Archibald Gracie Mansion (commonly called Gracie Mansion) is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. The mansion overlooks Hell Gate channel in the East River.
History
Before construction and early days
George Washington commandeered an earlier house on approximately the same site during the American Revolutionary War, as it strategically overlooked Hell Gate. That house, called Belview Mansion, was the country home of Jacob Walton, a New York merchant. The British destroyed it during the war.
In 1799, Archibald Gracie built a new house on the same site, now known as Gracie Mansion. In the fall of 1801, Gracie hosted a meeting there of New York Federalists, called by Alexander Hamilton, to raise $10,000 to establish the New York Evening Post newspaper, which eventually became the New York Post. Gracie used the house as his country home until 1823, when he had to sell it to pay debts.
Later history
Other people lived in the house until 1896, when the municipal government seized it and made its grounds part of Carl Schurz Park. It served various functions as part of that park. At various times it housed public restrooms, an ice cream stand, and classrooms, until 1924. From 1924 until 1936, it housed the Museum of the City of New York. From 1936 until 1942, it was shown as a historical house.
In 1942, Robert Moses convinced Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia to appropriate the house as a mayoral residence. La Guardia preferred to call the residence "Gracie Farm"
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Recent use
The house may only be used for official city business. Only visiting public officials and the mayor's family may reside with the mayor at the mansion, even for a single overnight stay. This has prevented some recent mayors from living in the mansion. In 2001 Rudy Giuliani was forced to move out after he had been barred by a judge from bringing his then-girlfriend Judith Nathan to live with him in the mansion, a matter complicated by the fact that his estranged wife, Donna Hanover, refused to vacate the premises.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, likewise, never resided at Gracie Mansion, partially because regulations prevented him from moving in with his long-term partner, Diana Taylor, but also believing that the house should be left open to the public. However, he did use it for meetings and events; he also used the Mansion as a place for official visitors to stay while in the city. At the beginning of Bloomberg's term, he initiated a major restoration of the mansion, funded by an anonymous donor, suspected of being the billionaire mayor himself.
Mayor Bill de Blasio broke with his predecessors, moving into Gracie Mansion in July 2012, after spending the first six months of his mayoralty in his previous Park Slope home.
Mayor Eric Adams and his family currently live in Gracie Mansion. Its main floor is open to the public on a limited basis for guided tours, as of May 2023.
Architecture
Archibald Gracie built the two-story wooden mansion in the Federal style. The design of the structure is attributed to Ezra Weeks, a prominent builder, or John McComb Jr., the architect of New York City Hall and Hamilton Grange, Alexander Hamilton's country home in Harlem, New York.
At the suggestion of Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr.'s wife, Susan, plans were prepared by architect Mott B. Schmidt for a new west wing. The annex, was dedicated on September 27, 1966 and is now known as the Susan B. Wagner wing. Criticized by some at the time for not being "modern," in style, the wing has come to be regarded by many as an appropriate solution to the problem of expanding the small house for official functions. The Gracie Mansion Conservancy restored portions of the building during 1981–1984, and further substantial decorative and functional restorations were made in 2002.
In popular culture
The mansion and its surroundings play a prominent role in the novel Hell Gate (2010), by Linda Fairstein. The original footage from the TV show The Yule Log was filmed on 16 mm film at Gracie Mansion and shown from 1966 to 1969 on WPIX-TV. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974 film) featured the house (exterior and interior) in several scenes. A female golem takes up residence in the mansion in The Puttermesser Papers (1997), by Cynthia Ozick.
See also
List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
References
Notes
Further reading
, Article that includes discussion of the caretaker of Gracie Mansion.