The 1932 Johnston L. Redmond Mansion - 117-119 East 70th St

Johnston Livingston Redmond graduated from Harvard in 1911 with a degree in architecture.  He never practiced that craft, however.  After serving as a ensign on the U. S. destroyer Stevens during World War I, he focused his time and money on charitable causes and social activities.

Redmond's mother, Estelle Livingston, was descended from Robert Livingston who arrived in the Province of New York in 1673.  The daughter of Johnston Livingston, she had inherited the family homestead, Callendar House, in Tivoli, New York, built by Henry Gilbert Livingston in 1794.  Johnston's father, Geraldyn Redmond, made his significant fortune from his banking firm, Redmond & Co., and the linen business he had inherited from his father, William Redmond.

Johnston Redmond's personal wealth was greatly increased when his mother died on June 17, 1916 leaving an estate of between $3 and $4 million; followed by Geraldyn's death in November 1918.  Still technically in mourning, his relatively subdued wedding on June 5, 1919 to Katharine Sergeant Haven was held in her parents' French-style mansion at No. 18 East 79th Street.

While Johnston and his two brothers, Geraldyn Jr. and Roland, shared in their parents' estates, including the massive Redmond double mansion at 701-705 Park Avenue, it was Johnston who inherited Callender House.  His and Katharine's city house was at No. 705 Park Avenue.  They soon acquired another country estate, The Plains, in Virginia where they enjoyed horses and hunting.

Johnston was active in the civic live in Dutchess County, where his family's ancestral home was located.  He was a trustee of Vassar Brothers Hospital and of the Northern Dutchess Health Service Center; aided in relief work around Red Hook, New York, and was a director of the First National Bank of Red Hook.  He went so far as to represent the County Boys Scouts Council in the National Council and arranged for two locals scouts to attend the World Congress in England.

On March 1, 1921 The New York Times reported that millionaire architect Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes had purchased "the three five-story residences at 113 to 117 East Seventieth Street" between Park and Lexington Avenues with the intention "to alter the buildings into American-basement houses with elevators."

That never happened.

Instead, on October 2, 1929 Johnston L. Redmond purchased No. 117.  Then, three months later almost to the day, he bought the house next door at No. 119, giving him an expansive 30-foot wide plot.

Redmond could have used his architectural training to design the new mansion himself.  Instead, he turned to an architect with a social pedigree as impressive as his own, Frederic Rhinelander King.  He was a member of two of the oldest and wealthiest families of Newport and New York City.  He had graduated from the Harvard three years before Redmond, then studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris for three years.

The onslaught of the Great Depression did not hamper the Redmonds' plans.  King filed plans for the new house in August 1931, estimating the cost at $170,000--about $2.7 million today.   As work progressed four months later, The New York Times exhibited astonishment at the flurry of lavish private home construction.  On December 6 it noted that "at this present time in four through-fares on the upper east side...seven expensive dwellings have recently been finished or are nearing completion."  The article pointed out the Redmond mansion, saying the 70th Street block "in recent years has become one of the choice residential blocks in the city."

King produced what years later architectural historian Christopher Gray would call "a majestically impassive limestone house almost as good as anything on the Royal Crescent in Bath, England."   Gray was referring, apparently, to the quiet elegance of the mansion and not its architectural style.  (The Royal Crescent homes, designed by John Wood in the 18th century are Georgian, the 70th Street mansion is neo-French Classic.) 

Indeed, Frederick King focused on understated dignity, foregoing fussy ornamentation.  The sheer surface of the stone facade was broken only by the blind arches of the first and second floors, the semi-circular iron balconies of the French windows, and a delicate wave-crest bandcourse.  Above the simple stone cornice a slate-shingled mansard wore modest arched dormers.

The Redmonds had four children--Katharine Sergeant, Moira Livington, Thomas Johnston Livingston, and Joseph Woodward.  They traveled between their three homes, often entertaining on the 81-foot yacht De Grasse moored at Tivoli, near Callendar House.  MotorBoating described it in June 1920 as having "two staterooms, one with two berths and saloon below aft, and a dining saloon on deck.  Good crews' quarters are provided, with shower bath."  The captain was outfitted with his own stateroom and office.

