- Coming up, Matt and the team take a bite out of the Big Apple when they help a couple of lifelong New Yorkers pack up their precious belongings and say goodbye to the city they love.

- We really can't keep two houses anymore.

We just have to downsize.

- They'll visit historic landmarks.

- So this is one of the rooms Don worked on.

- That's incredible.

- And learn about the couple's deep connection to the city that never sleeps.

- I'm Matt Paxton.

- I'm Matt Paxton.

- Let's do it, man.

- My team of specialists, Jaime, Mike, and Avi help me help people downsize their homes and settle estates.

downsize their homes and settle estates.

As the largest population of baby boomers in American history transition towards retirement, they and their families face the overwhelming task of emptying their homes to move.

We help them sift through a lifetime of possessions, - Bingo!

- heirlooms, and collectibles - We have literally found a piece of history.

- to help them find the missing family treasures that mean the most to them.

- Oh my-- - Jackie Robinson.

And along the way, they'll discover that the most important museum in the world may be in their family's basement.

- Oh!

- I've never seen that.

That is cool looking.

- I've never seen that.

That is cool looking.

- From attics to cellars, closets to cupboards, we uncover the memories they want to preserve.

- This is living history.

This is what we're here to find.

Let's go.

- And discover the compelling personal, and often historical, stories spanning generations that are their family's legacy.

- [Narrator] Funding for Legacy List is provided by Wheaton World Wide Moving.

Wheaton's number one goal is to help you, your loved ones, and your belongings get to your new home quickly and safely.

You can find us at wheatonworldwide.com.

Wheaton World Wide Moving, we move your life.

FirstLight Home Care.

Committed to providing safe and compassionate home services for you and your family.

FirstLight believes personal relationships and engagement are as important as mobility, bathing, and personal hygiene.

Details at FirstLightHomeCare.com.

The Mavins Group, a downsizing real estate sales and move management company.

Committed to easing the emotional and physical demands of beginning a new stage of life.

The Mavins Group, so much more than a move.

Insure Long Term Care, where we believe that aging at home, near friends and family, is ever more possible for more people.

Learn more at insureltc.com.

And by the Ruth Camp Campbell Foundation.

(upbeat drum music) (upbeat drum music) As you can see, this week we're in New York City.

As you can see, this week we're in New York City.

I'm here to help Leila and Don, a fascinating couple.

They're going to move from their 3,000 square-foot home upstate to a home half the size.

(bell music) (bell music) Today, I'm in the neighborhood of Little Neck, Today, I'm in the neighborhood of Little Neck, which, believe it or not, is in New York City.

Don and Leila are downsizing to a home in the Hudson Valley.

They've got a few questions for me and a bunch of interesting collections so I'm excited to get inside and see what we can do to help them.

(knocks on door) - Hi, Matt.

Welcome to Queens.

- Thank you.

Good to meet you guys.

- Come on in.

It's so good to see you.

- I can't believe I'm in the city, it's just so beautiful.

It didn't feel like a city.

What an awesome house.

I love it.

Man, it's gorgeous.

Ton of woodwork.

- Yeah.

When we came to look at the house, it didn't look like this.

- I was wondering, how much restoration did y'all do?

- We did a lot A lot.

- Yeah.

We walked in and seen the fireplace, the beams, these two columns, the way they were laid out, and the window seat, there was a window seat here in front of the bay.

They told us that it was an Arts and Crafts house and we could see the type of woodwork it was.

It's quarter-sawn oak.

So it became a project for us over the last 20 years.

- You're an architect by trade, right?

- Right.

My bulk of my career was in historic restoration.

- I'm seeing a lot of Buddhist artwork.

Is that connected?

- Yeah.

Very connected.

- Actually, our marriage was arranged through a Tibetan rinpoche.

- Really?

- Yes.

- An arranged marriage?

- Yes.

- We've been together since '83, but we got married on Earth Day '89.

- Right.

- So a few years.

- Yeah.

- A few years.

And he's never yelled at me in all these years.

It's not because of me.

He's a saint.

(group laughs) - Tell me about some of this art.

- That's a piece we picked up down by Lafayette Street.

- That's the first piece I ever bought.

- The first piece of art you ever bought?

- Yeah, it was sort of our first.

- This piece back here.

Tell me about that.

- I had a sign carving business many years ago.

It was a local artist and he was making these dummy boards.

I gravitated to this one.

I asked him what it is and he says it's an African mask.

It has kind of a tribal look to it.

- The elephant in the room for me is this yarn painting.

Tell me about that.

- We were down in SoHo and we saw this painting in a junk shop and we immediately recognized that it was a Huichol yarn painting.

Got it for nothing.

- So you guys, all your stories are about New York City.

Have you ever left New York City?

- Well, actually we're both world travelers.

- You're the real world travelers.

- I've been around the world a couple of times.

And you know, I couldn't believe India and Nepal.

And we're particularly close to the people in a place called Yustan.

And before-- - It was a village, you guys, of-- - Yeah.

- We've kind of sponsored the children.

In one particular village is about 122 children in a monastery that we've been sponsoring for the past 20 years.

So part of the reason for downsizing is to get some money to continue to - Help support - help support these children.

About four years ago, we bought a little house upstate.

But we really can't keep two houses anymore.

We just have to downsize.

This house is very big and, you know, we're not getting any younger.

- I was surprised and not surprised at how much I learned about Don and Leila.

Every single story got more fascinating and more fascinating.

It became a part of New York City history.

(guitar music) - This is the dining room.

- This is the dining room.

- Okay.

- And this started the whole process.

We had this hutch made by a woodworker and then he progressed into the sideboards.

That spoked radiator cover, it's great.

And this great bookmatched oak table here.

It's all quarter-sawn oak.

- And it's ironic, of all the wood in this room, the piece I liked the most is these glasses.

These World's Fair glasses.

