What Was the Last Mansion on Manhattan's Millionaire's Row?

Dive into the untold story of Manhattan's Millionaires' Row and explore the last palatial mansion ever built amidst skyscrapers. Join Ken on an exclusive tour of the William Ziegler House, a symbol of defiance and luxury in the heart of New York. From its incredible origins in a tale of adoption and fortune, to the lavish interiors resurrecting the Gilded Age's grandeur, discover how this hidden gem survived modernity.
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Location: Manhattan, New York
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Public Domain Photos from: Library of Congress
CC BY-SA 3.0Photos from: Wikipedia User: Joe Mabel
CC BY-SA 4.0 Photos from: Wikipedia User: Epicgenius, Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD
Assets from: Envato Elements
Music from Epidemic Sound

[@monkeygraborange]

They’re both so lovely for different reasons, and the fact that they’ve both survived given their locations is practically a miracle,

[@mixrousefamily687]

I’m always so relieved to hear that these amazing structures are still intact

[@rosepelzel4244]

The second one was far better. The first one felt like a mausoleum! Thanks, Ken!

[@BlaineShire]

The second one. The first one was too cold!

[@oltedders]

Definitely the 2nd house. Although having an open courtyard would be the ultimate luxury feature for a Manhattan home.

[@eleanorbuck715]

I liked the second mansion. Warm and inviting. The first one was too austere! Glad they survived, Ken!

[@StamperWendy]

So many artisans got to live out their dreams by being hired to ply their craft inside these beautiful homes! (Architects + garden designers included.) Thanks again!

[@craiggillett5985]

The loss of such beautiful buildings you feature really depress me. It’s just so sad how so much of American history has been destroyed. It was so refreshing to see two beautiful homes retained and well cared for.

[@jenpink4298]

I love the second house, but the central courtyard in the first one was amazing!

[@whammond511]

The Millionaire’s Row House was my favorite.

[@jenfitzpatrick7222]

The second one is beautiful and functional. A place where, despite being very grand, it’s a liveable space.

[@wildfireintexas]

The first house looks institutional, like a bank or a library. The second house is charming and seems very comfortable.

[@jefflawrentz1624]

His last mansion looked more like home to me. The first one was nice, but rather big and empty. I’m glad they both survive.

[@kevin7151]

Great video. A history told that might be lost otherwise. Thank you for sharing.

[@davidfaulkner8201]

Both are equally beautiful ! Think the one on Millionaires Row is my favorite. It is good that both have survived .

[@johnvonundzu2170]

Ziegler had impeccable taste and it is astonishing that his houses survived. I wouldn't describe the English house as a progression from the Italian one though, just very different & top quality work from two sophisticated architects with a sophisticated client. I had never seen these pics before - thank you for finding them & linking the two houses - as they should be. Excellent vid as always! Looking forward to you doing 7 E. 95th street, the Edith Fabbri house!

[@sandybruce9092]

I preferred the second house - it seemed much more livable - the first house was dark and heavy - and stuffy!! I guess that was the style but it was too dark and gloomy with all that marble and dark wood. I’m really glad that these two homes have survived as when I watch your videos, I’m always wondering what is currently built there - I’ve only visited NYC a few times and it pretty much drives me crazy😀🥴🥴

[@keithdavis9897]

love them both. I hurts that so many incredible homes, built by the elite from those days, have been torn down. Your channel gives us insight and educates us about what these beautiful homes looked like, back in the day. Thank you

[@snoozinghipo]

Finally a mansion (or 2) that survives! ♥

[@claireburkus8497]

Glad they still stand!! Since I am a Philadelphia gal….the second home is more to my liking..always had a love for our country’s early architectural styling!!

[@keithdavis9897]

very interesting story and beautiful home. Thank you for bringing this to us

[@djadamblair1]

Just love your videos. I pause and rewind twenty times per video to see details again.

[@williamsmith5549]

OMG, everything I love in a great home! Symmetry, logic, historical accuracy, balanced proportions, and luxurious without being over-ripe and garish. So splendid, thanks for sharing as always, Ken!

[@LJB103]

Excellent video. I would have to say that the midtown house is more to my taste.

[@KenBCt79]

It’s amazing that two of these man’s homes survived. Thank you for the beautifully executed double feature.

[@Colorbrush21]

I loved the second mansion. It looked like a luxurious but warm and welcoming home. The first one looked like an institution from the outside and inside.

[@donnababcock3687]

I love your channel, was glad to see both homes still standing

[@jonclassical2024]

I could live in the 2nd house, the first one was cold and dark. Thank Ken!

