Andrew Carnegie Mansion

The Andrew Carnegie Mansion is at 2 East 91st Street in the Carnegie Hill section of the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It stands on of land between Fifth Avenue and Central Park to the west, 90th Street to the south, and 91st Street to the north. The rectangular land lot occupies about half of its city block and covers , with a frontage of around on Fifth Avenue and on the side streets. Prior to the acquisition of additional property in the early 20th century, the site measured just over 200 feet on Fifth Avenue and 90th Street, and 230 feet on 91st Street. Built for the industrialist Andrew Carnegie and later converted into the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, the mansion was finished in 1902 Carnegie initially referred to the area around his home as "the Highlands of Fifth Avenue". A garden, designed by Guy Lowell and Richard Schermerhorn Jr., occupies the southern half of the site and wraps around to the western frontage. During the garden's construction, workers excavated the bedrock around the house to a depth of or . Workers used loam from the old Fleetwood Park Racetrack in the Bronx to fill and grade the pit. The garden originally had around 30 mature trees, which were clustered around the eastern boundary of the site; these included cherry, oak, chestnut, and beech trees, There were also flower beds and pathways, and, on the eastern side, a rock garden. was renamed the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden in 1991. Following a 2015 renovation, the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden retained its rock garden and pathways, and a seating area and a southern entrance to the mansion were added. There is also an elevated walkway next to the mansion, overlooking the garden. , people can access the garden without paying an admission fee or going through the museum first. The mansion is connected with 9 East 90th Street, and it abuts 15 and 17 East 90th Street and the Spence School to the east. The Church of the Heavenly Rest is directly across 90th Street to the south, The mansion is also part of Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile; it is near the Jewish Museum in the Felix M. Warburg House one block north, as well as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum one block south. ==Architecture==

The Carnegie Mansion was designed by Babb, Cook & Willard. The Washington Post described the house as "modified Georgian eclectic". The site includes 9 East 90th Street, which was completed in 1903 or 1905. Form and facade Main mansion The mansion is a -story structure, finished in brick and stone. The architects intended for the house's symmetrical design, as well as its use of relatively simple architectural details, to de-emphasize its large size. The western and eastern elevations have similar decorations to the northern and southern elevations, except that they are five bays wide. The first story of the facade is clad with rusticated stone blocks. which was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Early plans for the house called for the terrace to surround the entire mansion, but Carnegie ordered that the terrace be removed when the mansion was nearly completed. When the mansion was renovated in the mid-1990s, the steps in front of the main entrance were extended outward, and a ramp was installed behind a balustrade. The upper stories are clad with brick and have stone quoins at their corners. The southern elevation of the house is largely built of brick with stone trim, except the first story, which is made of rusticated blocks of white marble. The mansion was equipped with five electric elevators from the outset, at a time when many elevators were hydraulic. Two of the elevators carried passengers: one elevator ran only between the first and third floors, while another was used by servants and traveled between the attic and the lowest basement. There was a central-heating plant, generators, cooling system, and artesian well. The heating plant was large enough to meet the needs of an ocean liner, Outdoor air was drawn from openings in the attic and through air filters in the basement, then heated, moistened, and distributed to each room. On the first through third floors, the temperature in each room was controlled by a thermostat. Water from the New York City water supply system was drawn into the basement, filtered, and then separated into drinking and domestic water. Edward F. Caldwell & Co. installed an electric lighting system throughout the mansion. The electricity, sewage, and water intakes could all be regulated by a master switchboard. There are three basements, which accommodated the house's heating system. other sources state that there were 66 or 80 rooms. Later subdivisions increased the number of rooms in the mansion to 88 The mansion was built with a total floor area of . On each floor, a west–east hall spans the entire house. Various portraits of Andrew Carnegie were placed around the house when he lived there. in addition to motifs depicting acorns and oak leaves. The stairway