Arguably New York City’s most impressive collection of architectural masterpieces were the Gilded Age mansions that flanked Fifth Avenue. From The Vanderbilt’s grandiose John B. Snook–designed townhouse on 54th Street to the Astors’ French Rococo–style manor 20 blocks south, the extravagant display of wealth has since been demolished in favor of more contemporary structures that, unlike the 19th-century limestone jewels of Midtown, are clad in floor-to-ceiling reflective glass panes and glossy steel.
