Alva Vanderbilt: Part 1

Part 1/2. Hi divas! This week, we're diving into the extraordinary story of Alva Vanderbilt, one of the most ambitious, fiercely independent and formidable women of the Gilded Age. From her early years in Alabama and Paris to marrying into one of America's wealthiest families, Alva was determined to make her mark on New York society, and she certainly wasn't going to let Mrs Astor stand in her way. We're chatting about the legendary $6 million costume ball that changed society forever, her rise to the very top of the social ladder and the scandalous divorce that saw her cast out of the very world she'd worked so hard to conquer. And this is only Part 1 of 2! Shout out to our incredible researcher Gracie McCamish and editor Jamie Rose for pulling this together. If you're wanting more Hot History content you can follow along on Instagram @thehothistorypod and @hothistoryclub, on TikTok @hot.history, on Substack @hothistoryclub and of course, right here! 'Til next week, Ainslie x

• 0:00Speaker 00

  If you're thinking that this is a story about a traditional Southern belle, you best reconsider. For Alva Smith is made of more metal than any man south of the Mason-Dixon line, and she intended for it to be known by as many people as possible.

• 0:28Speaker 00

  Hi guys and welcome back to Hot History, your corner of the internet where we cover all the things in history that you probably should know but don't. I'm Ainslie Harvey, your hot historian here, live from New York City. That's right, my divas, we are in the Big Apple for a very exciting week celebrating the launch of season four of The Gilded Age. And I join you all today from a room where not only a lot of history is held, but where a lot of history actually went down. And that is the Library of J. P. Morgan. Guys, I am so thrilled to be here, thanks to the amazing team at the Morgan Library, who have generously let me come in before opening and record this episode for you, because I wanted every single second of this episode

• 1:11Speaker 00

  to live and breathe The Gilded Age, as we cover one of its fiercest, most fabulous, and undeniably ferocious figures, the inspiration for Mrs. Russell herself, Alva Vanderbilt. Speaking of which, guys, The Gilded Age season four is streaming now on Paramount Plus, and I am living for this new season. Honestly, guys, the drama already has given me several heart palpitations, and I am loving every second of it. So make sure to jump on the hottest bandwagon on TV now. And thank you so much to Paramount Plus for making this episode of Hot History and this entire trip possible. But let's get into the history today, guys, with our Gilded Age surroundings to talk about our Gilded Age diva,

• 1:56Speaker 00

  by rewinding it all the way back to the town of Mobile, Alabama, on January 17th, 1835, where baby Alva is born into the wealthy Southern Smith family, who made their money in cotton plantations, and whose history is stained by the treacherous brutality of slavery. Her father, Mr. Murray Forbes Smith, was a commission merchant who had some good money, but not the strongest of pedigrees, unlike one Miss Phoebe Anne, the daughter of US Representative Robert Disher, and the very proper Mrs. Eleanor Shelby, who was paired up with Murray in a marriage of the utmost convenience. Which worked well, guys, because he needed the social capital, and she needed a wealthy match. So the date was set, the vows were made,

• 2:40Speaker 00

  and soon, seven children came along, five of whom survived, including our Alva, who remembered friends of the family making horrible comments to her parents about how tragic it was that her brother had died, while totally neglecting to mention her sister, who had also passed not long before. An event which she herself declared was one of the first encounters of sexism and patriarchy she remembered in her life, and one that would last forever. With Alva becoming a self-described, quote, "horrible child", who made it her mission, according to Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, "to call out anyone and everyone who tried to make her less than equal to her brothers and their friends", which you're probably thinking, "Right on.

• 3:26Speaker 00

  You know, we love a self-aware feminist queen", which is very true. But for Alva's parents, having a feminist for a six-year-old in highly conservative Alabama during the late Georgian age, was unfathomable. Especially because her threshold for restraint was not only limited, but altogether missing. For on one occasion, Alva recalled applying her own form of particularly heavy justice to a young boy named Pepe de Valet, who had removed a ladder that Alva had used to climb an apple tree, and then stood below, pelting her with apples to try and make her fall. Now, luckily, she dodged all of his attempts. But unluckily for him, she climbed back down,

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  uh, ran after him, tackled him to the floor, and then stomped on his body while screaming, "I'll show you what girls can do." So, if you're thinking that this is a story about a traditional Southern belle, you best reconsider. For Alva Smith is made of more metal than any man south of the Mason-Dixon line, and she intended for it to be known by as many people as possible. Telling her autobiographer Sylvia Hoffett that "I realized as a child that girls played, quote, 'the part of spectators in the theater of life', while men and boys have the vivid action, and as such would stop at nothing to prove she could have her slice of adventure too." This manifested in a huge spirit for action,

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  with Alva riding horses bareback on beaches in Newport, Rhode Island, where polite American society came to mingle by the sea, and climbing mountains down south that tore her stockings to shred, expressing her spirit and her challenge to the boys of her youth that she was ready for whatever life could throw at her. Something that drove her mother up the walls, guys, with Phoebe all but resigning herself to the fact that her daughter's behavior simply couldn't and wouldn't be tamed, and as such, assigned one of the family's enslaved workers to constantly watch over Alva. Yeah, that's right, guys, we are still pre-Civil War here. And as we said at the top, the stain of slavery runs deep in the Smith family,

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  with Alva herself later shamefully confessing that she remembered being, quote, "conscious of her superiority with the enslaved peoples of her household", including her handler, assigned by Phoebe, who Alva said was, quote, "the first one who ever tried through other means than the rod to direct my imperious rebellions", but to no end. With her, quote, "contempt for authority feeding Alva's sense of power and entitlement", according to Hoffett. Which is important here, guys, for a few reasons. One, because this is all essential background on how young Alva came to be older Alva, with a lot of the reflections of her early behavior and views influencing the work she did in her later life for a men's.

• 6:18Speaker 00

  And two, because it gives us a read of the pre-Gilded Age beliefs while the threat of war was looming. Something that, as a cotton man in the South, meant Alva's father would be directly impacted by. And as such, he decided to pack the family up and utilize his wife's social connections to move to New York City in 1859, which Hoffett said had long provided Southern cotton merchants with credit, insurance, and transport services, hence why Murray picked it. However, guys, when the family arrived, they found the nature of this agreement was rapidly changing in the face of debate around slavery, with Southerners being increasingly ostracized for their views, as they should be.

