The Vanderbilt mansion at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street was the largest private house ever built in New York City. But by the 1920's, it was a dinosaur: it required over 30 servants to run and the property taxes were the modern equivalent of $3 million a year. Cornelius Vanderbilt II's widow could no longer afford it. She moved out and sold it knowing full well that the mansion would be torn down for commercial development.
