Mrs F.C. Havemeyer Townhouse

New York, New York City

1924

The townhouse originally built for Helen Baldwin and designed by Mott Schmidt could be diplomatically termed “understated” and, at worst, “uninteresting.” Four stories of red brick were highlighted only by two thin stone bandcourses and a pedimented centered doorway. While the neo-Georgian homes Schmidt designed for Anne Morgan and Anne Vanderbilt would soon steal the show on Sutton Place, the exterior of the Baldwin house drew little attention.

In 1931 Lillie H. Havemeyer, purchased what was now No. 16 Sutton Square. Her choice made sense since her two sisters, Anne Vanderbilt (widow of William K. Vanderbilt) and Mrs. Stephen Olin already owned homes on Sutton Place. Her mortgage of $51,000 reflected the increased property values.

Lillie Havemeyer filled the house with period antiques and works of art. If the façade of the Havemeyer home was blasé, the interiors made up for it. Dry Goods Economist said of her “Mrs. Havemeyer, who was Miss Lillie Harriman, is a sister of Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. She is almost as well known as a connoisseur and a woman of taste as she is a leader of fashion.”

In 1939 construction began on the massive FDR Drive project below the cliffs of Sutton Place. The project preserved the exclusivity of the Sutton Place enclave and the river views but required dynamiting the solid stone cliff. Most of the homes sat far back from the cliff’s edge but that was not the case with No. 16 Sutton Square. The Commissioner of Borough Works, Walter Binger, sat with Lillie Havemeyer and they came to an agreement. The Mott Schmidt-designed house was demolished and in 1940 was replaced with a house designed by architect Dewitt C. Pond.

Text courtesy of daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com