“An old house is like an old citizen, in that it deserves an ‘obituary.’” — The New York Times, 1891
When you’re Charles M. Schwab, you have the luxury to do what few other people do.
Rising quickly in the employ of Andrew Carnegie at Carnegie Steel Company, he replaced Henry Clay Frick as president in 1897 at the age of 35. He managed the sale of the company to a group of financiers, led by J.P. Morgan, in 1901, resulting in the formation of the United States Steel Corporation.
By that time, Schwab was earning $1 million a year as president, and for good reason — he was an inspiring leader. This is what he said about his management style:
“I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among the men the greatest asset I possess, and the way to develop the best that is in a man is by appreciation and encouragement.” — Charles M. Schwab, 1897
So when it came time for him to build a temple to his own greatness, he settled on New York City, much as his colleagues Carnegie and Frick had done. He built the Charles M. Schwab House at 73rd St and Riverside Drive, when the wealthy were still building further and further up Fifth Avenue.
According to Heaven on the Hudson: Mansions, Monuments, and Marvels of Riverside Park:
“Apparently, opulent homes were de rigueur among New York's steel magnates at the time. Two other well-known residences were built on Fifth Avenue: Henry Clay Frick’s at 70th Street and Andrew Carnegie's at 91st Street. Carnegie is said to have once remarked, referring to the Schwab mansion, "Have you seen that place of Charlie’s? It makes mine look like a shack."”
His plot took up the whole block between 73rd Street and 74th Street, bordered by Riverside Drive and West End Drive. Construction cost $3 million, which equates to about $100 million today.
Schwab named his house “Riverside” and finished the 50,000 square-foot 75-room house with trappings to match: a 166-foot water tower with panoramic views, a chapel, gymnasium, bowling alley, music room, a pool, three elevators, two pipe organs, an art gallery that occupied the entire northeast wing, a conservatory across the entire southern façade of the house, and interiors in the styles of Henry IV, Louis XIII, Louis XV and Louis XVI.
The exterior was surrounded by a garden the size of a small park. The French architect Maurice Hébert created a chilly granite facade derived from the chateaus of Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau and at the rear, Blois.
The total cost of the home, including construction, landscaping, and furnishings was between $6 and 8 million ($200-300 million today).
By the 1930s Schwab had lost nearly all of his fortune in the Great Depression. Unable to pay the taxes on the property, he tried to sell the mansion for $4 million. In January 1939 his wife of more than 50 years died, and two months later Schwab moved to a small apartment on Park Avenue. He died six months later.
He bequeathed the house to New York City, thinking it was a suitable official residence for the mayor. Fiorello La Guardia, mayor at the time, flatly opposed it, saying “What, me in that?”
The mansion stood vacant from 1939 until 1948, when it was publicly demolished, its French Renaissance opulence subjected to wrecking balls and jackhammers, the modern-day machine equivalent of the Parisian mob overtaking Versailles.
In 1950, the site gave rise to a full-block, sixteen-story apartment building, done in uninspiring red brick and called “The Schwab House.”
The Frick and Carnegie houses survive to this day, both as art museums.
And that’s Classy AF.