The Osceola times., 1881-01-29
Costly Mansions.


Asa rule, says New York correspond
ent, we take very kindly TO all sorts OF
foreign things-sOmetimes good deal
more so than foreigners themselves. a
great many of us, especially those who
have plenty of money, can see very little
credit in anything that does not bear a
foreign trade mark. Our millionaires
must now even get foreigners to finish oil
their fine houses. Fifth avenue furnishes
several cases in point. The new man
sions going up there for the Nanderbllts,
the Goelets, and some other nabobs, are
to be perfect palaces, so far as elaborate
finish is concerned. Outside as well as
inside, nothing that art can do for them
is spared. Even the stone fronts must
be ornamented with fine carving. There
are scores of good stone workers in New
York, but they are not good enough II
seems, for the fancy work on the Fifth
avenue fronts. ARTISTS" must be i'm
ported expressly to carve the figures and
the intricate devices in foliage and gen
eral ginger bread. If certain piece of
work of this kind is to be done, it must
wait till an "artist" can be brought over
from Europe to do it. The foreign gen
tlemen generally take their time about
coming, and take plenty of time ut their
work when they get here, but no one
must attempt to hurry them up. They
would resent that either by refusing to
come at all, or refusing to go on with the
work after beginning. Some of these
artists in brown stone are rs hard to man.
age as opera singers, and have to be
handled with the same care, or they may
kick up at any moment and leave some
one in the lurch. II is not much of a
compliment that our rich men, such as
the Goelets, pay to our own workmen
when they insist upon foreigners being
brought over to finish the outside OF
their houses.
They demand. too, that good deal Of
the material for the houses shall be
brought from abroad. The completion
of the Vanderbilt mansion, for instance,
will probably be delayed a couple Of
years by the difficulty of getting orders
I for foreign tiling filled. Some very good
tiling is made in this country, but Mr..
Vanderbilt won't have it, and the work
men here must wait on the convenience
! Of manufacturers in Europe. Marble
chimney-pieces are no longer considered
stvlish enough for frst-class houses.
| ElalOTaltlN carved NOol II uStu lllsltdNl,
and in many cases the article is prepared
in Europe and brought here complete,
ready to be set in its place. The costli-
est chimney piece yet ordered for New
York mansion will grace the Fifth ave-
nue. home of the rich Californian, ID. o.
Mills. The value Of this single article,
which is only chimney piece at best, is
Si,S00 The contract for decorating the
walls of Mr.. Mills parlors demands $500
a square foot for the work. The houses
going up for Mr.. Nanderbilt's two sons
will be nearly as costly as his own.
Among other elegant buildings which
will take some time to finish are those OF
Robert and Ogden Goelet, David Dows,
and the millionaire II. X. Bishop. The
orders in each case are to spare no ex-
pcnse, and as there is plenty Of money
behind them, they are pretty sure to be
carried out. When the new mansions are
finished and occupied they will cover the
ownership of about $500, 0,000,O 900.