- Oh, the glasses.

- That was his grandmother's.

- These were the glasses from the 1964-65 World's Fair.

- These are in incredible condition.

Do you play all these instruments?

- Well, I do.

I dabble in all of them.

That's a handmade ukulele up there.

This is a handmade dulcimer.

- It was really cool to find out that Don was a really good musician and he even played at the legendary CBGBs.

- You said the magic word to me - CBGBs.

- We had a trio.

We were like the regulars there.

- Dee used to play with-- - Yeah, Dee Pop was the drummer and he - Say that again?

- No, Dee Pop.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- And, uh... what's his name?

- And then... - The brothers from Forest Hills.

- Oh, the Ramones.

He's an old family-- - And actually-- - Wait a minute!

- Those two guys from Queens.

- Oh, the Ramones.

Yes.

I've heard of them.

That's pretty awesome.

(guitar music) Alright.

The music room.

Alright.

The music room.

- Yeah.

This is it.

These are kind of working guitars, these are guitars that I've used.

Not necessarily a high end collection, but I do have some interesting rare birds, so to speak.

- This is considered one of the, kind of, one of the first earliest guitars and it's really heavy.

- Wow.

It is heavy.

- Wow.

It is heavy.

- This is a, probably, 1941 - Wow.

- Rickenbacker.

The interesting thing about this is I was playing a gig one night and my jack had fell inside.

I took it to my tech and he called me up and he said, "Oh, you know, this guitar is stuffed with newspaper."

I don't know if it's 1942 or 43.

A Wall Street Journal was inside this guitar.

And that's what they did.

It would help with the resonance and the tone of the guitar.

- I picked this one up in Paris.

It's from 1830.

- 1830?

- Yeah.

- All your stuff is nice.

- Mm-hmm.

- It's curated - Yeah.

- And it's a part of an amazing story.

Like, how are we going to get rid of it?

- Right.

Exactly.

- I can see why you're stuck now.

- How do I downsize from this?

- Well, listen.

Alright, I can't imagine you've got any place cooler to show me.

- Well, we actually do.

(flute music) - Wow.

What is this?

- Wow.

What is this?

- Well, this is our personal shrine room up here.

Very authentic.

We're involved with the monastery in Nepal.

So when Leila was over in Nepal, she had this custom made.

I had to send her the measurements because the ceiling comes down on a slope.

- It's perfect.

- Yeah, so it's perfectly made for this spot.

- I've seen a lot of stuff in my 20 years.

I have never seen a shrine at the top of a house.

- We host a number of lamas and rinpoches and some important monks that come here.

As well as it's a daily meditation room.

As well as it's a daily meditation room.

- I'm a little nervous.

- No, don't be nervous.

- Well, now I have a feeling where this is going.

Your house is for sale.

- Yes.

- Right.

- This is probably not a feature that most buyers are looking for.

- Right.

- No.

- And furthermore, the ritual master in Nepal, he said you would never be able to sell the house because the deities are happy with their home and they'll put a protection around it.

- Okay.

- So you must deconsecrate it and bring it to your new home.

- So this room has been deconsecrated?

- Yes.

- Okay.

We need your help.

- Okay, yes.

That's what I was afraid of.

- This is the main thing.

It's so much.

- We need somebody who can really... almost like an art specialist.

- Okay.

The good news is I have somebody.

This is a new one for me, guys.

I gotta be honest, this is amazing.

It's easy to move furniture in boxes because those are known things.

But when you're moving a spiritual venue, that's really challenging.

This is the point where I'm really glad that Mike is in charge of all the moving.

Good old storage.

- We haven't really looked at this for 20 years since we moved here.

- Okay, so some of this is the stuff that came over.

- Yeah.

- I think the most important part now is we need to go find a place to sit down and go over your legacy list.

- Okay.

- You guys are really interesting.

- Thanks.

- So I can't wait to learn what's on the legacy list.

(piano music) So let's talk about this list 'cause I'm excited So let's talk about this list 'cause I'm excited for people that don't really need anything.

You have each other, you don't really need stuff.

- Right.

- But you have some really nice stuff.

- Right.

- Because it has incredible stories.

So I'm anxious to hear, like, what on earth is in your legacy list?

- You saw, I think, the World's Fair glasses in the dining room from '64 and I was remembering Don's grandmother was fantastic.

She died when she was a hundred.

She did give us her radio from the World's Fair from '39.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- And she also was a chain smoker.

And I think she did share... She had an ashtray, right?

- An ashtray with the symbol of '39 World's Fair.

- What was the brand on this radio?

- It was RCA.

- RCA?

Okay.

- It's nothing valuable, really, but I think about her and if we had that, it would be a nice remembrance.

- Okay.

What's the next item?

What's the next item?

- I was in historic restoration.

I worked at Ellis Island for four years, I was out there full time.

And one of the deputy superintendents gave us a choice of going through this rubble pile of one of the floors that we were taking up, just as a memento.

I have that wrapped up in a box somewhere.

- Like a terracotta?

- Well, no.

It's mosaic chips.

- Okay.

- And it's, like, a Greek fret.

- You know, I've been lucky enough to meet a lot of people that did go through there.

- Yeah.

Well, my grandparents did.

And that's the kind of crazy thing - My grandparents... - Yeah, her grandparents, as well.

- You go into the place and you feel it right away when you go in.

- This is kind of a little thing - This is kind of a little thing and I really didn't remember it until just recently, but I'm a fireman's daughter.

- Mm-hmm.

- And a proud fireman's daughter.

Somewhere in here is a little collection of his fire pins.

- Like lapel pins?

- Yeah.

- What did he... What was his...?

- Well, he was a captain and he served on the Fire Fighter, which was the largest fireboat, I think, at least in the city.

If not, I don't even know.

- He was the captain of it?

- He was the captain.

- Wow.