originally led from the first floor to the third; one flight was removed in the 1940s or 47 rooms. Basements The third and lowest basement level had three water filters, a large furnace, and a coal bin that could store of coal. A miniature railroad ran between the furnace and coal bin, carrying up to of coal at once; The second basement had a laundry, ironing room, and drying room; and pipes connecting the furnace to radiators on the upper floors. There was a wine closet next to the kitchens, Also in the first basement was a central telephone switchboard that served 20 phones in the house, In addition to housing the mechanical plant, the basements were used for storing gifts and as roller-skating rinks for the female servants (who were not allowed to leave the house at night). First story The layout of the first story was dictated by the dimensions of the dining room, on the southern side of the house, which was the first room to be designed. The entrance on 91st Street leads to a marble entrance vestibule. which became a cloakroom in 1976. One visitor described the waiting room as a space with dark woodwork, accessed by a small flight of stairs. Originally, the Carnegies' business visitors were directed to the waiting room, while friends and family went straight, into the main hall. the Cooper-Hewitt's gift shop and the Tarallucci e Vino cafe occupy parts of the first floor. The main hall runs from west to east. The walls and coffered ceiling are made of oak; when the house was being built, Carnegie rejected proposals to clad the walls with marble or to hang tapestries on them. On the hall's south wall is a tympanum made of stained glass, as well as a doorway to the reception room, which is decorated with roundels. Lincrusta friezes topped the walls. made by Aeolian-Skinner, A decorative fireplace was on the western end of the hall, opposite the organ. The main hall also had various pieces of furniture, in addition to a statue of Mercury, the god of commerce. Following a 2014 renovation, there is a visitor desk on the west side of the main hall, which can be hidden behind a door during major events. The southern edge of the house contains the drawing room, reception room, dining room, breakfast room, and a conservatory extending off the breakfast room. and Tiffany glass windows. Extending off the breakfast room is the conservatory (officially the Barbara Riley Levin Conservatory while the picture gallery became an auditorium. On the west side of the first floor are Carnegie's private office, library room, and den. The library room, designed by the artist Lockwood de Forest, It has a fireplace with the motto "The Hearth Our Altar, Its Flame Our Sacred Fire" inscribed into it. The doorway to the office was only high; this was done to draw attention away from Carnegie's short stature, Both rooms have oak wainscoting and inscriptions in gold letters atop the walls. Reflecting Carnegie's heritage, many of the inscriptions were quotations from Scottish poets. When Carnegie was alive, both rooms displayed awards that Carnegie had received, as well as objects relating to him, including a certificate of Carnegie's first-ever stock purchase. Originally, there was a stuffed barracuda at the top of the stairway landing, as well as a central hall with columns, painted pilasters, and oak ceiling beams. The hallway still exists and has ornate doorways leading off either side. Andrew, his wife Louise, and their only child Margaret each had their own bedrooms at the northwest, southwest, and southeast corners of the second floor, respectively. Both parents had their own bathrooms; Louise Carnegie also had her own dressing room and sitting room, while Margaret had her own sitting room or day nursery. in Margaret's former bedroom. Third and fourth stories On the third story were bedrooms for the Carnegies' visitors. Andrew and his daughter had their own gymnasiums on the third floor, There were also a guest bedroom, a trunk room, multiple bathrooms, and bedrooms for guests' servants. The Barbara and Morton Mandel Design Gallery, The house's servants originally had the fourth story to themselves. The fourth floor was subdivided after the Carnegies died. Since the 1990s, the Design Resource Center has occupied the fourth story, extending into 9 and 11 East 90th Street. The fourth story includes the Henry Luce Study Room for American Art and the Drue Heinz Study Center for Drawings and Prints. ==History==