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  However, this didn't stop the Smiths from trying to make their way here, relying on Phoebe's family's good name to weasel their way into the expensive and prestigious Madison Square region, where they hoped to rub shoulders with the old money crowd who ruled polite society. But their efforts were all for naught, guys, with the Berkshire Edge reporting on how the Southerners' unpopularity was too deep for New Yorkers to accept them, leaving Murray no choice but to watch on helplessly as his Southern property got destroyed, his Northern hopes flopped, and the family's social capital tanked, leaving them no other choice but to flee. Not only New York or the North, guys, but the country. Instead, traveling to England,

• 7:44Speaker 00

  where he continued his business as a cotton grower, while Alva and the rest of the family set up residence in Paris. Here, on the click-clacking of cobblestones and in the dusky tones of lamplight, Alva Smith soaked up French culture like a sponge, guys. From songs to fashion to architecture to language and so much more, Alva attended a prestigious private boarding school in Nellisacienne, where history and art filled her every waking hour, which, according to the Berkshire Edge, was exceptionally rare. For nowhere in the US in the 1860s could a girl like Alva receive such an extensive education, which turned out to be more than just academic. For the scrappy 10-year-old who stomped on boys and got into fights with her mum,

• 8:29Speaker 00

  transformed into a powerful, refined, and charming young woman by the year 1869. From which dresses to wear, to which wine to drink, and what period of art every portrait in the Louvre heralded from, Alva Smith was transformed upon her return to New York into something she herself once thought unimaginable.

• 8:51Speaker 00

  A lady. However, this did not mean the Smiths were accepted back into the American fold. In fact, while I had been away, guys, society had well and truly transformed itself as the Gilded Age period began and society started revolving around one Mrs. Caroline Astor. Born from the old money skirmahorns and marrying into the wealthy Astors, Caroline was the very epitome of Gilded Age refinement, and as such was essential in determining who was in and who was out of polite society, which at this point, after the war and a long time away, the Smiths weren't really a part of. But that didn't necessarily matter for Alva, because she had other social engagements

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  with her next door neighbour and lifelong best friend, Consuelo Nyaza. The original buccaneer, whose life was the basis of her friend Edith Wharton's book By the Same Name, guys, and there's a TV series as well. Consuelo was not only the daughter of a wealthy Cuban family that owned sugar meals near Trinidad and plantations in Louisiana, but she also went on to become titled after joining the ranks of the British aristocracy as one of the first American dollar princesses, being married off to the cash poor but pedigree-rich by Count Mandeville, making her the Duchess of Manchester. This, my divas, gave Consuelo considerable power and influence, especially in New York,

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  for in spite of all of its pomp and circumstance and wealth, the one thing the American old money crowds did not have was hereditary titles, which meant that the dollar princesses like Consuelo, who could make matches over the pond, became titans of society when they returned to the Big Apple, which is handy for Alva as her best friend, because the Smiths' family is well and truly on the decline, not only because of their ties to slavery or their more shabby midtown address, but because Phoebe, the matriarch of the Smiths' family, whose pedigree they depended upon, had died, and without her, Murray failed to climb the slippery social ladder. He also failed to hold on to the family finances, guys, which dwindled with each year that

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  passed, leaving Alva, the youngest of the Smiths' children, to pick up the slack, using her brilliant mind and her fervent spirit to hatch quite the Gilded Age enterprise, opening the family's home as a boarding house, which according to the Berkshire Edge say allowed the family to rent rooms and keep the roof over their heads rather than uphold their social standards and starve, which, again, guys, I think we look at the early life of Alva, right? Who is seventeen here, by the way, and she is constantly exceeding the expectations of Gilded Age women, not only of her own time, but largely of ours. I mean, even today, thinking about, you know, a seventeen-year-old girl picking up

• 11:44Speaker 00

  the slack of her family by basically running a B and B in her own home is wild. She was revolutionary and a true entrepreneur from day dot, with enough ambition to run the entire continental US as a light afternoon's work, let alone master society, with her scrappiness and undeniying spirit to never be beaten down, allowing Alva to persevere despite the old society isolating her, instead clinging to Consuelo, who dragged her to the parties of the new money crowd, whose social circle was far freer than those of Mrs. Astor. Here, amongst the new money robber barons and their cashed-up offspring, Consuelo, who wasn't yet the Duchess, guys, fit in nicely, with her family's Cuban heritage

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  also not widely accepted by the old money circle, which is how she met the likes of the Morgans, whose library we sit in, the Carnegie's, the Rockefellers, and, most importantly, for Alva's sake, the Vanderbilts, with Consuelo introducing her best friend to the most eligible bachelor of 1875, the rich, the new, and the heir to one of America's great future dynasties, William K. Vanderbilt, which probably begs the question, who is this guy? And as much as we want to keep the focus today on our diva and not on the man, we are going to do a brief summary. So, let's get into it by recapping what we know about the Vanderbilt name and business in general up until this point, starting with Cornelius, aka the Commodore, who is

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  Al William's grandfather. Now, he was a man of no means and no social connection, who began on the docks of Staten Island in shipping before buying a ferry to take people between the island and Manhattan. From this, he built a solid business before then investing in larger steamships, which made him the first real profit, which he then invested in railroads, amassing quite the monopoly before helping build the transcontinental railway. As such, the Vanderbilts gained power and wealth as the family wined and dined with other robber barons of the age, including Rockefeller, Carnegie, and the Morgans. However, none of them at this point had managed to make their way into the old money crowd

• 13:58Speaker 00

  who shunned Cornelius and his son William H. Vanderbilt, something that William K. and his brother Cornelius II wanted to set right by marrying women who not only had the right heritage, but had the right ambition, which is where Alva Smith comes into the equation. You see, when Consuelo first introduced the pair, they discovered they actually had a great deal in common, including a love of French culture, their classical education, and their ambition to move up in the world, with Alva wanting a bigger, grander life than being being the Smith House, and Willie wanting in to the old money society of Gilded Age New York.