- I have many fond memories of, you know, going on the boat with him.

- I have a box of construction memorabilia and stuff.

- I have a box of construction memorabilia and stuff.

In the Grand Central, which is another very big vaulted ceiling, we had to restore that whole thing.

I have one of the light lenses from the original ceiling.

It looks like an oversized golf tee.

And it just was to add like a twinkle into the sky when you look up.

- These are real historic pieces of New York City.

- Yes.

I would lead preservation groups around so it was good to have some props.

- So you're ready.

If we can get some of these guitars and some of this artwork appraised, your goal would be to actually get some of that money together - Yes.

- and give it to your - Yeah.

It wouldn't be profit, it would be really - We have a little private family foundation that we made now.

- And the foundation is specifically for the Himalayan people.

- How quickly is this house going on the market?

- The day after you leave, we're starting to show the house.

- Okay.

So we need to hustle.

- Yeah, actually, you really have to.

- When you're moving items that have spirituality attached to them, it's bigger than just stuff.

So I went over the full legacy list with the team and then highlighted a few other things that Don and Leila needed us to do.

(upbeat music) (horn honks) - Whoa.

- Whoa.

- Hey, guys.

- Hey.

- What's up, man?

- How's it going?

- Good.

What do you think?

- It's beautiful.

- Can you believe we're in the city?

- No.

This is incredible.

- How's it feel to be back?

You've lived here for awhile.

- I did.

- Yeah?

- It feels like coming home.

- I just sat with the family, Don and Leila.

They've lived in New York almost their entire life and they've been happily married for 32 years.

They lived in the city, they moved here after 9/11, and now they're moving from this 3,000 square-foot home to a 1,500 square-foot home.

- Okay.

Half the size.

- And the house goes on the market next week.

- Oh!

- Yes.

- Of course.

- So it's not as messy as we're used to.

It's ready, it's staged.

But they've got some very specific things they need us to do.

The third floor is a shrine.

- Oh.

- Wow.

- It is - Sacred.

- It's sacred.

It's a sacred space and we need to move it.

- Okay.

I've never moved a shrine before but I'm up for it.

- I have not, either.

- There's a first time for everything.

- I've assured them that you'll be able to handle it.

- Yeah.

- Oh, yeah.

- The attic is where the shrine is and where the storage is.

You guys are gonna go up there.

Good news.

- It's air conditioned.

- It is air conditioned.

- I knew it.

- Yes!

- And there are some closets downstairs that you and I are going to go to.

- Okay.

- Love it.

- Okay?

You guys ready to do this?

- Yeah.

- Yeah, let's do it.

- Alright, this one's a fascinating one.

I'm really excited.

Alright, everybody go in the front door.

- I didn't get the memo-- - Yeah, this is blue shirt day.

- about the blue shirts so thanks, guys.

(upbeat guitar music) - Oh my goodness.

- Oh my goodness.

- Whoa.

- This is... phenomenal.

- The first two floors look like any other house.

- The first two floors look like any other house.

But then you go up those stairs and it is a different world.

- Seeing the shrine room, I was overwhelmed.

To see the magnitude of this shrine in a home was something I had never seen before.

- Going down in the air conditioned basement.

- I know, this is like the first air conditioned basement.

Look at this piece.

- This is also, like, the cleanest basement we've ever been in.

The house wasn't cluttered but the legacy list items could be hiding anywhere.

I was really looking forward to finding some of these legacy list items and hearing the stories behind them.

- This closet looks like every other closet - This closet looks like every other closet on the third floor of a house.

Guitar cases.

- Anything in it?

- Anything in it?

- Mm-mmm.

Empty.

- Okay.

- Wrapping paper.

- Wrapping paper.

- Wrapping paper.

Love the wrapping paper.

- So far, I have two empty drawers.

- Okay.

Got a couple of chemicals.

Ah, bag of plastic hangers.

Ah, bag of plastic hangers.

I despise plastic hangers.

Is there anything in them?

Is there anything in them?

- An exercise... - Oh, yeah.

- ...thing?

- What is this for?

- Do not let go of this thing and let it hit me.

- How's it going over there?

- There are definitely some things that I would expect to see in a shrine.

There's incense, pieces of cloth, and tapestries.

And then there's mail.

(laughter) So, you know... - This is, like, older tile.

- This is, like, older tile.

- These are, like, the things that you put on the... - It looks like a runner.

- Yeah.

This is, like, subway tile.

So, like, when you go on the subway here, that's where it gets its name.

- They got it from the actual subway?

- No, but it's like the style that they use in the... - I mean... - It's very New York.

- The issue is, remember, we're also looking for some tile.

- Right.

Not that, though.

I don't think it's that.

- Alright, let's see.

There we go.

- Alright, let's see.

There we go.

- We handle religious objects all the time but this is on a whole nother level.

I mean, to say they're delicate is the ultimate understatement.

- I mean, we've got metal and... ivory?

- Ivory.

Yeah.

The details in these statues is known.

For their size...?

For their size...?

- This one is kind of different.

It looks a little older.

You got a lot of things to take care of over here, man.

- Absolutely.

The biggest challenge for our team was twofold.

I mean, we had the deadline to get everything done in the house but then, also, to get everything where it needed to be safely.

- Alright, I was a little curious here.

- Alright, I was a little curious here.

There's all this tile and Don is very methodical about everything.

His music, his art, everything.

And so I'm really interested in finding this tile.

And look at that.

(Jaime inhales) - This is the one from Ellis Island.

- That's from Ellis Island.

Look at that, it's gotta be... - Look how thick that is.

- Holy cow.

So look at this.

So look at this.

- That's wild.

- This is the floor of Ellis island.

- That's wild.

- Think of the people that walked...

This is one thing that he loves about it.

- I know.

- His grandparents walked through Ellis island.

- That's amazing.

- Like, I wonder if they walked through the floor.