Andrew Carnegie, born in Scotland in 1835, immigrated to the U.S. as a child. During the late 19th century, he founded the Carnegie Steel Company, which became one of the largest American steel companies. Carnegie had shared a hotel suite with his mother until he married Louise Whitfield at the age of 51; they then lived near Fifth Avenue and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan. The family stayed at their house in Scotland, the Skibo Castle, during the summer. Carnegie had been happy with the 51st Street house, which had been a wedding gift for Louise, and their daughter Margaret was born there in 1897. Carnegie Hill had retained a somewhat rural character until the 1880s, when brownstone row houses were built there, Real-estate agent Lawrence B. Elliman obtained options for land on both Fifth Avenue and Riverside Drive; at the time, many of the city's wealthiest people lived on Riverside Drive. Land acquisition In December 1898, Carnegie bought all of the lots on Fifth Avenue between 90th and 92nd streets for about $900,000, a rate of about . The acquisition, which Butler and an associate had arranged in secrecy, At the time, the site was about 20 blocks away from any other mansion on Fifth Avenue. while the author Michael Kathrens says that Carnegie had wanted the site because his doctor had advised him to seek "the park and sunshine" for his daughter. He ultimately decided to erect his mansion on the southern plot. Carnegie also acquired several houses on the south side of 91st Street, which he rented exclusively to his friends, such as Carl Schurz. Carnegie retained ownership of several lots to protect his home's value. He did sell off parcels over the years, but only to "congenial neighbors", Carnegie sold four land lots on 91st Street to the businessman William Douglas Sloane in December 1900, After Sloane and Carnegie swapped additional land in 1901, Another industrialist, James Burden's uncle I. Townsend Burden, bought the site at the southwest corner of 92nd Street and Fifth Avenue in December 1902. Carnegie sold a parcel east of Hammond's house in 1909, which became the home of the lawyer John B. Trevor, and he sold the corner of Fifth Avenue and 91st Street to the banker Otto H. Kahn in 1913. Carnegie sold off the last of his holdings on the northern block in 1916. Although Carnegie was wealthy enough to buy almost all the other lots directly surrounding the house, he never bought the lots at 14–18 East 90th Street to the south; the reason for this is not known. Carnegie was also initially unable to buy the sites at 9 and 11 East 90th Street, although these lots were both later connected to the mansion; The adjacent building at 11 East 90th Street housed George's brother William W. McAlpin. Design and construction During 1898, Carnegie's private secretary visited houses in other countries to determine what features to include in Carnegie's proposed mansion. Carnegie stated that he did not want "a grand palace", but rather "the most modest, plainest and most roomy house in New York". In contrast to Babb, Cook & Willard's Georgian design, Hardenbergh had drawn up a Châteauesque design, while Howard, Cauldwell & Morgan had devised an American colonial design. Carnegie was about to construct his mansion and garden by June 1899, The plans called for a four-story Dutch Colonial-style structure on 91st Street with an eastern wing and a terraced garden. Several contractors submitted bids to build the house, and Charles T. Wills received the general contract in January 1900. A model of the mansion was displayed at the Architectural League of New York the same year. having added a "winter garden", playroom, and nursery for her only child. He also contemplated erecting a marble wall to the east, blocking views from Madison Avenue. Carnegie requested numerous revisions to the design, causing disputes between him and the architects, which Butler had to mediate. The organ was initially supposed to cost $16,000, but this price increased after Carnegie requested several alterations to the organ, including changes to its bass register. In April 1901, the New York Large Tree Company began delivering around 30 mature trees to the site, some measuring up to tall and in diameter. By then, the house was nearly completed and was surrounded by a wooden construction fence. Trees were delivered from Westchester County, New York, via a custom-made wagon pulled by six horses. One newspaper wrote that the trees were intended to block views of a nearby tavern from the house. When the mansion was nearing completion in mid-1902, two hundred and fifty workers went on strike to protest low wages; the strike was resolved after less than a week. The mansion's cost was estimated at $1.5 million () Carnegie use The Carnegies moved into the house on December 12, 1902, having arrived on an ocean liner from the Skibo Castle. Louise's sister Stella Whitfield, who had lived with the couple since 1890, also moved into the house, living there until the 1910s. The Carnegies hosted their first event at the mansion, a housewarming party, the week after they moved in. The mansion did not include a garage, so Carnegie built a five-story, brick-and-marble parking garage nearby in 1905; that structure had space for five cars and also housed several servants. In contrast to other houses on Fifth Avenue, the Carnegie Mansion was never popular as a site for social events. In general, the Carnegie family stayed in the mansion from October to May. Carnegie typically spent his mornings working in the library and exercising; after an afternoon nap and a walk around Central Park, he hosted business visitors. Like other Gilded Age mansions, the Carnegie Mansion had numerous butlers, housekeepers, cooks, engineers, and garage workers; the