In the planning stage of our New York adventure, I asked myself what I’d most like to get out of the trip. It took but a second for my inner voice to exclaim excitedly: History! The Gilded Age!

In preparation, I devoured books on the Vanderbilts, the Astors, and New York history.

I loved learning about Wall Street, literally where a wall once stood, surrounding and protecting the early Dutch settlement.

I loved listening to Anderson Cooper read his books about the Vanderbilts (his ancestors) and the Astors.

I loved looking at the old images of the grand mansions. And dreaming about what 5th Avenue looked like back then, a sea of expansive houses styled after the most extravagant in Europe, each outdoing the next. The sound and smell of horses and carriages on the cobbled streets, the wealthy adorned in the latest fashions from across the Atlantic, all dripping with expensive accessories to demonstrate, or find, their place in society, and the excited chatter between the servants eagerly sharing the latest gossip.

I loved learning about the 400 and the New-Money, and about Alva Vanderbilt’s extravagant costume party, and seeing photos from it! This party was her successful attempt to break into the coveted world of Old-Money society.

I dotted the Gilded Age into our trip: The Morgan Library (a surviving Gilded Age mansion), a Gilded Age tour, and The Great Gatsby musical. The young adults humoured me.

SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is not from the Gilded Age; it’s very new!

But the name Vanderbilt is synonymous with the Gilded Age.

SUMMIT One Vanderbilt stands at 1 Vanderbilt Ave, right next to Grand Central Station.

It has three stories of viewing/art installations that I’m sure have stolen most, if not all, of the tourist traffic that used to go to the Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock.

It was incredible. If you’re going to New York, you have to put this on your list. We went in the morning; the sun’s brilliance painted the city with bright highlights and deep shadows. Don’t forget to take your sunnies if you’re going at a similar time; the interior is full of mirrors, and it’s blindingly bright!

We were totally captivated! We could have spent longer there, but we had time allocated tickets for The Morgan Library and eventually hustled on. Luckily the library didn’t mind that we were late, they didn’t even blink at our tickets, just shuffled us in.

Lil and the Empire State Building (from SUMMIT One Vanderbilt)

Acrylic on canvas 30.5 x 30.5 cms (12×12 inches) by Arwen Munro, February 2025. Painted at The Music Box, Ambleside, West Vancouver, Canada.

My first attempt at a face. Thank you, Lil, for being okay with being my subject. Faces are hard! Likeness is tricky!! I learnt lots.

Have a wonderful day! ☀️