- Yeah.

They had to, I mean, somebody's grandparents did.

- A lot of people's grandparents did.

- That's very cool.

- Sometimes a museum is hiding in your basement - Sometimes a museum is hiding in your basement and we have literally found a piece of history in their basement.

- No way, man.

Look at this.

- No way, man.

Look at this.

- Look at this.

Oh my God, do you know what this is?

Oh my God, do you know what this is?

- That's the Twin Towers.

- That's the Twin Towers.

This is what she was telling me about yesterday.

Her father was the captain of the fireboat brigade.

- Oh, that's so cool.

- And this is them.

- That's what they did.

- This was doing, like, their water show.

- They really, to me, are like quintessential New Yorkers.

- We have some pretty cool family photos.

- A little mask.

- Is that their wedding?

- Is that their wedding?

- Looks like it could be to me.

Oh boy.

You want a hand?

That guy looks kinda familiar.

That guy looks kinda familiar.

- That's probably Don, isn't it?

- Either that or George Harrison.

- (laughs) One or the other.

(upbeat guitar music) - God, Matt, look!

- God, Matt, look!

- That's what we were looking for.

- It's the pins.

- Oh my gosh.

This is his time pin.

- Mm-hmm.

- This is his captain's pen.

Wow, I mean, these are just amazing.

Like, you can't buy these.

You have to earn these.

- I know.

- With, like, decades of service.

Great find, man.

- Awesome.

Yeah, this is an awesome find for her.

- Firefighting in New York City - Firefighting in New York City dates back to the mid-17th century when the area is known as New Amsterdam.

Neighbors keep leather buckets on hand and everyone is expected to join the bucket brigade to help douse the flames.

As the city grows, fighting fires becomes more sophisticated.

Hoses replace buckets and water is more accessible, thanks to fire hydrants.

In the early 19th century, firefighting companies resemble rowdy fraternities.

Rival companies compete to put out fires, sometimes brawling with each other before fighting the actual flames.

The need for a centralized fire response is answered in 1865, when New York City establishes the Metropolitan Fire Department.

But as New York City's population explodes, so do fire dangers.

Crowded tenement buildings and factories are tinder boxes.

On March 25th, 1911, a fire breaks out at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory.

Within 18 minutes, 146 people are dead.

The tragedy shocks the country The tragedy shocks the country and ignites the modern labor movement.

The city enforces strict new fire codes and puts a renewed emphasis on bolstering the city's fire department.

Today, New York City has the largest municipal fire department in the country, with over 11,000 uniformed firefighters.

The darkest day for the FDNY comes on September 11th, 2001, when 343 firefighters perish during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

They give their lives saving others.

In the aftermath, many more experience health problems.

The sacrifice New York's bravest made that day will never be forgotten.

- You lived in the city then, right?

- You lived in the city then, right?

- I did.

And we, like, you know, we felt helpless.

We didn't know how we could help so we ended up, like, baking brownies for the local fire stations in our neighborhood and just, like, thanking people.

You know, thanking them every time we walked by and it was, you know, the least we could do.

- This is a highly emotional job.

And I did not expect it, I have to tell you.

- Right.

I'm going to hang on to these.

- Okay.

- Good job, then.

- Thank you.

- Actually, good job to me.

Another... - You did good.

That's another legacy list item.

I'm going to focus over here and get this cleaned up.

- Alright.

(bluesy guitar music) (bluesy guitar music) - Alright, well, that was actually quite easy.

- Alright, well, that was actually quite easy.

- That was really productive.

- Alright, one more room down here in the basement.

Let's go check it out.

- Mike.

- Mike.

- You got something good?

- You got something good?

No way.

- What do you think?

- Dude.

- Possible?

- I mean, that's the closest thing we found so far.

- I mean, that's the closest thing we found so far.

- Definitely marble.

- Campione Florini?

I mean, it's clearly not the mosaic piece.

I mean, it's clearly not the mosaic piece.

- It's not the mosaic.

I think we should probably share this with them and see what we can find out.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah.

- This is the laundry room.

- This is the laundry room.

This is about the only clutter I really saw in the house.

- But judging from what we found earlier... - Yeah, you never know where it's gonna be.

- We have to go through everything.

- See what we can find.

I think this is it.

This has gotta be it.

I think this is it.

This has gotta be it.

- This is one of the stars.

- It's the lens, right?

The lens from Grand Central Terminal.

- I never would have known that was, just sitting in a box like this.

But now, knowing the context of it, it's, like, it's crazy.

- I mean, that's why the stories are important.

It just brings greater value.

(playful piano music) - Grand Central Terminal.

- Grand Central Terminal.

It's one of the busiest, most iconic train stations in the world that serves nearly a quarter million New York City commuters every day.

It has 44 platforms, more than any other train station in the world, and is spread out over 48 acres of mostly underground real estate.

But it's the grandeur of Grand Central that makes it so special.

The outdoor facade features a gigantic Tiffany clock The outdoor facade features a gigantic Tiffany clock and three sculptures of the Roman gods, Mercury, Hercules, and Minerva.

Under these is a statue of another god, although a mere mortal one.

Railway magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who commissioned the original Grand Central Depot in 1871.

Inside, the main concourse features Inside, the main concourse features a huge vaulted ceiling, 12 stories high, which is covered by an astronomical mirror.

The Zodiac section is famously painted backwards because of a mistake by the artists.

Botticino marble, quarried from the Brescia region of Italy, adds a majestic touch to the terminal's interior.

Late for your train?

Check out the legendary four-faced clock.

Each face is made out of a precious piece of solid opal.

It's hard to believe that such a grand place It's hard to believe that such a grand place came close to being demolished.

In the 1970s, America's most famous train station was almost turned into an office building.

But thanks to the tireless work of preservationists and former first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Grand Central Terminal achieved landmark status.