Carnegies also had their own security force and secretaries. The mechanical systems alone were managed by a master engineer, three assistant engineers, and nine helpers. as well as piper Angus MacPherson. Unlike other wealthy New Yorkers, Carnegie did not mingle with high society; their own 25th anniversary in 1912, Margaret's debutante ball in 1916, and annual reunions of Carnegie's business partners. Musical performances often took place in the main hall, Despite the large number of libraries that Carnegie had funded worldwide, he seldom used his personal library in the mansion; he also spent relatively little on art and largely decorated the picture room with paintings by living artists. Carnegie began allowing local children to play in the mansion's garden in 1911, and Louise's brother Henry D. Whitfield designed a passageway between the house's conservatory and picture gallery in 1913. Carnegie bought a wooden shack on the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 90th Street in 1917 to prevent an apartment building from being erected there. Following the onset of World War I, the Carnegies stopped traveling to the Skibo Castle during the summers. The family instead obtained a summer house in Massachusetts; they continued to use the New York City mansion during the winter. Margaret Carnegie married Roswell Miller at the mansion in 1919, and Andrew Carnegie died later the same year. 1920s to 1940s Following Carnegie's death, the mansion was valued at $977,833 (). Louise Carnegie bought George McAlpin's house at 9 East 90th Street for her daughter and son-in-law for $250,000 in May 1920, and the house was renovated for the Millers at the end of 1920. The Millers furnished their house with some of the furniture from the Carnegies' Massachusetts home. The Carnegie and Miller houses were internally connected so Louise Carnegie could visit her daughter and son-in-law every day. The New York state government attempted to charge Louise a $55,000 inheritance tax after her husband's death, but the New York Court of Appeals ruled in 1922 that the tax did not need to be paid, as the Carnegies had co-owned the mansion. Later the same year, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court found that the legislation creating the inheritance tax violated the Constitution of New York, a decision upheld by the Court of Appeals. Louise Carnegie took an option on 11 houses across the street from the mansion in 1923. The next year, she sold the lot on the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 90th Street to the Church of the Heavenly Rest, subject to restrictions on the church's height and use. Events included the 1927 marriage of the Carnegies' niece Louise Whitfield, as well as sewing classes, student club meetings, parties in the mansion's garden, and concerts. Meanwhile, development in the area had increased following Andrew Carnegie's death. The Carnegie Mansion and the houses across 91st Street had been restricted to residential use, but the restriction was lifted in 1934 when the Kahn House across the street was sold to the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a girls' school. The mansion remained Louise Carnegie's residence in the 1940s, when The New York Times wrote that her continued occupancy of the house "may come as something of a surprise to many persons". The conservatory's roof, which was blacked out during World War II, was not restored until the 1970s. Following Louise Carnegie's death, the mansion remained largely intact, and it was maintained by the family steward Alexander Morrison and a skeleton crew. The Carnegie Corporation had no need to occupy the house, The proposal called for the house to contain the United Nations Secretariat's offices in addition to clubrooms. but ultimately the UN never moved to the mansion. Edgar I. Williams, whose brother was the writer and poet William Carlos Williams, and the building was closed for renovations two weeks later. The Community Service Society of New York funded the work. Although Carnegie's library remained in use as the school's library room, the secretary's office and drawing room were adapted into stacks and a reading room, respectively. and installed brighter lighting. 1950s and 1960s The writer Heather Ewing stated that the house and garden were "a fortress of peace from the outside realities" and helped inspire the School of Social Work's students. The New York School for Nursery Years, an institution affiliated with the School of Social Work, moved into 9 East 90th Street in October 1954. Although the School of Social Work did not pay rent, by the mid-1950s it was spending $50,000 annually just on the house's operation. The School of Social Work found that it could not reduce the garden's annual budget to less than $4,000; The School of Social Work became part of Columbia University in 1959 and announced that it would move from the mansion to Columbia's main campus in Morningside Heights "as soon as possible". The School of Social Work's relocation plans prompted concerns about the mansion's future, especially as other mansions on