C. Ledyard Blair House

Architecture

The Beaux-Arts mansion, designed by Carrère & Hastings, was at 2 East 70th Street, at the southeastern corner with Fifth Avenue. The house overlooked the gardens of the Henry Clay Frick House at 1 East 70th Street, which had also been designed by Carrère & Hastings. It was built by Norcross Brothers at a projected cost of between $150,000 and $200,000. The Lord Electric Company received the electric contract, Norcross Brothers furnished most of the rooms, and C. Brainard was consulting engineer.

The 66-room mansion contained nearly 7300 ft2 and measured 33 by. The facade was made of limestone. The second-story windows had iron balconies. When the house was completed, it had a grass planting strip on Fifth Avenue, with two plane trees. The New York Times described it in 1915 as "an excellent example of good architectural taste combined with the luxuries and comforts of a Fifth Avenue home."

History

The stretch of 70th Street between Fifth Avenue and Third Avenue, part of Lenox Hill, was relatively undeveloped until World War I. Henry Clay Frick's mansion at the northeast corner of 70th Street and Fifth Avenue spurred the development of similarly grand mansions on 70th Street. Before the Blair House was constructed, the site contained the Josiah M. Fiske mansion, which occupied a site measuring 33.5 x.

An anonymous buyer acquired the Fiske mansion from Fiske's widow in May 1912 for $750,000. In September 1914, the buyer was reported as C. Ledyard Blair, a banker and Governor of the New York Stock Exchange. The design and general contracts were awarded in February 1915. The house was completed in 1917. During the mansion's short existence, the Blairs hosted a luncheon in 1919 to celebrate the marriage of C. Ledyard Blair's daughter, as well as another social event in 1920.

By 1925, Blair was meeting with real estate developer Anthony Campagna to sell his mansion. At the time, Fifth Avenue was quickly being developed with apartments. In January 1926, after just nine years, Blair sold the property to Campagna for $1.25 million. The sale, at 170 $/ft2, was reported in The New York Times as the "highest ever paid per square foot for property to be used for this class of building". He tore down the house in late 1926 and early 1927, redeveloping the site with a new 11-story apartment building designed by Rosario Candela. The new apartment was completed in 1928. The building featured a maisonette with its own private entrance and address, 888 Fifth Avenue, later owned by Theodore J. Forstmann.

References

References

1. {{cite NY1900
2. (September 19, 1914). "The Real Estate Field; C. Ledyard Blair Is Owner of Fifth Avenue Corner at Seventieth Street Sold Two Years Ago". The New York Times.
3. (May 8, 1915). "Current Building Operations". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide.
4. "C. Ledyard Blair House 2 East 70th Street, Manhattan, New York". House Histree.
5. (February 6, 1915). "Contracts Awarded". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide.
6. (November 21, 1915). "New Residences on Upper Fifth Avenue Types of Good Architectural Taste; C. Ledyard Blair's Colonial Home, Opposite Frick Mansion, a Noteworthy Improvement to the Lenox Hill Centre". The New York Times.
7. (May 19, 1981). "Upper East Side Historic District". [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]].
8. (September 19, 1914). "Real Estate Market". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide.
9. (September 3, 1916). "Realty Event in Sale of I. Townsend Burden Mansion on Upper Fifth Avenue; Purchase of a $1,000,000 Private Residence a Rare Occurrence in Manhattan". The New York Times.
10. (May 11, 1912). "Conveyances". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide.
11. (September 19, 1914). "Newspaper Specials". Wall Street Journal.
12. (February 8, 1949). "C. Ledyard Blair Co-founder of Blair & Co. Here Was Yachtsman and Former Stock Exchange Governor". The New York Times.
13. (December 9, 1919). "Supper Dance Given at Home Of C. L. Blair". New-York Tribune.
14. (December 14, 1920). "Evelyn Walker To Be Married Here January 4". New-York Tribune.
15. (January 23, 1926). "Blair Corner Will Be Transferred in Spring: Transaction Was Begun During Casual Meeting in Paris Last Summer". The New York Herald, New York Tribune.
16. (May 16, 1926). "New Architecture on Fifth Avenue; Wall of Apartment Houses Makes Startling Change in Upper Area". The New York Times.
17. (January 22, 1926). "World's Costliest Apartments, Some $500,000, for Fifth Av.". The New York Herald, New York Tribune.
18. (January 22, 1926). "Buys Blair Mansion at a Record Figure; Builder Pays $170 a Square Foot for Upper 5th Av. Site for Big Apartment House". The New York Times.
19. (February 24, 1927). "Work on IV Fifth Av. Flat To Be Started by Campagna". The New York Times.
20. (October 26, 1928). "Tenant Owners Take Over Apartment on Fifth Ave: Building Erected on Former C. Ledyard Blair Home Site". New York Herald Tribune.
21. (January 16, 2015). "For $35M, A Maisonette With Your Own Fifth Avenue Address". [[Curbed NY]].
22. (March 7, 2012). "Teddy Fortsmann's homes up for sale". [[New York Post]].