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  Most importantly, however, wasn't what these two had in common, but rather what set them apart, chief amongst them their last names, with the Smiths' family's dynastic history providing the old connection and the Vanderbilts' big shiny bank account giving the new money to facilitate their rise. On paper, this really was a perfect match, guys, with the right wants and needs lining up and the courtship being a happy and fun time for both Alva and Willie, who enjoyed each other's company. But that's not how the rest of society saw it, including the press, with papers and gossip columnists casting Alva as a gold digger with headlines like "The Boarding House Proprietress" and "The Trickster Who Fooled Mr. William Vanderbilt Into A Relationship."

• 15:23Speaker 00

  This, to me, guys, is just clear as day patriarchy in action, something that Alva herself as a passionate feminist recognised, again refusing to be looked down upon or whispered about, hitting back by sealing the deal with Mr. Vanderbilt in a wedding that was so grand and so outrageous that her first wedding dress cost more than the entire Smiths' family net worth, sending a clear message to the old and the new that she was here to not only stay, but make an absolute splash. It really was a slam dunk, guys, with Alva even winning the press over by admitting that her motives for marrying William were in fact to save her family, whose position was far more dire than anyone knew, expressing there is nothing a woman wouldn't do for

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  her family, essentially breadcrumbing the press with revelations about her personal life, which really was a new phenomenon that the press didn't expect. And when her father died just two weeks after the wedding, this mix of sympathy and transparency and curiosity cushioned Alva's landing in the papers, who looked forward to seeing what the new Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt would do next, which, it turns out, was move.

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• 17:34Speaker 00

  You see guys, during the Gilded Age, your address was innately linked to your social status, with the new money robber barons starting to move away from midtown and up towards Fifth Avenue, which became known as Millionaire's Row, thanks to the enormous mansions that started popping up on street corners. From French chateau-inspired monstrosities to the grand marble palaces, the eyes of New York City were on real estate developments as much as they were on gossip columns, which is how everyone knew that Mr. And Mrs. Vanderbilt had snapped up land at 660 Fifth Avenue, on the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street. Known as the Petit Chateau, Alva designed a 50-room mansion with the Vanderbilt's favorite architect, Richard Morris Hunt, who brought to life Alva's

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  love of French architecture, with a facade reflecting the gorgeous French Renaissance style, featuring towers and turrets alongside Indiana limestone that passes by said glowed in the sunlight, which is very similar, guys, to what we see the Russells build in their new mansion on The Gilded Age in season one. And just like this fictional home, Alva's real home required immense amounts of men, time, and money, with around 40 stonemasons required just to build the exterior wall, according to writer Bob Kirchman. As for the inside, well, as you can imagine, it was where humility went to die, with 50 bedrooms,

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  a winter garden, a water feature, a 50 by 30-foot banquet room, grand staircase, and multiple salons where a secretary-style desk, owned by Marie Antoinette, sat proudly. Yeah, guys, when I say "real estate," I mean proper mansions here, which could easily have existed on hundreds of acres as they did in the heart of Manhattan. And I'm not even up to the best bit yet, guys, for the real jewel in the Petit Chateau's crown was its 60-foot-long grand hall, with its gilded cornices, fancy ceiling art, huge chandeliers, and monumental doorways able to hold 1,200 guests comfortably. Or, at

• 19:46Speaker 00

  least it would, if Alva could fill it, which at this point, with her new last name and her new money, was not going to happen. But despite the change in address and the serious upgrade in housing, Mrs. Astor saw the Petit Chateau as just another example of how the Vanderbilts were gauche wannabe social climbers. However, not everyone felt that way, with the rest of society, including the old, absolutely bursting to get a peek inside the monstrosity on 52nd Street, which had carriages after carriages of fine French furniture from Paris, antique Ming Dynasty porcelain from the East, and more tradespeople than the Union

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  Army piling in and out of the front door for months on end. So naturally, guys, everyone wants a peek inside. But, as the expression so eloquently goes, curiosity killed the cat, and none of the old guard were quite ready to call on the new Mrs. Vanderbilt without Mrs. Astor's say-so, no matter how badly they wanted to sticky peek. And so, day by day, despite her mansion on Fifth Avenue, the old crowd stayed well clear of Mrs. Vanderbilt. But Alva wasn't really worried, guys, because in the building of this great home, she devised a plan so cunning and so opulent that Mrs. Astor herself would have

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  to come before her begging for an invite to 660 Fifth Avenue. And with the majority of the construction done, Alva decided it was time to initiate Phase One, going to the Instagram of her day for an exclusive sneak peek inside the most talked-about mansion on Millionaire's Row: the press. That's right, my divas. Alva Vanderbilt was leaning into her own celebrity here, using the goodwill she'd established with several publications after speaking about her marriage to invite a select few editors inside the Petit Chateau for a guided tour, spending, quote, "an astonishing amount of time exploiting the press by pulling on the curiosity of all for a peek inside by breadcrumbing some of

• 21:53Speaker 00

  the details." From the art to the limestone Gothic edifice to walnut paneling and the ceilings painted by the artists responsible for the French Opera House, these extremely lucky few were truly shown one of the greatest displays of wealth and opulence in New York City history. And just when they thought she was done, Alva dropped her biggest bombshell yet. She was to throw a massive costume ball fit for the chateau to celebrate its grand opening, which, as you can imagine, was the hottest piece of gossip in town. Quick sticks, the date was set for March 26, 1883, where a sea of planning gossip and mild chaos followed in the wake as invitations were hand-delivered by servants in livery

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  to 1,200 of New York City's finest, new and old families. Everybody was talking about this ball, guys, with guests spending months, quote, "poring over old books, making costumes, young socialites practicing quadrilles until their souls were worn thin," and the New York Times giving everyone a behind-the-scenes look at the decor Alva had planned, featuring enormous roses displayed in gilded baskets throughout the halls and parlors, including varieties named Baroness de Rothschild, Duchess of Kent, and King of Morocco, which were shipped in from England. No expense was to be spared for this evening, with Alva

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  and Willie shelling out around $250,000 US dollars, including $65,000 for champagne and $11,000 for flowers, all of which comes to a grand total of approximately $6 million US today, guys. Which, for context here, because, you know, I love a modern comparison, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's wedding is said to have cost $12 million, which included an army of private jets, khatua gowns, accommodation for all their guests for over a week, and a fat donation to the Palace of Versailles, which hosted their rehearsal dinner. So, Alva Vanderbilt spent half of Kanye's entire week-long wedding budget on one evening, which she

