Elizabeth Marbury Townhouse

New York, New York City

1921

Mott B. Schmidt and interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe collaborated on the renovation of Elisabeth Marbury’s house at No. 13 Sutton Place. Schmidt was brought in to remake the old, deteriorating Victorian. It was a profitable commission for Schmidt, for he would soon do the renovations for two more Sutton Place mansions—those of Elisabeth’s friends Anne Morgan, daughter of J. P. Morgan; and Anne Vanderbilt, widow of William K. Vanderbilt.

When the New-York Tribune reported on December 1, 1920 that “Miss Marbury will make extensive alterations,” its readers could not have imagined how extensive those renovations would be.  Schmidt’s transformation would cost “Bessie” $20,000—more than a quarter of a million dollars today. Marbury explained the migration to The Evening World reporter Will B. Johnstone a few weeks after the renovations began. “It is the obvious thing to do. Here is sunlight and air and a river view as desirable as Riverside Drive. Why should the East River be neglected? Our garden will be a gem; a quaint old English garden with a red bricked wall.”

The Sutton Square gardens were intended to be the focal point of living here. “The interiors of our old brownstones will be completely turned about,” she said. “Living rooms, dining rooms, drawing rooms and master bedrooms will be in the back, facing our delightful garden and river view. What is now the front of the houses will be devoted to service entrances, kitchens and maids’ bedrooms. In this way the houses will be isolated from outside surroundings so far as owners and guests are concerned.”
While Schmidt’s renovated façade would be less grand than those he produced for Morgan and Vanderbilt; the Marbury house pretended to be an understated 18th century townhouse from the streets of Boston or London. Elegant in its simplicity, it was entered a few steps below the sidewalk. But if the exterior did little boasting, Elsie de Wolfe’s interiors made up for it.

Text courtesy of daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com

More Architecture: Alterations