C.K.G. Billings
Encyclopedia
Cornelius Kingsley Garrison Billings (September 17, 1861 in Saratoga
, New York
– May 6, 1937 in Santa Barbara
, California
) was a wealthy industrialist, a noted horseman and tycoon. When he retired in 1901 at age 40 he was president of the Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company in Chicago
, Illinois
.
A notable excentric, Billings invested much of his time and money promoting the sport of matinee riding, (trotting), a sport that today is highly popular in the USA.
. It was near the newly opened and very fashionable Harlem Speedway, an exclusive dirt track along the Harlem River between 155th and Dyckman Streets.
, was going to celebrate the opening by hosting an exclusive dinner at the stable, catered by fashionable restaurateur Louis Sherry
. Word leaked out however, and crowds of reporters gathered by his gates, hoping to see the fabulous stable and glamorous visitors. Billings decided to quietly move the party, and instead rented the grand ballroom of Sherry's, at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street. He had the floor covered with turf so that he and his 36 guests could sit on their horses, (which had been taken up to the fourth-floor ballroom by elevator) while having dinner. The diners ate from trays attached to their saddles and sipped champagne through rubber tubes from iced bottles in their saddlebags. The $50,000 bill included a photographer from the celebrated Byron Company
to document the event.
By 1916 Billings had tired of this location, and sold the whole operation to John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
for $35,000 per acre. Rockefeller intended to tear down Tryon Hall initially and give the land to the city for a new park. Inwood
and Washington Heights
was in need of a park in the neighborhood, Architects protested destruction of the house and the city turned down the offer of a new park. It was rented out. Tryon Hall burned in a spectacular fire in 1926, and the city finally accepted Rockefeller’s gift of the new 67 acres (27.1 ha) Fort Tryon Park
, which opened in 1935. All that remains today of the estate is the old gatehouse near the park entrance and its famous driveway.
, was the first to trot a two-minute mile. In May 1903 Billings spent $12,500 at a dispersal sale in Cleveland for the mare and added her to his stable of matinee horses with the hopes that she could bring him a victory in the next Memphis race. His investment paid off, as she became a phenomenal horse that captured the attention of the nation. By this time Billings was regarded as a "Grand Marshal" of matinee racing. In 1905, however, he sold his stable at Madison Square Garden, stating that he proposed to go abroad for a few years.
by S. S. Van Dine.
Billings' yacht Vanadis is now anchored att Riddarholmen
in Stockholm
. It is being used as a hotel known as Mälardrottningen.
The CKG Billings Amateur Driving Series, a much recognised amateur USA sporting event, as of 2010.
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
– May 6, 1937 in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) was a wealthy industrialist, a noted horseman and tycoon. When he retired in 1901 at age 40 he was president of the Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
A notable excentric, Billings invested much of his time and money promoting the sport of matinee riding, (trotting), a sport that today is highly popular in the USA.
Background
Billings grew up in Chicago, where his entrepreneurial father was a principal in the Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company during the time when Chicago was largely lit by gaslight. After college he joined his father’s firm, eventually inheriting controlling interest in the company and, at the age of 40, retired from business to devote his time to his growing stable of horses. In 1901 he moved his family and his horses to New York City, and acquired acreage on the largely undeveloped north end of ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. It was near the newly opened and very fashionable Harlem Speedway, an exclusive dirt track along the Harlem River between 155th and Dyckman Streets.
Dinner on horseback
On March 28, 1903, Billings, who had recently opened a private 25000 square feet (2,322.6 m²), $200,000 trotting stable near 196th Street in what is now Fort Tryon ParkFort Tryon Park
Fort Tryon Park is a public park located in the Washington Heights section of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA. It is situated on a 67 acre ridge in Upper Manhattan, with a commanding view of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, the New Jersey Palisades and the Harlem River...
, was going to celebrate the opening by hosting an exclusive dinner at the stable, catered by fashionable restaurateur Louis Sherry
Louis Sherry
Louis Sherry was an important American restaurateur, caterer, confectioner and hotelier during the Gilded Age and early 20th century. His name is typically associated with an upscale brand of candy and ice cream, and also the Sherry-Netherland Hotel in New York City.-Early life:Sherry was born in St...
