Matthew Astor Wilks acre estate known as Cruickston Park and mansion designed by Detlef Lienau. Through his mother, Wilks was great-grandson of America's first millionaire John Jacob Astor, the fur trader and real estate magnet. Among his first cousins were DeLancey Astor Kane, Woodbury Kane, S. Nicholson Kane, and John Jacob Astor IV. His father, an English gentleman, was the son of a reverend and was born in London. Wilks, who inherited several million dollars from his family, began buying up property in lower Manhattan in 1876. He torn down the various mixed buildings and commissioned architect Charles W. Clinton to build a
Astor House Astor House The Astor House was the first luxury hotel in New York City. Located on the corner of Broadway and Vesey Street in Lower Manhattan, it opened in 1836 and soon became the best known hotel in America. The Astor House was built by John Jacob Astor, who assembled the lots around his former house until he had purchased the full block in the heart of the city's most fashionable residential district. Construction began in 1834, and the hotel opened in June 1836 as the Park Hotel. It was located on the west side of Broadway between Vesey and