Fifth Avenue's "Millionaires' Row" were being demolished. the School of Nursery Years moved to the Carnegies' old garage. The Carnegie Corporation notified the School of Social Work in January 1967 that the school would have to leave the mansion within two years. Smithsonian use As early as October 1967, the Smithsonian Institution was negotiating to lease the mansion from the Carnegie Corporation. Although several other entities had expressed interest in the building, the Carnegie Corporation's secretary said it was almost certain the Smithsonian would get the lease. The museum was to pay $1 annually for 16 years, and a design show in 1974. Taylor initially had difficulties raising money for renovations because the Smithsonian rented, rather than owned, the mansion. This gift allowed the Cooper-Hewitt to begin raising money. By the beginning of 1973, the museum's collection had been relocated into the mansion's ancillary spaces, and local residents were using the house's garden. while construction firm New Again was the general contractor. Although Hugh Hardy of HHPA did not want to restore the house to its exact appearance in the 1900s, he hired Italian craftsmen to restore the old architectural details. the grand stairs were reopened, and an elevator was installed. Bedrooms were combined to create a single large gallery and several smaller ones. In addition to the interior work, the museum planted 30,000 tulips in the mansion's garden. and the organ in the main hall was removed to Roslyn Harbor. the Cooper-Hewitt Museum soft opened within the mansion in March 1976, Museum officials planned to host contemporary exhibitions and other events at 9 East 90th Street. 1980s and 1990s The Cooper-Hewitt Museum saw 250,000 visitors within a year of its reopening at the Carnegie Mansion. In 1979, the Arthur Ross Foundation offered a $100,000 grant to the Cooper-Hewitt to restore the mansion's garden. The Cooper-Hewitt celebrated the tenth anniversary of its occupancy of the mansion in 1987. The museum had still not raised enough money for the second phase of renovations. HHPA devised plans for a new structure to replace the museum's staff parking lot. This plan would cost $23 million, of which half would be provided by Congress and half raised through private sources, although Congress had not agreed to provide funding. There was not enough space for the gift shop, which occupied one of the mansion's halls. The museum also had no loading dock, and workers had to walk around the block every time they wanted to transport objects between the main mansion and 9 East 90th Street. The Cooper-Hewitt also said it would create a master plan for the garden and the staff parking lot. At the time, the mansion was not fully accessible to people with disabilities; Pilgrim, who used a wheelchair, had to use a service entrance. The project was initially planned to cost $10 million, but Smithsonian secretary Michael Heyman placed the plans on hold in late 1994 due to cost overruns. One major donation came from interior designer Agnes Bourne, who sold the San Francisco house where she had resided for 11 months, and then donated $2 million to the museum. Pilgrim announced in May 1995 that the mansion's exhibition galleries would close for renovation, The 91st Street entrance was rebuilt, and elevators were installed to make the mansion and the 90th Street townhouses fully accessible. The mansion's first-floor exhibit space reopened in September 1996. and it had only of gallery space. As such, the Cooper-Hewitt had to close galleries every time a new exhibit was set up, and it had limited flexibility to present shows from other design museums. There was no freight elevator, and all exhibits had to be brought into the house through the main entrance. but he changed his mind after the museum experienced staffing, budgetary, and exhibit shortages. The museum announced plans in mid-2003 to rearrange galleries, During the mid-2000s, the museum added an admission desk to the mansion and built an digital-design gallery in the basement. News media reported in February 2005 that the Cooper-Hewitt was considering a $75 million proposal by Beyer Blinder Belle to construct three basement stories under the mansion's garden, thereby nearly quadrupling gallery space to . A freight elevator and restaurant would also be added. That year, the museum launched a capital campaign to raise funds for the renovation and the museum's endowment; it had raised $21.5 million by April 2007. The Cooper-Hewitt hired Gluckman Mayner Architects to design the renovation, along with Beyer Blinder Belle as preservation consultants. The Smithsonian began renovating the two townhouses on 90th Street, The mansion's exhibition galleries closed for renovations in July 2011, and the Cooper-Hewitt had raised $54 million by the end of that December, allowing work on the mansion to commence. Thirteen firms helped redesign the mansion, including Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which redesigned the galleries. In addition to the new gallery and relocated offices, the project involved restoring architectural details and adding a freight entrance, a cafe, an enlarged gift shop, and restrooms. The restaurant was scrapped because it would have cost $7 million to dig into the bedrock. The museum reopened on December 12, 2014, the 112th anniversary of the Carnegies' move into the house. Additional renovations to the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden were completed in 2015. The same year, the U.S. Green Building Council gave the mansion and the two 90th Street townhouses a LEED Silver green-building certification. ==Impact==

