Carnegie Hill mansion
Encyclopedia
The Otto H. Kahn House was the New York City
residence of German Jewish financier and philanthropist, Otto H. Kahn. The mansion
is located at 1 East 91st Street, in the Carnegie Hill section of the Upper East Side
.
to build his home in the neo-Italian
renaissance
style. The mansion was modeled after the palazzo della Cancelleria
of the Papal Chancellery in Rome
. It took four years to construct the mansion which boasts up to 80 rooms, in addition to living quarters for 40 servants, making it among the largest and finest private homes in America.
The mansion includes an indoor courtyard, garden, and private driveway, which was guarded 24 hours a day by a doorman, as well as an oak-paneled library and spacious reception room. Upon its completion, the Architectural Review
praised the mansion as "a remarkable example of well-balanced re-adjustment in those aesthetic elements that are found in architecture of the early sixteenth century in Italy" and deemed J. Armstrong Stenhouse to have "achieved a work which ranks as the foremost of its kind in this country."
Kahn housed an extensive art collection inside the mansion, including tapestries, glass chandeliers, and valuable paintings by Boticelli. Enrico Caruso and George Gershwin
were among the Kahn's many famous friends, who were often known to give impromptu performances at the mansion.
Following Kahn's death in 1934, the house was sold to the Convent of the Sacred Heart
, a private, all-girls Catholic school. In 1974, the Otto H. Kahn House was declared a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
residence of German Jewish financier and philanthropist, Otto H. Kahn. The mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
is located at 1 East 91st Street, in the Carnegie Hill section of the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
.
History
Kahn, a senior partner at the investment bank, Kuhn, Loeb and Co., commissioned architects J. Armstrong Stenhouse and C.P.H. GilbertC.P.H. Gilbert
Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert , most often referred to as C. P. H. Gilbert, was an American architect of the late-19th and early-20th centuries best known for designing townhouses and mansions....
to build his home in the neo-Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
style. The mansion was modeled after the palazzo della Cancelleria
Palazzo della Cancelleria
The Palazzo della Cancelleria is a Renaissance palace in Rome, Italy, situated between the present Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Campo de' Fiori, in the rione of Parione...
of the Papal Chancellery in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. It took four years to construct the mansion which boasts up to 80 rooms, in addition to living quarters for 40 servants, making it among the largest and finest private homes in America.
The mansion includes an indoor courtyard, garden, and private driveway, which was guarded 24 hours a day by a doorman, as well as an oak-paneled library and spacious reception room. Upon its completion, the Architectural Review
Architectural Review
The Architectural Review is a monthly international architectural magazine published in London since 1896. Articles cover the built environment which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism as well as theory of these subjects....
praised the mansion as "a remarkable example of well-balanced re-adjustment in those aesthetic elements that are found in architecture of the early sixteenth century in Italy" and deemed J. Armstrong Stenhouse to have "achieved a work which ranks as the foremost of its kind in this country."
Kahn housed an extensive art collection inside the mansion, including tapestries, glass chandeliers, and valuable paintings by Boticelli. Enrico Caruso and George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
were among the Kahn's many famous friends, who were often known to give impromptu performances at the mansion.
Following Kahn's death in 1934, the house was sold to the Convent of the Sacred Heart
Convent of the Sacred Heart (New York)
The Convent of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic all-girl school in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Teaching grades from pre-kindergarten through twelve, it is located on Manhattan's Upper East Side at East 91st Street and Fifth Avenue....
, a private, all-girls Catholic school. In 1974, the Otto H. Kahn House was declared a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.