Misplaced Pages

Grand Central Palace

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
#918081

68-535: The Grand Central Palace was an exhibition hall in Midtown Manhattan , New York City . The name refers to two structures, both located on Lexington Avenue near Grand Central Terminal . The original structure was a six-story structure built in 1893 between 43rd and 44th Streets. It was demolished during the construction of Grand Central Terminal , and a new 13-story structure was constructed between 46th and 47th Streets. The second Grand Central Palace

136-461: A portico supported by four classical columns. The lower three stories were occupied by exhibition spaces with the main exhibition hall on the second and third stories, and the ten upper floors were used for offices. The Grand Central Palace hosted auto, boat, flower and trade shows . The Palace was the main exhibition center for New York City during the first half of the 20th century. By 1927, it hosted two million guests annually. Office tenants in

204-662: A center on Governors Island . After more than a half million soldiers had been inducted at the Palace, the last fourteen inductions occurred in September 1945. The induction center was closed soon afterward. After the war, it was announced that the New York Coliseum , a new exhibition hall being built across town in Columbus Circle , would replace Grand Central Palace as the city's main exhibition hall. By then,

272-527: A convention center. In Francophone countries, the term is palais des congrès (such as the Palais des Congrès de Paris ) or centre des congrès (such as the Centre des congrès de Quebec). The original convention centers or halls were in castles and palaces . Originally a hall in a castle would be designed to allow a large group of lords, knights and government officials to attend important meetings with

340-676: A director of the board and Vice President of operations. Following an acrimonious departure and a brief dip in personal fortunes, he embarked on business of his own, investing in land and banking in Florida . He died a multimillionaire , with the bulk of his fortune sustaining the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust . Alfred du Pont was born in the Brandywine Valley region of Delaware, where his great-great-grandfather Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours had immigrated with his sons after

408-490: A drop in real estate values, before turning his attention to acquiring interest in banks. He acquired an interest in Florida National Bank (FNB) of Jacksonville, keeping it solvent during a bank run of 1929 by putting $ 15 million of his own money into an account. During the early 1930s, six other Florida National Banks were opened throughout Florida, including Lakeland and Bartow. During this time, du Pont

476-537: A happy one, and although du Pont supported his family financially, with $ 24,000 a year in support, he cut off contact with all but his eldest child, Madeleine du Pont. With a week's eviction notice, he removed them from the family home at Swamp Hall and had it destroyed. This, coupled with du Pont's remarriage to a divorced second cousin in 1907, seriously strained relations between du Pont and other members of his family. Du Pont's relationship with his second wife, Mary (Alicia) Heyward Bradford (1875–1920), had already been

544-411: A history of mental illness , was committed to an asylum following an episode of hysteria . Within a week, she died. The du Pont children were orphaned a month later when Éleuthère followed, a victim of tuberculosis . Du Pont's family intended to separate the children and sell their family home, Swamp Hall, but were persuaded otherwise by the fierce resistance of the children. The girls remained in

612-414: A home after their eviction from Swamp Hall. The struggle became bitter after Coleman du Pont decided to leave the company for health concerns in 1914. As he was departing, ill and in need of money for another business transaction, Coleman du Pont decided to sell 20,000 shares in the company to key company employees, but when Alfred du Pont and Pierre du Pont disagreed on the proper pricing and handling of

680-742: A publisher of which he successfully opposed T. Coleman du Pont's bid for the presidency and Henry A. du Pont 's third run for the Senate . According to the du Pont Trust, he also "established an investment firm, Nemours Trading Corporation, and an import-export business in New York" and acquired a majority interest in the Delaware Trust Company. A bad business transaction had left him nearly bankrupt when, in January 1920, his second wife died. Missing an eye since his earlier accident, he

748-568: A three-block site near Grand Central Terminal that included the Palace. In 1963, it was announced that the Grand Central Palace would be demolished to make way for a 47-story office building being designed by Uris Buildings Corporation , which had acquired the leasehold for both the Palace and a nearby building. Demolition started in June 1964. The site of the Palace is now occupied by 245 Park Avenue . The original Grand Central Palace

