Andrew Carnegie Mansion

The Andrew Carnegie Mansion was built between 1899 and 1902 at a time when most of the city elite lived much further south in crowded row houses. Andrew Carnegie deliberately purchased this plot far uptown to escape the noise and density of his peers. This choice allowed him to build a private garden that remains one of the few enclosed green spaces in Manhattan. He famously instructed his architects to design the most modest and plain house possible, despite the final result being a sixty-four room residence.