Gracie Mansion

Location: 88th Street & East End Avenue
Phone: (212) 570-4773
Description: Gracie Mansion, officially the residence of the Mayor of the City of New York, stands in Carl Schurz Park and is the last of the elegant country mansions that once lined Manhattan's East River shore. Archibald Gracie, a Scottish shipping magnate, bought the property in 1798 and built the mansion the following year. Elegant parties were held at the mansion that attracted Louis Philippe, later King of France; President John Quincy Adams; Washington Irving; and Rufus King, ambassador to Britain. In the late 1880s, the property was condemned and finally seized by the City in 1896. Gracie Mansion opened as the first Museum of the City of New York in 1924, and as a restored house museum in 1936. Fiorello LaGuardia made it the official Mayor's residence six years later. A 2002 restoration transformed Gracie Mansion into the "People's House" and increased accessibility to the public and City agencies.