[@ksavage681]

Whew. Glad they made it.

[@williamtyre523]

Another great video and I like that it covered two different houses. I was so surprised at the end to find they were both still standing. I didn't care for the first one, all the stone on the interior would have made it feel cold. The second house was nicer, especially that amazing staircase.

[@michaelplunkett8059]

Just needed tapestries.

[@Kenny.Michael.Fox1120]

If you google Academy Mansion NYC you can see current color photos of the first mansion. It really is quite spectacular.

[@gandfgandf5826]

Yes. Those interiors are very grand and seem to still be intact.

[@gandfgandf5826]

Street address is 2 E 63rd St, New York, NY 10065, USA and for those who like to see floor plans the halfpuddinghalfsauce blog has them. Can't post a link because YT deletes them when I try.

[@russboulet2228]

My favorite house, so far. The first house, that is.

[@desertsunman5880]

Both! Thx for another GREAT Tour👏😎

[@Lizwindsor]

Excellent detail and thought put into this video. Easy to follow the flow of the house.

[@vickilindberg6336]

Love his taste in both houses.

[@NewRon2003us]

I enjoyed the first mansion more than the second yet liked both !!

[@hslev]

I live on 55th St. just a few blocks from the second house and have walked past it a hundred times. It is still in beautiful shape, although it now has a commercial client.

[@kendranewton9071]

The second one was my favorite, loved that spiral staircase.

[@collegeri]

That second house is so lovely. There’s a house on Park Avenue that looks similar, I think it’s still privately owned today.

[@gandfgandf5826]

Both magnificent and both still standing! I choose the second one I think. The first one really needs to be at the centre of a huge garden.

[@susanpolastaples9688]

Hard choice bc i like features of both. I prefer crystal chandeliers overdressed Italiana ones and I love libraries.

[@marygrummer9189]

The house he shared with wife #2 looked cozier and more livable.

[@peterlarsen7779]

I have to say, I prefer his _first_ mansion... Not that there's anything wrong with the second one. The first one just has that bit more of opulence 🥰🥰

[@NelsonClick]

Both are wonderful. I liked that they weren't so desperately ostentatious and were practical enough to remain standing to this day. Still just as wonderful. He lucked out having an Uncle rescue him from an orphanage but paid that life debt back in full by having an ungrateful first wife. I love all the grandiosity this channel brings. Thank you. 😊

[@martijnkeisers5900]

N.Y. could have been so beautiful..

[@mikenixon2401]

I'm just realizing how difficult it would be to build a private home in the middle of a business district and not appear out of place. h, I think I like the second mansion better. No particular reason. Good report, Ken. Thanks.

[@anitahamm3171]

I loved both mansions

[@devonna6171]

The second, federal-style mansion is much cozier. I prefer it. ❤

[@davidrahnis7341]

Talk about turning lemons into lemonade! The man came so close to being an orphan.

[@aviajarehema7393]

Nice video. Who owns these homes now in the present time?

[@EsteeDarla]

I love them both

[@jerrys9226]

The second one by far was warmer and more stylish.

[@jetsons101]

They were both nice in their own way, but for me my Mansion "I wish" would have to have front, back and side yards. Thanks for your time, work and posting.....

[@nikmills]

Who lives in the last mansion today, one wonders? Strange to see air conditioners sticking out the windows of such a house. Wouldn't a more subtle system be affordable to someone living in that building? Also, imagine how nice to have that courtyard these days?

[@BellaCroyda]

I love both of them. I pass the 5th Avenue house everyday.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

The second house for me and in particular the living room. I could spend many happy hours there alone or with friends.

[@DLeadVox]

💛💛💛

[@wessebaggers]

1st one ❤ but liked them both

[@21RChristian]

I don't know I really love the first one! the second one is beautiful but that central courtyard !

[@stacylindsey9729]

I like the dining room in the first house. I have a cast iron standing candelabra that would fit there perfectly. I love the stairs in the second one they're sexy and sleek.

[@sutherland9]

OUCH! At :34 "his father put he and Mrs. Brandt's kids up for adoption" should be "his father put his and Mrs. Brandt's kids up for adoption". That error really surprised me

[@mileshigh1321]

I liked the library in the first house, but I really liked most of the second house better!

[@Peter125o]

What are the mansions used for now?

[@user-yi7mg5ig6l]

I’m making note of both the addresses so the next time I venture into the City, I can visit them.

[@jilltagmorris]

❤😊

[@MsJellyBellyLove]

I'll take the second one.

[@TheDarkDresser]

I prefer the last existing mansion. I'm glad that it wasn't demolished.

