Astor Mansion, Fifth Avenue; 1897. Where you now see Temple Emanu-El, Mrs. Astor's French chateau once stood, with a ballroom large enough for 1200 guests. Mrs. Astor— the only name she went by—was the gatekeeper of Gilded Age society. And a ticket to her annual ball told you whether you had made it in. Through blood and marriage, Mrs. Astor hailed from the city's oldest and wealthiest stock. Caroline Webster Schermerhorn was born to one of New York's first Dutch families, who made their fortune in shipping. Her husband, William Backhouse Astor, was the grandson of the country's first millionaire, John Jacob Astor, a fur trader who had the foresight to buy up Manhattan real estate in the early 1800s. Ball season extended from debutante parties in December through weddings around Easter time. But Mrs. Astor's fête—always the first Monday in January—was the most exclusive of them all. Her social advisor, Ward McAllister, had determined that there were "only about 400 people in fashionable New York," telling the press "If you go outside that number, you strike people who are either not at ease in the ballroom, or else make other people not at ease." In fact, Mrs. Astor's first ballroom accommodated up to 600 guests. But that wasn't the point. In 1895, Mrs. Astor decided to leave her home on 34th and Fifth Avenue to come up to this location before you, following the trend to move uptown. She hired William K. Vanderbilt's architect, Richard Morris Hunt, who put up the four-story French Renaissance chateau to the tune of $2 million—or $54 million in today's dollars. Like her house, Mrs. Astor's balls took their inspiration from European kings and queens. Servants wore green plush coats and brass-buttoned red vests with white breeches, black silk stockings, and gold-buckled shoes. Mrs. Astor, meanwhile, usually donned royal purple, diamonds, and pearls, and greeted guests while standing next to a portrait she commissioned of herself. Until the end of her life, Mrs. Astor tried to maintain her reign over Gilded Age society. In a 1906 interview for a magazine called, appropriately, The Delineator, Mrs. Astor said, "I hope my influence will be felt in one thing, and that is discountenancing the undignified methods employed by certain New York women to attract a following." She added that recent parties "belonged under a circus tent rather than in a gentlewoman's home," probably thinking of a recent Newport ball that had totally upended the social order with guests dressed as the servants. Mrs. Astor died in 1908. Her mansion was torn down in 1926.

In the closing decades of the 19th century, New York underwent a profound physical and cultural transformation. Fueled by the wealth of the exploding financial and manufacturing sectors, the city rapidly evolved into a world-class metropolis. The bold ambitions of civic and business leaders, architects, and engineers of the era manifested in landmarks such as the vast Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the stately U.S. Custom House, the towering Municipal Building, and the original terminus of New York City’s first official subway line—the ornate City Hall stop. The sweeping interior spaces common to all of these structures, and hundreds of others, depended upon a venerable Mediterranean building technology adapted to contemporary American construction: arched tile ceilings—or vaults—that were not only self-supporting but could also bear the weight of floors or roofs above them. These vaults were designed and built by a single New York firm, founded by Spanish immigrant Rafael Guastavino (1842-1908) and later headed by his son Rafael Jr. (1872-1950). The Guastavinos’ patented system for building domes and vaults involved multiple layers of thin ceramic tiles bonded with quick-drying mortar. The resulting structures were not only exceptionally strong, but also lightweight, easy to build, and inherently beautiful, thanks to intricate patterns of exposed tile that formed finished, decorative surfaces. Guastavino vaults figured prominently in more than 1,000 projects across the nation, including 200 in Manhattan alone. During its 73-year history, the Guastavino Company helped build some of the most impressive interior spaces in America—veritable palaces for the people. This list based on MCNY's exhibition Palaces for the People, contains many of Guastavino's masterpieces in the five boroughs, both those that remain and those that have been lost to the wrecking ball.

Temple Emanu-El Temple Emanu-El was established in 1845 as New York City’s first Reform congregation. 33 members met in a loft at the intersection of Clinton and Grand Streets on the Lower East Side. As the congregation grew, Emanu-El moved further and further uptown. In 1854, it moved to its third location at 110 East 12th Street, which later housed St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church. By 1868, the congregation had built a permanent structure on Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street, designed by Leopold Eidlitz and Henry Fernbach. Much fanfare surrounded its consecration on September 11, 1868. The following day, The New York Times reported that a limited number of tickets available for the ceremony sold out several days in advance. “The anxiety to secure them was very great. When the doors were opened there was a crushing and crowding in which ladies’ crinoline and gentlemen’s hats suffered severely.” Over time, however, the neighborhood became increasingly commercial and Temple Emanu-El was unable to expand to accommodate its growing membership. In 1925, Temple Emanu-El sold the building and purchased property at Fifth Avenue and 65th Street, the site of the John Jacob Astor mansion. Construction of the new temple at the site of the Astor mansion began in 1927 and would last two years. Architects Robert D. Kohn, Charles Butler, and Clarence Stein designed the building. In the meantime, services were held 11 blocks uptown at Temple Beth-El, another Reform synagogue. On January 10, 1930, 2,500 people attended Temple Emanu-El’s formal dedication at 1 East 65th Street, where it remains to this day.