It was restored to its former glory in time for its 100th birthday in 2013.

A well-deserved present for this beloved New York City location.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a train to catch.

(train whistle blows) - There were thousands of painted stars up on the ceiling - There were thousands of painted stars up on the ceiling but only about 50 or so of these things right here - Mm-hmm.

- were up in the ceiling and they lit up.

And that's number 26.

- Wow.

(guitar music) (guitar music) - Dig in there.

That's just more empty boxes.

- Empty boxes.

- Good old liquor boxes.

Everybody gets those from... - From, like, the grocery store.

- This is packing paper.

- Right.

- Yeah, these are all small boxes.

When they moved here, they put a lot of stuff in storage.

- Oh.

- But there was a leak in the storage unit above it.

And so, she said she lost a lot of photography stuff.

So I'm hoping it's some of her photography stuff.

- Oh.

- And it is not.

I know exactly what this is.

Interesting.

- This is an old radio?

- This is exactly what she's looking for.

Oh, God, I'm so excited to see this.

New York City World's Fair.

So this was important to Don and Leila because it was his grandma's - Oh, okay.

- and they both loved her.

- So do you think she got the radio at the World's Fair?

- I guess she did, I'm guessing.

Because, honestly, it's not that far from here.

- No, I mean, you drive right by it.

- We passed it coming here in the morning.

- Yep.

- And then, apparently, she was a chain smoker and this was her 1939 World's Fair ashtray.

- Oh, very cool.

- Oh, very cool.

- I want to see if this works.

- I want to see if this works.

- Well, the dials are are moving.

It might.

I'm gonna let you plug it in.

- I'm gonna let you plug it in.

I don't want to steal your thunder.

Go ahead.

- Alright, here we go.

Ready?

- Okay.

(mimics static) (mimics static) - That's breaking news.

- That's breaking news.

I don't think it works.

- I don't it works, either.

- Oh, well.

It was worth a shot.

Let me turn it off.

You can unplug it.

- Okay.

- Oh, wait a minute.

- Oh, wait a minute.

(radio hums) - It does work!

- It does!

(staticky radio voice) - Oh my gosh.

(baseball announcer play-by-play) (baseball announcer play-by-play) That's crazy.

That's crazy.

Eighty years later, here we are in the basement Eighty years later, here we are in the basement - Listening to a Mets game.

- Listening to a Mets game.

- That's right down the street.

- That's crazy.

Alright, this is really cool, man.

Don's grandmother's radio from the World's Fair.

Another legacy list item.

(light guitar music) As soon as I saw the art in this house, As soon as I saw the art in this house, I knew I had to call Lex to come in and let me know what we're looking at.

Lex, good to see you, dude.

Lex, good to see you, dude.

- Matt.

How are you, my friend?

Good to see you.

- Thanks for stopping by.

- Well, thank you for having me.

Wow.

- What do you think?

- Great house.

- Yeah.

- Wonderful graining.

They left the oak figuring is right there, sculpturally in your face.

It's beautiful.

- I don't know what I'm looking at.

- Okay.

- So I need you to kinda look around and tell me what you see and what do you like.

- Alright.

Well, right away, I'm seeing some iconography and symbolism.

So right away, I'm looking at a snow lion.

And that is the emblem of Tibet, and I'm pretty sure it means power and strength.

Most of the lions do.

- So this is the piece I wanted to ask you about.

- Okay, well, you know, from a distance, I thought it was something else.

I thought it was probably Peruvian but this is actually a yarn painting.

- Yeah.

It's a yarn art.

- Yeah, yarn art.

So this is the Huichol people, which is the Sierra Madre region of Mexico.

- Okay.

- And the Huichol people have lots of iconography and meaning but these are actually laid down on wax.

So, it's a very intricate process of taking and, instead of just weaving away, they're slowly lining.

Each without any space between them.

- Yeah.

- So you can imagine, with was and trying not to get wax all over the place.

It's a whimsical piece.

- Okay.

- It's quite nice.

- Alright, let me show you some of this work in here.

- Okay, great.

Wow.

- Yeah, a lot of wood.

- Lotta wood.

Beautiful.

Beautiful!

- This is where it all started.

All of this is built in.

- Wow.

Outstanding.

I mean, it's beautiful but something's kinda caught my eye.

- Okay.

- You told me just very little about this house in advance.

- Yeah.

- But you did say that the family was associated with the New York School and the abstract expressionists.

- Yes.

- You said they'd lived at 222 Bowery.

- They lived at 222 Bowery.

- That was Mark Rothko's studio.

- Okay, so this is Michael Goldberg, who was the tenant after him.

- A well-known artist in his own right, who was the tenant of 222 Bowery after Rothko.

- Lex let me know that 222 Bowery was a famous art co-op in the city and they actually received a painting from Michael Goldberg when they all lived there.

It's their buddy, Michael.

- Okay.

Wow!

So they were close friends?

- Yeah.

The story I was told is, they saw an ad in The Village Voice and then they called down there to see if they could get a space and some guy named Michael said, "Well, you gotta come in for an interview."

And they were, like, "We're poor artists.

Like, what do you want to interview us for?"

- Right, right.

- And so, they met him and he really liked them and he lobbied for them to not only get the space but to get it at a lower rate.

- You know, we've talked about provenance.

Where a painting comes from and its background.

It doesn't get any better than that.

- No, it's a direct gift.

- A direct gift.

So it's a direct line from the artist to the next owner.

And here it is.

So that plays into the authenticity and so, that's wonderful.

- Cool.

- Great piece.

- I don't normally like to focus on financial values but knowing what they're gonna do with it, I was really excited to tell Don and Leila what this painting is worth.

(guitar music) While Mike and his team were packing up the shrine room, While Mike and his team were packing up the shrine room, I brought in some guitar experts to appraise Don's collection.

Alright, you can see we have a heck of a collection here.