[@ruthmaund4634]

Can we go in to see one or both of these houses?

[@Gertyutz]

FYI--Millionaire's Row was upper 5th Avenue.

[@brentonjoseph]

Heaven on Fifth! 😌

[@chuckspoke]

It is something it still stands. US will do a tear down to build a mickey dees. Is the first still a private resident, multi-unit or commercial property?

[@mikesevilla9627]

Is this house open for tours?

[@MichaelDugenia]

I prefer the second mansion. It's more my personal style. The first is nice but just too opulent for my taste. Though both are beautiful.

[@emilys3458]

AH, Fitzgerald!

[@Polemodrome]

This last mansion wasn't as extravagant as the others in NYC, especially not in comparison to Clark's house, but still delightfully luxurious. I am glad it wasn't demolished, although making way for a hospital is at least for a good cause, unlike some disgusting brutalist appartment block or an upteenth skyscraper. I hate skyscrapers, the blandest building type, mostly characterized by a hard-on for heights. Corporate symbols are always terrible.

[@judithmitchell4667]

Was one of these mansions exteriors used in the movie "Kate and Leopold"?

[@ThisHouse]

I haven’t seen the movie, but I don’t remember reading that either of them were used as backdrops

[@judithmitchell4667]

@@ThisHouse I was just curious. One of them looks like it. It takes place in modern times NYC about a rich character who grows up in the house in the 1800's when the Brooklyn bridge was being built and accidentally falls off it into a time wormhole and finds himself in modern times at the same part of NYC. They mention that his house is one of the few mansions still standing and is now a museum. It starred Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan - Excellent film. Check it out sometime. Have a lovely day. Blessings - Judith 🎤🎭

[@ThisHouse]

@@judithmitchell4667 sounds like a movie I’d enjoy, thanks for recommending it!

[@deborahmeyer3493]

5th Avenue

[@jamesdugan3079]

The 2nd house.

[@clairwaucaush7225]

It's great they are both still standing. Are they both still used as homes? Or offices? Great video Ken. I liked both houses, though the first was my favorite.

[@ThisHouse]

Glad you enjoyed it! Neither of them are used as homes anymore, but they each (surprisingly) retain many of their original interior finishes!

[@winkieblink7625]

First house

[@anteeker]

The second one by far. The first was too cold and sterile with no sense of livability, like living in a tomb. The second one felt like you could move in and be comfortable.

[@stevenobinator2229]

WHO OWNS THEM NOW..... YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED FOR A LOOK INSIDE

[@candy9986]

Please consider doing the Jerome Mansion in Manhattan. Jerome was Winston Churchill's maternal grandfather. On East 26th Street, it later was the location for the legendary Manhattan Club - politicians, horse breeders, millionaires, some scandals. Thanks 🙏

[@ThisHouse]

Thank you for the suggestion, cheers!

[@neoream3606]

Luckily, that millionaire's mansion didn't get bulldozed and replaced with a hospital. We just have too many hospitals around. And not enough signs of opulent wealth.

[@neoream3606]

Just kidding I do love your channel

[@vickiephilpitt7697]

I actually think the second house was/is nicer. It was more traditional and "warmer" than the first. The first was too sterile, no paintings hanging anywhere and didn't show any kind of character. Kind of " blah."

[@ludovica8221]

Italian derived words with "zz" are pronounced TZ, eg pizza, You dont say Peeza do you? same with palazzo = pronounced "palatzo"

[@deniseeulert2503]

Who owns them now?

[@nottera]

The first one was bought by Leonard Blavatnik years ago

[@jstantongood5474]

Best not to say "modern day"as a synonym for " today" . All UsA history is modern really.

[@atanleejr]

can someone explain how 30 million (inheritance) is the "modern day equivalent" of more than a billion dollars and the 1 million (cost of the house) is the modern day equivalent of 18 million dollars?

[@ThisHouse]

Great question! His inheritance not only included cash, but a controlling interest in Sr.’s companies. Also, the dollar inflated significantly between the time of Sr.’s passing and when junior built the house

[@Gigie2Z]

Pronounced “ Warrick-shir (as in shirt).

[@ThisHouse]

Thanks for the tip!

[@deluxe91]

It's pronounced 'wah rick sha' not 'war wick shy er'. I know that doesn't make sense but that's the way it is.🙃

[@ThisHouse]

Thanks for the clarification

[@callmeishmael7452]

You could improve your presentation tremendously with an explanation of where millionaire’s row actually is in Manhattan. A small map shot plus diagram.