• 24:04Speaker 00

  was more than happy to do if this got her into Mrs. Astor's 400. But this wouldn't happen without Mrs. Astor herself attending. After all, it's hard to take the crown of society if the queen whose head it is fixed upon is not present. But as you should know by now, guys, Alva had an ingenious plan to make this happen. You see, with all the press and the grandeur and the curiosity of everyone for a sticky peek at this house, Alva knew the numbers for the ball would be high. But what she couldn't be certain of was that Mrs. Astor would actually attend. However, that didn't mean that Alva couldn't

• 24:44Speaker 00

  strong-arm her into it. And for that, she decided to use another Astor: her daughter, Carrie. You see, if all of your friends, right, are invited to a party, and it's kind of this big party of the year, and you're sat by your door, day in, day out, waiting for your hand-delivered invitation to arrive and it doesn't, you best believe you are going to make a fuss about it. And the person who has to deal with that fuss, in the case of Carrie, who's, you know, basically a teenage girl, is her mother. This genuinely is genius, guys, albeit ruthless from Alva, with Carrie even preparing a quadrille routine with her friends, whose invitations arrived weeks earlier, while she grew more desperate,

• 25:28Speaker 00

  until eventually Mrs. Astor had to concede, calling on Alva Vanderbilt at the Petit Chateau, who claimed that since Mrs. Astor had never called on her before, she had no address to send Carrie's invitation to. After which, at the strike of dawn the next morning, the invitations for Carrie and Mrs. Astor arrived, with Alva claiming victory. Or, you know, at least she hoped the ball, after all, still had to happen. Speaking of which, why don't we head uptown for a look at what exactly went down for ourselves?

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• 27:01Speaker 00

  All right, guys, welcome to the Museum of the City of New York, where thousands of pieces of New York history lie, including the original photos from Alva Vanderbilt's 1883 ball, which we are going to look at shortly because, guys, if there is one thing that I love more than anything, it's pics of the fits, okay? Firstly, though, let's unpack the evening. So, with preparations made, the costumes coming to life, and all the invitations sent, carriages of New York's finest began rolling up to 660 Fifth Avenue at 10:00 PM, where they found crowds of people that had to be held back by police, trying to catch a glimpse of the event.

• 27:43Speaker 00

  From here, they moved into the chateau, which was filled with gilded baskets of flowers and illuminated by brilliant lights like something of a blend between modern America and the Court of Versailles, where every corner, every surface, and every person you looked at painted a different, unique picture that you couldn't look away from. It truly was a sight to behold, guys, not in the least, because one of the first people to arrive, after so many years of resistance and, dare I say, resentment, was one Mrs. Caroline Astor, with her daughter Carrie ecstatically by her side, with anticipation for the quadrilles, which began at 11:30 PM sharp,

• 28:24Speaker 00

  where young socialites rode hobby horses down the grand staircase in their lavish costumes to kick off the dancing. This went on for hours, as old-money property moguls mixed with robber barons and their offspring, while the champagne flowed and the electric light glowed, which was all to the tune of an orchestra of New York's finest musicians, until 2:00 AM, where the dinner was served and the final dance between Alva and Willie capped off the evening at dawn on the 27th. It was like nothing that New York society had seen before, guys, going on to become still to this day the greatest and the most expensive party in New York City history,

• 29:06Speaker 00

  with the estimated $6 million event being immortalized, not only through legend, but through photographs, which we are lucky enough to have in front of us at the Museum of the City of New York, guys. We're gonna show you in a second. Don't worry, my audio divas who are listening, I'm still gonna post all of the pics and videos to the social so you can see, and I'm gonna walk you through the looks. Although, I do have to say, guys, some of these you really need to see to believe. Firstly, though, I wanted to have a really quick chat with Lily, the senior curator of the collection at the Museum of the City of New York, about how these images came into the museum's hands and a bit of the history behind this incredible institution.

• 29:47Speaker 00

  All right, Lily, thank you so much for chatting with us and allowing us to view this amazing collection. Now, because I'm a little nosey, comes with the territory, you know, being a lover of history, I would love for you to tell us a little bit about how the Museum of the City of New York came into being and how you have such a vast and rich and incredible Gilded Age collection.

• 30:10Speaker 07

  So, the Museum of the City of New York was founded in 1923. Our founder, Henry Collins Brown, was a historian and lover of all things New York City. And it's important to remember that the 1920s were... The 1920s was a period that came after an era of incredible change in New York City. It was in the aftermath of the First World War and the aftermath of the Gilded Age. So, of course, this was a time when the great mansions of Fifth Avenue were being torn down. People were downsizing, they were moving into apartments. And really, New York was changing. There had been an incredible demographic shift in the city at the beginning of the 20th century, with a record wave of immigration. And so, there was kind of this tension,

• 30:55Speaker 07

  this feeling that the city was changing and we needed to hold on to our past. So, the founders of the Museum of the City of New York, and my predecessors here in the Curatorial and Collections Department, were very eager to hold on to that history. And so, they went around and they looked at some of the homes, some of the families, the wardrobes, the decor of some of these great Gilded Age families, and they brought them into the collection. So, as a result, the Gilded Age is really one of the richest and deepest parts of our holdings at the Museum of the City of New York. And I should just say that I think what triggered the collecting practice at the Museum of the City of New York and the whole impetus behind our founding

• 31:38Speaker 07

  was a sense of kind of nostalgia for the past and wanting to hold on to New York City's history, a feeling that things were really changing or had changed quite rapidly in the first decades of the 20th century. So, as a result, we have, you know, entire sets of furniture, you know, the entire interior of certain mansions in New York City, the entire wardrobes of certain New York figures. And we really collected quite capriciously from this time period.

• 32:07Speaker 00

  I'm gonna ask a random another question off the cuff, because it's something that, you know, we have been looking at this week, kind of going around to all of the locations where all of the big Fifth Avenue mansions were along the Lianes Row, and kind of looking what's theirs now, and you know, it's an office building or the Empire State Building, or you know, whatever it is. Why did all of these families move out of these homes, get rid of their furniture, get rid of their wardrobes? And like, you know, they were all torn down and stuff like that. How and why did that process kind of come about?

