Collectors and Designers
at Home in Murray Hill
Join Royal Oak on a walking tour with Matt Postal as we discuss the homes of 20th century artists, designers, and collectors. We will start our tour of landmarked structures with the palazzo-like design of John Pierpont Morgan’s private library (now part of the Morgan Museum and Library), built between 1902-1906.
We will then look at the home of collectors Thomas and Fanny Clarke, patrons of the Hudson River School, who transformed their Neo-Georgian house—the Collector’s Club—into an art gallery. We also will pass the offices of famed early-20th century architectural firm Delano & Aldrich which was a former milk depot and stable.
Our tour will conclude at Sniffen Court, one of New York City’s smallest historic districts. This gated mews of 10 two-story Romanesque Revival stable buildings was built in 1863-1864. Later, the buildings were adapted and included the studios of sculptors Harriet Whitney Frishmuth and Malvina Hoffman. Hoffman’s reliefs of Greek horseman decorate the rear of the alley.
The Amateur Comedy Club bought two of the buildings in 1918 to use as a theatre and clubhouse. We will end our walk with a visit and refreshments inside the former home of composer and songwriter Cole Porter, whose Elizabethan revival interiors now have been transformed into the home and offices of the award-winning architects Fairfax & Sammons.
Sniffin Court
