Why New York's Most Luxurious Mansion Demolished: The Tiffany Mansion

[@oldmoneymansions]

COMMENT: Have you seen any of the films featuring the Tiffany Mansion, such as “Manhattan” or "The Bonfire of the Vanities”?

[@argusfleibeit1165]

I don't have any memory of it being mentioned in "Manhattan". How could it be "featured" if if was demolished 40 years before the movie was made?

[@blondiegal6518]

​@@argusfleibeit1165old footage inserted into a movie

[@lisacav6916]

Tearing these georgous structures down is so heartbreaking. America has no respect for history and arts like Europe.

[@deniseparker6346]

Well said!

[@bigmacdaddy1234]

You are 100% correct.

[@D.N..]

Perhaps America has more respect for preserving historical buildings since Europe in WWII razed dozens of cites to the ground, Berlin, Warsaw , Rotterdam, Dresden. Cologne. Frankfurt, Coventry, etc etc

[@bigmacdaddy1234]

@@D.N.. No it does not.

[@D.N..]

@@bigmacdaddy1234 Take a look at Dresden before and after the war, or Berlin. etc

[@deniseparker6346]

1995, my late husband and I got married in Newport, RI, and spent our honeymoon touring many of the manions. One was in the Great Gatsby movie, but I can no longer remember which one 😢. I live in Ohio, 50 miles from Detriot, and have toured all the auto baron's mansions. I absolutely ❤ these old masions! Touring them takes you back in time.

[@anglosaxongirl]

It's insane that it was demolished!!! It couldn't have been used for a school, library, or homeless shelter. I'm sure the city had the funds for it.

[@LJB103]

Not sure why a mansion that was not on 5th Avenue would be considered "the jewel of Fifth Avenue?" Excellent video. The only remaining Tiffany designed mansion (Ayer mansion in Boston, MA) is currently up for sale for just under $15 million.

[@scottpetty4568]

@@hollandsemum1 I think you missed the point. The Tiffany Mansion was on Madison Avenue (not Fifth Avenue) and yet the video begins by calling it "the Jewel of Fifth Avenue".

[@yonahwardgrossman]

I have every book on NY architecture, particularly the Gilded Age and particularly mansions. The idea that somehow all great mansions were referred to as "5th Ave mansions" is ludicrous. There were colossal mansions on Madison (like the Tiffany) and Park Avenues as well as on Riverside Drive. No one then, and no one now ever included them as "5th Avenue mansions", excepting of course, this video. If you can show a single incidence of this happening, no matter how small or regional (other than by error) I'd be fascinated. @@hollandsemum1

[@walkabout16]

In New York City's bustling heart, a tale is sadly told, Of a mansion that once stood in grandeur, ageless and bold, The Tiffany Mansion, a symbol of opulence and grace, Now demolished, leaving an empty space. With elegance etched in every stone and spire, A residence of dreams, where desires aspire, Gilded rooms and secrets whispered in the halls, A storied mansion, where history enthralls. Yet time marches on, and fortunes tend to wane, Even the mightiest of structures can't always sustain, The shifting tides of progress, where the old meets the new, And in the name of change, some treasures we bid adieu. The Tiffany Mansion, once a gem of New York's skyline, With its grandeur, charm, and stories entwined, Now lies in ruins, a memory of the past, A moment captured in time, forever to last. But in the echoes of its memory, we recall, The splendor, the stories, and the grandeur of it all, New York's history etched in every brick and stone, In the annals of time, its legacy is known. Though the mansion may be gone, its spirit lives on, In the tales of bygone days, where elegance shone, And as New York City continues its endless race, The Tiffany Mansion's memory finds its place.

[@mamiefish4047]

The Tiffany Mansion was located at 898 Madison Avenue. Perhaps it should be the "Jewel of Madison Avenue"?

[@dmd5645]

Great video!. Bravo!. Didn't know those recent movie & television facts about the inclusion of the mansion. Fascinating!.

[@randalturner6234]

It’s because it’s not true.

[@MAMRetro]

I haven’t seen any of those movies, but I knew of the grandeur of the Tiffany mansion. Coupled with it was the destruction of Penn station, one of the greatest buildings ever constructed. The Metropolitan Opera House was another victim of the city’s real estate opulence. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, coupled with the New York historic preservation Society, saved many buildings, foremost the New York public library. I hope the organization continues its mission to save and to restore public buildings of note.

[@rahimshahid1937]

AWESOME AWESOME VIDEO THANK YOU FOR POSTING 🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@oldmoneymansions]

You are so welcome

[@MrEd9574]

my friend worked at Tiffany making lamps, she made an unbelievable lamp for free...she was amazing and generous.

[@PamelaDianeClark-mg7lt]

It saddens me, to think of these magnificent architectural wonders, being destroyed!!!!!!!!!! They were very expensive to maintain! Thus probably the very reason most were destroyed!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cultural preservation is of utmost importance!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least we still have the photographs, and museums!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@jdpb63]

The demolition of the Brokaw Mansion in Feb 1965 was a much greater factor than the Tiffany Mansion (demo'd 1936) in the creation, in Sept 1965, of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. It and two adjoining Brokaw houses make a brief appearance at ~ the 13 second mark.