• 32:35Speaker 07

  Well, there were a number of things that changed and caused that transformation and the loss of those mansions. I mean, number one, in 1913, the United States passed the first federal income tax. So, all of these people were living large in the 1880s and 1890s and not paying income tax. So, that changes the equation a little bit when you have to give some of your money back to the government. And I think that what happened is that over time, the upkeep of these homes, the keeping of these vast staffs that were required to maintain these households just became untenable for people. Also, I would say that fashions changed. If you look at the way that women were dressing from the 1890s up to the 1920s or the 1930s,

• 33:17Speaker 07

  it is astonishing, it is absolutely astonishing to see the way in which fashion changed kind of before and after the First World War. And so, the idea of having a ladies' maid, of having, you know, a trousseau, of having all of these custom-made French worth gowns that, you know, took 15 minutes to get in and out of... Not that they weren't wearing couture or French couture, but just how elaborate their looks were, you know, and this sort of this elaborate entertaining. I mean, New York will always be and has always been a place of fabulous entertaining, of, you know, beautiful homes, beautiful fashions. Like, don't get me wrong, but the scale of lifestyle

• 33:59Speaker 07

  that we see in the Gilded Age was really unsustainable into the 20th century.

• 34:05Speaker 00

  And so, obviously, we're focusing on Alva for this episode, the kind of Vanderbilt's more widely over the next couple of weeks. The collections that you have here where you say, you know, there's kind of these great moving out, then exodus out of these big mansions and whole kind of suites of furniture and wardrobes that are being, you know, donated and things like that, were as wantedly giving those away? Or, you know, was it a kind of process of where they're like, we don't know what to do with this? Or, we're gonna sell them? Like, how did that kind of work in terms of passing through the generations? Like, do you think there was a disconnect in terms of their value for their ancestors' things?

• 34:44Speaker 07

  That's a great question, and I think it happened on a case-by-case basis. I don't think that the families were necessarily looking for money. I mean, we don't pay for our donations. But I think that what the museum was and is still able to offer in situations like this is stewardship, is caretaking in perpetuity. So, we're able to say that we will hold these things, we will care for them, we will maintain them, we will display them, we will use them to educate the public about the city and its people. So, I could imagine for families who have moved into apartments, you know, this becomes the age of apartment living. When you think of a pre-war apartment in New York City along Park Avenue, Central Park West, Fifth Avenue, this is the era when all those beautiful apartments are being built.

• 35:29Speaker 07

  But even if you are moving into, you know, an amazing Rosario Candela, you know, mansion in the sky... You're still constrained much more than if you're living in William H Vanderbilt's triple palace. And so I think that an institution like the Museum of the City of New York presents a very appealing opportunity, that we're able to, you know, be stewards of this collection, to care for it and maintain it in perpetuity, to share it with the public, to use it as an educational resource. We really stand behind that mission to this day.

• 36:01Speaker 00

  One last question, because I was there the other day. We went to one of the old Vanderbilt townhouses on 51st Street, I believe it is. And it's, you know, there's a petition at the moment for it to be demolished. So there is this huge empty block, this tiny little brownstone, and then this other 57th. I forget who it was. Was it, it was Alice someone? But I had filmed a video about that and had said, you know, like, this is, this is the situation, there's documents in for its demolition, like, can we hold on to our past? And should we hold on to buildings like this? Or should we make way for the future?

• 36:45Speaker 00

  You know, we talk about the grand mansions being torn down. And like I said, there's office buildings and the Empire State and, you know, like even old Penn Station was torn down to Madison Square Garden and the city moves and continues to grow. How can we, in your opinion, kind of balance history, but also modernity at the same time when remnants of the Gilded Age are, you know, far less in terms of kind of infrastructure in the city these days?

• 37:10Speaker 07

  That is a fantastic question, and I think it's one of the most essential questions that we have debated in this city in the past 100 years. And I don't have a perfect answer for this, except to say that it needs to be taken on very thoughtfully and very diligently on a case by case basis. I do believe that New York derives its beauty from a pastiche of architecture. In other words, this city is not an open air museum. We are too fast paced. We are too much a city of progress and transformation. It's simply impossible and unrealistic to expect that we could maintain and utilize every historic building.

• 37:54Speaker 07

  Having said that, it really is a question of balance and it's a question of due diligence and understanding the meaning of buildings, of vernacular architecture, and really taking into account the need for a mixture of styles and a mixture of historical periods. I think one of the greatest moves in urban planning and urban design in the 20th century was this idea of adaptive reuse, where older buildings can take on new forms. And you see this all over the city. It's like a 19th century bank building that's now a CVS. Why not? You know, why not? You see this with old movie theaters and, you know, restaurants, banks.

• 38:39Speaker 07

  I just watched something about the Hotel Chelsea. New York is an endlessly creative city that is always driven by sort of, you know, trends and tides and investment. And I think that we really can rise to the opportunity that presents itself with historic architecture. That said, I don't know that we have to save every last building. But it is heartbreaking, I think, when you see stretches like that stretch on 57th Street, where an entire block has been obliterated. I worry about that sometimes. I worry about real estate development that just kind of mows down entire communities. And we've learned from the past how painful that can be. And Penn Station is just the tip of the iceberg.

• 39:24Speaker 00

  That's the thing that we walked past and I was like, that is the loneliest home I've ever seen. Like, it's the last one on the block. It's literally skyscrapers, skyscrapers, empty block, this tiny little brownstone, empty block. And I had posted it and asked people, you know, should we save? Or, you know, do we need to make way for the future? And I think it's an interesting topic to debate and I really appreciate you chatting with us. Shall we have a look at these costumes?

• 39:49Speaker 07

  Absolutely.

• 39:50Speaker 00

  Let's do it.

• 39:51Speaker 07

  Let's go.

