tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post229352069502941238..comments2024-03-28T18:01:17.304-07:00Comments on Daytonian in Manhattan: The Lost John Jacob Astor Mansion -- 840 Fifth AvenueTom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13542224816886418433noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-37030879896430134852022-07-06T13:45:46.010-07:002022-07-06T13:45:46.010-07:00The Temple Emanuel-El was built on the site of the...The Temple Emanuel-El was built on the site of the mansion.Tom Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13542224816886418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-36084416485376199072022-07-06T13:31:57.682-07:002022-07-06T13:31:57.682-07:00Wow, Thank you for link to catalog. It even has pr...Wow, Thank you for link to catalog. It even has prices items were sold for! Why did they decide to demo the house? Was the land sold off, seems apartments were never built. longlegs88https://www.blogger.com/profile/05432713211221030913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-7404635672465280162022-03-13T17:01:10.896-07:002022-03-13T17:01:10.896-07:00Fabulous story...Fabulous story...warner yorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04935744734262507004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-85314766284435238812021-03-15T11:20:19.270-07:002021-03-15T11:20:19.270-07:00That Auction catalog is insane. Just a vast collec...That Auction catalog is insane. Just a vast collection of amazing items and one off things....Studio 21https://www.blogger.com/profile/03871977603436418108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-38689312085296494162017-11-16T22:39:43.158-08:002017-11-16T22:39:43.158-08:00I've been to the Ringling museum many times. T...I've been to the Ringling museum many times. The paneled rooms are my favorite Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-2452766919359313782014-05-29T10:04:07.831-07:002014-05-29T10:04:07.831-07:00You can access the catalog here and page through:
...You can access the catalog here and page through:<br /><br />https://archive.org/stream/paintingsfurnish00amer#page/n9/mode/2up<br />Tom Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13542224816886418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-6628136355403927672014-05-29T06:49:54.374-07:002014-05-29T06:49:54.374-07:00Anyone know if a copy of the auction catalog still...Anyone know if a copy of the auction catalog still exists?MjHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01695668504463342682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-57758103918181165122014-05-23T18:27:36.783-07:002014-05-23T18:27:36.783-07:00I'm glad Mrs. Astor was sort of forced to buil...I'm glad Mrs. Astor was sort of forced to build this new mansion, as all the pictures I've seen of her old home make it look like q depressing place. I'm sure the interiors were nice enough, but the exterior was just as plain as could be. The demise of that older Astor home was no great loss to the city. Losing this one was a shame, though.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761289526952916146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-26802196265219675012014-05-21T07:07:02.017-07:002014-05-21T07:07:02.017-07:00Yet another long vanished Hunt architectural maste...Yet another long vanished Hunt architectural masterpiece. To think that so many of these spectacular homes which took several years and several millions to build came down in a span of 25 to 35 years still seems incredible, but such is life in a city of growth such as New York. <br /><br />Looking at NYC's current, and rapidly growing, collection of towering glass cubicles, one is reminded of what has been lost. Many currently say it's all about the views in the modern glass towers, but I think the street level views of gems such as the Astor mansion were much more appealing.<br /><br />***A Tennessee Fannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-71728953320013134082014-05-19T20:25:00.347-07:002014-05-19T20:25:00.347-07:00Tom:
J. J. Astor's body was found floating in...Tom:<br /><br />J. J. Astor's body was found floating in the water after Titanic's sinking. He had about $2000.00 on his person. His body was badly crushed. It is believed that when the funnel broke off and crashed into the water (remember that scene in "A Night to Remember" and "Titanic"?) it struck the deck first, killing Col. Astor and others. His funeral in Rhinebeck was worthy of a head of state. He is buried at Trinity Church's cemetery at the north end of Manhattan ( if you can find the grave it would make another great article). Vincent was so devoted to his father that, when the chateau was sold, he had the Colonel's bathroom removed and installed it in his new house in the East 70's. The Colonel was a brilliant inventor who created a primitive air conditioning system for the St. Regis Hotel that he built. The partial remains of the alarm system he designed for his summer place in Newport were still in place when I last visited the house in 2003.<br /><br />Caroline Astor's decline, while rumored to be a nervous breakdown, was more likely caused by strokes. I doubt it was Alzheimer's because of the lucid interview she gave before her death. Although Madeline's tragic early death in March,1940, was labeled a suicide in at least one Astor biography, there is virtually no evidence at all to support this, save for the fact the she suffered from depression. Madeline had been battling early heart disease for months when she died and was in seclusion throughout the entire 1940 Palm Beach season. The newspapers said she died of heart disease and there is no evidence to the contrary. Although Madeline had two disastrous marriages that ended in divorce after Col. Astor's death, she chose to be buried next to her first husband. At least one Astor relative maintained that "Jack" Astor was the one great love of Madeline's life.<br /><br />Titanic BillAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-65452667204582435642014-05-19T10:10:06.641-07:002014-05-19T10:10:06.641-07:00The NYTimes has a fascinating article about the pr...The NYTimes has a fascinating article about the probate proceedings surrounding Caroline Astor's Estate. The appraiser who inventoried the contents of her side of 840 was called to testify and gave a fairly lengthy description of the old, out of fashion, and in many cases not in the greatest repair furniture which decorated her apartments and appears to have moved with her from her former home. It's quite at odds with contemporary photographs of her interiors.<br /><br />I also wonder about her lengthy illness. It is most often described as a nervous breakdown, but I have also read of it as the result of a stroke or even senility. I wonder what modern medicine would make of it. Magnuspetriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12625586892328226122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-16448530626164599582014-05-19T08:51:04.010-07:002014-05-19T08:51:04.010-07:00A lavish Fifth Avenue mansion with what had to be ...A lavish Fifth Avenue mansion with what had to be a magnificent central courtyard enclosed by that equally spectacular glass and iron ceiling. On a side note, at the time the Ringlings were finishing their own palatial home in Sarasota, Fl and purchased a couple of the Astor panelled rooms which eventually found their way into the Ringling museum on the Sarasota property where one can appreciate today a rare surviving Fifth Avenue interior space. NyarchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com