With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Vacant Manhattan Building Linked to Infamous Gilded Age Murder Case Collapses

A vacant Manhattan building that played a part in an infamous Gilded Age murder case partially collapsed Saturday night, less than two weeks after city officials expressed concerns about the building's stability....

The building became a salacious footnote in a sensational 1907 trial involving a teenage showgirl, a jealous husband, and renowned architect Stanford White. He designed the original Madison Square Garden, the famous arch at Washington Square Park and several other city landmarks.

White rented part of 22 W. 24th St. and used it for trysts in 1901 with 16-year-old showgirl Evelyn Nesbit. She subsequently married, and her vengeful husband, Harry Thaw, shot and killed White on Madison Square Garden's rooftop garden in 1906. The trial revealed that White's 24th Street hideaway was outfitted with a red velvet swing, among other racy details. Thaw was eventually acquitted on the grounds of insanity.
Read entire article at Fox News