• 39:52Speaker 00

  Now, first off, let's begin with our hostess, Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt herself, who appeared as a Renaissance Venetian princess, showing off her status as the lady in charge in a richly embellished gown inspired by a painting by Alexandra Cabanel. Now, guys, I am a lover of a good photo booth, and this really was the equivalent in the Gilded Age, with photography still a novelty, which was also very expensive. Not that Alva or Willie Vanderbilt minded, given the total cost of the ball. And I'm glad for it, guys, because these are absolute windows through time. Like, I know, we've spoken a bit about kind of parasocialism with historical figures before on the show, but it's really hard not to look at images of incredible women like Alva

• 40:36Speaker 00

  here, who I've spent so many hours researching and really getting to know and not feel connected to her even more. You know, being able to look into someone's eyes in this way, it's just second to none, and why getting into museums and galleries and archives and experiencing history is so important, because you really don't understand the full depth of this story and these people without it. Now, Mr. Alva Vanderbilt, who dressed as the Duke de Guise, a French nobleman, which harked back to his connection to France, where he studied, and the wider French architecture of the house as well. And guys, I do have to admit here, the men really pulled up for this costume ball, with

• 41:18Speaker 00

  The New York Times reporting that the men especially were, quote, "finding their minds haunted by uncontrollable thoughts as to whether they should appear as Robert la Diabla, Cardinal Rachel You, Otto the Barbarian, or the Count of Monte Cristo." So we love that the diva husbands are flexing their style muscles and leaning into the theme, something that one Kate Fearing Strong knows all about. Actually, guys, I would go as far as to say that of anyone in attendance, she went the most method, using her nickname of Puss as inspiration to wear a taxidermied cat head and seven cat tails to the Petit Chateau festivities. Yeah, you heard that right, guys, an actual taxidermied cat.

• 42:03Speaker 00

  It is so wild and so outrageous and absolutely outlandish, which I think just shows how opulent this event was. Like, a cat on your head. It is certainly a choice, which is also set off with the neck choker saying, "Puss." Next, we have Miss Bessie Webb, who came in this red satin dress with black velvet embroidered on it, which is very spooky season coded. And I really feel her sassy spirit come through here, plus a lot of historical representation for the evening, which we love, with Mrs. Astor also dressing up as a period accurate Venetian lady, several gentlemen putting

• 42:43Speaker 00

  on the looks as Louis XVI, a Joan of Arc, and then Edith Fish, who we can see here, guys, was dressed as the Duchess of Burgundy, adorned with real sapphires, rubies, and emeralds, because, you know, who wants to wear costume jewelry to costume balls when you have the real deal at home? All of which were captured by the Cuban-born photographer Jose Maria Mora, who became one of New York's most fashionable society portraitists after opening a studio in 1870. And his work, guys, as we can see here, is absolutely stunning. And as I said, he really captures the lives and characters of these people, who he staged in a dedicated photo studio within the Petit Chateau on the night of the ball, giving

• 43:25Speaker 00

  his subjects various props and poses to commemorate the evening as part of Alva's commissioned photo album, and as cabinet cards, with the photos being distributed to guests, the press, and the public, allowing a glimpse of the 1883 ball to bleed out well beyond the ballroom, again, adding to the legacy and the splendor which Alva continued to manufacture. But if we're being really honest, guys, despite being the hostess, Alva was kind of outmogged at her own ball by her sister-in-law, Mrs. Alice Claypool Vanderbilt, wife of Cornelius II, who came dressed as Electric Light, which is very Gilded Age, guys, and honestly sums up the time better than any other costume of the evening. So let's unpack it.

• 44:10Speaker 00

  Firstly, we can see in some images that she's holding a torch in a pose that is an almost Ctrl C, Ctrl V of the Statue of Liberty. However, the Statue of Liberty didn't arrive in New York until October 28th, 1886, so three years after the ball, although the design was already well-known by 1883. So Alice perhaps used this to reflect the meaning of both her dress and Lady Liberty, that of modernity, which is funny, because so many people went into history for inspiration, whereas Alice, through representing electricity, was very much of the moment. But that image is a bit of a mystery, because the team here who have the definitive collection of this ball and these images don't know where that image actually came from or currently is. So bit of a spooky history mystery here.

• 44:55Speaker 00

  As for the dress, well, it was made of a rich yellow and golden satin with a deep midnight blue velvet underskirt, which is reminiscent of a lightning strike, that we can also see in the gold and silver metallic embroidery arranged in lightning bolt and starburst patterns. Well, to be honest, guys, in the photo, we can't actually see. So I guess we have no other option but to, you know, go and look at the dress firsthand, because we have to take our responsibilities serious as hot historians. We've got to do it for science. Okay guys, here it is, Alice Claypool Vanderbilt's famous electric light dress, which is lovingly kept and cared for here by the Museum of the City of New York team,

• 45:37Speaker 00

  who have very kindly let us view it today, so that we can see the embroidery and the details for ourselves. After all, I did promise each and every single one of my divas an episode, living and breathing I R L Gilded Age history, so it seems only fitting to be able to show this to you all. Now, here as we can see is the embroidery that brings that electric theme to life, right? Which was timely here, guys, because Thomas Edison had only just opened his Pearl Street Generating Station in Lower Manhattan, six months before the ball. So, electric lighting was very much still a novelty and a kind of luxury, particularly in private homes. So this, guys, would be kind of like

• 46:21Speaker 00

  me, showing up to the Gilded Age Season 4 premiere, decked out in like iPhone duos, or something, right? A real reflection of the time. But, we still have that classic period detailing with the embellishments, including glass, pearls, shimmering tinsel, and beaded decorations, which adorned the tightly fitted bodice and its gorgeous sweeping skirt and train. Honestly, such a treat for us hot historians to be able to get to see this one. And while the original electric light apparatus isn't, you know, as part of this surviving ensemble, because it's fake, guys, I'm still giddy to be able to clock eyes on this piece, because it really was, both back then and to this day, the

• 47:02Speaker 00

  most legendary dress of the evening, if not of the entire Gilded Age. But, back to Alva and the ball.

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• 47:41Speaker 00

  So despite being slightly outmogged by her sister-in-law, Alva had managed to throw the ball of not only the season, but the Gilded Age itself. Putting on an evening that didn't just make history as the most expensive party the city had seen, but fundamentally changing American society forever. Because on the night of March 26th, 1883, Mrs. Astor was rocked to her core. No longer, guys, could she deny the likes of the Vanderbilts, the Morgans, the Carnegie's, and the Rockefellers as irrelevant. The same way she could no longer fall back on claims of classless tack for the details, the decor, the demonstrations, and the dedication of her hostess confirmed to the Queen Bee that Alva Vanderbilt was

• 48:25Speaker 00

  no ordinary woman. Rather, she was a tastemaker of exceptional quality, who could take the Vanderbilt money, her French education, and the old Smith family's southern connections, and make a real impact on Gilded Age society, with Mrs. Astor declaring before all, quote, "We have no right to exclude those who the growth of this great country has brought forward. The time has come for the Vanderbilts." And just like that, guys, Alva Vanderbilt found herself as part of the 400. Which, it turns out you can buy your way into, it will just cost you $6 million and a lot of good taste. With the Vanderbilts waking up on March 27th, 1883, not only as part of the inner circle, but as bona fide celebrities.

