#188: The Murder of Stanford White

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Society & Culture, History, Documentary, Places & Travel

4.8 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2015

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On the evening of June 25, 1906, during a performance of Mam'zelle Champagne on the rooftop of Madison Square Garden, the architect Stanford White was brutally murdered by Harry Kendall Thaw. The renown of White's professional career -- he was one of New York’s leading social figures -- and the public nature of the assassination led newspapers to call it the Crime of the Century. But many of the most shocking details would only be revealed in a courtroom, exposing the sexual perversities of some of the city’s wealthiest citizens.White, as a member of the prestigious firm McKim, Mead and White, was responsible for some of New York's most iconic structures including Pennsylvania Station, the Washington Square Arch and Madison Square Garden, where he was slain. But his gracious public persona disguised a personal taste for young chorus girls, often seduced at his 24th Street studio, famed for its "red velvet swing".Eveyln Nesbit was only a teenager when she became a popular artist's model and a cast member in Broadway's hottest musical comedy. White wooed her with the trappings of luxury and subsequently took advantage of her. The wealthy playboy Harry Thaw also fell for Nesbit -- and grew insanely jealous of White. Soon his hatred would envelop him, leading to the unfortunate events of that tragic summer night.www.boweryboyshistory.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Bowry Boys Episode 188, The Murder of Stanford White.
0:05.1	Hey, it's The Bowry Boys!
0:06.7	Hey!
0:07.8	Support for The Bowry Boys is provided by our listeners.
0:11.4	Join us for as little as a dollar a month by visiting patreon.com slash Bowry Boys.
0:20.3	Hi there, welcome to The Bowry Boys. This is Greg Young.
0:23.2	And this is Tom Myers, and I'm glad to be backreg to join you for a mid-summer scandal.
0:29.4	This is one of the most outrageous stories of gilded-age New York City.
0:34.9	Populated with some of the wealthiest people in the city, and in some of the most
0:39.9	exclusive places. We are, of course, talking the story of Evelyn Nezbit and the murder of Stanford White.
0:46.8	This isn't exactly a who-done-it since we know very well who-done-it, but it is a story of
0:53.7	summer intrigue, and it really focuses around the accomplished public life, the scandalous personal
1:00.0	life, and the untimely death of one of New York's most important architects and leading citizens.
1:07.4	You'll see the works of Stanford White throughout the city today.
1:10.5	There's some of the most beloved treasures.
1:13.2	But behind the scenes, Mr. White led a rather intoxicating life that would scandalize
1:18.5	readers of newspapers when all of these details came out.
1:22.1	Today, we'll explore the characters involved in this gilded-age drama and
1:26.3	retrace the events of a summer night in 1906 that shocked the city so much so that the trial
1:33.1	that ensued was dubbed immediately the trial of the century.
1:37.9	So from the dining rooms of the most glamorous restaurants in New York City to the heights
1:42.9	of the tower on Madison Square Garden, join us as we investigate the murder of Stanford White.
	...

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