SECTION 10

#1732783201919

816-672: Is the Nemours Foundation , which runs children's medical facilities in Delaware and Florida. Beginning in the 1970s, Delaware's Attorney General sued du Pont's brother-in-law Edward Ball and other trustees of the Nemours Foundation for failing to implement du Pont's mission for his Trust and for diverting its assets away from charitable needs in Delaware to fund Trust operations in Florida. The case has continued into

884-467: The French Revolution . His great grandfather Eleuthère Irénée du Pont had founded E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company in 1802. His grandfather was Alfred V. du Pont . The son of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont II, a partner in the family's gunpowder business, and Charlotte Shepard Henderson, Alfred I. du Pont had two older sisters and two younger brothers. When du Pont was 13, his mother, who had

952-684: The Nemours Mansion and Gardens occurred between 1909 and 1910. The mansion is a five-story, 77-room, 47,000 sq ft (4,400 m ) structure that was designed by renowned architects Carrère and Hastings , who also designed the New York Public Library , New York City's Frick Mansion , and Whitehall, the Henry Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida . The building looks like a French château and

1020-544: The St. Joe Company and industrial interests, including the Florida East Coast Railway . Jessie preferred to handle the philanthropic activities of the trust while Edward concentrated on making money. The fortune did not become a charitable trust until Jessie's death in 1970, which explains why $ 30 million in estate taxes were paid in 1935. The Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust 's sole charitable beneficiary

1088-510: The St. Johns River and built a 25-room mansion and landscaped grounds, as well as a berth for the couple's motor yacht. Ball du Pont named the estate Epping Forest , after the Virginia plantation of Mary Ball Washington , George Washington 's mother and Ball du Pont's relative. Edward Ball, too, relocated to Florida, to continue working with du Pont. In Florida, du Pont made primarily small real estate investments at first, correctly fearing

1156-665: The United States District Court found that Pierre du Pont had operated in bad faith, ordering a stockholder vote to determine if the stockholders (aside from those who owned the disputed shares) wished to purchase the disputed shares. By a share ratio of 33:13, shareholders did not, and, accordingly, in 1918, the court dismissed the action. Alfred du Pont brought an appeal which ended unsuccessfully in March 1919. No longer involved in running E.I. du Pont de Nemours, du Pont instead began to invest in newspapers, as

1224-579: The 21st century. The trust was valued at $ 72.5 million in 1939; $ 2 billion in 1981; $ 4.5 billion in 2006. Unlike most of his family members, du Pont was not buried at the family's Du Pont de Nemours Cemetery. He is interred, along with his wife and brother-in-law, in a large mausoleum on the grounds of the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children , one of the first projects created with his trust. Both Nemours and Epping Forest have been restored to their original splendor. A public school in Jacksonville,

1292-727: The Alfred I. duPont Middle School, is located not far from his Epping Forest estate. Alfred du Pont was designated a Great Floridian by the Florida Department of State in the Great Floridians 2000 Program . A plaque attesting to the honor is located at the entry gate to the Epping Forest estate in Jacksonville. An elementary school along the Concord Pike north of Wilmington, the Alfred I. duPont School

1360-531: The Brandywine mills. Though he started in a low position, he eventually became known, according to the Alfred I. du Pont Foundation, as "one of the nation's top powder men." Most of the over 200 patents he registered were related to this work. Du Pont married his cousin Bessie Gardner (1864–1949) in 1887, and she was the mother of his first four children. In 1889, the manufacturing plant passed to

1428-418: The Grand Central Palace hosted auto, boat, flower and trade shows , though parts of the Palace were used as office space. The first Palace was also used as a temporary railroad terminal during the construction of Grand Central Terminal in the 1900s. The original Grand Central Palace was constructed in 1893 on the block bounded by Lexington Avenue, Depew Place, and 43rd and 44th Streets. At the time, Depew Place

SECTION 20

#1732783201919

1496-548: The Grand Central Palace until the Coliseum opened in 1956. The federal government initially dropped plans for a lease in February 1953. However, the next month, the federal government signed a lease agreement to convert the four lower floors into 171,000 square feet (15,900 m) of office space. As part of the agreement, shows would continue to be held at the Palace until November 1953, at which point renovations would begin. In