• 49:10Speaker 00

  Which we see unfold at the end of Season 1 of the Gilded Age TV show. And again, it is so amazing that we have images and artifacts of this pivotal turning point in Gilded Age history to look back on and provide context for. So, thank you to the team of the Museum of the City of New York for giving us this incredible opportunity. So, what now, guys? I mean, let's be real, having done the thing that none of the other Vanderbilt family members for two generations before her had managed to do, what does being a part of society even entail? And, most importantly, what does Alva Vanderbilt do with all of her burning ambition, now that she's done the thing she wanted to? Well, firstly, to

• 49:53Speaker 00

  be a part of society was pretty straightforward, although highly exhausting. With ladies of the 400 expected to change upwards of four times a day for different meals and events, alongside call on each other, attend charity galas, host dinners for their husbands' various business contacts, go to operas, meet with decorators and stylists, manage their enormous households, and most importantly, guys, look to mold their children into the most favorable prospects for their social debuts. Which, actually answers the second part of our question regarding Alva's ambition. You see, after getting married, the real first-to-do item on the Vanderbilt agenda was not to join the 400, but rather to have children,

• 50:37Speaker 00

  which Alva and Willie did very well. Having three children between them both, the first of whom was Consuelo, born in 1877, William K II, born the year later, and then Harold Sterling, who was born in 1884, once the Vanderbilts had checked, joined the 400 off their agenda. Together, they were a handsome and pretty typical, upper-class Gilded Age family, with the heir and the spare for matters of business and inheritance, and a daughter for making advantageous marriages, which, we're gonna come back to later, guys, because at this point, Consuelo is actually only about six or seven years old. Regardless of marrying age or not, though, Alva was a controlling and often emotionally domineering

• 51:20Speaker 00

  mother, applying many of her own hopes and ambition to her children, who she believed should be carefully managed, especially when they were younger. Hiring a team of governesses and nannies to care for the children while she did all manner of rich lady things, including her great talent, architecture and interior design. That's right, my divas, you surely didn't think that a woman like Alva Vanderbilt with more money than sense would have only one mansion, did you? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. You see, her admission into the 400 only spurred her on further when it came to cementing herself into the heart of power. And as such, she began constructing enormous mansions, or cottages as they were called,

• 52:05Speaker 00

  namely in Newport, Rhode Island, AKA, the summer city of the rich and powerful, where Alva commissioned the grand $11 million marble house, which she had her husband give her as a 39th birthday present in 1892. This 50-room quote-unquote cottage included a spectacular gold ballroom, lavish dining room, and grand mumble staircase, with around $7 million of its reported construction cost being spent on marble alone, hence why it's called Marble House. And, divas, this was truly her happy place. The space where she could really lean into her love of art and French culture, which actually upped the ante in Newport as a whole, with her brother and sister-in-law going on to also

• 52:50Speaker 00

  build the Breakers, another exceptionally extravagant property just down the road, both of which still stand to this day and are absolutely up there on my bucket list of historical pilgrimages, guys. True society, however, let's be real, was still in New York City. And throughout the rest of 1883, the Vanderbilts went from strength to strength with their role in opening the New Metropolitan Opera, which was quite the scandal, as the old-money crowds frequented the Academy of Music versus this new institution. However, when the famous and beloved Christine Nielsen played the role of Marguerite in Faust on the opening night of October 2nd, 1883, the entire town was won over. Again, breaking

• 53:34Speaker 00

  down another divide between the old's weariness to the new, which was almost obliterated entirely, or at least a large section of that divide was torn down, when Alva and the Vanderbilts were invited to Mrs. Astor's famous closing season ball, capping off a triumphant year like no other. After this, my divas, it was really a period of the high life for Alva, who took great advantage of her role in society by attending all manner of events, and, most importantly, buying all manner of things, as she expanded her art collection, commissioned new jewelry, shipped tapestries in from the Loire Valley in France, and even bought the largest yacht in the world at the time, which she named

• 54:17Speaker 00

  after herself. Which, guys, like, I obviously don't agree with billionaires, and you know, don't think they should exist, and it's kind of, you know, obviously as grotesque as it comes with this wealth divide, but, kind of iconic to be buying yourself houses and yachts and naming them after yourself, especially for a woman in the 1880s. So, all in all, guys, life for Alva and the rest of the Vanderbilts was looking up. And when Alva's father-in-law, William Henry, died in 1885, so too were the family finances, which hit record heights, with a fortune of approximately $65 million US dollars being left to Cornelius II and Willie as a result. However, whether they could hold on to it was a different

• 55:01Speaker 00

  question. You see, there is an age-old adage when it comes to family dynasties, where the first generation makes the money, the second generation grows the money, and the third generation spends it. And with Cornelius being the great founder, William Henry increasing the family's fortune from $3 million at his father's death to $65 million at his own, the big question was what would William and Cornelius II do to keep their bank accounts in the green? Well, they did different things, with the two men having opposing views on how to proceed with the Vanderbilt empire, and, really, two different work ethics. With Cornelius II being the more serious, disciplined businessman, while Willie, who did still

• 55:46Speaker 00

  work as an active railroad executive, really just preferred the lifestyle that his enormous fortune could provide. This involved him spending the summers in Newport at Marble House with his family, evenings with friends at exclusive New York gentlemen's clubs, and frequently jetting off to Europe, both with and without his wife.

