Comments by "Andrew Brendan" (@andrewbrendan1579) on "What Happened to the Merchant Prince's Mansion in Manhattan? (A. T. Stewart Mansion)" video.

  1. Thank you, Ken! I've been intrigued with this house for a long time. To me the Stewart mansion has something of a "Great Expectations/Miss Havisham quality to it. I've read that though the Stewarts had a house that could hold many people for entertaining the couple did little or no entertaining, maybe have one or a few people over now and then. That huge house that could have had so much activity and so many guests yet just two people who were owners and probably a few servants lived in it. Ken, you may be familiar with the Dover book "Fifth Avenue, 1911, From Start to Finish in Historic Block-by-Block Photographs", edited by Christopher Grey. It shows the whole length of both side of Fifth Avenue in photographs. On page 39 is a large free-standing, maybe Italian-style house and the caption says, "Miss Mary A. Wendel/No. 442". The house is five stories high if you count the attic and six stories if there was a basement. Speaking of Miss Havisham, I don't know how long Miss Wendel lived in the house that had been her father's, whether she went out much or had people over, but I read that she died in 1934 without ever having had running water or electricity installed. I wouldn't be surprised if the house was a time capsule of the 1800's but how far back I don't know. I doubt there are enough photos or enough information for a This House video but what a story there must have been at 442 Fifth Avenue!
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