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At 66th street with Fifth Avenue is the house which was built for the late H. O. Havemeyer. Colonel Oliver H. Payne lives in No. 852. No. 855 is Perry Belmont's, and No. 856 H. O. Armour's. The house on the north corner of 67th street is George Gould's. No. 858, the double house long occupied by the late Isaac Stern, is noted for the rich interior effects, which are secured with choice marbles, rare woods and tapestries and hangings from the most famous looms. No. 864, which was owned by the late C. T. Yerkes, and its collection of paintings and art treasures constituted the largest private art gallery in America.
On the north side of 68th street, No. 871 of the Fifth Avenue, was the home of William C. Whitney, who, remodeled and re-built the interior, and made it one which for beauty and costliness of decoration is believed to be without a rival in this country.
It is furnished throughout in the Italian Renaissance style, the aim being to reproduce as nearly as possible a Venetian or Florentine palace of the days of Leonardo da Vinci and Michel Angelo. There is scarcely a modern piece of work to be seen, except the floors: the decorations are all original antiques collected abroad, and each the most perfect specimen that skill could select and money buy. The chimney-pieces are nearly all elaborate works in marble from old Italian palaces; the hangings are from similar sources; the ceilings of several rooms have been taken bodily from famous buildings in Europe, and the furniture and much of the woodwork are of a like character In the principal hall a portrait of Charles I., by Van Pyk, hangs at one side of a short flight of steps, and a religious piece of Lorenzo Costa en the other. Between them is a splendid silver hanging lamp, a masterpiece of old Italian craftsmanship.
The dining room walls are covered with sixteenth cenlurn Italian wall paintings. The chimney-piece is a magnificent specimen of its kind, while the great bronze firedogs are said to be the finest in America. In the library the bookcases and paneling are of old oak, carved with all elaborateness of detail found in none except the work of Renaissance workmen. The ball room is reached by a corridor which is paneled with inlaid woods in quaint design and of very old workmanship. The ball room is pure Louis XLV. The walls are entirely covered with paneling in high relief, which was once in the chateau of Phoebus d'Albert, near Bordeaux. In the time of Louis Philippe these panelings were taken to a house in Paris, and from there they were brought to this country. Every scrap of furniture in the room is also of the Louis XIV. period, the ceiling and floor being the only modern portions of the apartment.
At l0th street with Fifth Avenue, recessed in the wall of Central Park, is the HUNT MEMORIAL. It consists of a bronze bust of the architect, by D. C. French, with a curved stone bench. The dedication is: "To Richard Morris Hunt, Oct. 31, 1828—July 31, 1895, in recognition of his services in the cause of art in America, this memorial was erected by the Art Societies of America."
On the south corner of 74th street is the immense brown stone house known as the Pickhardt House.
A curious history attaches to the house. It was built, unbuilt and rebuilt by William Pickhardt, an eccentric millionaire dealer in chemicals, who became possessed by an ambition to outdo the Stewart palace at 34th street. Architects of England, Germany and America were invited to compete, and the plans of an American were adopted. The stone for the walls was imported from quarries near Mr. Pickhardt's birthplace in Germany. Work was begun in 1875. After the foundations had been finished at a cost of $100,000. Mr. Pickhardt changed his plans, and the work was interrupted for a year.
When the walls of the first story had been completed, there was another change of plan, followed by another prolonged interruption. The work then progressed until three stories had been built, when another change was decided on, and the weary architect threw up his job. A contractor was employed to tear down two stories, and a new architect and new builder were put in charge. The builder was a German, and went to Germany on a vacation and died there. Another builder was found, and at last, In 1889, after fourteen years of building, tearing down and rebuilding, the house was roofed. Then Mr. Pickhardt concluded that it was not what he wanted, and declared that he would never live in it. It stood vacant six years. A few months later Mr. Pickhardt died. The new owner made sum more alterations, and eventually the house was occupied.
The gilt-ribbed donee of the Hebrew Temple Beth-El at 76th street with Fifth Avenue is one of the most effective architectural features of the neighborhood and has a conspicuous place in the vistas and views from the walk: and drives of Central Park. The interior is rich with columns ant arches of onyx.
At 77th street is Senator W. A. Clark's mansion, one of the most conspicuous examples of architectural riot in the city.
At 82d street is the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
At 90th street is the million-dollar residence of Andrew Carnegie having the unusual feature of a spacious garden surrounding it.
CENTRAL PARK GATES on Fifth avenue are at these streets: 59th, 6411 (Menagerie), 67th, 72d, 7901, 82d (Museum of Art), 85th, 90th, 96th 102d, 106th and troth.
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