Gracie Mansion - Tapa dura

With a foreword by Mayor Bloomberg and the full cooperation of the Gracie Mansion Conservancy, this book is the first-ever tribute to Gracie Mansion, New York City's mayoral residence from its construction as Archibald Gracie's country home in 1799 to its importance as the home of New York City's mayors and their families (starting with Fiorello LaGuardia in 1942) to its splendid 2002 restoration and new role as the "People's House" under Michael R. Bloomberg. Combining a detailed architectural history of the mansion (including the Susan E. Wagner wing built by Mott B. Schmidt and the contributions of such master decorators as Albert Hadley, Mark Hampton, and Jamie Drake) with anecdotal portraits of the mayoral inhabitants, lavishly illustrated with more than 150 images (including paintings and watercolors, letters and maps, invitations and elevations, designers' sketches and before-and-after photos), and enhanced by exclusive interviews and the recollections of those who have lived and visited there, this handsome volume will be the definitive work on a charming landmark that is more popular today than ever before.

Ellen Stern has been a writer and editor at New York, GQ, and The Daily News, and her books include Best Bets and Once Upon a Telephone. She lives in New York.


Ellen Stern has been a writer and editor at New York, GQ, and The Daily News. Her most recent book is Threads, with fashion designer Joseph Abboud. She lives in New York.