1564-831: The Grand Central Palace was turned into an induction center for the U.S. Army, being used as such until September 1945. Exhibition hall A convention center ( American English ; or conference centre in British English ) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention , where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees. Very large venues, suitable for major trade shows , are sometimes known as exhibition halls . Convention centers typically have at least one auditorium and may also contain concert halls , lecture halls , meeting rooms , and conference rooms . Some large resort area hotels include

1632-452: The Palace and adjacent Park-Lexington Building in January 1927 with plans to demolish the building and build a Spanish trade center named Casa de las Espanas in its place. Though the Count of Peracamps, a Philippine businessman, visited the Palace in March of that year in an effort to promote the proposed trade center, the deal did not go through. Control of the Palace and Park-Lexington Building

1700-701: The Palace included the Selective Service and the Internal Revenue Service. The first exhibitions at the Grand Central Palace were trade shows held in 1893, before the structure was even completed. Upon the Palace's opening in May 1893, the first exhibition held there was the gathering of the New York Press Club . Other early tenants included the flower show, amateur boxing , and exhibits from Catholic school students. However,

1768-539: The Palace to du Pont's syndicate in April 1919. The following year, du Pont and his associates announced that no new exhibitions would be held in the Grand Central Palace after April 1921, effectively leaving the city without a major exhibition space. The syndicate later clarified that only the International Exposition of Industries would continue to be held in the Palace. In 1920, the structure's lease

1836-544: The architectural style is Louis XVI . The estate was named after the French town affiliated with his ancestor, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours . Within the short time of the marriage, Bradford bore two children for du Pont, neither of whom survived long. Through the early 1910s, Alfred du Pont was engaged in fierce debate over the future of the family's business with Coleman and Pierre du Pont, whose support for du Pont's first wife had extended to building her and her children

1904-536: The basement of Grand Central Palace. New Haven Line electric trains started running to Grand Central Palace in October 1907. The Palace was used as the terminal for all three lines while the old Grand Central Station was being demolished in sections, a process that started in 1910. The original Palace was demolished by 1913 to make way for Grand Central Terminal. A new 13-story building was opened on May 19, 1911. The 13-story building, with twice as much floor space as

1972-505: The black powder manufacture and sat on the Executive Committee. Alfred was directly engaged with the company and instituted major changes to its operation that resulted in greater efficiency and safety, leading to a boom in business. During this period, du Pont was involved in a hunting accident that would eventually cost him an eye. The same year, 1906, he divorced his first wife, Bessie. The couple's marriage had never been

2040-463: The company in the family, and the senior partners agreed on condition that du Pont be joined in the venture by T. Coleman du Pont, who would be president, and Pierre S. du Pont . They had no money, but the cousins were able to convince other family members to exchange their company shares for a promissory note instead of cash, plus shares in the reorganized company. According to the Trust organization,

2108-447: The company was purchased "for $ 15.4 million—$ 12 million in notes and 33,000 shares of the reorganized DuPont", with the partners retaining $ 8.6 million worth of shares (86,400). The actual amount of money which the partners were required to pay was $ 2,100, at $ 700 each for lawyers' fees. Pierre du Pont was named Treasurer and Executive Vice President of the company, while Alfred du Pont served as vice president for operations and took over

Grand Central Palace - Misplaced Pages Continue

2176-592: The couple returned to the East Coast to settle into Nemours. The couple had no children of their own, but Ball du Pont accepted young Denise, a child du Pont had fostered with his second wife, as her own. She also helped mend rifts between du Pont and the estranged children of his first marriage. Ball du Pont proved to be a great assistance to him as well in his work, as did her younger brother. Edward Ball and du Pont hit it off and Edward Ball began working for his brother-in-law in 1923, moving to Delaware where he

2244-581: The dilapidated facilities at the Grand Central Palace were repelling potential exhibitors. In 1952, the federal government signed a letter of intent to lease the lowest four floors, at the time being used as exhibition space, and converted them into office space for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). After objections from several exhibition hosts, the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau asked that exhibitions be allowed at

