History
The land was purchased in 1898 in secrecy by Carnegie, further north than most mansions, in part to ensure there was enough space for a garden. He asked his architects Babb, Cook & Willard for the "most modest, plainest, and most roomy house in New York". However, it was also the first American residence to have a steel frame and among the first to have a private Otis Elevator and central heating. His wife, Louise, lived in the house until she died in 1946.
The Carnegie Corporation gave the house and property to the Smithsonian in 1972, and the modern incarnation of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum opened there in 1976. Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates handled the renovation into a museum in 1977. The interior was redesigned by the architectural firm, Polshek and Partners, headed by James Polshek, in 2001.
Read more about this topic: Andrew Carnegie Mansion
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of this country was made largely by people who wanted to be left alone. Those who could not thrive when left to themselves never felt at ease in America.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“Man watches his history on the screen with apathy and an occasional passing flicker of horror or indignation.”
—Conor Cruise O’Brien (b. 1917)
“It is remarkable how closely the history of the apple tree is connected with that of man.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)