What Happened to America's Millionaires' Rows?
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Step back in time to the Gilded Age, when America’s industrial titans built entire neighborhoods of palatial mansions to showcase their unprecedented wealth and ambition. In this episode of This House, we’ll journey through the fabled Millionaires’ Rows of Buffalo, Detroit, Manhattan, Cleveland, Chicago, and beyond.
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I think it goes without saying, I'd save all the millionaires rows if at all possible. The architechural interest alone would add so much to our cities. It's a shame more of the mansions weren't repurposed for another use.
100% they should be saved
@@coltguy32 And who is going to pay for it? There is no new money investing in Detroit they bleed off more and more tax dollars every year with people leaving. There's just too much crime and corruption there it's not worth saving these house that have been sitting there abandoned for years full of mold.
Many of these structures were repurposed as courts, post offices, capital buildings and gov buildings.
Ugly architecture in any age. Look like houses of doom and horror. Tasteless even then.
@robertbullock9554 nah what is tasteless is the cardboard cookie cutter homes that they put up now a days.
What I find odd, is that all of these places, all over the country, were built around the same time. 1870-1920. Very few before, and never after. Just those 50 years, to build the brick and stone cities of America, and then we started to tear it down, as soon we saw what we had done, only to replace it with particle board and plastic. If you look at the history of building practices in this country, that statement, stands up.
YOUR HISTORY IS ALL LIES, THATS WHY. I wrote this in capital letters because they've covered up previous civilizations
I learned in design that 1920 was the last year of stellar homes built.
Not everywhere, a lot of places were preserved. You have to understand that (TIME) is a building's worst enemy they fall apart, mortar becomes sand again after so long.
@@Hardwired.166 I understand plenty about building structures. I have been doing it for 45 years. This has nothing to do, with the failure rate, of 19th century mortar.
Why build a home to last 200 years that will cost almost as much to "modernize" it as it cost to build it when the time rolls around to make updates. Only a small percentage of people could afford to live in these fascinating time capsules but the point is the people who can want to build their own modern castle. So what happens? These houses, while beautiful to look at are abandoned or neglected which makes them a bad investment.
It's been a few years since I read Fortune's Children, The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt by Arthur T. Vanderbilt, II. It was fascinating. If I remember right, Cornelius was never accepted by NY society. He was too rough around the edges. I felt sorry for some of his children. One of the things I remember was how Alva Vanderbilt (wife of William K.) tried to outdo Mrs. Astor. She spent all her husband's money on the house on 5th Ave. which ended up being demolished because they couldn't give it away. It was so expensive, and no one would even buy the marble, etc. inside. Great video on this subject.
Wonderful video, as always. My hometown of Erie, PA has a fairly intact Millionaire's Row on West 6th Street from Perry Square to Liberty Street. A precious few are still single-family homes; some are apartments and others have been wonderfully repurposed. I always walk or drive it whenever I'm home.
Looks very nice on google street view. They've had to knock down some houses to make parking for the remaining ones which are businesses, which is inevitable I suppose. But the important thing is a lot of houses have been repurposed rather than simply being knocked down to build literal trash
Thanks for your overview. I am a Chicagoan and have not seen a comprehensive overview of Prairie Avenue (as well as the Gold Coast) other than of the superstars of wealth at the time. Interested in the lives and contributions of the lesser known wealthy as well. Love to see any relevant news pieces from the time about construction, events, reuse, demolitions, etc.
So many great homes lost. Glad a few have survived to remind us of another era.
You never disappoint. Hope all is well. Happy New Year! I love all the mansions! Not sure I can pick a favorite.
Happy New Year 🎈🎆🎊
Small nits: the "triple palace" was built by Commodore Vanderbilt's son William Henry; and the Kimball mansion in Chicago is one of the two connected houses used as the US Soccer Federation headquarters. I live outside one of the cities lucky enough to have its Millionaires' Row almost totally intact: Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, MA. Excellent video.
Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I’ve submitted a correction, which should be live shortly. As for the Kimball mansion and the adjoining property, they were reportedly sold in 2023 as a pair of private residences.
@@ThisHouse News to me, but you are correct. Thank you for that information.
This is a treat... for I live in northern Canada out in the bush.... with no homes near me..... thank you Ken.. videos always appreciated
Hello 👋
Millionaires rows are some of my favorite episodes. Thank you! I was fortunate to grow up in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Henry Frick's Clayton is in Point Breeze. Millionaires row in Pittsburgh actually went from Shady side to Point Breeze, following Fifth Avenue onto Penn Avenue. Clayton is at Penn and Homewood Aves. The H. J. Heinz estate, Greenlawn was on Penn Avenue between N. Lang and Murtland Aves. Point Breeze often gets mistaken for Squirrel Hill, which is the neighborhood just south of Point Breeze.