2312-457: The entire level contained a total of 55,000 square feet (5,100 m). The third and fourth floors were devoted to galleries flanking either side of the second-floor hall, while the fifth and sixth floors formed a "hollow square"-shaped balcony above the glass dome. The interior was lit by more than 4,000 incandescent light bulbs, including seven chandeliers that collectively contained 700 bulbs. More than 50,000 people could be accommodated in

2380-553: The federal government for $ 6 million, so it could be replaced with a post office facility. At the time, the Palace was located atop part of the Grand Central Terminal's storage yards, and there was a mail chute from the building to the tracks underneath. Because the New York Central Railroad still owned the land underneath the Palace, if the transaction were successful, only the air rights above

2448-532: The future terminal, bounded by Lexington Avenue, Depew Place, and 43rd and 45th Streets, in December 1904. This land acquisition included the Grand Central Palace. After the land acquisition, New York Central continued to receive bookings for events at Grand Central Palace. As Grand Central Terminal was being completed and the New York Central's steam-railway lines into Grand Central were electrified ,

2516-550: The home, but du Pont was sent to boarding school : first, to the religious Shinn Academy in New Jersey and then, two years later, Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts . After graduation, he enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , sharing a room with his cousin T. Coleman du Pont . In 1884, after only two years at MIT, he left to work at the family's gunpowder manufacturing plant in

2584-605: The king. A more ancient tradition would have the king or lord decide disputes among his people. These administrative actions would be done in the great hall and would exhibit the wisdom of the king as judge to the general populace. One of the most famous convention center debacles happened in France on June 20, 1789. King Louis XVI locked a group known as the Third Estate out of the meeting hall in Versailles. This led to

2652-544: The land on which the Palace was located. In 1902, in preparation for Grand Central Terminal 's construction, the trustees of the Goelet estate offered the land to the New York Central Railroad , operator of Grand Central Depot, for use as the site of a proposed new post office. However, the land would have to be acquired through condemnation of the site. New York Central bought two blocks of land east of

2720-442: The late 1920s and early 1930s. The 1927 exposition featured the installation of a Welte-Mignon theater organ in the hall. The Palace has also been used by the federal government during world wars. In September 1918, during World War I, the Grand Central Palace was leased as "Disembarkation Hospital no. 5" for American Expeditionary Forces returning from Europe. The Palace was used in this way until April 1919. Starting in October 1942,

2788-456: The management of Eugène du Pont , at which time it was reorganized and renamed E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , and du Pont was made a limited partner. Beyond that, Eugène du Pont and other family members largely ignored du Pont, excluding him from the company board. In 1902, upon the death of Eugène du Pont, the three senior partners considered selling the company to competitor Laflin & Rand Powder Company . Du Pont proposed keeping

Grand Central Palace - Misplaced Pages Continue

2856-601: The meantime, until the Coliseum opened, exhibitions would be held at the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx as well as other armories in Manhattan . The Grand Central Palace's demise started in 1955, when the entire area around the terminal was opened for development in an attempt to net more money for the struggling New York Central Railroad. By 1957, the du Pont estate proposed constructing five office buildings on

2924-585: The original building simultaneously. The structure had a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m) roof with a seasonal roof garden and a stage. A bridge connected the Palace to the Grand Central Depot, across Depew Place to the west. The second Grand Central Palace followed the precedent set by the Beaux-Arts architecture of Grand Central Terminal. It contained over 600,000 square feet (56,000 m) of floor area. The Lexington Avenue facade featured

2992-504: The previous structure, was located on the west side of Lexington Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets, occupying the air rights over the railroad tracks leading into Grand Central Terminal. The Palace was designed by Warren and Wetmore and Reed and Stem , who had also designed Grand Central Terminal. It was the first structure designed as part of Terminal City , a series of commercial developments that were built after Grand Central's formerly open-air rail yards were covered over. The Palace

3060-484: The railroad's commuter rail lines moved their operations to a temporary station under Grand Central Palace. The temporary station had fourteen tracks, ten of which were electrified with third rail . The Hudson Line was the first to be electrified, on September 30, 1906. The temporary station was not ready until November of that year. By that time, trains on the Harlem Line were electrified, and its operations moved to

