The Wyandotte herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1879-1943, 1939-06-30
Lights Of NewXork
byL.l. STEVENSON

Charles M. Schwab's recent an
nouncement that he would close
his three homes and start life
anew" is taken to mean that the
famous Schwab mansion, Riverside
drive and Seventy-third street, will
soon disappear and huge apart
ment house take it's place AT va
riouS times In the last Is years
it has been reported that the man.
sion would be sold and RACED. Those
rumors were always denied, al
though of late years the Schwabs
seemed to prefer coy cottage at
Loretta, Pa, rather than the rs
room house on the drive. Mrs.
SchWab, however, was much attract
ed to the mansion. Back in 1901,
when construction was started, she
took an apartment on Seventy-sec-
ond street that she and her husband
might watch it grow. And it was
there she died in January. 1t took
three years to build the house and
the cost is said to have been
$500, 900.
The SchWab mansion, a point Of
interest to just about every one who
comes to New York, is a reproduc-
ton Of the Chateau de Chenonceaux
in the Loire district of France,
which was built at the time of the
French Renaissance by Francis /,
and subsequently, presented by Hen
ny II to Diane de Poltiers, most
famous of his women admirers. The
rooms are done in various French
periods with Gobelin tapestries and
works of French, Italian and Flem-
ish masters for which the Schwabs
combed Europe. TIE building is rs
by 100 feet and is set in the center
of "a garden about 200 by 400 feet
Mr.. Schwab is said to have paid
$500, 900 for the block, now assessed
at $2,500,0 600, which real estate men
hold is about half its value.
One of the features of the Schwab
home is the great organ, reputed
to be the finest instrument of its
kind privately owned. 1t is built
into the house and when the man.
sion comes down, according to Mr.
Schwab, it will be destroyed since,
being part of the house, it cannot
be dismantled and reassembled.
No pipes are visible as they are
hidden in the walls. Over a period
of almost Is years, the organ played
an important part in the Sunday aft
ernoon lat homes" of the Schwabs.
Among the many artists who at
tended those musicales were the late
Nine. Schumann-Heink and Fritz
Kreisler.
Speaking of razing, there is, or
rather there was, the old post Of
fee building at Broadway and Park
Row. Because of its solid construc-
ton, it took the wreckers a long
time to level it but they finally ac-
complished their task with the aid
of a huge iron ball, used for wall
smashing purposes, which afforded
a heavily attended free show. Sew
enty years ago, the building was
erected at a cost of $500, 900 and
it cost $63, 400 to tear it down. The
site will be handicapped and will be-
come part of City Hall park as it
was before the city decided it to
the federal government.
While by no means a follower of
fashion, every once in a while, /
encounter something that pleases
me. The latest example is the
renaissance of the bow tie. like
bow ties especially in the good old
summertime. Bow ties don't get in
the way of the soup. For the last
few years, requests to be shown bow
ties have brought only scorn from
superior clerks. Maybe, if ! stood
firm, they would dig up a few shop
worn specimens. Now, according
to the Herald Tribune, one dealer
carries 5000 different bow ties in
stock. And / can name at least
one customer. Maybe I'll 60 on a
regular bow tie spree.
Possibly sometime the windsor tie
will come back into favor In my
very young days, wore a windsor
and let my hair grow long. Boy,
was 7 literary! Now the only writ
ing men of my acquaintance who
stick to the windsor are James
Beardsley Hendryx, of Lees Point,
Sutton's Bay, Mich, who puts on a
windsor when he dresses up to come
to New York, and Frank Sibley,
p0ctOp poycnonor man