41 Facts About Stanford White

In 1906, Stanford White was murdered during a musical performance at the rooftop theatre of Madison Square Garden.

At the time of Stanford White's killing, Nesbit was a famous fashion model.

Stanford White was born in New York City in 1853, the son of Richard Grant White, a Shakespearean scholar, and Alexina Black.

Stanford White's father was a dandy and Anglophile with little money but many connections to New York's art world, including the painter John LaFarge, the stained-glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany and the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

Stanford White had no formal architectural training; like many other architects at the time, he learned on the job as an apprentice.

In 1878, Stanford White embarked on a year and a half tour of Europe to learn about historical styles and trends.

In 1884, White married 22-year-old Bessie Springs Smith, daughter of J Lawrence Smith.

Stanford White was from a socially prominent Long Island family.

Stanford White's ancestors had settled in what became Suffolk County in the colonial era, and the town of Smithtown was named for them.

In 1889, White designed the triumphal arch at Washington Square, which, according to White's great-grandson, architect Samuel G White, is the structure for which White should be best remembered.

Elsewhere in New York City, Stanford White designed the Villard Houses, the second Madison Square Garden, the Cable Building at 611 Broadway, the baldechin and altars of Blessed Virgin and St Joseph at St Paul the Apostle Church, the New York Herald Building, and the IRT Powerhouse on 11th Avenue and 58th Street.

Stanford White designed the Bowery Savings Bank Building at the intersection of the Bowery and Grand Street, Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square, the Lambs Club Building, the Century Club, Madison Square Presbyterian Church, as well as the Gould Memorial Library, built for New York University's Bronx campus but now part of Bronx Community College.

Stanford White designed churches, residential estates, and other major works beyond New York City, such as:.

Stanford White designed several clubhouses that became centers for New York society, and which still stand: the Century, Colony, Harmonie, Lambs, Metropolitan, and The Players clubs.

Stanford White could express the mood of a building he was designing.

Stanford White designed the Kate Annette Wetherill Estate in 1895.

Stanford White designed a number of other New York mansions as well, including the Iselin family estate "All View" and "Four Chimneys" in New Rochelle, suburban Westchester County.

Stanford White designed several country estate homes in Greenwich, Connecticut, including the Seaman-Brush House, now the Stanton House Inn, operated as a bed and breakfast.

Stanford White's "informal" shingled cottages usually featured double corridors for separate circulation, so that a guest never bumped into a laundress with a basket of bed linens.

One of the few surviving urban residences designed by White is the Ross R Winans Mansion in Baltimore's Mount Vernon-Belvedere neighborhood.

Stanford White built the house in 1901, as a golden wedding anniversary gift for Young's wife Harriet.

Stanford White lived the same life as his clients, albeit not quite so lavishly, and he knew how the house had to perform: like a first-rate hotel, theater foyer, or a theater set with appropriate historical references.

Stanford White extended the limits of architectural services to include interior decoration, dealing in art and antiques, and planning and designing parties.

Stanford White collected paintings, pottery, and tapestries for use in his projects.

Stanford White had a major influence in the Shingle Style of the 1880s, Neo-Colonial style, and the Newport cottages for which he is celebrated.

Stanford White designed and decorated Fifth Avenue mansions for the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and other high society families.

Stanford White was a collector of rare and costly artwork and antiquities.

Stanford White maintained a multi-story apartment with a rear entrance on 24th Street in Manhattan.

Stanford White was one of a group of wealthy roues, all members of the Union Club, who organized frequent orgies in secret locations scattered about the city.

Mark Twain, who was acquainted with Stanford White, included an evaluation of his character in his Autobiography.

In 1901, Stanford White established a caretaking relationship with Evelyn Nesbit, helping Nesbit get established as a model for artists and photographers in New York society, with the approval of Nesbit's mother.

But, well before he was killed, Stanford White had moved on to other young women as lovers.

Stanford White hit White twice in the face and once in his upper left shoulder, killing him instantly.

When it became apparent that Stanford White was dead, chaos ensued.

Nineteen-year-old Lawrence Grant Stanford White was guilt-ridden after his father was slain, blaming himself for the death.

Stanford White was buried in St James, New York, in Suffolk County.

An editorial published in Vanity Fair, lambasting Stanford White, prompted Davis to a rebuttal.

Stanford White's article appeared on August 8,1906, in Collier's magazine:.

Stanford White admired a beautiful woman as he admired every other beautiful thing God has given us; and his delight over one was as keen, as boyish, as grateful over any others.

The autopsy report, made public by the coroner's testimony at the Thaw trial, revealed that Stanford White was in poor health when killed.

Stanford White suffered from Bright's disease, incipient tuberculosis, and severe liver deterioration.