[@profhortsunlover1536]

Young US will never be as beautiful and as visit-worthy as Ancient Europe.

[@JayYoung-ro3vu]

So, what now sits on the former Tiffany Mansion site?

[@jomama5186]

Because people don't see the value in the very limited and precious history of our country. They'd rather build something cheap and tacky in it's place. Also, we couldn't afford the resources and craftsmanship that went into these magnificent places. All through he South, there are mansions rotting away, with no historical funding to protect them because our govt would rather spend that money war mongering all over the world.

[@atomicwedgie8176]

That government money is my tax money. Saving all these historical places costs money... start by ponying up your own money and not everyone else's.

[@stevefranks1711]

It was the demolition of Pennsylvania Station in the 1960s that led to the historic preservation movement and legislation in New York City, not the demolition of the Tiffany mansion in the 1930s. Not sure this interesting video mentioned the exact site of the mansion: Madison Avenue and what? And, what replaced the mansion, what is on the site now?

[@jabeltz1]

It was located at Madison and 72nd St. it was replaced by a toney apartment building which is currently described as a “pricey condo”.

[@oltedders]

What an eyesore. Too bad we don't have more interior photos. The actual artistic expression of Louis' talent.

[@deniseparker6346]

I'm not being confrontational, but I am curious. Why do you think it to be an eyesore?

[@oltedders]

@deniseparker6346 The Queen Anne style of architecture was derided as a mongrel assemblage of various historical designs even in itsheyday. This behemoth of a building is visually ungainly, full of Stanford White's quirky innovations that add nothing but novel twists and turns to an already overwhelming display of more is better. I don't like it, even as period architecture.

[@deniseparker6346]

@oltedders Thanks. That was a good explanation, but I think we must agree to disagree. I liked it. You are right though. More interior pics would have been nice. 😊

[@oltedders]

@@deniseparker6346 For many, the Queen Anne style of architecture epitomizes the charm of the Victorian period. If you are a homeowner with a Queen Anne house, the exterior maintenance can be a costly nightmare searching for specialist craftsmen able to repair or restore

[@stuartlee6622]

Madison and where, exactly??

[@profhortsunlover1536]

Terrible shame to destroy it.

[@mfranssens]

I love Manhattan but don’t recall that bit in the film I’m going back to rewatch, sure I’ve got it somewhere.

[@LindaCarol-ig2ri]

who wants to pay maintenance, heat, and taxes on those mansions?

[@TullaRask]

Quite. If nations wants to keep them, they have to pay. Single families wont have the inclination or the money to do so.

[@stelladonaconfredobutler9459]

what happened to the glass? was they destroyed too?

[@randalturner6234]

What are you talking about at the end? who did the research about these movies serving as a backdrop? Oh and I loved the 5 photos of the home that we get to see over and over and over.

[@TullaRask]

I googled the address: The Tiffany Mansion at 72nd Street and Madison Avenue ?

[@KennyRigby-pd1vv]

Insanity not to cherish your history

[@brianfisher4940]

Interesting video. Im sure in its hayday it was quite the sight. Tastes change, structures outlive their usefulness. The mantion to me was gaudy. A vulgar display of wealth but had it not been for its roll during the war it was meaningless. As things do when not cared for or become unaffordable by those who own them they have to go.

[@lindamanuel9073]

In the past I used to think that the rich families in the Knickerbocker and Gilded Age had good taste, but, oh my God, I was wrong, I was really really wrong. Either gloomy and tacky or gloomy and gaudy.

[@rachelsremedies2602]

He’s buried in Brooklyn, NY!

[@gmdelemeester]

The mansion was on northeast corner of Madison and 72nd Street. Not on Fifth Avenue.

[@profhortsunlover1536]

it's an old reference

[@gmdelemeester]

Correction: was on northwest corner of Madison and 72nd.

[@dianawettstein7420]

I am very interested in history, mainly the “Golden age” I think people overlook the issues of the day. The women had no rights except what there parents and then husband wanted. You give great credit to your love of history.

[@sabrinafair35]

That is not true if you do your research. Especially affluent women.

[@yonahwardgrossman]

You clearly don't know what research is. Women were chattel at the time and because, like in nearly every point in history, a VERY FEW affluent women had some limited power, that doesn't mean that the other 99.999% had ANY. No sane person would want to be a woman during this period, and that includes the vast majority of even very affluent women. @@sabrinafair35

[@yonahwardgrossman]

Technically, this wasn't referred to as the "Golden Age", but as the "Gilded Age", specifically because the gold was only a thin covering over a base metal, just as the few ultra rich and their opulence overshadowed the massive societal poverty and misery beneath.

[@raskoly]

yeah, right... :)

[@cristinad4835]

Tartarian buildings....

[@PaulMoses-gj2sq]

Its all very tacky and overdone. Some things do stay the same. Wasted wealth in the hands of a few sociopaths.

[@bigmacdaddy1234]

That's why it should have been preserved. It will never be done again.

[@Beauloqs]

A hotch potch of many design ideas, just looks messy, fussy.

[@sharonlalli1414]

Hodge podge?