But Johnston would not enjoy his new mansion for long.  In January 1933 the family traveled from Callendar House to their Virginia estate for hunting.  Soon after arriving Redmond fell ill with the flu and was bedridden.  Then, while "riding to the hounds," Katharine was thrown from her horse and broke both legs.

According to The Rhinebeck Gazette, Redmond "rose from his bed to take Mrs. Redmond to Emergency hospital" about 50 miles away in Washington.  The exposure and strain worsened his condition, which developed into pneumonia.  The 45-year old died about a week later, on February 12, in the same hospital where his wife was recuperating.

Katharine was released from the hospital to accompany her husband's body back to New York.  His funeral was held in the Church of Notre Dame in Manhattan and he was buried in the family graveyard in Tivoli.

Katharine inherited all three of the Redmond properties.  She remained in the 70th Street house, tending to her own charitable causes.  Then in April 1940 she quietly married William Henry Osborn, an executive with Phelps Dodge, with no public fanfare.  Several days later The New York Times mentioned "Although the place of the ceremony was not disclosed, a small reception was given at the home of the bride's father, 760 Park Avenue."

The newlyweds remained at No. 117 East 70th Street with Katharine's children.  When war broke out in Europe, Katharine added that cause to her agenda.  On December 1, 1943 The Times noted that she was named "vice chairman in charge of women's war bond activities in Manhattan" and noted she was the "former head of the women's speakers' bureau of the State War Finance Committee.  She was simultaneously a board member of he Community Service Society and the New York Hospital Social Service, and sat on the advisory committee of the Cooper Union Art School.

But her attention would be focused much closer to home beginning in 1944 when Katharine became the first of her children to marry.   Her wedding to U. S. Marine Paul Gordon Evans on June 6 was held in Church of Notre Dame on Morningside Drive where her father's funeral had been held.  Afterward a "small reception" was given in the 70th Street house.

The remaining children would be married in rapid-fire succession.  On December 14, 1944 Woodward married Elizabeth Brewster Aldrich, granddaughter of former United States Senator Nelson W. Aldrich; on June 25, 1947 Thomas Johnston Livingston Redmond was married to Mary Ruth Millard in the Church of Notre Dame; and on September 24, 1949 Moira married Oliver Dwight Filley, Jr. in St. Sylvia's Church in Tivoli.

There would be at least two more wedding reception at No. 117.  On June 10, 1954 Katharine's cousin, Pamela Fowler McKim, widow of Robert James McKim, Jr., was married in St Bartholomew's Church to George Ronald Furse.  The guests came to the Osborn house following the ceremony.  And on the evening of March 17, 1967 the wedding reception of Katharine Serena Evans and Robert Rose Carson, Jr. was held here.

Katharine continued to be active in social and philanthropic efforts.  When the annual Imperial Ball in the Waldorf-Astoria for the benefit of the Hospitalized Veterans Service of the Musicians Emergency Fund was being planned in the fall of 1956, the organization committee held its first meeting in the 70th Street house.  Among the co-chairs was Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Jr.

Somewhat surprisingly, Katharine and William allowed the exterior of their home to be filmed as the townhouse of a socialite character in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, starring Jon Voight.  In the movie, lead character Joe Buck's hopes are dashed when the smartly-dressed woman he was following disappears into the mansion.

William Osborn was 76 years old when he fell from a horse on the couple's upstate estate, Forest Farm near West Point, in June 1971.   He did not recover from the shock and died in his sleep on July 28.  Three years later, on January 11, 1974, Katharine died at the age of 75.

The Redmond house became Irving Homes Arts.  Its published mission was to provide "persons dedicated to the homemaking profession the training needed to carry out hospitality careers with human virtues, sound Christian doctrine, and concern for others consistent with the social teachings of the Roman Catholic Church."

Known today as Alderton House, the Catholic-based, non-profit corporation's mission is "to educate and train women to work well and with purpose in their profession."  Programs are offered throughout the city in cooperation with other organizations, like the Murray Hill Institute, and The Avenue Leadership Program, Etc.