• 56:06Speaker 00

  Yeah, you see, what looked and sounded and largely acted as a perfect match between the great ambitious Alva and the wannabe social king Willie began to sour in the almost decade since the Vanderbilts became members of the four hundred. Being pulled in different directions and different cities, the couple began to drift further apart, often sharing stoushers over all matter of concerns, from Alva pushing Willie to be more involved in the business, to him telling her to back off Consuelo, who described her mother as a natural-born dictator. Again, guys, coming back to the Gilded Age TV show here, we're seeing this rising tension start to happen with Mr. and Mrs. Russell. And while we don't know what season four has in store for the most fashionable and

• 56:50Speaker 00

  hot couple on Millionaires Row, we do know what happened to the real Alva, who enforced, yet again, her own personal motto of "my way or no way" with her husband, who, without a spare thought for his wife, his children, his name, and his future, openly flaunted his mistress in Paris. Yes, my divas, that is right. The typical rich white man strikes again here, with faithful husbands being the rare exception rather than the rule. Not only in the Gilded Age, but for centuries before, with men often openly discussing their various mistresses, dalliances, and crushes at their gentlemen's clubs, while

• 57:32Speaker 00

  engineering some excuse to go to Chicago, or London, or Philadelphia, or Paris for work, while really engaging in the oldest business of them all. This was something that wives were simply expected to accept, having no real option other than to lump it if they wanted to remain respectable members of society, therefore degrading themselves with broken promises as silent whispers of their husbands being seen with young actresses and professional courtesans floated around drawing rooms behind their backs. It was humiliating, guys, and absolutely heartbreaking, with so many women having such little choice in their own lives, both before and during their marriages.

• 58:15Speaker 00

  But Alva Vanderbilt was no ordinary woman, and the last thing on earth that she would suffer was being made a fool of by anyone, especially her husband, who she'd made a leader of society, and in exchange, he'd made her a laughingstock when he travelled to Paris in 1894 and flaunted his affair with American-born courtesan Nellie Nestra. There were also reports, although unfounded, that William had also had an affair with Consuelo, the Duchess of Manchester, Alva's childhood best friend who introduced them while on his various European jaunts. However, historian Amanda Mackenzie Stewart does note that there is no way to establish conclusively whether this allegation is true, and based on the relationship between the

• 58:59Speaker 00

  two women is unlikely. In truth, though, it didn't matter if it was her sister, her bestie, her maid, her art rival, or Mrs. Astor herself. Alva would not suffer her own humiliation by this or any other man for a second longer, doing the most controversial thing a woman of polite society could do: filing for divorce from William K. Vanderbilt after three children, 20 years of marriage, and a rise to power and prominence so blinding that it altered both society and history forever. Now, I have to pop up here for a second to say that divorce rates were actually rising

• 59:41Speaker 00

  at this time in US history, with the census for 1887 to 1906 showing the divorce rates tripled compared to previous decades. However, these numbers, which FYI disproportionately counted mainly white communities, show that divorce was mainly centred around coastal cities like New York, but wealthy women with connections like Alva represented the vast majority. While women of lesser means, especially in the South, had fewer freedoms, which also goes without saying, marginalised communities like African-Americans had even less. But Alva wasn't coloured, and nor was she of lesser means, and as such stood up in front of the court at the divorce proceedings, which was highly publicised at the time,

• 1:00:26Speaker 00

  by the way, and reflected, saying, quote, "Men, if they were rich enough, felt they could do anything they liked without consequence." Which we're starting to see a lot of that original childhood Alva we spoke about at the top come out here, right? With a real rapid and concise stance against both patriarchy and her husband's behaviour in one short sentence, which ultimately won her the case, with an absolute divorce being granted on the grounds of adultery. With this verdict, guys, Alva was granted custody of her three children, the petit château, marble house, substantial financial provisions totaling $10 million and the right to remarry, while William was initially prohibited from remarrying while Alva was

• 1:01:11Speaker 00

  still alive and made to look like a proper fool in front of the society he'd so desperately wanted to impress. However, as was the custom both then and largely now, the man always has leeway within society, but women do not. And so Alva Vanderbilt, despite climbing her way tooth and nail into the highest rungs of society and being proved right in her case against her for-landing loser of a husband, became a social pariah, with divorced women unable to occupy a spot in the court of Mrs. Astor. And so, almost overnight, Alva was dropped from call cards, ignored in the streets,

• 1:01:54Speaker 00

  and publicly dismissed, with her name being scratched from the four hundred who could perhaps recognise her bravery within themselves individually, but never rewarded as a collective, even though in this sphere, it was the women that held the power. But, because with Alva, guys, the thing we need to know is there is always a but: you can never keep a good girl down, especially when her motto is "my way or no way", and Alva, like always, had an ace up her sleeve. The one thing that made every person in every room green with envy: her daughter, Consuelo. Tall, thin, naive, and devastatingly rich, Consuelo Vanderbilt was not only the most

• 1:02:39Speaker 00

  eligible woman in America, but, as it turns out, the world. And when the eyes of an English duke began to wander her way, things would not only change for Alva, but for history. Which, you're gonna have to come back for part two to find out of just how much, guys, because if you think the 1883 ball, the $7 million of marble, and the scandalous divorce a drama-filled, just you wait for the second act of Alva Vanderbilt's life. Which does bring us to the end of another episode of Hot History, guys. Thank you so much for tuning in with me, and a massive thank you to the incredible team at the Morgan Library for hosting us here, and the team at the Museum of the City of New York for allowing us into their archive.

• 1:03:22Speaker 00

  It has been such a joy, honestly, being able to show you guys these spaces and share this history with you in a way that brings the story and the real people behind my favourite show on TV to life. Speaking of which, if you haven't started season four of The Gilded Age, you need to, guys, because it is already off to an incredible start, with the Russells, the Astors, the Van Rhys, and the Scots all back and streaming every Monday on Paramount+. And, guys, if you are also dying over this space here at the Morgan Library like I am and wanna go and give the MCNY and the Morgan Library a visit yourself, I've left links to both organisations in the show notes, and also made a donation on behalf of all

• 1:04:04Speaker 00

  of us hot historians to both of these incredible institutions who help keep history hot every single day. As for what's next, well, we have a massive line-up of content for you if you loved this episode, including my vlog of the premiere and my stay at the Plaza, plus part two of Alva's life to come. But if you'd like even more hot Gilded Age history, then make sure to follow us on Instagram and Substack at Hot History Club, and on TikTok and YouTube at hot.History. As always, guys, it has been such a pleasure getting down and dirty in time with you, and I will speak to you all shortly. Thanks, guys, love you, bye. Bye.

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