is what Ralph Lauren did with the magnificent Rhinelander French Renaissance chateau on Madison Avenue when it was turned into his men's store. The only adjustment needed was a 2nd entrance/exit (which this Vanderbilt mansion already had) for fire code compliance. Morton Plant swapped his 653 Fifth Avenue mansion for a pearl necklace (pre-cultured pearl era); it is still Cartier's NYC store.

[@twistoffate4791]

@@lj5801 I didn't know that. How fantastic that the home was used nearly as is. As for the swapping a house for a pearl necklace, that's a "world" so far-removed from my own. I guess that's partly why we watch these videos.

[@lj5801]

@@twistoffate4791 Speaking of a twist of fate: just after the swap, Mikimoto figured out how to create cultured pearls. The value of Mrs Plant's necklace tanked - the value of the mansion went through the roof!

[@twistoffate4791]

@@lj5801 Oh, geez!! What a catastrophic goods exchange. I was sorta wondering, even with my love of pearls, what the quality of the string in question was. I'm glad you spoke up to provide the footnote.

[@lj5801]

@@twistoffate4791 Actually one thing more. Mrs Plant divorced Morton and became Mrs Rovensky (built Clarendon Court in Newport - where the von Bulow overdose case happened). He gave her one heck of a diamond necklace!

[@trenawawrzyniak4397]

I was a private nurse to a woman who lived in a beautiful mansion in Reading PA. Look it up," Stirling" bed n breakfast now. I was privileged to know Gertrude Sternbergh for the last 5years of her life. And even though she owned a mansion it was her beloved home. She was such a nice n humble woman. She was born in 1899 n died in 1996 if my horrible memory is right. She owned the entire block on Center avenue. The house Stirling is alot like it was when Gertrude was alive ,the amazing woodwork is beautiful. But it is no longer the Home that it was for the simple reason the lady of the manor no longer resides but is across the street in the cemetery. She breathed life n love always in her home. N even though it was her home her entire life she still in her late 90 felt lucky to live in such a beautiful home. N I was very lucky to have known her. She is greatly missed.

[@sha.elaine]

One of the problems people have when they don't toil to earn their own money, is that nothing is ever enough! I enjoy visiting the Gilded Age mansions, they are our American palaces and castles, but can't imagine living in one.

[@Diana1000Smiles]

Christian Capitalists were not "Royalty" but they certainly brought their Greed Philosophy to this Nation. I've never figured out why Humans didn't care enough to control our environment. ✌

[@k_a_y_l_e_e]

this is an interesting take. i've heard of many people who have "toiled" to make their own money yet buy literally anything and everything they see. greed is greed, no matter how much you earn.

[@luislaplume8261]

Boy do I wish I was around in 1926 and see the inside of that mansion. I am a New Yorker.

[@ReesieandLee]

I don’t know how I found myself on your channel, but I love it so much! I live in an 80 year old small home and it has so much more personality than the new McMansions on the hill. I even got a ghost, the original owner.

[@victordepaul1061]

Does he pay rent?🤣🤣

[@ReesieandLee]

@@victordepaul1061 NOOO! That would be crass 😉

[@Texaslawhorn]

Does the ghost visit you often?

[@ReesieandLee]

@@Texaslawhorn it’s so funny, he only hangs out when we are remodeling anything, it doesn’t get him angry. I think he likes that we are fixing it up. The guy we bought it from had not taken care of the house and the lawn. He was hanging out this week because I was contemplating taking the front lawn out and putting in a rock garden because of drought. Once I promised him I would never make it ugly he stopped pacing my hall. Now how many people think I’m nuts? Haha

[@Texaslawhorn]

@@ReesieandLee I think that's neat!

[@biggerock]

The chandelier seen in the photograph of the Moorish smoking room was bought by Loew's, Incorporated, and hung for decades in the lobby of the Loew's State Theatre in Syracuse, NY (which was a far eastern extravaganza designed by theatre architect Thomas Lamb). Unfortunately it disappeared in the 1970s and its fate seems to be a mystery.