Other than a barely-noticeable bronze placard next to the door, there is no evidence that the Redmond mansion is anything other than a private dwelling.  Its chaste facade is virtually unaltered since its completion in 1932.

photographs by the author

The J. Harper Poor Mansion -- No. 33 East 69th Street

In the first years of the 20^th century the Upper East Side brownstones from the 1870s off Central Park were an endangered species.  Many wealthy New Yorkers who bought up the old rowhouses either dramatically altered them into up-to-date mansions, or razed them and started from scratch.

Two of these were James Harper Poor and his brother, Charles Lane Poor.  The men had briefly been partners in J. Harper Poor & Co., a dry goods commission firm, from 1900 to 1903.  But Charles, who was a well-known astronomer and scientist, moved on to other endeavors.  The split in their business relationship did not weaken their close family ties and in 1910 they planned side-by-side mansions.

The men purchased property on the site of the demolished Union Theological Seminary.  James Harper Poor acquired No. 33, while Charles bought No. 35.  Interestingly, they chose different architects—J. Harper hiring the firm of Howells & Stokes; while his brother commissioned Walker & Gillette.

Better known for their institutional buildings—St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University, Woodbridge Hall at Yale, and Centennial Hall for Jacksonville, Florida’s Edward Waters College, for instance—the architects filed plans for J. Harper Poor’s new 25-foot wide mansion early in September 1910. 

American Architect and Building News, 1914 (copyright expired)

Construction was completed two years later.  The limestone-clad, neo-French Classic mansion rose four stories.   Each of the pairs of narrow, multipaned windows at the second floor was unified by a large arch and decorative balustrade.  At the third floor, two stone balconies fronted sets of arched French doors set within carved enframements.

American Architect and Architecture, February 10, 1915 (copyright expired)

The architects dealt with with their clients' wishes for "large light rooms, foyers and impressive stair treatments," according to critic M. B. Stapley, on a lot between two other row houses.  The Brickbuilder explained "The solution in this case was to build the house around a patio, Spanish fashion, which patio practically divides it in two laterally, with the staircase and hall as connecting link between front and rear portions."  The glass ceiling of the "patio" flooded the interior rooms with light.

The Brickbuilder, 1914 (copyright expired)

The 50-year Poor was married to the former Evelyn Bolton.  Moving in to the new house with them was daughter Mildred; and daughter Evelyn and her husband Philip Parkhurst Gardiner.  

The "patio" was in the center of the house, relieving it of the common gloomy interiors of rowhouses.  The Brickbuilder 1914 (copyright expired)

But despite his extensive wealth, it appeared Poor overextended himself.  On April 10, 1914 The Sun reported that the Union Theological Seminary had filed suit “against J. Harper Poor to foreclose two mortgages on the latter’s residence at 33 East Sixty-ninth street.”  The outstanding mortgage was $150,000—over $3.6 million in 2015 dollars.

James Harper Poor -- Textile World, August 30, 1919 (copyright expired)

Seven months later The New York Times announced that Poor had sold the mansion.  In reporting on the sale, the newspaper noted it “is one of the newest of the fine houses lately erected in the Lenox Hill section.”

As partial payment for the residence, Carl D. Jackson gave J. Harper Poor a vacant plot at No. 2 East 89^th Street on which he had intended to build his own home.  The highly-desirable lot abutted the Fifth Avenue mansion of Benjamin N. Duke.

The Reception Room leading to the vestibule -- The Brickbuilder 1914, copyright expired)

Jackson was the principal of C. D. Jackson & Co., which manufactured stone blocks, marble tiles and other interior building trim.   It appears he leased the 69^th Street house to Poor while a new residence was being constructed.   When Mildred Poor married Dr. Alexander Y. P. Garnett of Washington on June 12, 1915, the family was still using the 69^th Street address.

Mildred was still studying at Vassar at the time of the summer wedding.  It took place at the Poor’s country estate, As You Like It, at Easthampton, Long Island.   One month later her sister, Evelyn, died in that house.

Two views of the patio in 1914 -- The Brickbuilder, 1914 (copyright expired)

The 69^th Street residence became home to the Elisha Walker family in the 1920s.   Walker was educated at Yale and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  In 1920 he became president of Blair & Co.  He and his wife, the former Adele d’Orn, had four sons, Robert, Louis, Elisha Jr., and Bayard, and a daughter, Adele.

