Adelaide L.T. Douglas House

History and architecture

This elegant residence was built in 1909-11 for the New York socialite, Mrs. Adelaide Townsend Douglas, in the Murray Hill section of New York. Designed in the French Classic style of Louis XVI by architect. Horace Trumbauer of Philadelphia, it is a fine example of his residential work in New York City.

Murray Hill had begun to be developed with residences in the mid-19th century. The area took its name from the country estate of Robert and Mary Murray. According to legend, during the Revolutionary War, Mary Murray had detained General Howe at the family house on their country estate, thus allowing George Washington to escape further northward. Following the opening of Lexington and Fourth Avenues through the area in 1848, rows of brownstone residences were quickly built along the side streets.

Socially prominent and wealthy residents, such as A.T. Stewart and J.P. Morgan, moved into the area, concentrating their residences along Fifth and Madison Avenues. Although by the turn of the century commercial development was beginning to encroach upon Fifth Avenue, the streets to the east of Madison still remained fashionable, due in large part to the efforts of J.P. Morgan. Park Avenue, south of the new Grand Central Terminal which was under construction between 1903 and 1913--and north of 34th Street, was an elegant residential thoroughfare.

Consequently in 1909 Adelaide T. Douglas purchased a choice site on Park Avenue with the intention building an elegant Manhattan residence.