Joseph Raphael De Lamar House facts for kids
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Joseph R. De Lamar House
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(2005)
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 Location in New York City
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| Location | 233 Madison Avenue Manhattan, New York City |
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| Built | 1902-05 |
| Architect | C. P. H. Gilbert |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
| NRHP reference No. | 83001722 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | August 25, 1983 |
The Joseph Raphael De Lamar House is a huge, fancy house called a mansion. You can find it at 233 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York City. It was built between 1902 and 1905. A famous architect named C. P. H. Gilbert designed it in a style called Beaux-Arts. This style is known for being grand and decorative. The De Lamar Mansion is the biggest house in its neighborhood, Murray Hill. It's also one of the most amazing houses in New York City. Both the outside and inside are very lavish and detailed.
A Rich Man's Dream House
Joseph Raphael De Lamar was born in the Netherlands. He started his career as a sailor on trading ships. Later, he became very rich by investing in mining and metallurgy. This means he made money from digging up metals like silver, lead, and gold.
He built this mansion to show his success and join New York City's high society. It was meant to be a home for his family. However, soon after the house was finished, De Lamar and his wife got divorced.
In 1910, records show that De Lamar lived in the house with his 15-year-old daughter, Alice. They also had nine servants helping them. This was a common number of servants for very wealthy families back then.
De Lamar passed away in 1918 when he was 75 years old. Newspaper articles at the time called him a "man of mystery." They also mentioned he was a talented organ player. He left a huge amount of money, about $29 million, to his daughter Alice. She lived in the mansion for a short time after his death. Later, she moved to an apartment in a different part of the city.
The Mansion's New Owners
After Alice moved out, the mansion was sold to the American Bible Society. This group works to share the Bible. In 1923, another group called the National Democratic Club bought the house. They used it as their main meeting place.
In 1973, the country of Poland bought the mansion for $900,000. They wanted to use it as their Consulate General in New York. A consulate is like an embassy, but it handles things like visas and helping citizens from that country.
The building has been carefully cleaned and fixed up inside. It still has many of its original fancy features. Since 2008, the consulate has also been lit up beautifully at night.
The De Lamar Mansion was officially named a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1975. This means it's a special building that should be protected. It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Gallery
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A fancy ceiling decoration with flowers.
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One of the beautiful rooms with painted ceilings and gold decorations.
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The grand staircase with a colorful glass skylight.
See also
In Spanish: Mansión Joseph Raphael De Lamar para niños