The Walkers were highly visible in society, financial, and philanthropic circles.   Their 26-room summer estate in Syosett, New York, was named Les Pommiers, and they maintained another country home in Morristown, New Jersey.

Adele’s formal introduction to society occurred at a ball at Sherry’s on December 18, 1915.  But, as with most debutantes, that was not the end of the entertainments.  In February 1926 the Walkers hosted a dinner for Adele in Morristown; and on New Year’s Eve they gave a “large dance” in the 69^th Street mansion.

Devoutly Catholic, Mrs. Walker was highly involved in church charities and activities.  On February 6, 1928, for instance, the Walker house was the scene of a lecture by the Rev. Cornelius Clifford who spoke on “The Vatican and National Allegiance.”  His political bent was evident when he referred to Governor Al Smith as “the greatest and most typical American since the time of Lincoln” and said that refusing to recognize the politician’s merits was a “sinister and most un-American gesture.”

A month after Elisha Walker was created a Knight of the Order of Malta in January 1930, he became Chairman of the Board of Transamerica Corporation.  It was the beginning of a stormy relationship as Walker battled with directors during the stressful Depression conditions.

On the night of September 21, 1931 the Walkers entertained a couple for dinner at their Long Island mansion.  The guests left fairly early and Adele Walker removed her jewelry, placing it in her jewel case as usual.                                                                                                         

Adele Walker rose the following morning to notice a diamond ring on the floor.  She rushed to her jewel case and found that it had been rifled.  A quick inventory revealed that several pieces were missing, including a $30,000 pearl necklace, a $10,000 diamond bracelet and another necklace valued at $4,000.

Detective Sergeant Farrell of the Nassau County police inspected every room and window of the house, and decided that the theft was “an inside job.”  There was no evidence of forced doors or windows.  The Walkers vehemently defended their staff.   Most of the servants, they protested, had been in their employ either on Long Island or Manhattan for several years “and were considered above suspicion.”

Despite Elisha Walker’s difficulties at Transamerica Corporation, the glittering entertainments in his domestic life continued.  On January 31, 1932 the Walkers gave a dinner for the French Ambassador and Madame Paul Claudel.  Others on the impressive guest list included the Clarence H. Mackays, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Mitchell.

The following month Walker resigned from Transamerica, becoming a partner in Kuhn, Loeb & Co. in 1933.  He was at the time a director of seven corporations, Chairman of the Board of Beekman-Downtown Hospital, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a director of the Boys’ Clubs of America.

Other than a bit of grime, nothing had changed to the mansion when this photograph was taken on January 24, 1947.  photo by Wurts Bros. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

The 69^th Street house continued to be the venue of receptions and teas for charitable causes, and dances and dinners.   Adele's many benefit entertainments were for such causes as the Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases and the Catholic Big Sisters of the Ladies of Charity.

Elisha Walker died in his Long Island home on November 8, 1950.   The 69^th Street mansion was sold in June the following year to Sherman Billingsley, founder and operator of the famous Stork Club.  Billingsley was a Manhattan character—a former bootlegger who had spent time in Leavenworth Prison.

Just before 1:00 on the afternoon of June 11, 1957 six house painters working in the Austrian Consulate General next door at No. 31 East 69^th Street were taking a break, resting on the steps of No. 33.  Billingsley noticed them, and ordered them to leave.  He said his daughter was due home from school soon and might be frightened.

When the men did not move, Billingsley reappeared brandishing a handgun.  This time they responded.  But they also complained to the police and Billingsley was arrested at around 10:45 that evening.  The New York Times noted “He surrendered three pistols and said a fourth one he owned had been lost.”

Billingsley’s attorney, Roy Cohn, complained the arrest was the result of union intimidation over a labor dispute.

The house became home to entertainment attorney and chairman of United Artists Arthur B. Krim and his wife, research scientist Dr. Mathilde Galland Krim, by the early 1960s.  The couple had married in 1958.  Long prominent in the Democratic Party circles, Krim was by now chairman of the Finance Committee of the Democratic National Party.  He would be adviser to Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter.

