The land was purchased in 1898 in secrecy by Carnegie, more than a mile north of what was then fashionable society, in part to ensure there was enough space for a garden. He asked his architects Babb, Cook & Willard for the "most modest, plainest, and most roomy house in New York". However, it was also the first American residence to have a steel frame and among the first to have a private Otis Elevator and central heating. His wife, Louise, lived in the house until she died in 1946.