One of my Canadian relatives married an Astor. He built a fairly large office building on the corner where 47 Wall St. sits now. Their residence was at 7 W. 81st. where The Beresford later went up. At that point they moved across the park to a new building at E. 81st and 5th. Ave.
I had never read anything on this town house till watching this. I like the nice restrained Regency style simplicity of it. “The Last Mrs Astor” by Frances Kiernan was an excellent read. Well done, Ken. Thank you!
I’ve been collecting photos of Ferncliff and the casino! I posted one of my clippings on our Facebook Page last night as a little teaser, and yes, I will be following up with a video soon. Cheers!
Brooke Astor was a wonderful person - I met Her at the Colony Club and , later She purchased five of My drawings. I was and , am grateful for that support. I wish She were still alive. She was gracious & FUN !
Amazing architecture. Talk about excess, though Vincent seems to one it down. As always I appreciate you adding the historic back stories. Good job, Ken.
I've always felt that was because that Gilded Age of excess that existed when Vincent was a child and teen was a bygone era by the time he became an adult, and he recognized the importance of evolving which led him to do more productive things with his life.
I love your videos. I adore old architecure and how people lived in those days. So sad how all the money in the world can't buy you hapiness. I am sorry he couldn't have children and maybe thats why his marriages failed.
I really like the townhouse. The bathroom looks current. Seems all that wealth left Vincent numb. Bing born into such enormous wealth is way different from being born poor and then creating it. The latter cannot spend the money fast enough on uber-mansions and art. Losing both his parent at a young age, especially the tragic manner in which his father died, may have influenced his view of money. I wonder how much he missed not being able to have children. Impressive man.
Hope their remaining family receives a refueling of their wealth. Their story evokes Compassion. Vincent was charitable, leaving Brooke in charge of the estate, she continued successful charitable works, for NYC.
The gallery of the double townhouse was fantastic. I actually paused the video to take it in; I don't recall seeing a room with so much art in an American house. It looked like something you'd see in the great houses of England. The atrium was also marvelous. For once, I didn't like the new townhouse as much as I liked the older buildings.
Vincent had a step brother 20 years younger from the second marriage of his father. The brother was called John Jacob he had a boy and a girl Astors as an adult however only received a small portion of the Astor wealth. He also had a sister by his mother who was about 9 years younger resided with her mother. Vincent lived with his father after his mother and father divorced.
Tony Marshall was convicted of swindling his mother out of millions after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the last few years of her life Brooke Astor, a philanthropist and socialite, died in 2007, aged 105 One of Marshall's sons first tipped off authorities when he became concerned about his grandmother's living conditions Marshall, who had Parkinson's disease and heart problems, served time in prison last year but was released after he was granted medical parole His wife Charlene announced his death in a cryptic New York Times obituary that did not mention his mother or his two sons, who testified against him
excellent and informative video! Thank you for this. I find it interesting that a man of such wealth would not move mountains to create an heir, at that time it would have been a biological son. I mean, he had the wherewithal to do so............ It's wonderful that this billionaire family gave their money to worthwhile causes such as the Arts and housing, and not to space travel for millionaires..... I do wonder, if I had this kind of wealth, what charities or issues I would give my resources to. And yeah, i'd get myself a yacht. And multiple houses.
Two failed marriages with a third marriage is about is almost done until his passing in 1959. So the Astor legacy is left with his half-brother who have children and even grandchildren from different marriages.
First. thank you for your recent videos on the monied families of the "Gilded Age" (did Mark Twain invent that phrase?). Second, not to be a scold (as Brooke Astor might have said) but there is a branch of the Astor family in the UK. This resulted from an American Astor abandoning the USA for the UK when he felt his native land was too lowbrow and hostile to wealthy persons. Besides it didn't have REAL castles or aristocratic titles.
I’m constantly how the Astors and Vanderbilts lost their fortunes, I know several descendants of both families and they are very wealthy, but no longer have the ancestral surname
RELATIVELY SIMPLE ARCHITECTURE, BUT I WOULD STILL SAY, DEFINITELY ANOTHER DEMOLITION FREE ZONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT IS LEFT OF THE INTERIORS?????????? AND WHAT IS IN "THIS HOUSE" TODAY??????????????
