Ukrainian Institute's Neo-Gothic Headquarters Research Paper

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Neo-French Gothic Revival: The Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion

Over a century old, the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion in New York is a good example of late 19th century Gothic revival and today, the building is registered as a National Historic Landmark. The mansion was named for Isaac D. Fletcher, a prominent New York City investor and banker, and Harry F. Sinclair, an oil tycoon who was subsequently caught up in the scandal-ridden administration of President Warren G. Harding. Currently, the mansion serves as the long-time home for the Ukrainian Institute of America and remains a popular destination for students, architects and others who are interested in neo-Gothic Revival architecture in the United States. This paper reviews the relevant literature to describe the building in informal and historical terms, relating it to larger trends in the 19th century architecture and society and to provide an analysis concerning how this building reflects the forms ideas and ideologies of styles in architecture. A summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues are presented in the paper's conclusion.

Review and Analysis

The Fletcher-Sinclair mansion (hereinafter alternatively "the mansion") located at 2 East 79th Street and Fifth Avenue has served as the headquarters for the Ukrainian Institute of America since 1955.

The mansion was commissioned in 1897 by a wealthy investor and financier, Isaac D. Fletcher and was designed by the prominent New York City architect, Charles P.H. Gilbert. During his lengthy career covering the period from the 1880s to the 1920s, Gilbert designed more than 100 other large homes in New York City.

A picture of the imposing and stately five-story neo-French Gothic style mansion as it stands today is depicted in Figure 1 below.

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Figure 1. The Fletcher-Sinclair mansion

Source: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/UES/UES062-01.jpg

Besides being designated as a National Historic Landmark, the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion is also protected as a contributing element of the Metropolitan Museum Historic District.

The mansion is an example of the neo-French Gothic Revival movement that began in 1750 with the construction of the villa, Strawberry Hill for Horace Walpole, the 4th earl of Orford.

According to Wedd, "The uniqueness of the Gothic Revival is indeed that, virtually alone among architectural styles, it was founded on and proclaimed moral values."

These origins are somewhat ironic given the criminal shenanigans engaged in by the mansion's subsequent owner. For instance, Whitney reports that Harry F. Sinclair was an oil millionaire who was subsequently implicated in bribing a member of President Warren G. Harding's scandal-ridden administration over rights on navy-reserved oil fields.

According to the New York Architecture organization, "Harry F. Sinclair, the founder of the Sinclair Oil Company, purchased the Fletcher Mansion in 1920 and sold it in 1930 to Augustus Van Horne Stuyvesant, Jr., a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant."

Together with his spinster sister, Augustus, who also remained single, lived in the mansion until his sister's death in 1938 after which he remained in the mansion with only his servants for company.

Notwithstanding this bit of irony, the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion does embody many of the design attributes that characterize Gothic Revival architecture. For example, Wedd suggests that Gothic Revival architects discovered "medieval style as decoration" and "slapped [it] happily on to buildings, often of perfectly Palladian plan and proportion."

Although Strawberry Hill remains the most prominent example of Gothic Revival today, the same architectural elements can be identified….....

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