10. The Consulate General of Poland was the former mansion of Joseph De Lamar
The Consulate General of Poland in Murray Hill is located within the former Joseph Raphael De Lamar House at 233 Madison Avenue. The home was designed by C.P.H. Gilbert, who designed townhouses and mansions across the New York City area. The Beaux-Arts-style mansion was constructed between 1902-1905 with a large mansard roof, numerous balconies, and ornate stonework. Born in the Netherlands, De Lamar worked on a steamship to come to America. After he got settled, he amassed a fortune mining copper, nickel, and silver in California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Canada. He built a home in Newport and quickly joined many private clubs in and around New York City. His home in Murray Hill was an odd choice since many prominent New Yorkers moved uptown to Millionaires Row on Fifth Avenue.
The home flaunted a billiards room, wood-paneled library, dining room, grand ballroom, and a Pompeian room with an art gallery. De Lamar commissioned Louis Comfort Tiffany to create stained glass panels for the interior. He also installed Otis elevators and an electric hoist for lowering his car into a subterranean garage. There was also a gymnasium and a dog run hidden below the mansard roof, and he employed nine servants.
By the time he died in 1918, he left his daughter an estate worth $29 million at the time. For a brief while, the mansion was operated by the American Bible Society and the National Democratic Club, though in 1973, Poland bought the mansion for just $900,000. Many of the mansion’s original features were renovated and maintained, including its winding staircase.