[@Gizathecat2]

I can imagine if the mansion was still intact today. It would have been carved up into MANY separate residential units and Cash Jordan would be promoting them on his KZbin channel! “The most affordable apartment in the old Vanderbilt mansion! How much? Five thousand a month for a one bedroom apartment!”

[@andrewbrendan1579]

I love it! I'm trying to picture Cash in one of those apartments saying, "...and a sink sprayer. Could you make this work for you?" He would also warn us about any Dunkin' Donuts franchises in the area. Vanderbilts and cash, Vanderbilts and Cash, I think I see a workable arrangement here!

[@Gizathecat2]

@@andrewbrendan1579 in an alternate universe, alternate universe!

[@lydwinaofschiedam2685]

@@andrewbrendan1579 😂😂🤣🤣

[@DannyEastVillage]

Ma'am, many 1BR apartments in New York go for 5,000/mo. In my own crummy turn-of-the-20th-Century non-modernized, no-amenity tenement building, a 450sq. ft 2BR (bedrooms are approx 8x15ft) currently rents for about 3,500.

[@P3rmissionD3ni3d]

Seems kinda cheap lol

[@keithng128]

Such a BEAUTY.... it can become one of the most Luxurious boutique hotel in NYC, and provide jobs opportunities for the community. With such refinement and taste, that a city can be proud of. So sad, that it's gone. Because, beauty as refined as this, will never happen again.

[@mjleger4555]

My how times change; Vanderbilt had railroads and steamships, today it's cargo aircraft in the air and cargo ships on the sea -- and computer technology that provides wealth! And years from today, probably AI and all its offshoots!

[@cathycorriher6313]

Unbelievable......but coming from NC and seeing the Biltmore house.....l can only imagine this homes beauty and elegance.

[@billy1673]

I maintain: such a sin that these houses fell under the wrecking ball.

[@janedee6488]

Another beautiful house lost to history. I would have gladly paid 50 cents to tour it. Or whatever the modern day equivalent is.

[@cremebrulee4759]

This crazy house building is one of the reasons the Vanderbilt money ran out. There were many other, more significant reasons, but this certainly contributed.

[@davidlafleche1142]

Cornelius Vanderbilt also owned The Breakers, in Newport, R.I. How much was enough?

[@carterbentonjr399]

Cornielus should have stopped while he was a head. What can I say? Some people.

[@mjleger4555]

Money often comes and then goes! A case similar to ordering a huge dinner with eyes being bigger than the stomach, same kind of wasteful situation! Shameful.

[@lj5801]

The Jones mansion(s) was diagonally across 5th and 57th from this mansion. The first photo you use is deceptive: for years I thought that the home in the background was a part of the Vanderbilt mansion, but it's a separate building on W 58th. The Breakers that Cornelius bought from the Lorrilards is not what is there now (shown in your video). It was a large shingle style home that burned down when the boiler malfunctioned. He then built what we now know as the Breakers but with the boilers under the gatekeeper's house and heat piped up to the "cottage." This was the only mansion on 5th Ave where someone (Mr. Vanderbilt in the case) could move his bedroom one whole city block when he objected to having to see the nude bronze rear end of the statue of the fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel pointing at his bedroom window. The only other person who could come close to doing that would have been Charles Schwab in his Riverside Ave mansion between W 73rd and W 74th Sts. (A fitting mansion for your series.)

[@ThisHouse]

Thank you for providing that bit of information, cheers!

[@lj5801]

@@ThisHouse I want to correct a mistake that I made. The Jones houses (built to look like a unified whole) were directly across 5th Ave, not diagonally: that was the Collis P Huntington mansion [on the current Tiffany's site].

[@andrewbrendan1579]

I second the motion! I'd love to see a video about the Schwab mansion, another house that should still be in use today but has been gone for many decades.

[@helen1962]

This decadence bothers me, so much wealth it’s wasteful.

[@SpanishEclectic]

Extra great job on this one! "He became insecure about the size of his mansion". LOL. That amount of wealth boggles the mind. It would take hours just to walk from one end of the place to the other. From the portrait I noticed a bit of resemblance to Anderson Cooper.

