William Collins Whitney House
Location: Fifth Avenue and 68th Street (571 Fifth Avenue)
Date built: 1896 to1902

William C. Whitney, a former Secretary of the Navy, amassed a fortune as one of the principals behind the Metropolitan Street Railway Company of New York. White transformed the original house on this location, taking over five years and spending several million dollars. He also furnished the interior of the house lavishly, with rare tapestries and animal pelts. The New York Times wrote that the grandiose house was "without rival in this country."