Stanford White was the most famous architect in New York City during the Gilded Age. His architectural firm had designed buildings for J.P. Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt and other rich families. From 1879 on, the firm designed 900 hotels, private clubs, libraries, museums, universities, and churches. A tower that he designed had a 13-foot naked goddess on its top. Prudes were offended by it and even tried covering it up. A gale blew the cover off and White installed lights to focus attention on the goddess. He was a fixture of upper-class society. He was known for his colorful clothing, red mustache and hair, and his attention-getting personality. He was witty and charming. But beneath the surface was a dark side. White had a thing for young girls. He had a multi-story apartment in Manhattan where he groomed teenage girls to have sex with him. One room had a red velvet swing in it. He played the role of mentor to girls who were trying to rise from lower class status. In exchange for his benevolence, he expected the girls to repay him with their bodies. One such girl was a popular model named Evelyn Nesbit. Nesbit was beautiful and was photographed and painted and appeared in many magazines and on post cards. Some labeled her America’s first pinup girl. She attracted the attention of White. He took her under his wing when she was just 16. He was 48. He took care of her and her mother. Evelyn was given a $25 allowance and showered with jewelry. One night he got her drunk on champagne (which might have been laced) and when she passed out, he raped her in a mirror covered bedroom. Nothing came of this assault and Evelyn stayed with him. After 6 months, they drifted apart, but remained friends. This was nothing new for White. His activities were not unknown to the upper class. He was a member of a men’s club called the Sewer Club that was known for its orgies. At one party, a 15-year-old girl popped out of a pie wearing a gauze dress and with birds flying out. However, back then rich men could get away with just about anything. However, that libertine life would eventually catch up to him.
On June 25, 1906, White attended a play on the open-air rooftop of a theater. Evelyn and her husband Henry Thaw attended the play. During the closing number in the musical “Mam’zelle Champagne”, Thaw approached White and fire three shots from a revolver. Two hit White in the face and one in the shoulder. White died instantly. Thaw said “I killed him because he ruined my wife. He had it coming to him! He took advantage of the girl and then deserted her!” The millionaire Thaw had married Evelyn recently and had learned of the rape. He was mentally unstable and determined to gain revenge. He also hated White and was insanely jealous. Ironically, Thaw had raped Evelyn before his persistent wooing convinced her to marry him. The trials (the first ended in a hung jury) were sensational and lurid. The whole country followed the news of it. Evelyn was a witness and was very open about her relationship to White. She described the rape in detail. She quoted White after the assault: ““Don’t cry, Kittens. It’s all over. Now you belong to me.” White’s reputation was tarnished. On Feb. 1, 1908, Thaw was obviously guilty, but he was acquitted due to insanity and sent to an asylum. The crime and trial helped bring an end to the excesses of the Gilded Age.
https://avenuemagazine.com/stanford-white-murder-notorious-new-yorker/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_White
https://www.famous-trials.com/thaw/405-home
0 Comments