[@twistoffate4791]

I caught that, too, and had myself a smirk.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Your comment reminded me of a hilarious comedy sketch from "The Carol Burnett Show" back in the 70's, a spoof of Joan Crawford movies called "Torchy Lady". Carol as Joan says (this is my best recollection) to her downtrodden maid (Vickie Lawrence), "Problems? You think you have problems? Do you know what it's like to walk into a restaurant and have everybody stare at you? Do you know what it's like to have a house so big you wander around day after day...just trying to find a bathroom? Do you know what it's like to have your pool heater malfunction? DO YOU? (Sobbing) These are the problems I live with every day so you just be glad that you're plain and untalented and poor!" One of the funniest scenes ever and it may be on You Tube.

[@twistoffate4791]

@@andrewbrendan1579 Yes!! I loved The Carol Burnett Show & have watched each eagerly-welcomed episode at least twice. I remember the skit & am glad you brought it up. Great cast & fun guests, too.

[@SpanishEclectic]

@@twistoffate4791 I used to watch Carol Burnett with my Mom on Saturday nights when I was a kid. The "Went with the Wind" skit with the curtain rod dress is a favorite. I loved watching Harvey Korman turn every shade of red trying not to bust out laughing at Tim Conway. Great memories!

[@twistoffate4791]

@@SpanishEclectic Yes! The best of times.

[@Diana1000Smiles]

My obvious concern is for Humans surviving Climate Change, and, I'm watching these old mansions you share with the understanding of Capitalism gone wild. ♡ Please be safe.

[@bonnieabrs1003]

Just randomly found your channel! This wonderful. TU for posting. I watch a British news caster daily that has a side panel of his screen showing all the beautiful old buildings & gardens(we had the opportunity to meet the cat that guards 10 Downing St!) I truly wish we had more regard for the history that these beautiful buildings hold. I’m a New Englander & they rarely tear down anything. Most newer buildings have to fit in with the historical area. Oh, yes, I was referring to Neil Sean here on yt. He’s known many greats & interviewed ton of the ton. Very funny guy!

[@henrygardner8418]

Ken, Again, great content. You said, "Keeping up with the Joneses." That phrase originated around the family of the novelist Edith Wharton, who was born Edith Newbold Jones. The Jones family was well-known for building bigger and better homes, each grander than the last. Look up "Marble Row" which was built by Wharton's great-aunt, Mary Mason Jones. Post what you can find because I would love to see some pictures of Marble Row. Thanks!

[@bradleymorris6974]

I love this channel. I'm originally from St Louis but have been gone since the the mid '80s. I've lived a lot of places and currently live in Sheki, Azerbaijan. St. Louis is still my favorite city. Everytime I see a new video from This House, I get a warm blast of energy to my heart. I'm a big fan. Thanks for all your hard work.

[@twistoffate4791]

How'd you end up so far from home? Military? Mission work?

[@robertekelof728]

I Ince heard about 2 Swedish systers living in the mansion There father left them fore many years this was in early 19 century located in Manhattan. I dont know their names. Excuse the spelling. Thank you for your work! Robert!

[@DovZeev]

Alice was really swell to try and save as much as she could and just give it away in the end. Even on that allowance, a massive estate like that would take all of that and more just to be maintained. And once inheritance taxes and whatnot caught up to these people, the huge estates and yachts were actually their undoing in the end.

[@des9655]

Just amazing what the wealthy built back then! It's ashame that so many of these mansions of that Era are no longer with us. If it's not enough, just build a massive summer home! Another great informative video Ken!

[@davidlafleche1142]

Newport.

[@here_we_go_again2571]

Those people also built "weekend retreats" in the Hudson River Valley, and on Long Island, Great Camps in the Adirondacks (and elsewhere) as well as mansions in Palm Beach Florida.