Happy New Year, Ken and all “Old House Lovers”! 🎉🥂🍾🔔 My paternal grandmother worked “in one of the Big houses on Fifth Avenue” in NYC. She would never say who owned it and I would imagine it is long gone, since it would be over 110 years ago that she worked there. Thanks, again, Ken, for another terrific year looking at Grand houses! I live near Lakewood, NJ where the George J. Gould Estate “Georgian Court” still stands! It is now Georgian Court University with many of the original buildings about the campus. John D. Rockefeller’s house is long gone but his estate is our County Park as per his Will.
The first picture, center!!!. Brush Park District, downtown Detroit!. I LOVE that house!. I'd rebuild it if I could!!. The one on the right still stands, but restored to a lass than what it was.
Interesting perspective, Ken. Good report. Thanks.
Added: For me I have an attachment to the Central West End in St. Louis.
Having been all over the country, I still count the CWE as one of the most beautiful places in the US. Glad you enjoyed this video, cheers!
A great movie to watch to see this change and its affect on the guilded age millionaires and the inevitable change and time is "The Magnificent Ambersons " A fantastic movie by Orsen Wells whi considered it his best movie!! You won't be disappointed!!🎉🎉🎉
I love that movie.
Simple: in the 1800s, rich businessmen had to walk to work like everyone else. (A horse and buggy provided a modest boost in speed in congested city centers.) Thus they tended to build their fancy houses close to downtown, easing their commute and giving them the chance to show off. If they were rich enough, they could build a second get-away house in the countryside.
With the advent of automobiles (which the rich bought first!), the rich could move around much faster and no longer needed to live close to downtown. So they by and large moved to their countryside homes to escape the chaos of the city. As automobile prices decreased, the upper-middle class could afford to do the same. Even cheaper automobiles, and the solid middle class could afford to do the same.
Thus the wealthier urban neighborhoods hollowed out, the shops and businesses that served them in downtown and commercial corridors failed, the rising demand for parking space prompted the mass bulldozing of semi-abandoned downtowns in favor of parking lots, and the only people who remained in the surrounding urban neighborhoods were largely those too poor to leave.
Throw in some racial/ethnic tensions, a few failed “urban renewal projects” driven by progressive politics, and that’s mostly how American cities became what they are today. No conspiracies. No corporate plots. Just human nature, a few small government decisions, and-mostly-basic economics.
Nice video, although I was hoping for more than just a cursory mention of St Louis. I think St. Louis has managed to hang on to more of its Gilded Age mansions and millionaire streets than possibly any other in the country. They didn't get redeveloped into high rise apartments like New York nor abandoned like Detroit. St Louis actually invented the idea of private streets where the street was taken out of the public domain and owned by the block of homeowners (for better or for worse).
We recently covered Portland and Westmoreland places: ruclips.net/video/7dF2WbZ9ucI/видео.html
A few years ago we covered St. Louis Place as well: ruclips.net/video/qzZFU0YdYbY/видео.html
Thank you very much
Thank you for this vlog.
This is the perfect history lesson for New Years Eve. Thanks to you .Happy 2025!
I think Victorian architecture is stunning, it's unique and I'd love a huge mansion like any of these. The more gothic the better.
Many good comments here. I appreciate so much your giving “the world “ the opportunity to know about these fantastic houses. What I always think of seeing these opulent places is how brief life can be. The Bible says, “lay up treasure in heaven”. I hope that I can do that.
Millionaires' Row in my home town was sliced into during the interstate highway boom of the 1950's & 60's. Thankfully some of its grand homes on either side dodged the wreaking ball and now serve as law offices, etc.
What always amazes me is the length that most of these great houses stood. With all the money spent and the great artistry put into them, the find detail, European craftmanship and materials, most of these houses lasted barely one generation. Standing for such a short time only tells me of the elusiveness of riches.
We’ve been lied to about the timeline and our history. These buildings were built long before 1870.
In Cleveland on Euclid Avenue one mansion became the administration building for Cleveland State University. The millionaires moved on to Shaker Heights.
@@Regal1999 later. Shaker was first.
St. Paul's Summit Avenue remains mostly intact. One exception being the Norman Kittson mansion (13:51), where the magnificent cathedral now sits.
I love Summit Ave. we’ve gone through the James Hill house a few different times.
Summit Ave is a lovely tree-arbored boulevard and with well preserved mansions and smaller gracious homes.