The Enduring Issues Practice set is designed to help students analyze documents for Enduring Issues to help prepare them for the NYS Regents Exam. Use the attached handout to answer the questions following each document. At the end, determine what the one Enduring Issue is and create a topic sentence that is supported by evidence from at least 3 images. Enduring Issues Practice Set 1 Handout

Jewish New Year Prayer services and celebrations were always newsworthy and still are, in the pages of The Forward.

A walk of the best tourist spots New York City's Upper East Side has to offer.

As the city expanded and the relentless churning of commerce caused New York's population to explode, the city pushed northward. As the city itself moved northward, so did its elite. They settled along the undeveloped edge of the brand new Central Park, building enormous homes and mansions to celebrate their fabulous wealth. This walk takes you through a selection of the Fifth Avenue mansions that would have once dominated the Avenue.

Temple Emanu-El was established in 1845 as New York City’s first Reform congregation. 33 members met in a loft at the intersection of Clinton and Grand Streets on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. As the congregation grew, Emanu-El moved further and further uptown. In 1854, it moved to its third location at 110 East 12th Street, which later housed St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church

In 1892, 27% of the country's millionaires lived in New York, when the city only made up 2% of the country's population! Welcome to the society of the Gilded Age. This tour takes its inspiration from an exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York that explores the visual culture of New York's richest residents from the mid-1870s to the start of World War One. It stops at several places, such as the old headquarters of Tiffany \&Company that are connected to the dazzling objects in the show. It also introduces you to some of the people at the center of Gilded-age society, and illuminates how-over the course of three decades- the city transformed more rapidly than ever before. It was during this time that New York became a world capital on par with London and Paris. Before the 1870s the lives of the rich and the places they frequented had been more private and understated. By the 1890s they were public and over the top: Simple brownstones gave way to French chateaux, cluttered dry good stores became palatial department stores; and grand hotels and restaurants became premiere places to entertain, outside the home. Even if shoes are more comfortable now than they were in the Gilded Age, you may find it tiring to walk this tour from beginning to end. So feel free to split it up!

The Gilded Age describes the era following the Civil War and preceding the Progressive Era. From around 1870-1900 the United States industrialized rapidly. Factories sprung up throughout the towns and cities in the Northeast and Midwest. New railroad networks and telegraph lines connected these industries and cities with the financial centers of the nation, specifically New York City. The Gilded Age is a complicated period. It saw the rise of monopolies and the creation of vast wealth. However, this wealth was limited to only a few families. Most Americans, including the millions of immigrants arriving annually, remained incredibly poor. The inequality of the Gilded Age prompted Progressive Reformers to enact laws which helped those poorer Americans. New York City represented well this "tale of two cities." In 1892, 27% of the country's millionaires lived in New York, when the city only made up 2% of the country's population! Yet the vast majority of poor immigrants arriving to the country entered through New York Harbor. While many Progressive reforms got their start in the Big Apple, the city was also the center of Gilded Age opulence. NYS Social Studies Scope and Sequence Standards: 8.2 & 11.5 For Teachers: The Gilded Age Lesson Plan

It’s no secret that New York is one of the Jewish capitals of the world. The city alone is home to 1.1 million Jews. That makes the city the largest Jewish community outside of Israel - larger than Tel Aviv and Jerusalem combined! The city's Jewish communities are not only multiple but diverse – they are Ashkenazic and Sephardic, Hasidic, and secular. The city owes this diversity to various waves of Jewish immigration over time, but did you know that Jewish geography today still in many ways reflects these immigration eras? Indeed, when and from where your Jewish ancestors immigrated may actually inform where you live in NYC today!

Where you now see Temple Emanu-El, Mrs. Astor's French chateau once stood, with a ballroom large enough for 1200 guests. Mrs. Astor— the only name she went by—was the gatekeeper of Gilded Age society. And a ticket to her annual ball told you whether you had made it in.