[1] Today, the arch, which is said to be modeled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris,[2] is partially obscured from view by low-rise commercial buildings, and has been tagged by graffitists; its soft marble facade is decaying.

[4] In 1851 John Ferris Seaman[5] and his brother Valentine – the sons of Dr. Valentine Seaman, who in the early 1800s was one of the men who brought Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccine to the United States[2][4] – bought 25 acres (10.12 ha)[2] of hilltop property in Upper Manhattan near Kingsbridge Road (now Broadway), between what would become West 214th and 218th Streets.

[6] At the top of the hill, the Seamans built a marble mansion around 1855, apparently intending it as a country home, as the family had another residence in lower Manhattan.

[1] Inside, the marble walls, which are covered with vines of ivy, block out most of the ambient city noise, creating a "tranquil retreat".

[14] There was an effort made in 2003 to provide some legal protection for the arch by landmarking it, which received support from New York City Councilman Robert Jackson, but the campaign never came to fruition.

The owner explained that he did not want to sell it because he inherited it from his father, who was given the property, including the Seaman-Drake Arch, by a man whose life he saved in World War II.

One potential buyer was interested in turning the buildings into a nightclub,[3] while others sought the property for a catering firm and a hair salon.

[3][18] In 1988, Christopher Gray of The New York Times said about the arch: The marble is decaying, depositing small piles of silvery grains where water drips, and the entire structure is as worn as the steps of an ancient cathedral.