[@ritabasgall1003]

I liked the story about the beautiful metal gates, now in central park

[@sherrillcornett4212]

In America we are a teardown throwaway Society. We should learn from our European Nations try to preserve so much of their history. I'm from the south and we lost so much of our beautiful homes and buildings during the Civil War it breaks my heart to see these beautiful things lost forever. All of these architectural wonders should be preserved for our future Generations of the USA

[@kathymcel]

it's too big to save unless you turned it into apartments. Who is going to want to live in such a big house or pay for it's upkeep?

[@SymphonyBrahms]

It was a war. Things get destroyed during a war.

[@connlarson4906]

Ah, the time when you could build a house in Manhattan instead of a building

[@davidbalentine2110]

Everything we build... comes to an end. Sometimes, ironically, the builders and the destroyers are one and same. The Vanderbilt fortune, where is it today? Gone bye bye.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

The Vanderbilt children spent it all.

[@BrookeBrantingham]

Cornelius Vanderbilt II father was the wealthiest man in America leaving vast fortunes to his children. I cannot imagine bringing in the greatest architect's, French artist and designers ,art,culture,a legacy of beauty, to be torn down 46 years later when it would have lasted hundred of years,a legacy of wonder.And was game on whoever was managing their affairs.The Vanderbilt family helped establish railways across the country which brought commerce, travel and helped build the Nation.Their philanthropy helped establish museums,colleges,library's.Shame on historians who did not fight to preserve this historic building.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Victorian house are ugly. And his heirs sold the property for commercial development. They needed the money because they were all such big spenders.

[@ezee-e]

fantastic video thank you, such sad endings to a wondrous gilded although excess and decadent age

[@bill90405]

Have you considered a piece on Riverside, the Westside mansion of steel magnate Charles Schwab? It occupied the entire block of Riverside Drive between 73rd and 74th. It was finished in 1907 and demolished in 1947. Mrs Schwab was my great-grandmother’s sister.

[@suzyfarnham3165]

I just watched it so he has done it.

[@beachcaving]

The Vanderbilts spent their inheritances building magnificent manses. Amazing! Thank you! ❤🇺🇸

[@markothwriter]

Reminds me of the families like those who lived in Downton Abbey and Godsford Park. The built such huge mansions and had such big staffs, that they were effectively in debt just to keep the household running. Then, the price of labor went up.

[@anjiemontalvo2296]

Property taxes were the problem.

[@samanthab1923]

If you watch any of those specials on stately homes in England they work their asses off to keep those places running. Where there was once 40 gardeners it’s down to one & part time help.

[@markothwriter]

@@samanthab1923 yeah, you're right different times

[@pjreynoldsa1]

The cost to maintain these behemoths is overwhelming!

[@charlesclager6808]

Well, I guess that Cornie believed in the old adage that "you can't take it with you" and spent money like there was no tomorrow, which eventually, there wasn't a tomorrow for him. Good video.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

What money was left was spent by his heirs.

[@sherbearb.1593]

I can't even imagine having the mindset that You HAVE to have better then anyone else around you! What a sad sad world for you. Doing for and giving to others makes for a happier more fulfilling life. I have no envy or sympathy for those who look at life and live life to showboating to impress people. I just feel pity for them. Life is so much more then being or having the best of stuff. After all, he had a stroke and spent last 3 years of his life in a wheel chair. She then spent the remaining years of her life a sad lonely alone person. What, in the end, did they gain by having the biggest home, the biggest summer cottage? Not much I would say.

[@cjhoward409]

She was so miserably sad… even with all that wealth around her. Hmmm. Money doesn’t buy happiness in the long run I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️ but a little extra money would be nice 😊

[@kathymcel]

Yes, I agree and what did they do with so much space which in the end was torn down? What a huge waste.

[@annonymously331]

How do you know she was sad

[@h.a.harris7423]

Thanks for the great video. The Vanderbilt homes have always intrigued me; I've visited the Biltmore, but the William K Vanderbilt home on 5th Avenue is probably my favorite and I wish it was still around so I could tour it as well.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

You might be interested in the book "Fortunes Children--the Fall of the House of Vanderbilt" by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II. It's one of the most engrossing, page-turning books I've ever read. You may already know this but, I was surprised to learn that not one of the many Vanderbilt mansions was occupied family members for more than one generation.

