ABSTRACT
This essay explores the resonance of the French Renaissance style for Richard Morris Hunt (the first American to attend the Parisian École des Beaux-Arts); for William K. and Alva Vanderbilt; and for New York City. Completed in 1882 (now demolished), the Vanderbilts’ “Petit Château” was inspired by Château de Blois, and other examples of the François Iier style. Substantiating the Vanderbilts’ self-perceptions as American royalty and aristocracy, in the United States—where the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few was the source of controversy—the architectural reference to the French monarchy was a provocation deserving close analysis.
