Polish Consulate General (Joseph Raphael De Lamar House), ca. 1975. At the turn of the 20th century, Murray Hill was a fashionable district for the city’s wealthiest residents, trailing only Fifth Avenue in terms of prestige. Across the neighborhood, the existing housing stock of mid-19th century brownstones were quickly being replaced by extravagant new mansions, including this Madison Avenue gem. Joseph Raphael De Lamar was a Dutch-born merchant and entrepreneur, who became wealthy investing in mining operations in the American West — new money, by New York standards. To establish his place in city society, De Lamar commissioned famed architect C.P.H. Gilbert to design an opulent Beaux-Arts mansion, the largest in Murray Hill. De Lamar’s ostentatious residence took three years to build and ultimately rose to a height of six stories, surmounted by a massive mansard roof. After De Lamar’s death in 1918, the mansion passed to the American Bible Society, and later, the National Democratic Club. Since 1973, it has housed the Polish Consulate General.

237 Madison Avenue, ca. 1980. This fifteen-story neo-Romanesque building (at center) was constructed in 1927 by architect Andrew J. Thomas. Originally intended for long-term residents, the structure reopened as the Hotel Duane in 1984, following renovations, and was later renamed the Morgans Hotel, under the ownership of the Morgans Hotel Group. On July 14, 2017, the Morgans Hotel closed its doors for the last time. The building is now owned by Shel Capital and the Kash Group, who are expected to convert the nearly 100-year old property into a condominium complex.

Joseph B. and Josephine H. Bissell House ARCHITECT: Edward L. Tilton DATE: 1903-04 STYLE: Neo-Classical By the early 20th century this area was the city’s most prestigious residential neighborhood and was known as Vanderbilt’s Row because of that family’s involvement in maintaining the elite character of the neighborhood. The house was purchased by Josephine H. Bissell in 1903. She hired prominent architect Edward L. Tilton to alter the house by removing the traditional Italianate style brownstone facade and its high stoop and replacing it with a more fashionable neo-Classical style brick and limestone facade with an American basement plan.