| Elbridge Gerry Mansion | |
|---|---|
 The Elbridge Gerry Mansion in 1895, when newly built. | |
 Interactive map of Elbridge Gerry Mansion | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | French Renaissance |
| Location | Manhattan,New York City |
| Completed | 1895 |
| Opened | 1897 |
| Demolished | 1929 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Richard Morris Hunt |
TheElbridge T. Gerry Mansion was a lavish mansion built in 1895 and located at 2East 61st Street, at the intersection ofFifth Avenue, on theUpper East Side ofManhattan,New York City. It was built for CommodoreElbridge Thomas Gerry, a grandson of statesmanElbridge Gerry.
Elbridge Thomas Gerry (1837–1927) engaged architectRichard Morris Hunt to design an urban reinterpretation of aFrench Renaissance chateau, specifically requiring Hunt to provide space for his collection of 30,000 law books.[1]
Plans for the house were formally announced inThe New York Times on May 15, 1892.[2] Construction began by 1895, and after a reported $3,000,000 in construction costs, the residence was opened officially in 1897.[3] The entrance of the structure, via an ironporte-cochère,[3] was based on theLouis XIII style wing of theChâteau de Blois.[4]
The Gerry mansion became a center of cultivated and fashionable life, even as it came to be surrounded by skyscrapers.[5] Gerry owned sculpturalspandrel figuresNight andDay byIsidore Konti.[6] In his home, he displayed his extensive international art collection, which included such works asJean-Léon Gérôme's "Plaza de Toros," aJean-Jacques Henner bust portrait,Mihály Munkácsy's "Lac Chambre du Nourrisson" from 1884,Adolph Tidemand's "Sunday Morning in Norway,"James Edward Freeman's "The Cave of Gasparoni" and "Study of a Young Girl,"Jehan Georges Vibert's "The Cardinal's Nephew,"Adolf Schreyer's "The Advance Guard," Achillo Guerra's "Absolution of Beatrice Cenci,"Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant's "Venice: The Return of the Envoy,"John Henry Dolph's "A Happy Family," Blackman's "Italian Kitchen,"Edwin Lord Weeks' "Woodcarver's Shop: Delhi,"Paul Jean Clays's "Port of Ostend,"Mauritz de Haas' "Moonrise and Sunset," andSalvator Rosa's "The Revolt of the Tribe".[7] He also owned works by Italian painterCamillo Gioja Barbera, Belgian painterCornelius Van Leemputten, Polish painterAlfred Kowalski, Austro-French painterRudolf Ernst, French painterClaude Joseph Vernet, Norwegian painterVincent Stoltenberg Lerche, and Dutch painterJan de Baen.[8]
Gerry's mansion survived for just 32 years.[9]His executors sold the house after his death in 1927, and in 1929 it was demolished to make way forThe Pierre hotel.[3]
40°45′56″N73°58′19″W / 40.765547°N 73.971901°W /40.765547; -73.971901