1926–1956: The Ambassador’s Home
MR. & MRS. GERARD
Having lived in the adjoining, near-identical home at No. 1015 Fifth Avenue since 1919, former U.S. ambassador James W. Gerard and his wife, Mary Daly “Molly” Gerard, scion of a copper mining family, bought 1014 Fifth Avenue from their next-door neighbors, the Clarks, in 1926. Before moving in, the Gerards renovated and expanded the townhouse, taking advantage of a rear extension to their lot. The enlarged dining room and the magnificent wood-paneled salon helped make the home a machine for entertaining.
A confidant of Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, James W. Gerard served as U.S. envoy for the 1937 coronation of King George VI in London. © James Watson Gerard Papers, Archives & Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana
Diplomat and Politico
James W. Gerard, a lawyer and judge, was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Germany by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, just before the start of the First World War. As the U.S. prepared to enter the war in 1917, he returned home and gave speeches around the country. After writing two books and running unsuccessfully for U.S. President in 1920, he devoted his efforts to Democratic Party politics as a speaker, fundraiser, and advisor. He advocated for Armenian independence and decried anti-Semitism in the U.S. and abroad. A confidant of Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, Gerard served as envoy for the 1937 coronation of King George VI.
Diplomatic passport of U.S. Ambassador James W. Gerard, issued Feb. 8, 1916, subsequently stamped in Berlin and Paris. Gerard returned to the U.S. and resigned his commission in February 1917, two months before the U.S. entered the First World War. © James Watson Gerard Papers, Archives & Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana
“I find a deep and bitter irony in the marvelous advances in science and technology which contrast so strangely with our backwardness in the art of living with one another.” — James W. Gerard, 1951
Mary and James Gerard were “extremely popular socially,” as the New York Daily News noted on Friday, Jan. 2, 1920. The Gerards entertained at 1015 Fifth Avenue, then, after moving next-door, at 1014 Fifth Avenue. Their social networks extended to Newport, Rhode Island; Palm Beach, Florida; Eastern Long Island; Montana; Cuba; and Europe. Courtesy of Newspapers.com
Party House
Mary and James Gerard hosted countless dinner and cocktail parties at 1014 Fifth Avenue. Tapping into their network of political and judicial leaders, business moguls, and academics, they made their home a social hub. They even hosted at least one high-society wedding. Such gatherings were often “black tie” affairs held in honor of notables like Judge Thomas J. Walker and Lady Halifax of Great Britain. The Gerards also hosted numerous mixer events for the American Press Institute, then located at Columbia University’s Journalism School. As their former butler, Frank J. Hall, told the Daily News in 1956, “The Gerards did quite a bit of entertaining.”
James W. Gerard (right) seated with an unidentified guest at a dinner party at 1014 Fifth Avenue during the 1930s or early ‘40s. © James Watson Gerard Papers, Archives & Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana
Rococo Redesign
Embracing the sensuous forms of the 18th-century French Rococo (Louis XVI) style, the Gerards hired architects Trowbridge & Livingston to expand and renovate the lower half of the house. From 1926 to 1928, Mary directed the design process, while James managed the bills and resolved construction-related disputes with the neighbors. Marble floors replaced wood in the entrance hall. The main stair became more curvaceous, with carpeted wood treads in place of the original marble ones. The fireproof second stair was removed to make way for the new dining room, which boasted Corinthian pilasters and a French hand-carved mantel. Upstairs, the new salon was finished with dark wood boiserie paneling accentuated by curved mirrors and undulating flourishes along the ceiling. A new elevator, refrigerators, flue and chimney, mechanical systems, and glass brought the renovation’s total cost to at least $294,685—equivalent to about $4.68 million in 2021.
Upon moving into 1014 Fifth Avenue in November 1928, James Gerard wrote to architects Trowbridge & Livingston complaining of cracked marble steps, cracked glass, and malfunctioning windows and dumbwaiter. The architects and the contractor promptly replied in separate letters, promising to fix the problems but clarifying that the alleged “cracks” were in fact natural seams or veins in the stone. © James Watson Gerard Papers, Archives & Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana
In consultation with architect Goodhue Livingston, Mary Gerard purchased a pair of Louis XVI-style marble mantels from the interior design and decoration firm Alavoine & Co., to be installed in the expanded first-floor dining room and new wood-paneled salon at 1014 Fifth Avenue. © James Watson Gerard Papers, Archives & Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana
Household Employees
“The Servants Rule the Roost,” New York Daily News, Sunday, March 11, 1956. Mary and James Gerard left an inheritance to eleven of their former domestic employees. Longtime secretary Veronica T. Hyland and butler Frank J. Hall were the largest beneficiaries in this group, followed by the chauffeur, cook, maids, and others. According to the will of Mary Gerard, former servants continued working and living in the home at full pay for several months after her death on Jan. 18, 1956.
Mary and James Gerard personally employed at least 11 people in 1951, according to records kept by their longtime secretary, Veronica T. Hyland, and preserved in the University of Montana archives. These household workers received a combined inheritance totaling more than $500,000 (equivalent to about $5 million today) following the death of the ex-ambassador in 1951 and his wife in 1956. Newspapers ran sensationalist stories as some of the servants continued living and working in the house, with full pay, for at least a few months. The secretary and the butler, neither of whom lived in the house, received the largest bequest, followed by the chauffeur, the cook, the two maids, and four other employees.
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