[4] Determined to make her mark in New York society, Vanderbilt's wife Alva worked with the architect, Richard Morris Hunt, to create the French Renaissance-style chateau.

[4][3] The structure, a reflection of Alva's love of all things French, was one of the earliest chateau style mansions in New York City and served as inspiration for many later designs throughout the country by Hunt and others.

[4] It was sold to real-estate developer Benjamin Winter, Sr. in 1926, demolished in 1927,[5][6] and replaced by a commercial building for the fashion retailers Hickson Inc.[7] In a draft of her memoirs, Alva, then Mrs. Belmont, merely noted the demolition in passing.

The elaborate asymmetrical facade was faced in gray Indiana limestone, with an irregular roof of blue-gray slate trimmed with copper.

The masonry firm of Ellin and Kitson executed the extensive exterior and interior stone carving, reportedly employing more than 40 artisans.

[4] The first of the principal rooms upon entering the grand hall from the east was the 18-by-14-foot (5.5 m × 4.3 m) library, with 16th century French Renaissance panelling covering the walls.

Its most important piece of furniture was an ebony secretary, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that was built by Jean Henri Riesener for the use of Marie Antoinette at the Château de Saint-Cloud.