When i saw the title, i wondered if Delaware ave would be mentioned lol. The high-school i went to was an old Delaware ave mansion converted to high school
Such an amazing crash course in American history. What a tragedy that we have failed to cherish these absolutely magnificent creations. Our cities have become dumps filled with block buildings creating a trashy environment of ugliness
Long live the Old World!!!
Wealthy people still build large houses but it's interesting that the projection of permanence and timelessness has been abandoned. Mansions are just larger versions of double-wide mobile homes now.
Yes. Partly the architects' fault. Modern architects are all about form follows function, but forget that the emotions evoked in passers-by or occupants is very much a function of a building. And that goes for offices, theaters, shops as well as homes of all sizes.
Hi great topic and review of the various grand houses of the gilded era. I am a great fan of baux art style and admired many featured here. Than you Fascination delve into architectural history Peter Mac Donald (Penang Malaysia ).
And happy new year 🎉
Happy New Year 🎈🎆 🎊
0:49 they didn't use oil in the cities to produce light, they used gas that was far much more brighter similarly to electric lights.
Nice to see a nod (however small) to your roots with an STL name drop.
The neighborhood across from the Chase Park Plaza, or along Lindle across from Forest Park
Or heck… even CPP or the homes of Williams, Price or Burroughs would be a nice refrain
I covered the neighborhood across from Chase Park Plaza last week (Portland and Westmoreland Places). Here’s that video: ruclips.net/video/7dF2WbZ9ucI/видео.htmlsi=jW_hB0PRa2jsqbAo
Rochester Ny, East Avenue is quite stunning despite everything else…
Some of these are considerably older than his story states. The 'original' owners just founded them and moved in. They were there before the usa was created. North America's Old World.
Old world pre-Colonial Mansions
Still in St. Louis, bordering the north east of Forest park, and extending in the neighborhood to the north. Beautiful. Heard many were once bought by Lennon and Yoko. Don’t know if true.
HAPPY NEW YEAR. 😄👍
Happy New Year 🎈🎆🎊
I would save them all just to see that architecture.🙂
or could be just " old world buildings " , - check the mud flood effect on the lower floors
Could you do one on Evanston, IL? They have lots of victorian houses
I can put together something more comprehensive on Evanston. I’ve only covered a couple houses there, so far. I’ll add it to my list, cheers!
The one at 6:22 uhhhh that's a lot of stone, it's so overdone i actually like it hahaha.
Love the video. Didn't you guys start the channel while you lived in St. Louis - then you moved to Chicago? How's it going?
We're considering moving to STL or Chicago (amongst a few other cities). We like them both. What are your thoughts on the differences between the two?
Chicagoland is wonderful! The two cities are very different, but culturally similar. I would highly recommend spending a few days in each to see which one best fits what you’re looking for. With Chicago being much larger than STL, there is a lot more to see and do here. However, STL has a quaint charm that is easy to fall in love with.
@ThisHouse thanks for the advice! Glad you're doing well. We still love your channel.
You can certainly get a ton more house for your money in STL than Chicago, though that's for a reason. Chicago thrives economically as few cities do.
@@lawrencesiskind3554 good point. We visit both cities several times a year. Definitely different vibes. We love the historic homes of STL and they're more within our reach....but there is definitely more excitement in CHI.
For all the negativity online about Chicago, its actually a thriving metro overall with a balanced economy. Its just not growing as fast as other places - but that doesn't mean its declining precipitously.
I do find it interesting that CHI metro is getting another look from folks now that the luster of FL and the south is wearing off. Turns out those places are governed by the laws of supply and demand just like the older, more densely populated cities....property taxes in those areas going up along with home insurance and the sheer inconvenience of the hurricane threat. Not appealing to me.
At least they had taste back in the day
I lived in Point Breeze, the Pittsburgh suburb where Frick’s first mansion Clayton is. He later built one in NYC which became the Frick Museum.
Summitt Ave in St. Paul is still there
We still have millionaires row neighborhoods left in St. Louis although we lost so much from them blowing these neighborhoods up to lay pavement for Highways. At least we were able to preserve some of our mansions and their neighborhoods from this opulent period.
I watched Meet Me in St. Louis recently, and I was so intrigued about the neighborhood featured in the film and Forest Park. I immediately went to Google Maps and what a delight looking at the older neighborhoods in St. Louis. So much is still preserved, and even the grittiness gives the city so much character. I love the aesthetics of St. Louis.
