New York City, New York story
A Wedding Present in Stone
Imagine a gift so grand it requires a limestone façade and a slate-and-copper roof. That's exactly what James Buchanan Duke gave his second wife, Nannie Holt, in 1912. He didn't j…
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Imagine a gift so grand it requires a limestone façade and a slate-and-copper roof. That's exactly what James Buchanan Duke gave his second wife, Nannie Holt, in 1912. He didn't just buy her jewelry; he commissioned a French hôtel particulier on the Upper East Side.
Designed by Horace Trumbauer and inspired by Château Labottière in Bordeaux, the James B. Duke House was built to be a masterpiece of luxury on the legendary Millionaire’s Row. While it's now the home of NYU's Institute of Fine Arts, the building still carries the echo of that original, romantic gesture.
It stands as a reminder that in early twentieth-century New York, the ultimate way to say I love you was to build a French château right here in Manhattan.
Updated June 2026