History and architecture
This mansion stands out on its own architectural merit, on the last remaining blockfront of imposing town houses on Fifth Avenue. The gracious curve of the light gray granite front, about forty feet wide, rises through five stories and is emphasized by entablatures between the stories. The pitched tile roof has a deep overhanging stone cornice supported on paired stone brackets; it further emphasizes the curve of the facade.
The house was designed in the style of the high Italian Renaissance by McKim, Mead & White. The entrance floor, near sidewalk level, is of rusticated stone. The dignified central doorway has a richly carved marble enframement. The double entrance doors consist of openwork bronze grilles with an intricate floral motif. Above the entrance floor, a delicately carved wave molding, resting on a lentil molding, is an inspired contrast to the rectilinear rustications below.
The parlor floor provides variety with round-arched windows. Winged cherubs fill the spandrels. Paired Ionic pilasters flank these windows, and the next two stories have a similar treatment with modified Corinthian pilasters. The sqareheaded windows at the third story are surmounted by high relief swags, while at the next story these spaces are occupied by delicately carved classic figures in low relief. The square attic windows are flanked by carved vertical panels, which skillfully make a transition from the pilasters below to the roof brackets above.
The brackets end in carved lions' heads.
The same character of a richly ornamented Renaissance facade is continued along the south side of the mansion, where a handsome forward-projecting central section of the wall stands forth in a perfect setting of greensward.
The house was designed for the town residence of Payne Whitney on land given to him by his uncle Oliver H. Payne. Colonel Payne, who had been an officer in the Civil War, was a financier and yachtsman and is best remembered as the benefactor instrumental in establishing the Cornell University Medical College in New York City. Payne Whitney, also a financier, was well -known for his racing and breeding stables on Long Island and in Kentucky. Likewise a philanthropist, he left a large bequest to the New York Hospital.
Early in 1902, the year in which construction of this house commenced, Mr. Whitney married Helen Hay, daughter of John Hay, who was Secretary of State under Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt. Mrs. Whitney was a poet and a major donor to the nearby Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a widow, she continued to reside in this house until her death in 1944. Their daughter Joan, wife of Charles S. Payson, is well-known today as owner of the New York Mets.
The Republic of France has been the owner of this impressive mansion since 1952.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.