TODT HILL — A nearly 130-year-old mausoleum that houses the remains of members of a famed New York City family was designated a landmark Tuesday.
The Vanderbilt Mausoleum, a gated mausoleum adjacent to the Moravian Cemetery, was one of eight backlogged properties to get officially declared a landmark as part an initiative to clear a backlog of 95 city buildings that have been pending status for decades.
"The Vanderbilt Mausoleum is an extraordinary monument to America’s Gilded Age," said Landmarks Preservation Commission chair Meenakshi Srinivasan in a statement. "It was built by the country’s wealthiest family of the time, and by two of America’s greatest designers — Richard Morris Hunt and Frederick Law Olmsted."
The Vanderbilt Mausoleum was one of seven sites in Staten Island put on a fast track for landmark consideration by the city in February. Other sites still up for designation by the end of the year include the Lakeman House, one of the oldest homes in the borough, and the Prince's Bay Lighthouse and Keeper's House.
The mausoleum was planned by William H. Vanderbilt and completed in 1886 after his death by his son George W. Vanderbilt, according to the LPC.
The structure, made of gray Quincy granite in a Romanesque Revival style, is one of the few remaining buildings standing in the city designed by famed architect Richard Morris Hunt, according to the LPC.
The mausoleum grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, though most of the original plantings were lost or replaced, according to the LPC.
"The impression you get when you walk from the gate, to the path, to the mausoleum is one of a rising imposing structure" LPC commissioner John Gustafsson said in a statement. "It’s a remarkably peaceful place, and a dramatic statement of both 19th century life and 19th century death."
The building holds the remains of all four of William Vanderbilt, his wife Maria, all their sons and three of their wives, according to the LPC.
READ MORE: 6 Things You Should Know About Famed NYC Family, the Vanderbilts
