William and Alva Vanderbilt Mansion

This mansion was built for William K. and Alva Vanderbilt on New York City's famed Fifth Avenue between 1878 and 1882 by architect Richard Morris Hunt. He is best known for the Great Hall at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. William Vanderbilt was a member of the spectacularly wealthy Vanderbilt dynasty of shipping, railroads, and real estate. The home was built in the ornate French Renaissance style to reflect the couple's position in New York society. It was demolished in 1926 and replaced with a nondescript office building.