Gracie Mansion
Restoration of a
Gracie Mansion Today
New York City Treasure
The People’s House
In 1981, recognizing the extensive use of the house and
During the administration of Mayor Michael R.
the need for a comprehensive restoration, Mayor Edward
Bloomberg, the interior and exterior of Gracie Mansion
I. Koch established the Gracie Mansion Conservancy. The
were structurally reinforced and again restored to their
Conservancy, a not-for-profit corporation, was formed to
original grandeur under the guidance of the Gracie
preserve, maintain, and enhance Gracie Mansion. It was
Mansion Conservancy in 2002. The restoration, which
under the Conservancy’s leadership that a major renovation
was made possible through private donations, transformed
and restoration project was undertaken from 1981-84.
Gracie Mansion into the “People’s House” providing
While preservation of the historic character of the house
increased public access to the house and its collection
was integral to the planning process, the restoration plan
of fine and decorative arts. In addition to the numerous
also strove to accommodate the house to its modern day
civic and community events hosted by the City at Gracie
Mayors at Gracie Mansion
use. During the administrations of Mayors David N.
Mansion, tours of the house are offered year-round.
Dinkins and Rudolph W. Giuliani, the Gracie Mansion
Public art is displayed on the lawns of the house for the
Fiorello H. La Guardia
1942-1945
Conservancy continued to expand the collection of fine and
enjoyment of visitors.
William O’Dwyer
1946-1950
decorative art to be displayed at the house.
Vincent R. Impellitteri
1950-1953
Robert F. Wagner
1954-1965
John V. Lindsay
1966-1973
Abraham D. Beame
1974-1977
Edward I. Koch
1978-1989
David N. Dinkins
1990-1993
Rudolph W. Giuliani
1994-2001
Michael R. Bloomberg
2002-
Gracie Mansion
The Gracie Mansion Conservancy
Gracie Mansion
East End Avenue at 88th Street
New York, New York 10128
1799
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Gracie Mansion is a member of the Historic House
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Trust of New York City.
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For more information on Gracie Mansion,
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including tours, call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/gracie.
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Special thanks to The New York Community Trust
for their generous support of this
publication.
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The Dining Room of the house features an historic scenic wallpaper,
The Gracie Mansion Foyer was constructed during a circa 1810 expansion
Les Jardins Français manufactured by Zuber in 1836.
of the house which provided the Gracie family with more room in which to
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Top image: A magnolia tree in bloom on the lawn of Gracie
Photo by William Waldron @achardimages.com
entertain at their renowned parties. The Foyer is known for its painted trompe
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Mansion, with the Hell Gate and Robert F. Kennedy bridges
l’oeil floor which gives the illusion of marble.
in view. Photo by Diana Carroll.
Photo by William Waldron @achardimages.com
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Cover image by William Waldron @achardimages.com.
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© 2008 The Gracie Mansion Conservancy
From Farm to Fort
From Family Home to
Concession Stand to Museum
The history of the Gracie Mansion property spans more
than three and a half centuries and mirrors the history of
In 1896, the City of New York appropriated the property
New York City in many ways. The earliest records relating
from the Wheaton family due to the non-payment of
to the property date back to a time more than 150 years
taxes. Eleven acres of the former Gracie estate provided
before Archibald Gracie built Gracie Mansion and nearly
the nucleus of the newly established East End Park, later
300 years before the house became the official residence of
renamed for Carl Schurz, a German immigrant who had
New York City mayors in 1942.
been editor of the New-York Evening Post, a United States
A Dutch farmer and carpenter named Sybout Claessen was
Senator from Missouri, and served as Secretary of the
the first recorded owner of the property on which Gracie
Interior under President Rutherford B. Hayes. In the early
Mansion stands today. Claessen acquired 106 acres of
Archibald Gracie Builds his House
days of the twentieth century, Gracie Mansion was used by
farmland in northern Manhattan in 1646 from the Dutch
the City’s Department of Parks as a storage area, comfort
West India Company and called his property “Horn’s Hook”
After the war ended and America’s independence was gained,
station, and an ice cream parlor for the park; over the
The Mayor’s House
after his birthplace, the town of Hoorn in Holland. The
Walton’s descendants reclaimed the land, and in 1798 sold it
next two decades the house deteriorated rapidly as a result
property was five miles north of the City and only modest
to Archibald Gracie. The property remained a location in the
of hard use and neglect. By 1920, various civic groups,
During the administration of Mayor Fiorello H. La
farm structures stood on the site for over a century.
countryside, as New York City had not yet expanded north
realizing the historic worth of the structure, lobbied to have
Guardia, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses convinced
from lower Manhattan. Gracie had emigrated from Scotland
it restored. In 1923, Gracie Mansion became the first home
City authorities that Gracie Mansion should be designated
In 1770, Jacob Walton, a wealthy Flatbush merchant,
in 1784 and established a trading company in New York; he
of the Museum of the City of New York. Having outgrown
the official residence of the Mayor of the City of New York.
purchased the prime portion of what had been Claessen’s
subsequently became one of the wealthiest men in the City.
the space at Gracie Mansion, the museum moved to its
Mayor La Guardia moved into the house with his family in
property, the tract overlooking the waters of Hell Gate,
In 1799, Gracie built a handsome woodframe house on the
present location on Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street in 1932.
1942, becoming the first mayor to live at Gracie Mansion,
where the East River, Harlem River, and Long Island
property to serve as his family’s country home. The new
Gracie Mansion once again fell into a state of disrepair.
and making New York the first city in the United States with
Sound intersect. Walton built a substantial house on the
house stood at the center of a colony of similar homes —all
an official mayoral residence. During the tenure of Mayor
land. At the outset of the American Revolution, George
accessible only by water—owned by families including the
Robert F. Wagner (1954-65), the house was used increasingly
Washington realized the strategic importance of Walton’s
Astors, Rhinelanders, Crugers, and Schermerhorns. Gracie
for public functions, and the construction of a wing
property; his troops commandeered the site in 1776. A
frequently hosted parties and social events for his circle of
containing three reception rooms—designed by architect
British regiment stationed across the river destroyed both
friends and neighbors at his country estate and enlarged the
Mott B. Schmidt—was begun under the leadership of Mayor
the fort built by the patriots on the property and Walton’s
residence by 1810. Guests at Gracie’s country home included
Wagner’s wife, Susan. Private contributors financed the entire
house, pictured below.
Alexander Hamilton, James Fenimore Cooper, Washington
construction of what was to be called the Susan E. Wagner
Irving, Governor DeWitt Clinton, Josiah Quincy, and
Wing, which was dedicated in 1966. The Wagner Wing is
Joseph Bonaparte. Gracie sold his house and the surrounding
primarily used to welcome the public to Gracie Mansion for
property in 1823 due to financial reversals. Two other
community receptions, meetings, and other civic events.
nineteenth-century families lived in the house, the Foulkes
and the Wheatons.
Detail from a drawing of the Walton House, dated 1774. The
Archibald Gracie, miniature by an unidentified artist, circa 1795-1800,
The country home of Archibald Gracie by an unidentified
Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia at his desk at City Hal , by
original drawing was donated by a Walton descendant to the
watercolor on ivory. Collection of The New-York Historical Society.
artist, circa 1810.
Samuel. J. Woolf, circa 1945, charcoal on paper.
Gracie Mansion Conservancy in 2006.