[@Dina52328]

I’m glad that at least the “Breakers” mansion was saved. The Breakers is absolutely stunning; words and pictures cannot describe its magnificent opulence and marvel of architecture. I toured the Newport “cottages” some years back and I’m so glad I did 🥰.

[@barbarabrown9269]

How would anyone ever clean these monstrosities?? No one romanticizing these mansions ever think of that. Inside and out, you would need a huge team of workers to endlessly clean and repair every day forever. Replacing a roof - GAK! None of these monoliths would have been up to code. Terrible fire hazards. None had central air conditioning or heat. Stuffy oppressive, suffocating. Few even had working bathrooms. Water had to be hauled up from the basement by servants on dumb waiters. The owner had to be impossibly wealthy to afford all that labor. Poor people housed in tenements slaved ceaselessly at cooking cleaning and laundry. Plenty of jobs, if one wanted to be a maid or laborer. Once salaries and decent jobs came available, these labor intensive positions vanished. No one could then afford to maintain these hideous structures.

[@phyllispetras3369]

Thank you to Christine Baranski for being so wonderfully insufferable!!!

[@tommyspike1969]

Mind blowing... NY tragically raised too many beautiful Houses and buildings. I live in Indy. The same thing here. The Historical Society stepped in too late plus it takes a fortune to keep those properties maintained.

[@Diana1000Smiles]

I moved from Indiana to Montana in 2002, and, some of the "ranches" out here make some of these old houses look like sheds. (Not mine, ofcourse, I have a tiny Home and rent land, as nobody really owns Mother Earth.)

[@SymphonyBrahms]

That was the problem. It took a fortune to maintain them. That's why the heirs sold them and skyscrapers replaced them.

[@tommyspike1969]

@@SymphonyBrahms sadly, all we are left with are pictures of what was .

[@CliftonBowers-pc2xu]

I was around there as a child..

[@illusionary5951]

Thats Cooper Andersons family. Just goes to show you, you cant take it with you when you go. Bit to gaudy for my taste. Love the iron fence & gate tho

[@Abcdefghijk920]

All of these beautiful places being torn down in the USA meanwhile England has 300 year old family homes still being lived in and cherished.

[@Rimrock300]

There are enough old buildings left around the US. Located in the very center of Manhatten, it was just a matter of time before these mansions would be gone and repplaed by high rise buildngs. And the development and made it not possible to keep a staff of 30 just to keep a gigant mansion like this, heated during the winter

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Some of those English homes are in dire need of repair.

[@here_we_go_again2571]

Many of those grand English country houses fell to the wrecking ball (or arson) after WW2 when the higher rates of inheritance tax were enacted; as well as increased property taxes; as well as higher rates of income taxation. The majority of those grand estates were established and large houses built when land, not industry was the source of wealth (i.e. prior to the Industrial Revolution) Later the wealthy industrialists also built country homes (most not surrounded by extensive land belonging to an estate.

[@jamesbyrne9312]

It's not about the amount. It's the quality

[@justinreilly1]

You should get someone from NY to proofread ur scripts on NY houses. W all ur extreme attention to architectural detail it’s weird their are so many mistakes.

[@seansmith445]

New York City rivalled Paris for beauty back in the day.

[@y2kmadd]

Now everything is just square, soulless blocks.

[@gretaberry4983]

This mansion was massive. As I watch HBO’s series The Gilded Age , everyone was trying to keep up with Jones 🤣. The social circle back then were all about the Benjamins. 😄

[@SkyBlu868]

Yes, and you better be talking old Benjamins, not the new ones. lol Love that series!

[@janetrapoza3877]

Have visited the Breakers many times.. Beautiful...

[@intuitive7274]

What happened? He built it in Ashville North Carolina

[@andyk6767]

A little additional history about the purchase of The Breakers. He did purchase the original Breakers in Newport, but it was not the 125,000 sq ft mansion of the same name that sits there today. The original mansion burned to the ground a few years after Cornelius purchased it, and then he had the new one built in its place, which is the limestone mansion pictured in this video. It's an amazing home and tour, as are some of the other vast mansions that are open to the public in Newport.