Alright, you can see we have a heck of a collection here.

I don't know a lot about guitars.

It was a really impressive, sizable collection but I didn't know what kind of value it would have.

- Right away, I'm drawn to this.

This is made by National Dobro Corp, about 1935.

- Okay.

- This is an all-aluminum lap steel guitar.

They made this out of solid aluminum.

This is enough to build, like, a chunk of an aircraft from.

This cost, probably, with the amp, about $150 in 1935-36, which was a hell of a lot of money in the middle of the depression.

But during World War II, they wanted aluminum to build aircraft out of so they did drives.

"Hey, turn in your old aluminum."

- So there's very few of these left.

- Okay, that makes sense.

- Not only did they not make many, but the aluminum became more valuable than the instrument later on.

So this is a fabulous historic piece.

I always get attracted to the little cases I always get attracted to the little cases because good things sometimes come in small packages.

So this is a Martin concert ukulele.

This one was made... pretty early.

Probably in the late '20s and I just noticed, he's got original strings.

- That's cool.

- These are gut ukulele strings from the 1920s, still in the package.

This would have cost you, in the 1920s, something like 20-25 bucks.

- Holy cow.

- Plus, like, 10 bucks for the case.

This is, like, the best ukulele you could buy.

This one came as a surprise.

This is Stella.

This is a guitar that was played and played and played.

Somebody fed their family with this, most likely.

That's the cool part about a guitar like this, is where has it been, who had it, was this on somebody's front porch in Mississippi in 1935.

It kinda has that look about it.

(guitar music) - The guitar is one of the most popular instruments - The guitar is one of the most popular instruments in the world.

But the road to six-string stardom began long ago.

Before MTV.

Some believe it all starts with prehistoric bow hunters, Some believe it all starts with prehistoric bow hunters, who noticed the sound a bow makes when it shoots an arrow.

Did the hunting bow lead to the musical bow?

There's no way to know for sure, but this is certain.

Musicians have been playing instruments resembling the guitar for thousands of years.

Stringed instruments appear in imagery from ancient Greece, central Asia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt.

When the Moors invade Spain in the eighth century, When the Moors invade Spain in the eighth century, they bring with them the pear-shaped oud.

Stringed instruments get more sophisticated Stringed instruments get more sophisticated and by the late 18th century, Spanish lutes look more like the guitars we recognize today.

They become popular parlor instruments in Europe and musicians headed to the New World bring them along.

America's love affair with the guitar is just beginning.

Stringed instruments provide a soundtrack for a new nation, Stringed instruments provide a soundtrack for a new nation, whose musical influences come from many different cultures.

Southern black guitarists fused spirituals and work chants to create the most quintessentially American art form, the blues.

By the 1950s, the blues inspires a new generation By the 1950s, the blues inspires a new generation of guitar players to create a sound all their own.

It's name?

Rock and roll.

From the British Invasion to the rise of heavy metal, From the British Invasion to the rise of heavy metal, the guitar takes center stage.

Today, it's as popular as ever.

Today, it's as popular as ever.

It's been a long journey from the stone age to the rock age.

- This is a Danelectro bellzouki.

- This is a Danelectro bellzouki.

This is, like, "I'm gonna start a rock 'n roll band."

You know, like, this is some very '60s, which we call the boom era of guitars because everybody wanted to play all of a sudden once the Beatles came out.

Danelectro would use whatever they could get for cheap to make a guitar.

In fact, this pickup is called a lipstick pickup.

And it's not just called a lipstick pickup because it resembles a lipstick tube, it's actually called a lipstick pickup because it is a lipstick tube.

I put it in the category of cheap thrills.

In order to be a cheap thrill, you have to be thrilling.

- The more you tell me about this collection, it fits his personality.

- Yeah.

- Like, a lot, actually.

It was a pretty impressive collection but there are four or five guitars here that had a very high financial value.

I'm really excited to tell Don the value of these guitars because it's gonna go a long way to help the kids and their charity.

(guitar music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (running motor nears) (running motor nears) While Mike and Avi finish up the shrine room, Jaime and I are gonna go on a field trip to Ellis Island.

(introspective music) (introspective music) - Wow.

- Wow.

- Look at this.

- Look at this.

- This is insane.

- Could you imagine coming up these steps?

You've been on a boat for how long?

- I know.

- And this is the first room you see?

So this is one of the rooms Don worked on.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- This is the room?

- Yeah, he worked on the tile.

- This is incredible.

- I can see why Don liked working on this.

- Yeah.

- Welcome to Ellis Island.

- Welcome to Ellis Island.

- Yeah, good to meet you, sir.

Thank you for having us.

- Welcome, ma'am.

- Thank you so much.

Thank you.

- This is amazing.

- It is.

Let me give you some good news.

You passed the medical inspection.

- That's what this room was?

- That's what those stairs were.

- Oh.

- When you came here as an immigrant, you walked up the stairs and at least six doctors at all times simply took a look at you.

If they like what they saw, you looked healthy, you passed.

- Walking into the grand hall was overwhelming.

- Walking into the grand hall was overwhelming.

And it was empty when we walked through and I could just imagine how many footsteps had walked in the path before us.

- The legal inspection happened right here.

The legal inspectors gotta find out, really, just two things about you.

One, you are who you say you are.

You're not lying about that.

Two, you can simply take care of yourself.

He could let you down those stairs He could let you down those stairs right behind him into this country.

He looks you right in the eye and he asks you a question.

What is your name?

your name?

- Matthew William Paxton - I believe him.

You are almost down those stairs.

- Where did people go from there?

- If you had a destination, you went down the right hand side 'cause that leads you straight to a railway office where you could buy a ticket for anywhere a train would go to in America.

But if you had no place to go formally, you went to New York City.

you went to New York City.

You went down the left hand side.

And everybody knew what to do.