The 69^th Street house would have its greatest moment in the national spotlight on Saturday night, May 19, 1962.  On that night the nation watched as President Kennedy was given a huge birthday party fundraiser at Madison Square Garden.  Following the event, a select number of guests went secretly to the Krim residence for a continuation of the party.  Sipping cocktails that evening, along with the President and First Lady, the Robert Kennedys and the Lyndon Johnsons, was Marilyn Monroe, still wearing the slinky evening dress she wore to sing “Happy Birthday Mr. President” earlier.

The Krim mansion would see a string of prominent guests.  Among Arthur Krim’s close friends were Adlai E. Stevenson, Associate Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, and James P. Mitchell, former Labor Secretary during the Eisenhower Administration.  On April 7, 1977 Walter Mondale was here for a fund raiser for Jimmy Carter; and President Carter himself was here the following year on November 2.

Mathilde Krim was recognized in her own right as a research scientist at the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research.  Following the first recognized cases of AIDS in 1981, she dedicated herself to increasing public awareness of the epidemic and, with Elizabeth Taylor, founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research. 

The Krims were highly involved in the American civil rights movement, the gay rights movement and other civil liberties and human rights causes.  Arthur B. Krim died on September 21, 1994 at the age of 84.

The James Harper Poor house has suffered some unfortunate alterations over the years.  The lovely stone balconies have been removed, as have the balustrades at the second floor.  The robust iron gates to the basement level have been replaced with common fencing.  But overall the mansion retains the elegant appearance of the first decade of the 20^th century when the block was seeing remarkable change.

photographs by the author

The E. S. Bayer Mansion, No. 32 East 70th Street

On May 27, 1907 the 84-year old Louisa Elizabeth Kemp died in the family home at No. 32 East 70^th Street.  The Kemp family had owned the brownstone house for decades; but Louisa would be the last Kemp to live here.

Within the year the house was leased to John Gall, and then on March 2, 1910 the William Kemp estate sold the house to Edwin S. Bayer who announced “that an American basement alteration is contemplated.”

The Harvard-educated lawyer had married Laura K. Kayser in 1895.  The bride was the daughter of immensely wealthy Julius Kayser, founder of the Julius Kayser & Co., manufacturers of gloves.  Bayer resigned from the law office of Frederick DeP. Foster and joined his father-in-law’s firm as Treasurer.

Nearly eight months after purchasing the old brownstone, the Kemps’ architects, Taylor & Levi, completed plans for their new home.  Rather than “an American basement alteration” the new owners had opted for an entirely new building.  The Real Estate Record & Builders’ Guide reported on October 29, 1910 that it would be a six story residence costing about $50,000—in the neighborhood of $1.3 million today.

The New-York Tribune was more specific, saying “The façade of the building will be of brick, with limestone trimmings in the French Renaissance style of architecture.”

The modern structure stood out among its Victorian neighbors -- photo by Irving Underhill from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

Construction took two years, resulting in a limestone-faced neo-French classic mansion worthy of nobility.  Visitors passed through tall stone fence posts topped with massive huge stylized pinecones.  Above the arched openings of the first floor, two floor-to-ceiling windows behind stone pseudo-balconies mimicked French doors.  At the fifth floor a full balcony stretched the width of the home, flanked by elaborate carved urns on paneled pedestals.  But the architects reserved perhaps the most imposing elements for the steep slate-tiled mansard dominated by a massive dormer and flanked by hefty chimney breasts.

The paneling for some rooms was imported from old European houses.  The paneling for the living room (lower photo) was hand-carved in Oberammergau after a design by Grinling Gibbons.  The portrait is of Louise-Henriette de Bourbon, later the Duchesse of Orleans photos from Arts & Decoration May 1922 (copyright expired)

Wealthy families with small children dealt with the issue of grown-up dinner parties and entertainments without the interruption of small family members.  The Bayers’ had two children, Sybil and Edwin, Jr., and their solution was evident from the New-York Tribune’s brief description of the mansion’s layout, which included “a wine cellar, cardroom on the ground floor, drawing room, dining room and large conservatory on the first floor, a child’s dining room on the third floor in the extension, a playroom on the fourth floor and sleeping quarters above.”

A medieval tapestry hangs on the dining room wall (above).  The card room can be seen at the end of the entry hall (below). The Architectural Review, January 1919 (copyright expired) 

The Times added “A number of the rooms were imported from France, and the livingroom and library are paneled to the ceiling with French and English woodwork.  The house contains more than thirty rooms and eight baths.”

