On November 18th, I traveled to New York City to participate in the #WritersPathNYC15 writing program at the invitation of the SMU Creative Writing Program and its Director, J. Suzanne Frank. The New York Seminar was the culmination of two years of writing and revision of the manuscripts of fourteen writers. We had the privilege to meet and discuss our writing samples and synopses with agents and editors from the world of New York publishing. It was an added value to spend the four days in residence at the Edith Fabbri home, now called The House of the Redeemer. Also in attendance were writers Daniel J. Hale and Amanda Arista, given the dubious honor of assuaging the concerns generated by their herd of writing cats.

Edith Fabbri and Her Townhouse

The L-shaped house at 7 East 95th Street is an Italian Renaissance revival-styled townhouse in New York built between 1914 and 1916 to serve as the town residence of Edith Shepard Fabbri, a great granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, and her husband, Ernesto Fabbri, an associate of J. Pierpont Morgan. Grosvenor Atterbury, an American architect and town planner trained at L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, who was noted for his 1908 restoration of New York’s City Hall, designed the house. Egisto Fabbri, Ernesto Fabbri’s brother, who was well versed in Italian architecture, incorporated Edith Fabbri’s collection of Italian Renaissance and Baroque furnishings and architectural fragments into his design.

The Interior

Whole sections of original wood ceilings and the wood paneling of the historic library found in the Palazzo Ducale, Urbino, in Italy, were transported in two ships from Italy through U-boat infested waters during World War I, and the house was designed and constructed to contain them. The library features a 1398 Aeolian Opus organ.The design and position of the grand stone stairway, earth tone tile floors, and the patina on the wood tables and benches, offer a breathtaking sense of space, security, and simplicity. To the right is a handsome reception room with coffered ceiling, where a portrait of Mrs. Fabbri hangs. The vaulted ceiling dining room is opposite and features a stone fireplace with comfortable space to seat eighty diners or conference participants. The chapel, originally functioning as a second floor parlor, has another coffered ceiling and unusually modern leaded windows, given in 1985 as a memorial.

The top floor with oval windows is the servants’ floor, now used as bedrooms for those on retreat, and appears as though the housekeepers are ensconced in their posts, serving the Fabbris. The home could be a set for the New York version of Downtown Abbey.

Life in a City Palace

An account of the party Edith gave in 1937 for the debut of her grandniece, Anne Louise Schieffelin, gives the flavor of life in such a grand city palace. “Supper was given in the wide, vaulted dining room on the ground floor, while the dance was held in the library above, where fruit was strung in garlands around the balcony railing. The New York Times reported that members of the Rockefeller, Roosevelt, Redmond, Iselin, Auchincloss and other leading families were there. In fact, The Times listed all 283 guests and noted that the house had “the artisanship of a bygone era.”

Gift to the Episcopalian Church

The era was indeed fleeing. The Lycee Francais de New York, the private school, bought the old Carhart house in 1937, and in 1949 Edith Fabbri created an Episcopal retreat, the House of the Redeemer, to which Edith donated 7 East 95th. She died in 1954 in an apartment at 116 East 63rd Street, a comfortable but modest building. Although it now functions as a nondenominational retreat, the House of the Redeemer is a de facto house museum. Mrs. Fabbri left most of her furniture to the house, from the Renaissance and later periods, and most of it is still in use, like the eight grand gilt torchères that light the library. The pantry with 16-foot ceiling and a mezzanine office from which the butler could supervise the staff is almost completely intact.

Historical Landmark

The House was designated a New York City Landmark in 1974 and is considered by many architectural historians to be one of the most distinguished examples of early 20th century residential architecture in New York City.

In appreciation of my colleagues in NYC Writers’ Path for their continuous support: Tina Carter, Brady Diggs, Catherine Faubion, Lori Folz, Alexia Gordon, Joan Kilbourne, Melissa Walker-Luckett, Heather Morschauser, Julie Scherer, Carter Stack, Terri Taylor, Kaitlyn Van Dorn, and Estee Whitaker. Write on!