White was commissioned by the socially prominent Goelet family in 1885 to construct the Chicago School style building, which would serve as yet another component of the family’s vast commercial empire. White’s original design for the Goelet Building contained only six stories, incorporating stone, terra cotta, cast iron, and multiple shades of brick. In 1905, the top floor of was shorn off to make way for additional levels, ultimately allowing the structure to rise to its present ten stories. Currently, the Goelet Building is owned by the Justin family, which has made significant renovations to the property since purchasing the building in 1977; it’s still utilized for commercial purposes.

Supported by a substantial donation from the Gould family, Stanford White designed this gorgeous building in 1897 for what was then New York University’s Bronx Campus (and is now Bronx Community College). Inspired by the Roman Pantheon, the library is dominated by its coffered dome, and the space itself is decorated with wood, bronze, marble, stone and Tiffany glass. Over the last decade, there has been a renewed push to restore the landmarked building to its original splendor. Samuel G. White, Stanford White’s great-grandson, is currently the chair of Save Gould Memorial Library, which is studying the conditions in the 116-year-old building along with the architects Beyer Blinder Belle.

As the Bowery Savings Bank grew in financial stature, it required a new home that was fitting for an organization of its prestige. White was commissioned to create an edifice that would, in the words of the board of directors, “impress the beholder with its dignity and fortress-like strength on account of the neighborhood in which it is to be located.” Constructed in 1895, White’s Bowery Savings Bank not only fulfilled those expectations, but provided New York with one of its grandest interiors. The Bowery entrance features a 100-foot mosaic floored passageway, leading into a grand hall adorned with an amber glass dome, terrazzo flooring, and mighty Corinthian columns. The imposing and ornate structure ceased to operate as a financial institution when it was sold to Stan Greenberg in 2002, who subsequently spent $4 million to rehabilitate the 36,000 square-foot space into Capitale, an upscale banquet hall.

Baptist preacher Edward Judson envisioned this church as a religious institution centered on social outreach. With financing provided by fellow Baptist John D. Rockefeller, Judson was able to commission White to lead the design of the church. With construction completed in 1893, the exterior of the Judson Memorial Church was designed to emulate the early Renaissance churches of North Italy in an attempt to attract Italian parishioners. And while the exterior is decorative, containing terracotta ornamentation, yellow Roman brick, marble panels, and a campanile, the interior is designed with Baptist modesty in mind. The Judson Memorial Church still functions as a house of worship, while also serving as a public center for the arts.

This is but one of many social clubs designed by White. It was founded in 1891 by the financier J.P. Morgan and other members of the nouveau riche, who, despite their great wealth, had difficulty joining the ranks of New York high society. In order to assert their ‘rightful’ status in that upper echelon, Morgan and his fellow rich folks decided to make the Metropolitan Club the most lavish and impressive social club in the city—so of course White was tapped for the project. The building itself is designed in the Renaissance Revival style, an Italian palazzo placed along elegant Fifth Avenue. White described his proposed design in the New York Times in 1892 as “unrivaled in its size,” giving it “an appearance unlike that of any building in New-York.” As a suggestion to the club’s exclusivity, the entrance is placed off of Fifth Avenue within a private courtyard.

I was honored to tour this incredible club tonight, the meeting place of so many legends in the creative world... such spirit #theplayerspreservation

A photo posted by Sammy Rae (@sammyraemusic) on Jun 14, 2016 at 6:53pm PDT

Power Hour. #sunset #irtpowerhouse #hellskitchen #westside #nyc #newyork #architecture #landmark #brick #infrastructure #curbed #nycprimeshot #streetdreamsmag #icapture_nyc #ig_nycity #nycbuildings #nycconstruction #newdevelopment #newyorkcity #iphone

A photo posted by Field Condition (@field_condition) on Jun 21, 2016 at 4:50pm PDT

Just two blocks south of the Charles McKim-designed Morgan Library, White’s Robb House is an superb remnant of high society’s reign over Murray Hill during the 19th century. The private residence was completed in 1891 for James Hampden Robb, a New York state senator and commissioner of the Parks Department. White designed the home in the Italian Renaissance style, with Roman brick and terracotta ornament placed on top of brownstone. After Robb's death, it served as a private club before being converted into a co-op building.

Located between 50th and 51st streets and Madison Avenue, White’s Villard Houses were constructed in 1884. Unlike the ostentatious palaces that came to dominate Fifth Avenue in the 19th century, the exterior of the structure has a rusticated base, a central courtyard, and a series of identical and symmetrical balconies. Henry Villard, the original owner of the property, had a commercial empire which ended with the collapse of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1894. Although Villard lost his fortune, his property remained as private residences until 1970s. The wings were converted for the use of non-profits while the central building is now the Lotte New York Palace Hotel.

Though this structure no longer exists, it's impossible to write a list about Stanford White's best buildings without including it. While the current Madison Square Garden is recognized as one of the more unsightly buildings of Manhattan, its 1890 predecessor was Stanford White's architectural magnum opus. It was funded by investors that included Andrew Carnegie, the Astor family, and J.P. Morgan, and no expense was spared. The building itself was of the Renaissance Revival style with Moorish influences, notably a minaret-like tower soaring 32 stories. But it's infamous as the spot where White was murdered by Harry Kendall Thaw in 1906, over the former's relationship with the latter's wife, Evelyn Nesbitt. While Madison Square Garden was prestigious, it was never profitable, leading to its demolition in 1925. The site it once stood on is now home to the New York Life Insurance building.