The French mansion was the setting for Edwin Bayer’s extensive collection of Gothic art, as well as an eclectic collection of antique furnishing.  Arts & Decoration wrote in May 1922, “Many of the most famous houses really do not succeed, but the New York home of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin S. Bayer is an artistic achievement.  It has the mature quality of a fine old home of many generations.”

The Bayers' drawing room is shown at left.  To the right is the massive fireplace in the dining room.  The Architectural Review, January 1919 (copyright expired) 

The magazine complimented “No order to a decorator or expert could have brought together the glowing, luxurious Nattier, the groups of powerful yet exquisite Renaissance bronzes, the reserved and aristocratic Chinese porcelains and the superb needlework chairs.”

The Bayer family maintained a sprawling country estate in Mt. Kisco, New York; but occasionally would join other millionaires in fashionable resorts.  Such was the case in the spring of 1918 when The Sun reported that they had “taken a cottage in Florida row” in White Sulphur Springs, Virginia.

A few days later, on April 9, the newspaper updated its readers on the activities of out-of-town socialites.  “Water sports in the swimming pool attracted sojourners during the afternoon.  Diving for tin pie plates was great sport among the swimmers.”  The Sun listed Laura Bayer among those frolicking in the pool.

Both the "principal bedroom" (above) and the boudoir were markedly French in style.  The Architectural Review, January 1919 (copyright expired) 

Julius Kayser died in his mansion just a block away at No. 18 East 71^st Street on March 9, 1920.  His will gave Laura $100,000 outright; and left a staggering $5 million each to the Bayer children upon their 24^th birthdays.  Edwin S. Bayer now rose to President of Julius Kayser & Co.

Sybil was 21 years old in 1926 when she visited relatives in Paris.  While there she met 24-year old American Vincent Edward Brown, who was on business with an automobile company.  High school educated, Brown had held a series of unimpressive jobs, including a position as a clerk with the Standard Oil Company. 

Unknown to the Bayer family, a romance blossomed between Sybil and Vincent (who lived in New Jersey).   Two years later, on the evening of Wednesday, January 25, 1928, and just months before she would inherit her massive fortune from her grandfather, Sybil left the East 70^th Street mansion.

She jumped into Vincent Brown’s automobile and the couple sped off to Rye, New York.  Around 10:30 they obtained a marriage license from the town clerk.  Then they were married “with the utmost secrecy” in the home of Justice of the Peace Edwin C. Thomas early the next morning.

On Friday they returned to the city and moved into a furnished room on East 53^rd Street, “the rent for which is $17 a week,” according to The New York Times.  “Mr. Brown had formerly occupied a room at the address, and on Thursday he arrived with his bride to inspect a large room on the second floor of the four-story building, the ground floor of which is used for shops.”  The cheap accommodations were in stark contrast to the French-style mansion in which Sybil grew up.

If society was shocked at the news, Edwin S. Bayer was infuriated.  Servants responded to journalists knocking at Bayers’ door with the message, “Absolutely no statement to make.”

Reporters flocked to the 53^rd Street building and loitered outside waiting for the heiress and the clerk to emerge.  They went to great lengths to avoid publicity.  “Mr. Brown would see no one yesterday, and to avoid being interviewed, the young couple went out through a trap door in the roof and reached the street by way of another house,” reported The Times on January 29.

Three days later the Browns moved to slightly more comfortable quarters in the Don Carlos apartment hotel at No. 150 East 50^th Street.  The Times reported “A one-room apartment costs $150 a month, which is considerably more than the $17 a week furnished room which the couple occupied at 133 East Fifty-third Street after their secret marriage in Rye, N.Y., last week.”

Friends surmised that either Brown had “turned his attention to the real estate business” or that Laura Bayer had given them financial assistance.  If she had, it was without the consent of Sybil’s father who cut all ties with his daughter.  The Times advised “Inquiries at the Bayer home…regarding the report that Mrs. Bayer was making an effort to bring about a reconciliation between her husband and their daughter were referred to Mr. Bayer’s office, at 343 Fourth Avenue.  There it was said Mr. Bayer had no statement to make.”

