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Villard Houses (1885) – New York

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Joseph Wells of McKim, Mead & White. Henry Villard Residence (1885). New York.
Joseph Wells of McKim, Mead & White. Villard Houses (1885). New York.

Six of New York’s surviving Gilded Age mansions hide in plain sight on Madison Avenue, and most people would never suspect they were once residences.

Stretching across an entire block, the imposing Villard Houses complex looks every bit like a public building, but it was initially designed as six attached townhomes.

Location of the Villard Houses

Henry Villard originally owned the property, and in the early 1880s, he hired McKim, Mead & White to design houses on it for himself and five other executives of his railroad company.1

With the firm’s star designer, Stanford White, otherwise engaged, the project’s design fell to Joseph Wells, an assistant who discarded White’s original sketches and opted for an exquisite Renaissance-inspired scheme.2

North wing of the Villard Houses, New York
North wing of the Villard Houses, New York

Wells’ work on this project was magnificent. Judging from this and his designs for the New York Life Buildings in Kansas City and Omaha, and the Russell & Erwin Building in New Britain, Connecticut, I’d venture to say he was more talented than White—certainly he was more disciplined.

Wells styled the Villard Houses as an Italian palazzo, reportedly inspired by the Palazzo della Cancelleria, Palazzo Farnese,3 and Villa Farnesina.4

The three-story homes included basements and attics and were built around a central courtyard, with brownstone facades and a tile roof. The ornamentation is sparse but striking, forming a tasteful, cohesive design that is far more subdued than many of White’s buildings, which were often quite garish.

Courtyard of the Villard Houses, New York
Courtyard of the Villard Houses, New York

The Villard Houses marked an important turning point for McKim, Mead & White, as Wells’ Renaissance-influenced design received widespread public acclaim, prompting the firm to look increasingly toward Italian architecture for inspiration.5

The project itself was a bust, however: Villard’s company failed during construction, and the homes were put up for sale before the interiors were completed.6 Typical Gilded Age bullshit. The firm ultimately finished the interiors of four of the homes.7

South wing of the Villard Houses, New York
South wing of the Villard Houses, New York

Stanford White and Joseph Wells reportedly had a complex and contentious relationship that grew increasingly strained through the 1880s as White’s hard-partying lifestyle began to eclipse his work output, and Wells handled major projects without credit or commensurate pay.8

Although he was virtually unknown to the public, Wells was highly esteemed in the architectural community, and when he abruptly died in 1890, his friend Cass Gilbert said he “had the temperament which makes artists unfit to cope with the world, and which, therefore, kept them always as assistant rather than principals.”9 Woof.

Granted, I tend to root for talented people who stay out of the spotlight, but I consider Wells an unsung genius, and the Villard Houses are undoubtedly his finest surviving work.

Looking at the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Looking at the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York

Gallery

Looking at the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Looking at the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Looking at the south wing of the Villard Houses from East 50th Street, New York
Looking at the south wing of the Villard Houses from East 50th Street, New York
Second and third-floor windows on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Second and third-floor windows on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Second-floor balcony on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Second-floor balcony on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Third-floor windows on the facade of the Villard Houses, New York
Third-floor windows on the facade of the Villard Houses, New York
Third-floor window on the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Third-floor window on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Console and ornamentation on a second-floor balcony of the Villard Houses, New York
Console and ornamentation on a second-floor balcony of the Villard Houses, New York
Third-floor and attic windows on the facade of the Villard Houses, New York
Third-floor and attic windows on the facade of the Villard Houses, New York
Main entrance to the Villard Houses, New York
Main entrance to the Villard Houses, New York
Ornamentation on the main entrance of the Villard Houses, New York
Ornamentation on the main entrance of the Villard Houses, New York
Quoins on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Quoins on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Cornice and brackets on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Cornice and brackets on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Dormers on the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Dormers on the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Entrance to the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Entrance to the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Dormer window on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Dormer on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Chimney on the Villard Houses, New York
Chimney on the Villard Houses, New York
Attic windows on the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Attic windows on the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Second-floor balcony on the Villard Houses, New York
Second-floor balcony on the Villard Houses, New York
Light at the entrance to the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Light at the entrance to the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Third-floor double window on the facade of the Villard Houses, New York
Third-floor double window on the facade of the Villard Houses, New York
Dormers and chimney on the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Dormers and chimney on the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Console and ornamentation on a second-floor balcony of the Villard Houses, New York
Console and ornamentation on a second-floor balcony of the Villard Houses, New York
First-floor window on the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
First-floor window on the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Second-floor windows on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Second-floor windows on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Second and third-floor windows on the Villard Houses, New York
Second and third-floor windows on the Villard Houses, New York
Column at the entrance gate to the Villard Houses, New York
Column at the entrance gate to the Villard Houses, New York
Looking at the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Looking at the north wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Rusticated brownstone on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York
Rusticated brownstone on the south wing of the Villard Houses, New York

Interior10

Mantel in Entrance Hall, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Mantel in Entrance Hall, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Door to Dining Room, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Door to Dining Room, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Lunette over mantel, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Lunette over mantel, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Entrance Hall, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Entrance Hall, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Dining Room, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Dining Room, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Mantel in Dining Room, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York
Mantel in Dining Room, Henry Villard Residence at the Villard Houses, New York

Elevations and Floorplan11

West Elevation of the Villard Houses, New York
West Elevation of the Villard Houses, New York
First floor plan of the Villard Houses, New York
First floor plan of the Villard Houses, New York

References

  1. Broderick, Mosette. Triumvirate: McKim, Mead & White. New York: Alfred A. Knopf (2010), p. 226. ↩︎
  2. ibid. ↩︎
  3. ibid. ↩︎
  4. White, Samuel G. The Houses of McKim, Mead & White. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. (1998)., p. 79. ↩︎
  5. Broderick, Mosette. Triumvirate: McKim, Mead & White. New York: Alfred A. Knopf (2010), p. 230. ↩︎
  6. ibid., pp. 228-9. ↩︎
  7. White, Samuel G. The Houses of McKim, Mead & White. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. (1998)., p. 79. ↩︎
  8. Broderick, Mosette. Triumvirate: McKim, Mead & White. New York: Alfred A. Knopf (2010), pp. 275, 288-89, 295-96. ↩︎
  9. ibid, p. 298. ↩︎
  10. A Monograph of the Work of McKim Mead & White, 1879-1915. New York: The Architectural Book Publishing Company, 1915. ↩︎
  11. ibid. ↩︎

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