| :: New York City >Uptown
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Attraction >Landmark
| Gracie Mansion |
Address:
88th St. & East End Ave.
| New York City | 10128
Region:
Uptown
Rating:
 
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More Info
Phone: 212-570-4751
FAX:
Website
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Description and Basic Information ::
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Uncover some of New York City's illustrious history with a visit to Gracie Mansion - home to every mayor of New York since Fiorello LaGuardia (1942). This historic, white-frame colonial house was built on land that was once owned by Jacob Walton, a merchant from Flatbush, who built the home for his new bride. Several years later, George Washington and the American Army appropriated the site in 1776 and built a fort to ward off the redcoats. In September of that same year, English battleships bombarded the fort to the ground.
After the war, Walton's heirs reclaimed the property and sold it in 1798 to Archibald Gracie for $5,635.00. Gracie, a successful merchant of Scottish descent, built his home there a year later. He hosted many luminaries of the time at his mansion, including Louis Phillipe (who would become future king of France), John Quincy Adams and James Fennimore Cooper.
Almost a century later, in 1896, New York City commandeered the property and incorporated the eleven acres of the former Gracie estate into East End Park, extending along the East River from 84th Street to 90th Street. The park was later named for Carl Schurz, a German immigrant who served as Minister to Spain, United States Senator, and member of the Cabinet of Rutherford B. Hayes.
The mansion fell into disrepair until it was refurbished by the city’s Parks Department in 1927. At that time, the mansion served as the site for the Museum of the City of New York. That museum moved to Fifth Avenue in 1932, and the house remained vacant until then-Parks Commissioner Robert Moses convinced the city officials that the property should be used as the Mayor’s official residence. |
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:: New York City >Uptown :: |
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