Uploaded October 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this illustrated talk presented at Cooper Hewitt, historian Keith Taillon takes us through a history of the mansion built by Andrew Carnegie, the current home of the museum, placed within the greater timeline of New York City’s rapid growth and transformation during the period known as the Gilded Age (approximately 1870–1910). Why was it built here and when? What was the neighborhood like before Carnegie’s arrival?
About the Speaker
Keith Taillon is a writer and historian in New York City. He holds degrees in History and Urban Planning, graduating with honors from New York’s Hunter College Master of Urban Planning program in 2019. His popular Instagram account @KeithYorkCity has more than 44,000 highly engaged followers. He is a licensed New York City Tour Guide and operates his own Manhattan walking tour company as KeithYorkCity. He is a writer for The Fifth Avenue Association and The Daily Beast and has been a guest lecturer at Cooper Hewitt, RAMSA, RoundTable Cultural Seminars, Parsons School of Design, and Landmark West. In 2022, he was a featured historian in the documentary series “American Dynasty,” discussing the lives and impact of the Vanderbilt family. He has been profiled by The New Yorker, The Times of London, Elle Decor, Condé Nast Traveler España, and Surface Magazine. He lives with his partner in Harlem.
Special Thanks
National Design Week programs are made possible with major support from Adobe.
Generous support is provided by The Hirsch Family Foundation and The Pinkerton Foundation.
In this illustrated talk presented at Cooper Hewitt, historian Keith Taillon takes us through a history of the mansion built by Andrew Carnegie, the current home of the museum, placed within the greater timeline of New York City’s rapid growth and transformation during the period known as the Gilded Age (approximately 1870–1910). Why was it built here and when? What was the neighborhood like before Carnegie’s arrival?
About the Speaker
Keith Taillon is a writer and historian in New York City. He holds degrees in History and Urban Planning, graduating with honors from New York’s Hunter College Master of Urban Planning program in 2019. His popular Instagram account @KeithYorkCity has more than 44,000 highly engaged followers. He is a licensed New York City Tour Guide and operates his own Manhattan walking tour company as KeithYorkCity. He is a writer for The Fifth Avenue Association and The Daily Beast and has been a guest lecturer at Cooper Hewitt, RAMSA, RoundTable Cultural Seminars, Parsons School of Design, and Landmark West. In 2022, he was a featured historian in the documentary series “American Dynasty,” discussing the lives and impact of the Vanderbilt family. He has been profiled by The New Yorker, The Times of London, Elle Decor, Condé Nast Traveler España, and Surface Magazine. He lives with his partner in Harlem.
Special Thanks
National Design Week programs are made possible with major support from Adobe.
Generous support is provided by The Hirsch Family Foundation and The Pinkerton Foundation.
