James F. D. Lanier

James Franklin Doughty Lanier II (June 25, 1858 – May 16, 1928)[1] was an American banker and sportsman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.

[17] He was one of the founders of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club,[18] and one of the first automobile drivers in America, strongly interested in motor touring and racing.

[1] Soon after the incorporation of the Mead Brook Club, Lanier had an estate, designed by prominent architect James Brown Lord, built in Old Westbury on Long Island that was completed in 1891.

[25] In early 1900, Lanier purchased two adjacent 1854 brownstones located between Park and Lexington Avenues in Murray Hill, for $31,000 which he torn down to build his family residence.

[19] In 1903, Lanier and his wife moved into the, now landmarked, home they had built at 123 East 35th Street in Murray Hill.