5 Most OPULENT Gilded Age MANSIONS in New York

When you think of the Empire State, many images come to mind — depending on your temperament and life story.

Perhaps you think of the titans of Wall Street — finance, fast money, and secret power.

Maybe you think of the incredibly dense and diverse “concrete jungle” of America’s most populous town…

Or, like us here at Old Money Mansions, perhaps you gasp and marvel at the stunningly breathtaking opulence of the American Gilded Age, exquisitely preserved in architecture all around New York State.

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
1:27 #5 The Frick Collection, New York City
3:24 #4 The Olana State Historic Site, Hudson
5:25 #3 Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park
6:51 #2 Lyndhurst, Tarrytown
8:28 #1 Oheka Castle, Huntington

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When you first lay eyes on the Frick Collection — located on the Upper East Side of New York City — it’s easy to see why it’s become one of the city’s most beloved landmarks.

This grand mansion, meticulously designed in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, is an emblem of the Gilded Age’s grandeur.

This style, originating from France’s revered École des Beaux-Arts, became a favorite among New York’s Gilded Age moguls, thanks to its inherent ability to manifest wealth and status through architecture.

Beaux-Arts often featured grand stairways, large-scale sculptures, and lavish decorative finishes.

All these elements spoke to an aesthetic of excess and grandeur, making it a natural choice for the barons eager to impress.

Let’s move north from New York City to Hudson, New York, where we find the Olana State Historic Site, a bit of a wild card in the lineup of Gilded Age mansions.

This isn’t your typical Victorian manor, oh no.

Olana is an exotic jewel box, a home inspired by a delightful blend of Victorian aesthetics and Persian design elements.

It’s like a trip to the Far East without ever leaving the Empire State.

Designed by its owner — the illustrious landscape artist Frederic Edwin Church — the mansion captures his extraordinary artistic vision.

Traveling along the Hudson River, we arrive at the grand Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, a site that screams ‘Gilded Age’ in bold, capital letters.

This 54-room mansion, designed in the aforementioned beaux-arts architectural style, speaks through stone to the power and wealth that the Vanderbilts wielded at the height of their influence.

Let me give you a brief glimpse into the unimaginable wealth of The Vanderbilt Family.

They weren’t just rich; they were “owning the majority of America’s railroads” rich.

They were the embodiment of the American Dream in its most opulent form, accruing wealth that made them one of the nation’s most prominent families.

Just south of Hyde Park, in Tarrytown, New York… stands the stunningly unique Lyndhurst mansion.

A castle-like estate, Lyndhurst is an architectural gem of the Gothic Revival style, a stark departure from the more typical beaux-arts mansions of the Gilded Age.

With its soaring turrets, intricate carvings, and pointed arches, the mansion is the stuff of fairy tales — albeit fairy tales tinged with an edge of somber sophistication.

The tale of Lyndhurst intertwines with the story of Jay Gould, the railroad magnate, and notorious robber baron.

Gould — whose wealth was only matched by his ruthlessness in business — acquired Lyndhurst in 1880, adding his own touches of luxury and grandeur.

At the zenith of our list of Gilded Age spectacles is the jaw-dropping Oheka Castle, nestled in Huntington, Long Island.

We’re talking the second-largest private home in the United States, a veritable titan of a mansion boasting 127 rooms spread over a whopping 109,000 square feet. Just imagine the spring cleaning!

Our maestro behind this opulent masterpiece was Otto Hermann Kahn, a financier with a penchant for the high life.

Born in Germany, Kahn emigrated to America and rose to become one of the wealthiest men of his time.

His fortune, derived from banking and investment, was funneled into building Oheka Castle, his very own sanctuary of splendor.