Our New York Stories Column Sharing Three Historic New York City Gems!

New York City, photo via

New York Stories:
A new monthly column here on the blog 
all about New York City.
If Walls Could Talk, 
Three Iconic Architectural Gems...
But, First Let's Look At Party Dresses 
That had New Yorker's A Flutter 
{THEN & NOW}

(left)  Alice Vanderbilt upstaged her sister-in-law Ava for the masquerade ball of the 19th century in the Vanderbilt's French Renaissance-style Mansion on Fifth avenue & 52nd Street by showing up in this dress with a lantern in hand as "Electric Light" photo via 

(right) MET gala 2018 Amal Clooney's pants-to-dress

got tongues wagging about the Richard Quinn design, a blue satin pant set with a floral flowing train and top.

Over on Instagram Stories I've been having a lot of fun lately with posts about "Old New York"- the architecture, the style, the interior design, the fashion.  Years ago I took several walking and home tours in various neighborhoods around the city- Carnegie Hill, Sutton Place, Turtle Bay, and the West Village, all special enclaves in this big metropolis.   

my grandmother, Alice Mary Schroeder 
on the rooftop of her home in New York City 

My grandmother was born and raised downtown on Delancey Street.  She would tell me stories of living in a rambling Brownstone with her large family, a baby Grand piano in the hallway.  Her family were German immigrants who came to New York City through Ellis Island, and years before her uncles owned a tavern downtown near Wall Street called Schroeders.  I saw the photo in Gammy's photo box, it was a faded sepia tone with frayed edges, but it left a lasting memory of these four men proudly standing in front of the bar donning handlebar mustaches. I moved to New York City in 1990 but ions before I became a New York-aphile.  I have gobbled up many books over the years, and now having raised my two kids on the Upper East Side I have had unique experiences and views, and stories. I'm including this monthly page and column on the blog, stories of  New York-and interesting characters, iconic buildings, the back-stories.  So, for now let's hit the New York trail and uncover a few gems...

1. The Otto Khan Burden Mansion- This home, an 80-room Italian Renaissance-palazzo style mansion was modeled after the Cancelleria in Rome. Otton Khan bought it and lived in the home in 1918 until his death. Today, the home is owned by the Convent of the Sacred Heart, an independent Catholic girls school. In 1974 the house was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.  Today, the ballroom above the school is like a little Versailles in Big Apple- it is rented out for special occasions. In 2012, I hosted and decorated a fundraiser for The Flawless Foundation in this ballroom-- it was a stunning space to work in. 

the Burden Mansion Ballroom is now

utilized for special events

(above) I took this photo in 2015 

2. Lucy Drexel Dahlgren House- 15 East 96th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues) is located in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood next to Central Park. Originally designed in 1916 by renowned architect Odgen Codman, Jr. in the French Renaissance Revival Beaux Arts style, the 18,000 square foot limestone townhouse was built for Lucy Wharton Drexel. It’s the sister building for Codman’s own home at 7 East 96th Street who was a premiere architect and interior decorator in the early 1890s.  He commissioned many homes in New York City, Long Island and Newport, RI with prominent families from pedigreed families.  He had an understated elegant aesthetic, a departure from the popular Victoria style of the era, and he was one of the first in the world to integrate interior design with architecture.  This soon lead to his collaboration with Edith Wharton, and they co-authored the famous book The Decoration of Houses which espouses architecture is connected to decoration.

The home changed hands a few times over the years- it was bought by Pierre Cartier,  then again by a catholic parochial school, and in 1984 it was deemed a New York City Landmark building, and the National Register of Historic Places. Mark Hampton decorated it at one point and the house was featured in a book his wife Duane Hampton authored, Mark Hampton, American Decorator.  In more recent years, architecture firm Andre Tschelistcheff restored and renovated the townhouse- please see photographs below by Seong kwon, interior design, David Easton

3. The Ear Inn- Today it's a bar and restaurant, the Inn is long gone.  It's considered by many as the oldest operating drinking establishment in the city.  We rang in 2019 this year at the Ear, and we were invited by the owner- it was an amazing New Years Eve.  Built in 1770 for James Brown, who was an African aide to George Washington during the Revolutionary War (do you remember that famous painting with an African American man in the center, a crowded boat of men crossing the Washington's Delaware River?)- that is James Brown.  George Washington gave him the house.  The painting is Emmanuel Leutze and it resides today at the MET museum. 

 

Emmanuel Leutze's Crossing the Delaware

Back in the OG (original day), the tavern was frequented by sailors who docked at the nearby Hudson River- and the bar has accrued a long history of owners (during Prohibition became a Speakeasy and brothel). After prohibition, it opened to the public and the sailors returned. Today, it's noted with the iconic EAR sign, and a local favorite for food and spirits.  

watercolor via Steven Gardner

Happy Nesting

XO TAMARA