[@philipwilliams2310]

...... EXCELLENT Download! 👍👍👍 have sub., Phil Liverpool UK 🇬🇧

[@marlenetrujillo2212]

I’m related to the Vanderbilt family on my grandmothers side

[@jerryclleung]

It’s sad that even after Cornelius left her a trust fund, $10 million dollar in cash and then some, she couldn’t afford the lifestyle anymore. Property tax on the Newport Mansion was in excess of $80k, their NYC mansion was over $150k. And the US government had implemented income and inheritance taxes. Welcome to America… BTW, I LOVE your channel!!!

[@SymphonyBrahms]

You can't run a country without taxes. Taxes pay for police, firemen, libraries, roads, bridges, and schools.

[@CV-db6dg]

I hope they saved that amazing circular staircase!

[@christinecallahan5512]

Vanderbuilt avenue in manhattan a LEGEND.....

[@deborahlinton9635]

Reminds me of some of the homes (mansions) in my hometown of Montreal.🇨🇦

[@scottnyc6572]

Wow this is like the 5th NYC grandiose mansion video I watch that ended up in demolition.Most of this palatial mansions made up New York City’s major thoroughfares.I would love to experience a day out touring what Manhattan would’ve looked like back then before all the skyscrapers.These mansions were more impressive than most modern day skyscrapers.

[@brendad3570]

That new tall skinny thing which I think is the Steinway? and very near here , I believe sticks out like a sore thumb in that grand Manhattan skyline

[@SymphonyBrahms]

The Chrysler Building is nice. Also the Empire State Building. But those buildings are Art Deco masterpieces. Today's skyscrapers can't compare to them.

[@deanc3362]

I've been in the home building industry for over 24 years...man would I love to walk through some of these amazing homes! Pretty crazy how awesome they looked back the VS now.

[@christopherd.1200]

Hello- of all the grand mansions of Olde New York better known as The Gilded Age the ones most vulnerable were those built on the prime midtown section of 5th Avenue. the ones that do survive were far removed from said area.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

The land was worth more than the house that stood on it.

[@chinoman7234]

I toured this house before it was razed Beautiful!!

[@jackiea3222]

I like that she tried to save parts of the house.

[@StamperWendy]

Nice video. Interesting story. I think "keeping up with the Jones" is more likely installing a pool, not painting your front door.

[@lj5801]

Actually it was coined about the family of Edith Wharton (nee Jones) when her aunt built a block of houses way uptown before it was fashionable (across the avenue from where this mansion would eventually be built). Also before it was fashionable they were marble, not dark brownstone. All the houses created a unified whole in the French style. (See Age of Innocence - Mrs. Mingott's house.)

[@louisconforti7448]

That’s being really filthy rich.

[@helenvanpatterson-patton]

Fabulous video. Thank you!

[@f.s.deernbsnmsccp8641]

I really wish the State of New York preserved these beautiful buildings, they are indescribable, beyond awesome!

[@here_we_go_again2571]

NYS and the National Park Service have preserved many of these types of buildings that were built along the Hudson River The state has also preserved historic houses throughout the state including some of the Great Lodges ("Camps") built by these magnates in what is now the Adirondack Park.

[@thomasgeorgecastleberry6918]

Another spectacular Video, so interesting, I'd trade houses (meaning my house with the a fore mentioned Vanderbilt mansion).

[@seriejohnson698]

Those mansions hadn’t even been there long before some were tore down…total waste of money.

[@Rimrock300]

They were there typically 20-30 years, and where sold on at large profits to developers who did build new buildings there that were sold off to even higer profits. Many of the masnions came out to be good investments, no waste, because of their attractive locations

[@SymphonyBrahms]

The heirs sold the mansions to developers for good sums of money.

[@robertmccully2792]

imagine the heating bill, or cleaning the house.

[@debragauthier6976]

Loved the video, but feel sad that it was brought down for any reason.