@ thank you! We are very proud of our city. The neighborhoods you are referring are the Lindell Blvd neighborhoods which is the Northwest border of Forest Park. Home and garden tours are offered throughout the year(s) to visit many of the beautiful residences in St. Louis. I learned that tunnels connect many of these mansions to Forest Park which is true for many homes in St. Louis taking advantage of the cave systems the city is built upon.
Forest Park consistently ranks 1st as best city park in the national polls for best parks. St. Louis was modeled after New York, although Forest Park is around 500 acres larger than Central Park. The St. Louis Art, History, and Science Museums along with our world-renowned zoo are located in Forest Park and all are free to the public along with many other attractions around St. Louis, like Grants Farm. The St. Louis Basilica, also located off of Lindell Blvd, has the most Byzantine Mosaics of any structure in the world’s western hemisphere and is awe-striking when you enter the Sanctorum.
Many other St. Louis parks also offer stunning views and historic structures, and Tower Grove Park has the largest collection of Victorian Pavilions in the world. St. Louis has a rich history from 260 years even though the city doesn’t rank as one of the oldest cities in the U.S.
The Mather Mansion became the administration building for Cleveland State University.
I am DETROIT we have made A COME BACK
Reasons why the Millionaires Row are largely gone now: (according to this video and in no particular order)
1. The millionaires' Economic fortunes rose then fell.
2. House fires.
3. Land became so valuable the owners sold their property to developers who built skyscrapers (Manhattan).
4. The Great Depression dealt the first Alexa blow.
5. The invention of the Automobile meant the millionaires could move further away from the city and didn't need to live in a city mansion.
6. I might add that when the original millionaire died, his descendants who inherited the house could not always afford to maintain the house or pay the properties taxes and utilities, nor did they always want to live in the mansion. So they sold the land to developers or factories or let the house go into ruin after they abandoned it.
*4. The Great Depression dealt the final blow.
I would love for some of these vast historical homes to be Mecca of culture and open public accessibility, I know there’s some Public homes that have been converted into library and I wish we could see more of that.
Really nicely done video like everything on this channel. It's a shame there are so few pictures of these areas in their decline as they are morbidly fascinating to me. For anyone who shares my interest I recommend Googling "Historic Pittsburgh Bennett Brothers Auto Wreckers." It shows the former home of the founder of Hussey Copper in a state of total dereliction and surrounded by, and covered with, 1910s and '20s automotive junk. It is roughly where Shadyside Hospital stands today for anyone familiar with the city. I would post a link but I'm not sure RUclips allows it. Hussey Copper was located next to Jones & Laughlin on the Monongahela River in what was probably the worst slum in Pittsburgh's history (and that is saying something.) Originally known as Soho (though I've never heard anyone call it by that name) it's now mostly covered in roads and interchanges leading to the Birmingham Bridge and would probably be called West Oakland most commonly now. Anyway, Happy New Year and keep up the great work on the channel.
I'm pretty sure that San Antonio's Millionaires' Row is the Monte Vista neighborhood. It's not too far from downtown, and it's where a ton of big, old, pretty houses are.
Thats when they dug them out of the ground and pretended they were new.
The mansions in my hometown of Indianapolis are still mostly intact, as well as St. Louis.
So the William H Clark home had a train underground ..... WHAT? ???
Adorable smile you got there. Where are you chatting from
Any construction photos of these magnificent buildings with actual workers. We did have cameras back then.
St Louis .
So was that a canter-in restaurant at Tryon Hall? Did they have horsehops on hand to serve?
Even if you were a millionaire today these homes would be unaffordable because they would tax you to death. I know a few people who had inherited homes like this tell me that they can afford to live there but the property taxes were outrageous, and in modern 2025 now our homeowners insurance is also unaffordable.
Expensive to heat too.
The one in Seattle is currently for sale
Cleveland’s Millionaires Row is now, sadly, decrepit and not safe. So many beautiful homes, gone to waste. Lakeview Cemetery is in the area, and is well worth visiting - amazing architecture and statues!
The rise and fall of Millionaires Rows illustrate the cyclical nature of prosperity. As cities and economies experience periods of boom and bust, the wealth and opulence of one era can be replaced by new challenges or different priorities, yet remnants of the past continue to shape the future.
When someone was overdressed my grandma would say they were ‘all dressed up like Mrs Astor’s pet horse.’
I think honestly it's because millionaires used to be members of high society that was all about parties and opulence, where now everyone isolates themselves. They may spend lavishly on vacations and going to clubs, but they're probably really lonely and don't spend as much time networking/being rich like people used to. People threw money around to hang out with their rich buddies constantly, now they just do it for instagram.
Privacy became wealth. Advances in communication rescued the need to be next to each other in the same neighborhood.
