Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion: Neo-French Gothic Revival

Introduction

Over a century old, the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion in New York City is a striking example of late nineteenth-century Gothic Revival architecture, and the building is today registered as a National Historic Landmark. The mansion was named for Isaac D. Fletcher, a prominent New York City investor and banker, and Harry F. Sinclair, an oil tycoon who was subsequently caught up in the scandal-ridden administration of President Warren G. Harding. Currently, the mansion serves as the long-time home of the Ukrainian Institute of America and remains a popular destination for students, architects, and others interested in neo-Gothic Revival architecture in the United States.

This paper reviews the relevant literature to describe the building in historical and architectural terms, relating it to larger trends in nineteenth-century architecture and society, and to analyze how this building reflects the forms, ideas, and ideologies of its architectural style. A summary of the research and important findings are presented in the conclusion.

Historical Background

The Fletcher-Sinclair mansion, located at 2 East 79th Street and Fifth Avenue, has served as the headquarters for the Ukrainian Institute of America since 1955. The mansion was commissioned in 1897 by wealthy investor and financier Isaac D. Fletcher and was designed by the prominent New York City architect Charles P.H. Gilbert. During his lengthy career, spanning the period from the 1880s to the 1920s, Gilbert designed more than 100 large homes in New York City.

Besides being designated as a National Historic Landmark, the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion is also protected as a contributing element of the Metropolitan Museum Historic District. The mansion is an example of the neo-French Gothic Revival movement that began in 1750 with the construction of the villa Strawberry Hill for Horace Walpole, the 4th Earl of Orford. According to Wedd, "The uniqueness of the Gothic Revival is indeed that, virtually alone among architectural styles, it was founded on and proclaimed moral values."

These origins are somewhat ironic given the criminal conduct of the mansion's subsequent owner. Whitney reports that Harry F. Sinclair was an oil millionaire who was implicated in bribing a member of President Warren G. Harding's scandal-ridden administration over rights on navy-reserved oil fields — the affair now known as the Teapot Dome scandal. According to the New York Architecture organization, "Harry F. Sinclair, the founder of the Sinclair Oil Company, purchased the Fletcher Mansion in 1920 and sold it in 1930 to Augustus Van Horne Stuyvesant, Jr., a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant." Together with his spinster sister, Augustus — who also remained single — lived in the mansion until his sister's death in 1938, after which he remained there with only his servants for company.

Architectural Character and Gothic Revival Design

Notwithstanding this bit of irony, the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion embodies many of the design attributes that characterize Gothic Revival architecture. Wedd suggests that Gothic Revival architects discovered "medieval style as decoration" and "slapped [it] happily on to buildings, often of perfectly Palladian plan and proportion." Although Strawberry Hill remains the most prominent example of Gothic Revival today, the same architectural elements can be identified on the limestone Fletcher-Sinclair mansion as well.

In this regard, Wedd reports that "The use of medieval detailing to pretty up an otherwise ordinary building went on for nearly a century. [Otherwise] straightforward symmetrical buildings which could have been built in any style [are] decorated with crockets, buttresses and finials until [they] nearly die of it." Indeed, a close examination of the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion reveals that there is little room left anywhere for the addition of a single more pinnacle, crocket, finial, or ornamental detail. This busy architectural approach was intentional and was meant to communicate what Roth describes as "craggy and dark Gothic architecture," intended to satisfy "the Romanticists' desire for mystery and irregularity of form."

There are other architectural design elements in the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion that further mark it as a strong example of the Gothic Revival movement. Dolkart notes that "The house has a lively asymmetrical shape, and is complete with a moat-like areaway with front stairs suggestive of a drawbridge." Some authorities maintain that the series of other homes Gilbert designed in the New York City area were simply preludes to his full-blown realization of French Gothic design as exemplified in the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion. Gray reports that "In 1897 Gilbert attained his signature style of architecture, the no-holds-barred French Gothic design of the Isaac Fletcher house at 79th and Fifth, completed in 1899."

Conclusion

The research showed that Isaac D. Fletcher, a wealthy New York City businessman, commissioned the prominent architect Charles P.H. Gilbert to design what is currently known as the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion in 1897. Following its subsequent acquisition by Harry F. Sinclair, president of Sinclair Oil Company, and then by Augustus Van Horne Stuyvesant, Jr., a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion has served as the home for the Ukrainian Institute of America since 1955. The building is noteworthy for its elaborate use of neo-French Gothic design elements that can require more than one visit to fully identify and appreciate.

References

"About Us" (2014). Ukrainian Institute of America. [online] Available: http://ukrainianinstitute.org/.

The Cambridge Movement: The Ecclesiologists and the Gothic Revival (1962). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Dolkart, Andrew S. (1995). Touring the Upper East Side: Walks in Five Historic Districts. New York City: The New York Landmarks Conservancy.

Gray, Christopher (2003, February 9). "Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert; A Designer of Lacy Mansions for the City's Eminent." New York Times, p. 7.

Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History, and Meaning. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

"Ukrainian Institute" (2014). New York Architecture. [online] Available:

Wedd, George M. (1997, September). "The Gothic Revival Revisited." Contemporary Review, 271(1580), pp. 143–150.

Whitney, David C. (2010, June 30). "Boldly Righting Great Wrongs." Manila Bulletin, p. 37.