You went to New York and you found your people.

You got a place to stay that night, you got a job the next day.

- Wow.

- You just had to get here.

And almost 13 million did.

- I'm looking at that stairwell and I can't go and I get put back on the boat.

I can't imagine.

I mean, what would a boat ride from Italy... How long would that take?

- On average... two weeks, on average.

It all depends on where you came from, right?

In 1924, they decided everything that's done in this room, let's do it at the point of origin.

- The American dream.

- Yeah.

- I mean, there's a million stories.

- Thirteen million.

- Thirteen million stories and I'm remembering why we're here.

- Yeah.

- We're here because of Don.

- Don worked right here.

Take a look at what he did.

Take a look at the ceiling.

Don's job, one of many, was to climb up the scaffolding and test all the tiles in the ceiling.

- To make sure they were secure.

- To make sure they were secure.

- Exactly.

It's called sounding.

He only did that 28,282 times.

- Somebody had to hit every one of these tiles?

- Somebody had to hit every one of these tiles?

- How many did they replace?

Seventeen.

- Wow.

- Wow.

- That was pretty well built.

- We were able to find some tile in the house and I believe it's that way.

- I'm sure it is.

- I have promised Don that we're gonna find those tiles.

I've got a picture of what it looked like so do you mind if we go that way and look for the tiles?

- Please do.

You're in.

- Alright, let's do it.

We're gonna go ahead.

- We made it.

- Welcome to the whole rest of your life.

- Thank you, thank you.

- My pleasure.

- I just thought that Don, like, designed the ceiling.

I didn't know that he actually had to get up there and check every single tile on that roof.

- Those rooms were incredible.

- Those rooms were incredible.

- I know, the history is just amazing.

This is all graffiti from people that either came through here or worked here and it's under different layers of paint.

- Wow.

- Isn't that cool?

Do you see something else that looks familiar?

- Um... - I had a hunch.

- The tile!

- The tile.

Look at that.

I'm pretty sure that's it.

- That's definitely it.

- That's it!

- Look at that.

- Look at it.

That is the tile that we found in Don's basement.

that we found in Don's basement.

- That's incredible.

Being able to find the exact spot where the tile came from was really special.

It was like a step back in time and the fact that it's still there and it's still preserved is really spectacular.

I mean, when somebody can, like, always... - Traditionally, a lot of the Italian immigrants were mosaic artists so to think of, like, possibly coming through these doors and then...

It's just yet another story of those 13 million people that came through.

It's... - They don't make stuff like this anymore.

- No.

(bright piano music) (bright piano music) - I had already budgeted in some extra time - I had already budgeted in some extra time for packing up this shrine and really go through a process that was much much more in depth than any other piece of furniture I've ever moved.

These items are really special.

I mean, you can't just wrap them in bubble wrap and throw them in a box.

We worked for the whole day and into the night.

I took it as my mission to make sure this shrine I took it as my mission to make sure this shrine arrived safely to their other home.

(guitar music) (guitar music) - It's really impressive to see how much history - It's really impressive to see how much history of New York City that this family has touched.

I have learned a lot over the last couple days but now it's time for me to sit down and tell Leila and Don what we found out.

Here we are.

End of a very long - Long week.

- But an exciting week.

- Yes.

- We loved it.

You guys are fascinating, okay?

And I don't even know if you know that or not.

I think it might just be a normal life for you.

- The three areas we cleaned, we were to clean out were the shrine, we were to clean out the storage unit upstairs, and then we actually helped clean up some of the laundry room downstairs.

- Oh, okay.

- Does that feel good?

- It feels very good.

- Amazing.

- The legacy list items were not that difficult to find.

- Mm-hmm.

- But I'm gonna be honest, moving the shrine was challenging.

- Yep.

- Especially knowing that this house has to go on the market tomorrow.

- Mm-hmm.

- I have never moved positive vibes before.

I've given a lot of positive vibes out but how do you put vibes in a box?

- Yeah.

- The first thing that came to us was (laughter) - That's hysterical.

- items from... Whose was this?

- This was my maternal grandmother's radio.

- What was her name?

- Clara Graham.

- Clara?

And this is her ashtray.

- Her ashtray 'cause she was a... well, she smoked till about 88 or so.

- This radio is amazing.

And guess what?

It still works.

- Oh, it still works?

- Oh, yeah.

- I plugged it in, got the Mets game (snaps) like that.

- Okay.

- It's crazy.

I was, like, "Is this a recording or is this, like, still going?"

- We teased people when we had it in Brooklyn, we used to say the commercials were from 1939.

(group laughs) And people would believe it.

- And people would believe it?

Alright, the next item you had was the fireman pins from your dad.

These are amazing.

These are amazing.

- Oh, isn't this sweet?

Oh my goodness.

- Oh, isn't this sweet?

Oh my goodness.

I probably never would have found it because... What box is this?

- The fireman pins... - The fireman pins...

I mean, he was a captain.

Tell me about it.

I mean, this is a big deal.

- Yeah, I mean, my father was actually very smart and educated but, you know, in those days, there wasn't a lot of opportunity for Italians.

there wasn't a lot of opportunity for Italians.

But he was a great fireman, especially when he transitioned to the boats.

That was the largest fireboat.

Ah, how sweet!

(laughs) - Who's that young girl?

- Well, I'm a fireman's daughter, you know.

- Well, I'm a fireman's daughter, you know.

And I was really proud of it.

I wished I could've been a fire person.

You know, I was born too early for that.

But I would spend my birthdays, that was the one thing I always wanted.

To be allowed to get on the boat for my birthday.

And sometimes I brought some of my friends.

- Yeah.

I mean, that smile says it all.

(Leila laughs) - That's great.

These are the most valuable things I have.

These are the most valuable things I have.

Silly.

- This is spectacular.

- You had some incredible experiences as an architect.