It’s those two aspects that drove these into low income neighborhoods.
Personally, I say good. It is good for people to have access to beautiful design. Even if the cost of maintenance is prohibitive.
When these old neighborhoods get revitalized and remain how they were (residential and not converted into a a “shopping mall with historicity”) the whole city and people who live there benefit.
Unfortunately, this is a decades long cycle, one that usually does get interrupted
Most of these structures are what we in the old country (England) refer to as "follies". Buildings built for vanity more than purpose, where form is worth more than function. The buildings these structures reference were built for a purpose first, even the adornments were part of the function, designed to convey the power that built them, by and for the power that built them. These structures failed because they were nought more than new money wanting to show it had arrived, they are no no different than a lottery winner blowing their money.
The Frank Furness mansions of Philadelphia, they weren't always the most attractive, but definitely unique.
Millionaires Row came to be at the detriment of of the every day workers.
True, so true. On February 25, 1913, the 16th Amendment officially became part of the Constitution, granting Congress constitutional authority to levy taxes on corporate and individual income. Taxation was a significant nail in the coffin of extravagance, but through progressivism we were this spared a revolution!
Greenwood ave in Trenton NJ
This is how the robber barons once lived.
Today's Billionaire robber barons prefer Mega Yachts.
Ordinary folks not happy.....then nor now
St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans Louisiana
These are palaces and mansions built in the 800 , 900 AD . The J used before for Ex. ( J910 ) replaced by the historical date (1910 ) we see now changed by the Robber barons some believe.
Does the phrase "Built in the days BEFORE Income Taxes"....mean anything to you?....
Imagine being able to jump through time...
But where did the skilled builders come from? And go to?
They're mostly gone because they were unsustainable money splooges at the time: Neither their descendants nor future buyers could maintain them, and the car deleted wealth from cities.
The important thing to remember is that all these homes were built before the government started taxing people's income and inheritance.
Were the homes themselves taxed already or did that come later.
Makes me wonder how the government used to fund itself if it didn't levie so many taxes
@@visionist7 Government funded itself almost entirely by tariffs and excise taxes up until 1913, with a couple of short-lived attempts at other types of Tax including income before that.
They sure put modern architecture to shame!!
No audio
your headphones/speakers are broke brother.
there is audio
They all got beach property instead, since global warming is raising the sea level 😂
They became billionaires thats what
Very interesting hard to believe a home that took 14 years to build stood for only 16 years before a developer nabbed it and leveled it to build a high rise.
What a shame.
You missed one of the best millionaire rows. Look up Williamsport Pennsylvania they literally call it millionaires row..
I have no idea what he's saying; turn on the caption feature, and the screen is mostly blocked. 😕
If you’ve ever done any honest work with your hands any home with massive square footage is shortly abandoned. When I come home tired at night Im so glad it doesn’t take a team of people to maintain my yard and house. I also know what’s going on with it having worked in block, brick, stone and stucco, wiring, plumbing and framing and finish carpentry roofing and concrete. Remodeling is the worst of the worst coming across toxic dust, and being confined to some others idea of form and function. It’s much harder to pull a nail than hammer one in. Then you have bureaucrats who want to over see your every action. Flee and don’t look back.
It’s sad to see the state of these homes
Although beautiful, unaffordable to maintain, on top of property taxes ppl could not afford to own these. So, in Chicago they turned them into tiny “affordable” apartments for $2000/mo+, with no amenities-forcing ppl to use Laundromats.
Sorry I may said that forgot
Fire creates opportunity? Can someone remind me how much land Blackrock just bought for pennies on the dollar in California?
bro.. it makes me so happy to see another person with a brain!!!
my whole family called me crazy for saying the fires were planned!!!!!
They got replaced with billionaires rows
The t and the s are silent in beaux arts.
Who doesn’t have a modern power plant in there house 🤷🏻
They became "affordable housing"
Here's a theory. The demise of all these Millionaire's rows is due to one major design flaw. They were by and large built on flat land and or were close to down town. Rich neighborhoods that are physically isolated remain rich.
Unfortunately I think it has a lot more to do with the economy and the wealthy not wanting to pay taxes
look up the pronunciation of eccentric...
The process of evolution and dereliction of the ego of the individual "drivers" of progress has always accompanied mankind, while often the handiwork of the lowly architect or builder is the last remaining physical vestige of their former empires.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
No thing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
The modern cities are all looking the same exchangebale architecture, the skyscrapers in USA, Asia or south america are all the same
It's sad that average working ppl care more about preserving fancy homes built for rich ppl more then the rich do.
FABULOUS