Reception Although Carnegie had intended for the mansion to be relatively plain from the start, the New-York Tribune reported in 1901 that "many people are disappointed by the plainness of the house". The Atlanta Constitution compared the mansion's dimensions to the one-and-a-half-story homestead where Carnegie was born. The Buffalo Enquirer wrote that, despite the paucity of exterior detail, the interior was as elaborate as the William A. Clark House, which itself was compared to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's building. A writer for Brooklyn Life praised Carnegie as "the first millionaire [on Fifth Avenue] who had the courage to have a yard", while another writer, in The Construction News, said the house's garden "makes it noteworthy among all New York houses". A journalist named Lucy Cleveland wrote in 1910 that she was in "a kind of awe" over the mechanical floors. By the late 1920s, a New York Times writer described the Carnegie and Frick mansions as the "largest and most picturesque of the remaining homes" on Fifth Avenue, as many mansions on the avenue were being razed and replaced with apartments. Architectural critic Henry Hope Reed Jr. wrote in 1961 that the house was architecturally "something of a disappointment" compared to the Kahn, Burden, and Hammond houses across 91st Street, particularly criticizing the large site as "hardly suitable for a large urban dwelling". Wolf Von Eckardt, a critic for The Washington Post, wrote in 1973 that the School of Social Work's renovations had made "the place look as much as a slum as possible". Sarah Booth Conroy of The Washington Post said in 1976 that the house "has rather the air of a counting-house: square, secure, stodgy but enormously ornate". After the 1990s renovation, Washington Post writer Benjamin Forgey said that the passageway from the mansion to the 90th Street townhouses was functional but bland, and he said the original mansion's interiors, while "historic artifacts in their own right, are not and will never be sympathetic settings for many types of exhibitions". Effects on development The mansion's construction spurred large amounts of high-end development in the neighborhood. The New York Sun wrote that Carnegie's 1898 acquisition of the site had caused the prices of vacant property in the neighborhood to increase, while The New York Times wrote that the purchase had moved the boundary of Fifth Avenue's Millionaires' Row northward. Although there was a "mad scramble" for land on Fifth Avenue south of 90th Street after Carnegie's purchase, there was also demand for sites on the avenue from 92nd to 100th Street. Land values on the section of Fifth Avenue near Carnegie's house doubled from 1898 to the mid-1910s. The presence of the mansion, combined with Carnegie's purchase and selective resale of the surrounding lots, contributed to the growth of Carnegie Hill. or Prospect Hill, Other wealthy individuals moved north of the Carnegie Mansion, including Otto Kahn, James W. Gerard, Willard Dickerman Straight (at 94th Street and Fifth Avenue), Edith Fabbri (at 7 East 95th Street), and René Sergent. Landmark designations The Carnegie Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 as a National Historic Landmark, marking it as a site that adds "exceptional value to the nation". It was also added to the New York State Register of Historic Places on June 23, 1980. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) first proposed the Carnegie Hill Historic District in 1966, which would have included both the Carnegie Mansion and 9 East 90th Street. In April 1970, the LPC proposed designating the Carnegie Mansion and 9 East 90th Street as separate individual landmarks. it was not initially part of the Carnegie Hill Historic District, which was designated the same year. Furthermore, due to opposition from Sidney Dillon Ripley, only the Carnegie Mansion was designated as an individual landmark. The land under 9 East 90th Street was also protected as the buildings shared a land lot, but the designation did not prevent unauthorized changes to that house. both structures were included in the expanded district. In addition, the 1972 film The Anderson Tapes, the 1973 film Godspell, the 1986 film ''Jumpin' Jack Flash, the 1987 film 84 Charing Cross Road, and the 1988 film Working Girl used the mansion as a filming location, as did the 1980s miniseries Master of the Game and I'll Take Manhattan''. The Cooper-Hewitt Museum presented an exhibition about the mansion's history inside the mansion itself in 1977. ==See also==