The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1881-10-21
GORGEOUS PALACES.
The Homes Of the vanderbiIts In
New York.
[From the New York star.l


(From the New York star.l
Three brown-stone houses in the block
on the west side of Fifth avenue, between
Fifty first and Fifty-second streets, at
tract much attention. The largest is
Mr.. w. III. Wander bits, and the others
are for two married daughters of Mr..
vanderbilt-Mrs. Elliot +. Shepard and
Mrs. Henry L. Sloane. Brown stone is
used throughout, and the style is a non
descript blending of Renaissance with
cabinet work in details. A band four feet
wide, of grape leaves, is cut into the
stone, and runs around the two houses.
There are two of these bands ut differ
ent heights.
The three houses referred to above are
three stories high, surmounted by a
fourth, the windows of which are hidden
by an open fretwork of stone. The only
material except brown stone which is
used in the facades is bronze, of which
an elaborate cresting is used mt different
points. The main staircase, thirteen
feet wide, is of oak, oiled. The stair
we'll of the house rises to the roof and
floods the inside of the house with light.
coming through some good specimens of
-.
Vanderbilt's room, finished in white
marble, rosewood and ebony, the walls
being hung with silk. The ceiling is to
be covered with painting by the
French artist, Lefebre, repre- senting the
dawn of day Through all the rooms of
the second floor, much use is made of
tapestries, silver, marble and different
costly woods polished to a mirror-like
surface. The height of the ceiling is
fifteen feet. The gas fixtures are from
the firm of Darbedienne AZ Co., of Paris.
Much of the woodwork of the second
story the carpets, tapestries, leather,
silk hangings and decorative paintings
also come from there. A series of eighty
small panel paintings, done in Paris at
cost of 500 each, will adorn the rise
of each step in the chief staircase, two
panels finding niche i'll every rise, on
each side of he strip of carpet, or tapes
try, or gold cloth upon which persons
are expected TO walk up and down stairs
The window-sashes throughout the
house are finished in mahogany and
brass.
The houses of Mrs. Shepard and Mrs.
Sloane are extrava9antly rich in decora-
ton. One of the best bits of work is a
mantelpiece of oak, inlaid with red mar
bic, in the hall of Mrs. Shepard's house,
and mantel of blue stone in the libra
ry. These two houses are more superb
ly finished, so far as expense goes, than
any house in this city. Mr.. Wander
bits house is six times as large as a
"full- sized " house of % feet wide and
60 feet deep. The house of Mr.. w. III.
Vanderbilt Is connected with the others
by a covered portico, the steps leading
to which are about 40 feet back from
the avenue. The entrance to this porti-
co is at the middle of the block, the side
walk at that point consisting of one
enormous slab of blue stone, Is feet
wide and % long, which weighs forty
tons and cost $4,000. The other flag
stones which surround the house are
each ID feet wide and ID feet long. The
inside of the portico is room 40 feet
square, the walls being paneled in
Scotch granite, highly polished.
Mr. Vanderbilt's and Mrs. Sloane's
houses are entered from the portico, the
entrance to Mrs. Shepard's house being
on Fifty-second street. The doors of
Mr. Vanderbilt's house are to be of
bronze. and are said to cost $40, 000
The entrance to the house is narrow con-
sidering its immense size-74 feet wide
by 115 feet deep. The ceiling is II feet
high. Facing the visitor who crosses
the threshold is q monumental fireplace
as wide rs it is high, ascending to the
ceiling, one mass of carved wood and
marble. The walls are frescoed in red
and gold, very solid and bright To the
left. on the Fifth avenue front, are three
rooms-a parlor in cherry, library in
ebony, and drawing-room in ma
hogany. On the Fifty-first street
front is situated the dining-room,
% feet wide by 36 feet long, containing
mantelpiece of oak almost as large as
that in the hall, and Bullets of oak and
porcelain. There are sixteen panels
around the walls in which paintings of
sporting scenes, fish and game are to be
placed. The buffers pantry, adjoining
the dining-room, is paneled In oak, cell
ing and all, in style which would be
considered extravagant for most draw
ing-rooms. The western half of Mr.. w.
II. Vanderbilt's house is given up to a
picture gallery 4S feet long, 30 feet wide
and 80 feet high. There is q smaller
room adjoining to be used for water col
ors. A balcony in the picture gallery
will be used by the orchestra at balls.
Mr.. Vanderbilt went to Europe with
Hester to order all the glasswork, chan
deliers, carpets, hangings, marble work
and most of the furniture. The only art
done in this country for the house are
the bronze ratings around the house and
the bronze cresting around the roof.
This work was done in nine months by a
Philadelphia firm for $40, 000 The chan
deliers, including one of solid silver
weighing half ton, for the ballroom or
the picture gallery, were made by OAR
bedienne. of Paris. From careful esti-
mates it is thought that the three houses
in that one plot of ground will have cost.
when ready for house-warming, about
$500. 900.