3128-682: The revolutionary group holding their meeting in an indoor tennis court. This was the first modern democratic conference center and lead to the Tennis Court Oath and the French Revolution . Alfred I. du Pont Alfred Irénée du Pont (May 12, 1864 – April 28, 1935) was an American industrialist , financier , philanthropist and a member of the influential Du Pont family . Alfred du Pont first rose to prominence through his work in his family's Delaware -based gunpowder manufacturing plant, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (now known as DuPont), in which for many years he served as

3196-505: The structure stood empty for the rest of the year, when it held some exhibits from the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. One of the larger events hosted in the first Palace was a Democratic Party political rally in 1900, which was described at the time as "one of the largest ever held in the Grand Central Palace". The first auto show held in Grand Central Palace occurred in 1907 and

3264-421: The subject of family scandal, as family members had remarked on the close relationship of the two even before Alicia Bradford's marriage to du Pont's secretary, George Amory Maddox. Maddox and his wife lived close to du Pont and were frequently visited by him; du Pont and Bradford, who had borne a daughter in the meantime, left their spouses at around the same time and were married two weeks after Bradford's divorce

3332-426: The success of the company during World War I , Alfred du Pont and other minority shareholders launched a lawsuit against Pierre du Pont, alleging that he had acted as an agent of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours company, who should be rightful holders of the shares. The suit was extremely well publicized and acrimonious. In 1916, shortly after company shareholders voted to remove Alfred du Pont from its board of directors,

3400-559: The time, as many of the public had never seen an airplane. The two auto shows were combined starting in 1913, though the combined auto shows were still split between Madison Square Garden and the new Grand Central Palace. The Palace was also the site of the Women's Industrial Expositions from 1912 to 1915. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was held at the Grand Central Palace, as well as the Exposition of Architecture and Allied Arts in

3468-575: The tracks would have been sold. The onset of World War II in the 1940s caused the suspension of several exhibitions. For instance, in 1941, the National Motor Boat Show was suspended for the first time since 1904. The next year, the International Flower Show was also suspended until the end of the war. In October 1942, the Grand Central Palace was turned into an induction center for the U.S. Army , replacing

SECTION 50

#1732783201919

3536-497: The transaction, wound up selling considerably more shares (over 77,000 shares combined of common and preferred stock) to Pierre du Pont and five associates, who had formed the DuPont Securities Company. This secret and swift transaction gave Pierre du Pont, 60 percent ownership of DuPont Securities and, thereby, considerable control over the family business. While the value of the shares greatly increased due to

3604-476: The west, while the floor below, which faced Lexington Avenue, would be converted into retail. The Grand Central Palace would have been renamed the Central Square Building because at the time, there was a "central square" to the west, which abutted the north end of Grand Central Terminal. He formally filed plans for the construction of the annex the next year, and the new 20-story office building

3672-499: Was New York's main exposition hall until it closed in 1953. Its location and the proximity of Grand Central Terminal spurred the construction of a hotel district in the area. Alfred I. du Pont and a group of associates took over the Grand Central Palace's lease in May 1918. Subsequently, in August 1918, the building was rented to the U.S. government, which used the structure as a hospital during World War I . The government relinquished

3740-453: Was a six-story brick structure. Its footprint measured 200 by 275 feet (61 by 84 m) and it contained 310,000 square feet (29,000 m) of floor space. The first floor, at ground level, had cafes that flanked the entrance to Lexington Avenue on the east, as well as a large exhibition area. There was a grand staircase to the second floor, which had a three-story-high glass- domed hall with 12,000 square feet (1,100 m) of floor space;

3808-409: Was an alley located west of Lexington Avenue, which formed the eastern boundary of Grand Central Depot to the west. The original Palace, a six-story structure made of brick, contained 310,000 square feet (29,000 m) of floor space. The land under the original Grand Central Palace was originally owned by the estate of the entrepreneur Robert Goelet , who died in 1899. His will prohibited the sale of

3876-453: Was completed by 1923. However, in 1925, Catts dispelled rumors that the Grand Central Palace would be transformed into an office building. Catts's enterprises became insolvent and went into receivership in 1927, though Grand Central Palace continued to host events. August Heckscher secured control of the Palace's lease in 1923. In the same transaction, he bought other real estate on the same block. A syndicate led by Thomas H. Birch purchased

