Moses Allen Starr Mansion

5 West 54th Street | Midtown | built 1899

Open on the map4 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1899

    Robert Henderson Robertson designs an Italian Renaissance house for Dr. Starr

    Neurologist and Columbia University professor Dr. Moses Allen Starr commissioned architect Robert Henderson Robertson in 1897 to design his townhouse, a buff-brick residence trimmed in limestone in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. Construction finished in 1899 at a projected cost of $60,000.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1932

    Dr. Starr dies in Germany, leaving the mansion to his wife Alice

    Dr. Starr, who had married Alice Dunning in 1898, died in Germany in 1932 at age 78, leaving her an estate worth nearly $1 million. Alice remained in the West 54th Street house until her own death in December 1942, after which her estate sold the property.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1943

    Robert Lehman donates the mansion as a veterans' rest home

    Financier Robert Lehman, whose father owned the mansion next door, bought the property from Alice Starr's estate in 1943 and donated it to the federal government as a rest home for returning World War II veterans. Renamed Freedom House, the mansion also served as headquarters for the wartime Victory Clothing Collection drive.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1981

    February 3

    The city landmarks the row of five townhouses on West 54th Street

    The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the five consecutive townhouses at 5 through 15 West 54th Street, including the former Starr mansion, as landmarks on February 3, 1981. The group was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 4, 1990.

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

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