William Salomon House

You are standing at the site of what was once one of the most opulent private residences in Manhattan. Between 1901 and 1906, the banker William Salomon demolished an existing brownstone to construct a massive marble mansion at this corner of Fifth Avenue and Eighty-third Street. While the exterior was famously blocky and severe, it served as a calculated shell for a hidden world of extreme luxury. The house was designed specifically to showcase a collection of art and historical treasures that rivaled the city's public museums.