[@eileenworth7862]

Why didn't she make a museum out of it to generate cash flow? Selling it to be razed! What a loss.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

She needed the money. She couldn't have made much money at ten cents a ticket to see the ugly old monstrosity of a house.

[@maxbear215]

Americans are notorious for tearing things down and replacing them with ugly replacements. You don't see this in Europe, on the contrary, people from all over the world, including many Americans are flocking to France to scoop up old chateaux and refurbish them. The Vanderbilt mansion would have made a grand hotel or museum. Now NYC is dotted with many ugly glass skyscrapers that have little to no character to them. There are still a few of the gilded age mansions left on 5th Avenue and hopefully they will be preserved for many years to come.

[@here_we_go_again2571]

Every city is blighted with those steel, chrome and glass shoebox. shaped buildings

[@mariashelly4812]

Obscene is a good description.

[@mikeamico6763]

Great job love your vids

[@themagazineantiques9602]

This was such a great video! Are there any other surviving pieces from the mansion? What happened with Alice after she sold the house?

[@heatherberni7399]

Ken, I need you to go visit the Stan Hywet Hall and gardens in Akron, OH. The ownet was the founder of the Goodyear Rubber Company, and Akron is still hugely built by him and his family!

[@rjr1227]

Wow...too bad they didn't have color photos back then. Watching this...I wondered if anything was saved....it's awesome she thought ahead and saved what could be saved.. great video....stunning home

[@johnsavage6628]

No wonder they went broke!

[@cookeeee1962]

A waste of money and time.

[@claudiocavaliere856]

Absolutely magnificent! Majestic in every possible way! Fascinating! Lovey to see it all!

[@DarthPlaya]

Well what happened? Is it still standing? Was it demolished?

[@SymphonyBrahms]

It was demolished to make way for a high rise building.

[@HeleniqueToday]

truly unbelievable! 💔

[@TheSharoncat]

How they dare to destroy such a beauty 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

[@SymphonyBrahms]

It was a Victorian nightmare.

[@yaassss5531]

Look! There’s no walls or fences around the home, unlike what you see today in places like Beverly Hills. People behaved themselves and respected other people’s property and privacy.

[@patriciafenton989]

Nice to see a piece of history and an amazing house!

[@MrSCDrago]

A few bits of information are wrong. George B. Post designed the original. Richard Morris Hunt did the elargements. Also, he didn't BUY the 70 room Breakers in Newport ..the original Breakers that C.V. II bought burned down & he BUILT the new Breakers

[@blurbieblurgh]

“Keeping up with the Jones’” refers to Edith Wharton’s birth family. They were ridiculously wealthy. (Her Wikipedia page has two sources for the saying being about her family. )

[@woohoofromtexasharris4814]

Can't survive on 250,000 per year back in the 20's???? DAMMMMMM. 😳🙄🤪🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🚚

[@SymphonyBrahms]

The Nob Hill mansions in San Francisco were also vast and luxurious. Unfortunately the great earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed most of them. The Flood mansion was built of stone. It was gutted by the fire but it's stone outer walls survived. It was rebuilt and became the exclusive Pacific Union Club. The rest of the mansions were built of wood and were completely destroyed by the fire. Where they once stood there are now luxury hotels, condominiums, and apartment houses. And a cathedral.

[@trj1442]

Another excellent episode. Thankyou for your awesome content.

[@stevenrice9221]

Very Cool House😊

[@richardwesley3564]

To be honest land, especially land in Manhattan is, and always will be, far more valuable than the structures built upon it. So, when a property owner is in a tight, with creditors nipping at their heels, selling the land and the building that rests on it, can turn a huge profit for any owner. By 1927, Manhattan was already choked with skyscrapers, pollution belching cars, trucks and constant NOISE. Who wants to live in the amid all of that if they don't have to? So, most of them sold, died or moved away....with a ton of change in their pockets.

[@annonymously331]

Alice later downsized by paying $800,000 for the George j gould mansion

[@user-tt4ye9pk4l]

The classic European style beauty of nyc was short lived 1860 to 1910. the site now stands the bergdorf goodman or neiman marcus building