The morning call., 1892-12-26
VANDERBILT'S NEW PALACE.
1t VIII Cover Block and Cost Over
Two Millions.


New York World.
Cornelius Vanderbilt is going to have
what his friends assert will be the finest
private residence in New York. and before
it is completed it is believed that the build
ing, with the grounds about it, will cost Mr..
Vanderbilt s., 0o0,0 goo. il not more. Just at
present Y anderbilt's house, at the north
west corner of Fifth avenue and Fifty
seventh street, is in state Of demolition,
and the magnificent brownstone residences
for block north of ii are being taken
down. MIR. Vanderbilt's house was already
one of the finest aud largest in this country
when he came TO the conclusion that IL was
too small. Mr.. Vanderbilts family is not
large one, and what they will do with their
new house when they get it is puzZling a
good many people.
1t is believed that the fear of eneroach-
ment by commercial houses was more or
less operative in leading Mr.. Vanderbilt 10
buy all the land in his neighborhood. AL
ready trade had erept up Filth avenue aud
was appearing in the neighbcrho0d OF the
Vanderbilt houses. No one doubts that the
time Will come when shops OF one Kind ana
another will spread along the thoroughfare
from Fourteenth street to Central Park,
aud Mr.. Vanderbilt believes that his house
is situated on the choicest part OF
the avenue. BE therefore made Ii point
to buy the whole block on Fifth avenue
from Fifty-seventh to Fifiy-eighth streets.
Some of the property-owuers learning Of
this design ran up their price to exorbitant
figures, and got Mr.. Vanderbilt into a
corner There was no way out OF IT.
and he had in one instance to pay nearly
four times the value of the and. 1t was
pretended that the family in possession did
not want to move out. and were Indifferent
as to whether Mr.. Vanderbilt bought or
not. Mr.. Vanderbilt bought six large IA an
sious orth of his house. These are Nos.
746 20 756 inclusive. The four latter were
purchased from Mr.. and Mrs. j. Weeks
Cornwell.
Then Mr. Vanderbilt began to consider
the plans for his new structure. An essen
tial feature Of the new plan is extensive
gardens. These will intervene between the
street and the house, but the public Will be
excluded by an iron fence of great rig dity
aud at least twelve feet high, With sharp
points on top. A driveway is 10 be another
feature of the TeaTTangement This will
permit carriages to deposit their occupants
inside the grounds The ballroom is 10 be
one Of the features of the building, aud II
is said that 1t will be the largest private ball
room in New York.
The process of tearing down the houses is
now under way. and, with its Jagged walls.
piles Of brick and rough scaffoldlng, the
corner is now the most hiGeous on Fifth
avenue. Of course the Vanderbilt family
is not living in the house while his work is
going on. Through the bay-window, look
ing out on Fifty-seyenth street, benches,
paintp0ts and other paraphernalia may be
seen, showing that the drawing room, which
was finished only few years ago and was
so luXuri0usly furnished, is now the resort
of brieklayers, hodeRrreTs and their as
sistaGIS. A large part Of the house S being
torn down. Hundreds of thousands of
dollars worth OF work, hardly old enough
TO be time stained, has been demolished.
and the entire structure is being remodeled.
Practically only corner of the present
building will form part of the Vanderbilt
house OF the future.
Unlike the ancestral town houses Of the
European nobility. which rose stone by
stone and often took two or three genera
tions to complete, the Vanderbilt house will
be finished in a year or two.