3944-428: Was designed by Grand Central Terminal architects Warren and Wetmore and Reed and Stem in the Beaux-Arts architectural style , and had almost twice as much room as the original structure. The Palace served as New York's main exposition hall from 1911 until 1953, when the exhibition space was replaced by office space for the Internal Revenue Service . The building was demolished starting in 1964. Throughout its history,

4012-518: Was expanding his philanthropic activities. He personally funded a pension plan program for seniors in Delaware in 1929 and turned his attention to revitalizing Florida after the devastation of a 1926 hurricane and the Great Depression . Besides his interest in business, du Pont was an accomplished and passionate violinist and composer. Using friends and his factory workers from E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, he formed an orchestra that

4080-469: Was final. Du Pont's adoption of Bradford's daughter, Alicia Maddox, brought fresh gossip to the family, who largely rallied in support of his first wife, which in turn inspired du Pont to file several lawsuits against family members and friends for slander , all of which were dropped in due time. Du Pont gave Bradford a new home built on 300 acres (1.2 km ) in Wilmington, Delaware. Construction of

4148-806: Was hosted by the Automobile Club of America . At the time, a separate auto show for foreign cars was hosted at the Madison Square Garden . In 1911, the First Industrial Aeroplane Show (now the Industrial Airplane Show ), was held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show at Grand Central Palace. The event ran from December 31, 1910, through mid-January 1911. It was a major event at

SECTION 60

#1732783201919

4216-519: Was named in his honor, and opened in 1937, shortly after his death. This later grew to be the Alfred I. duPont School District (Alfred I. duPont Special School District after 1968), and helped open a number of schools now in the Brandywine School District , including Brandywine High School and Concord High School . This district was dissolved in 1978 due to federal order. The World War II Liberty Ship SS  Alfred I. Dupont

4284-619: Was named the Tankopanicum Musical Club . According to the du Pont Trust, du Pont "published nine pieces of music [during his lifetime], eight marches and one gavotte , a French peasant dance, which was performed at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington in 1907." John Philip Sousa , who was a friend, performed one of his marches. When du Pont died in 1935 in Jacksonville, Florida at age 70, his estate

4352-512: Was now also nearly deaf . But his life was about to change with his third marriage. Du Pont had been corresponding with Jessie Ball , 20 years his junior, since the time of their meeting in 1898 when she was 14. By 1920, Ball was an assistant principal at an elementary school in San Diego, California , and du Pont began courting her, at the same time divesting himself of assets and cutting back on spending. He wed Ball on January 22, 1921, and

4420-623: Was publicly named manager of the Clean Food Products Company. There, he became a caretaker of the du Pont de Nemours estate fortune. Du Pont and his third wife had already made several trips to Florida on their motor yacht, Nenemoosha , when Pierre du Pont was named Tax Commissioner of Delaware in 1925. Harboring hard feelings against his cousin, Alfred du Pont and Jessie Ball du Pont moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1926, where they established permanent residency. There, du Pont purchased 58 acres (230,000 m ) of land on

4488-436: Was transferred to Robert M. Catts . The following year, Catts proposed $ 500,000 worth of improvements to the Palace as part of the construction of a $ 3 million, 18-story office building on an adjacent empty plot. The plan entailed converting the Grand Central Palace into an office building and attaching it to the adjacent structure via an arcade . The main entrance to the remodeled structure would be relocated to Park Avenue to

4556-483: Was transferred to the publisher Condé Nast in 1928. As part of Conde Nast's purchase of the Palace, the eight upper floors would be turned into sales offices, while the three lower floors would continue to be used as exhibition space. By 1932, the mortgage covering the Palace and the Park-Lexington Building was being foreclosed upon. In 1933, Heckscher offered to sell the Grand Central Palace to

4624-400: Was valued at over $ 56 million, which, after estate taxes of $ 30 million, left $ 26 million. The vast majority of his fortune was left in testamentary trust with Jessie named as the principal trustee with complete discretion regarding use of any money, but in reality, she deferred business decisions to her brother, who took control of the assets, which included the large Florida landholdings of

#918081