Later that year, on December 15, Edwin Bayer underwent an operation in the Leroy Sanitarium at No. 40 East 61^st Street.  His condition did not improve and Sybil came to his hospital room.  The father and daughter were finally reconciled.  On New Year’s Eve the 59-year old millionaire died with his family, including Sybil, at his bedside.

Shortly after Laura’s mourning period ended she married Count Antoine Sala of Paris and Antibes, France in 1931.  The art expert had been a member of the French Embassy in Washington.  On March 4, 1931 The Times reported that Countess Antoine Sala had sold the 70^th Street house to Clendenin Ryan.

The “favorite” son of multi-millionaire Thomas Fortune Ryan, Clendenin was named after a town in West Virginia.  He had been involved in his father’s business and was treasurer of the Royal Typewriter Company; but following Thomas F. Ryan’s death in 1928, he “held himself aloof from directorates and corporate offices,” according to The Times, to manage his father’s $135 million estate.

Clendenin Ryan almost immediately liquidated the estate’s stock holdings; resulting in the massive fortune being preserved when the stock market crashed the following year.  He moved into the 70^th Street mansion alone, surrounded with a staff of eight.  His estranged wife, the former Caroline O’Neil, lived at No, 834 Fifth Avenue and their three children were grown.

Ryan filled the house with Italian and Flemish masters, rare etchings and other artwork.   The Times noted that since his father’s death, he “lived in retirement, if not seclusion, collecting objects of art as a hobby and managing the estate with remarkable success.”

But Clendenin Ryan was not well.  He suffered from diabetes and had sought help in sanitariums and hospitals for years, to no avail.  Shortly after buying the mansion, he began losing weight and he suffered long periods of depression.  As the 1930s drew to a close, he had gone from about 240 pounds to 150.

Early on the morning of August 21, 1939 the servants noticed the distinct odor of gas in the house “but they dared not disturb Mr. Ryan, who ordinarily breakfasted in bed,” reported The New York Times the following day.

The fumes were so thick that neighbors smelled them and notified police.  Officers scoured the neighborhood looking for the leak as Ryan’s business agent Frank Merklin arrived at the mansion.  Merklin had an office in an upper floor and carried his own key.  As soon as he entered the entry hall he noticed the overpowering smell of gas.

Rushing to the third-floor library he found the nearly 3-inch thick wooden door locked.  He ordered servants to break the door down with an axe.  “Inside they found Mr. Ryan, clad in pajamas, lying dead with his head resting on a book of etchings in a fireplace from which gas was streaming from four jets in a gas log.”  The 57-year old Ryan had been dead for hours.

Merklin, with the help of John Korka, the butler, and Irving Daniel, the handyman, carried the body to Ryan’s bedroom, down a long hall from the library.  Both the servants were overcome by the gas and the butler collapsed with a heart attack.

The mansion became home to Ryan’s son, Clendenin J. Ryan, Jr.   When the United States entered World War II he joined the Navy, becoming a lieutenant commander and serving with distinction at Guadalcanal and in the Solomon Islands.   During his deployment he contracted malaria, dengue fever and other diseases from which he never fully recovered.

A political reformer, Clendenin Ryan, Jr. maintained a large estate, Panther Ledge Farm, near Netcong, New Jersey.  He had been a confidential aide to Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia and the first Commissioner of the city’s Department of Commerce.  During that time he was noted for his energy and buoyancy.  But the mental affliction suffered by his father was now becoming evident in him.

His psychiatrist, Dr. Gerald R. Jameison attributed Ryan’s periods of depression to the diseases he contracted during the war.  “I think myself that his service in the Navy when he got quite sick may have released some nervousness that was not quite apparent before.”

On Thursday, September 12, 1957 the 52-year old committed suicide in the mansion on 70^th Street by shooting himself in the head.  His funeral was held in the Church of St. Jean Baptiste, built with his grandfather’s money, two days later.  He left a personal fortune of over $14 million.

Clendenin’s family remained in the house, still here in May 1960 when daughter Caryn married Roger Wolcott Tuckerman in what was a socially-important event in the same church.

In the latter years of the 20^th century a doctor’s office was installed in the ground floor of the mansion.  But in 2003 the house was restored to a single-family residence, returning the house that has seen more than its share of tragedy to its 1912 appearance.

photographs by the author