- You had some incredible experiences as an architect.

Let's start with Grand Central Terminal.

- Oh.

Okay.

- That, on its own, is pretty amazing.

- That, on its own, is pretty amazing.

And man, your description was dead on on this.

And man, your description was dead on on this.

Thank you.

Like a big golf tee.

- Yeah.

- This was projected through the hole of the star that you would be looking up at and there was a 10-watt light bulb over here.

- Over there.

- And it would shoot... - And it was just illuminated enough so there was a twinkle.

- Yeah.

- When we did the restoration, I remember we changed this out to a fiber optic system.

- Yeah.

- This is a piece that was part of my work legacy over there.

- Tell me about this marble.

- Yeah, well, this is a piece of Botticino Classico from the walls of Grand Central Terminal.

Many of the panels were already broken or deteriorating.

We went back to the source in the Carrara area of Italy, where the marble comes from.

This was a piece I took with me there to match it.

And I got busted in Heathrow because they thought I was carrying a bomb.

(laughter) - You guys, your stories.

Alright, so we're leaving Grand Central Terminal - Okay.

- and we're going to, absolutely, my new favorite place because of you guys.

Ellis Island.

- Oh.

- One of the first things Jaime and I found was this tile.

And I was told it was from Ellis Island.

We found this here in the basement under the rest of your tile.

- Okay, yeah.

- It was with all the other tiles.

- That's where it, yeah.

- I have house tiles, yeah.

My stockpile.

- That's exactly where it was from.

It was actually from... Now, it's actually the graffiti room.

- Oh, okay.

Right, right.

- If you notice, also, yesterday when I was driving around the city on the subways, this exact same... - Yes.

'For Fred', yeah.

'For Fred', yeah.

- What is that?

Related?

What's the... - You know, it's a good question.

This is a very common border, this Greek fret.

- Yeah.

- But, yes - Same color - Yeah, same color and probably the same craftsman, you know.

A lot of the craftsmen who did work at Ellis and did work throughout New York were craftsmen from the Old World.

- Yeah.

We got learn Jaime's family is Italian, as well.

- Uh-huh.

- So we spent a lot of time yesterday learning about Italians on Ellis Island.

And we also got to learn a little bit about your family.

- My family?

- Your family.

- Oh, okay.

- It was really, really, really interesting.

These are the actual ship manifests - Uh-huh.

- Of both your grandfather and your grandmother.

- And my grandmother?

- Yes.

- Oh, great.

- Your grandfather's over here, I've got an X by it - Oh, yeah.

I see it.

Yep.

- Your grandfather was Flamenio Fiorino.

He went by Emilio.

- Yes.

- 1913.

- Wow.

- So if you go over to your left, this is your grandmother.

Ernestina, is it Testori?

- Yes.

Wow.

- There she is.

And she came over, also, from Naples.

- 1914.

- So, a year later.

- That's amazing.

It's a funny thing 'cause I worked there for so long and it was one of those things where - He never had time to do it.

- I'll do it at some point in time.

- You were only there 20 years.

I mean, I understand.

- Right.

(laughs) - And to think that both your grandma and grandpa - Yeah.

- Went across that same floor.

- This is like a set here.

- Yeah.

Don and Leila really are the ultimate legacy list.

The items don't mean that much to them but they start the stories.

The second thing you asked us to do was just to see, "Hey, what's some of this stuff worth?"

- Right.

- In case you decided to sell some of the things.

I had a bunch of experts come.

You met Lex.

We were walking around, he was also just appreciating this room and we found the Goldberg painting.

- Hmm.

- How did you get it?

- Well, when we lived at 222 Bowery, I would do Michael's bills when he was in Italy for the summer.

And, finally, after doing it for quite a number of years, he, quite unexpectedly, gave me that painting.

- It's a beautiful painting.

Lex was blown away by it.

That painting is worth about $20,000.

- You're kidding.

- No.

Like, (indistinct) Okay?

- It's fantastic.

- Yeah.

Then we got into the guitars.

Then we got into the guitars.

- Okay.

- A great group came in to help us.

They were blown away by about five pieces that they thought were about 40 to 50 thousand dollars.

- Wow.

- You're kidding.

That much money?

- You have a lot of really nice guitars and it's because you appreciate such old things.

- Yeah.

It's interesting 'cause the collection is more, like, a working guitar collection.

- That's exactly what they said.

He didn't think you'd want to sell them but he said if you found yourself needing to, he would be very happy to consign them.

- Oh, really?

Wow.

- Because he thought that it was a really good thing.

So, you know... - That was terrific 'cause I really never explored that.

- How does that make you feel?

- Very interesting.

That's money that we can use.

We were just talking about... - For the kids and, also, the people of Yustan that live in New York.

- I just told you we've got about $75,000 and you immediately talked about how you could give it away.

- Yeah.

- 'Cause what do we need it for, you know?

Seriously... - I'm gonna wrap it up.

- I'm gonna wrap it up.

You guys taught us a ton.

Stuff doesn't matter when you know the stories.

- Mm-hmm.

- 'Cause the stories live on forever.

This is not a house without stuff.

At all.

- Mm-hmm.

- I mean, for you guys, they are more starting points to really interesting stories.

- Mm-hmm.

- Well, thank you for everything.

- Thank you very much.

- Thank you so much.

- You're all invited up to our new place.

Come any time.

- Don and Leila have led very full lives - Don and Leila have led very full lives and one thing I'm really impressed with is they spend their time focusing on living and giving.

And I think they've made a really great roadmap for many of us to follow.

- [Announcer] Funding for "Legacy List" is provided by Bekins Van Lines.

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The Mavins Group, so much more than a move.

(upbeat music) Insure Long Term Care, where we believe that aging at home, near friends and family, is ever more possible for more people.

Learn more at insureltc.com.

And by The Ruth Camp Campbell Foundation.

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