C. Ledyard Blair House

The C. Ledyard Blair House was a mansion on 2 East 70th Street, at the corner with Fifth Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed for banker C. Ledyard Blair and designed by Carrère & Hastings. The house was constructed from 1914 to 1917 and contained almost 7,300 square feet (680 m2). It was sold and demolished in 1927 to make way for an apartment house.

C. Ledyard Blair House
C. Ledyard Blair House, from Architecture magazine, 1917
General information
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
LocationManhattan, New York City
Construction started1914
Completed1917
Demolished1927
Design and construction
Architect(s)Carrère & Hastings
House entrance
House plan
House plan 2nd floor

Architecture

The Beaux-Arts mansion, designed by Carrère & Hastings,[1] was at 2 East 70th Street, at the southeastern corner with Fifth Avenue.[2][3] The house overlooked the gardens of the Henry Clay Frick House at 1 East 70th Street, which had also been designed by Carrère & Hastings.[4] It was built by Norcross Brothers at a projected cost of between $150,000 and $200,000.[3] The Lord Electric Company received the electric contract, Norcross Brothers furnished most of the rooms, and C. Brainard was consulting engineer.[5]

The 66-room mansion contained nearly 7,300 square feet (680 m2)[4] and measured 33 by 158 feet (10 by 48 m).[3] The facade was made of limestone. The second-story windows had iron balconies. When the house was completed, it had a grass planting strip on Fifth Avenue, with two plane trees. The New York Times described it in 1915 as "an excellent example of good architectural taste combined with the luxuries and comforts of a Fifth Avenue home."[6]

History

The stretch of 70th Street between Fifth Avenue and Third Avenue, part of Lenox Hill, was relatively undeveloped until World War I.[1]: 351 [7] Henry Clay Frick's mansion at the northeast corner of 70th Street and Fifth Avenue spurred the development of similarly grand mansions on 70th Street.[1]: 477–478  Before the Blair House was constructed, the site contained the Josiah M. Fiske mansion, which occupied a site measuring 33.5 by 175 feet (10.2 m × 53.3 m).[8]

An anonymous buyer acquired the Fiske mansion from Fiske's widow in May 1912 for $750,000.[9][10] In September 1914, the buyer was reported as C. Ledyard Blair,[2][8][11] a banker and Governor of the New York Stock Exchange.[12] The design and general contracts were awarded in February 1915.[5] The house was completed in 1917.[6] During the mansion's short existence, the Blairs hosted a luncheon in 1919 to celebrate the marriage of C. Ledyard Blair's daughter,[13] as well as another social event in 1920.[14]

By 1925, Blair was meeting with real estate developer Anthony Campagna to sell his mansion.[15] At the time, Fifth Avenue was quickly being developed with apartments.[16] In January 1926, after just nine years, Blair sold the property to Campagna for $1.25 million.[17][18] The sale, at $170 per square foot ($1,800/m2), was reported in The New York Times as the "highest ever paid per square foot for property to be used for this class of building".[17] He tore down the house in late 1926 and early 1927, redeveloping the site with a new 11-story apartment building designed by Rosario Candela.[19] The new apartment was completed in 1928.[20] The building featured a maisonette with its own private entrance and address, 888 Fifth Avenue,[21] later owned by Theodore J. Forstmann.[22]

References
  1. Stern, Robert A. M.; Gilmartin, Gregory; Massengale, John Montague (1983). New York 1900: Metropolitan Architecture and Urbanism, 1890–1915. New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 0-8478-0511-5. OCLC 9829395.
  2. "The Real Estate Field; C. Ledyard Blair Is Owner of Fifth Avenue Corner at Seventieth Street Sold Two Years Ago". The New York Times. September 19, 1914. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  3. "Current Building Operations". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. 89 (2460): 800. May 8, 1915 – via columbia.edu.
  4. "C. Ledyard Blair House 2 East 70th Street, Manhattan, New York". househistree.com. House Histree. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  5. "Contracts Awarded". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. 95 (2447): 231. February 6, 1915 – via columbia.edu.
  6. "New Residences on Upper Fifth Avenue Types of Good Architectural Taste; C. Ledyard Blair's Colonial Home, Opposite Frick Mansion, a Noteworthy Improvement to the Lenox Hill Centre". The New York Times. November 21, 1915. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  7. "Upper East Side Historic District" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. May 19, 1981. pp. 456–457. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  8. "Real Estate Market". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. 94 (2427): 475. September 19, 1914 – via columbia.edu.
  9. "Realty Event in Sale of I. Townsend Burden Mansion on Upper Fifth Avenue; Purchase of a $1,000,000 Private Residence a Rare Occurrence in Manhattan". The New York Times. September 3, 1916. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  10. "Conveyances". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. 89 (2304): 254. May 11, 1912 – via columbia.edu.
  11. "Newspaper Specials". Wall Street Journal. September 19, 1914. p. 2. ISSN 0099-9660. ProQuest 129451811.
  12. "C. Ledyard Blair Co-founder of Blair & Co. Here Was Yachtsman and Former Stock Exchange Governor". The New York Times. February 8, 1949. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  13. "Supper Dance Given at Home Of C. L. Blair". New-York Tribune. December 9, 1919. p. 15. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  14. "Evelyn Walker To Be Married Here January 4". New-York Tribune. December 14, 1920. p. 15. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  15. "Blair Corner Will Be Transferred in Spring: Transaction Was Begun During Casual Meeting in Paris Last Summer". The New York Herald, New York Tribune. January 23, 1926. p. 22. ProQuest 1113031183.
  16. "New Architecture on Fifth Avenue; Wall of Apartment Houses Makes Startling Change in Upper Area". The New York Times. May 16, 1926. p. RE1. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 103907298.
  17. "Buys Blair Mansion at a Record Figure; Builder Pays $170 a Square Foot for Upper 5th Av. Site for Big Apartment House". The New York Times. January 22, 1926. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  18. "World's Costliest Apartments, Some $500,000, for Fifth Av". The New York Herald, New York Tribune. January 22, 1926. p. 1. ProQuest 1112694836.
  19. "Work on IV Fifth Av. Flat To Be Started by Campagna". The New York Times. February 24, 1927. p. 40. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 104229614.
  20. "Tenant Owners Take Over Apartment on Fifth Ave: Building Erected on Former C. Ledyard Blair Home Site". New York Herald Tribune. October 26, 1928. p. 41. ProQuest 1114344198.
  21. Dailey, Jessica (January 16, 2015). "For $35M, A Maisonette With Your Own Fifth Avenue Address". Curbed NY. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  22. Gould, Jennifer (March 7, 2012). "Teddy Fortsmann's homes up for sale". New York Post. Retrieved May 14, 2021.

Further reading
  • Kathrens, Michael C. (2005). Great Houses of New York, 1880-1930. New York: Acanthus Press. p. 305. ISBN 978-0-926494-34-3.

40°46′15.2″N 73°58′3.6″W

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