. Word leaked out however, and crowds of reporters gathered by his gates, hoping to see the fabulous stable and glamorous visitors. Billings decided to quietly move the party, and instead rented the grand ballroom of Sherry's, at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street. He had the floor covered with turf so that he and his 36 guests could sit on their horses, (which had been taken up to the fourth-floor ballroom by elevator) while having dinner. The diners ate from trays attached to their saddles and sipped champagne through rubber tubes from iced bottles in their saddlebags. The $50,000 bill included a photographer from the celebrated Byron Company
Byron Company
The Byron Company is a New York City photography studio in Manhattan that was founded in 1892. It is "one of New York's pre-eminent commercial photography studios" that "documented the essence of New York City life"...
to document the event.
Tryon Hall
Beginning in 1907, Billings, his wife Blanche E. MacLeish Billings, two children and 23 servants moved to a full-time residence to the west of the stables, on a promontory 250 feet (76.2 m) above the Hudson River. Described at the time as "In the style of Louis XIV", the house had several large towers, a Mansard roof along with a 75 feet (22.9 m) marble swimming pool, squash courts and bowling alleys. It was called Tryon Hall. The cost was $2,000,000, and it was generally considered among the most lavish private houses in Manhattan. It had towers and turrets, conical steeples, oriel windows, and vast expanses of shingled roof. It stood on Manhattan's highest point, 250 feet (76.2 m) above sea level, with 20 miles (32.2 km) views of the Hudson Valley. His 25 acres (10.1 ha) estate encompassed formal gardens, a 126 feet (38.4 m) bathhouse with a 75 feet (22.9 m) indoor pool, and a yacht landing on the Hudson at Dyckman Street. There he had his 232 feet (70.7 m) yacht, Vanadis. Billings then hired the architects Buchman & Fox to design an extravagant entry to his estate. They laid out the roadway and proposed a great arched stone gallery to carry the top section. Most of the stone was quarried right on the site and the surface of the roadway was paved with chamfered bricks. The total cost of Billings’ new driveway was $250,000.By 1916 Billings had tired of this location, and sold the whole operation to John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
for $35,000 per acre. Rockefeller intended to tear down Tryon Hall initially and give the land to the city for a new park. Inwood
Inwood, Manhattan
Inwood is the northernmost neighborhood on Manhattan Island in the New York City borough of Manhattan.-Geography:Inwood is physically bounded by the Harlem River to the north and east, and the Hudson River to the west. It extends southward to Fort Tryon Park and alternatively Dyckman Street or...
and Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
was in need of a park in the neighborhood, Architects protested destruction of the house and the city turned down the offer of a new park. It was rented out. Tryon Hall burned in a spectacular fire in 1926, and the city finally accepted Rockefeller’s gift of the new 67 acres (27.1 ha) Fort Tryon Park
Fort Tryon Park
Fort Tryon Park is a public park located in the Washington Heights section of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA. It is situated on a 67 acre ridge in Upper Manhattan, with a commanding view of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, the New Jersey Palisades and the Harlem River...
, which opened in 1935. All that remains today of the estate is the old gatehouse near the park entrance and its famous driveway.
Billings' horses
Billings owned some of the nation's finest trotters and pacers, one of which, Lou DillonLou Dillon
Lou Dillon was a Standardbred trotting horse. She was the first trotter to trot a mile in under 2:00, at Memphis in 1903....
, was the first to trot a two-minute mile. In May 1903 Billings spent $12,500 at a dispersal sale in Cleveland for the mare and added her to his stable of matinee horses with the hopes that she could bring him a victory in the next Memphis race. His investment paid off, as she became a phenomenal horse that captured the attention of the nation. By this time Billings was regarded as a "Grand Marshal" of matinee racing. In 1905, however, he sold his stable at Madison Square Garden, stating that he proposed to go abroad for a few years.
Later life
Billings moved to Santa Barbara, California in 1917 to more fully indulge his love of fast horses.Legacy
The Billings estate and mansion has been immortalized in the Philo Vance mystery The Dragon Murder CaseThe Dragon Murder Case
The Dragon Murder Case is a novel in a series by S. S. Van Dine about fictional detective Philo Vance. It was also adapted to a film version in 1934....
by S. S. Van Dine.
Billings' yacht Vanadis is now anchored att Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating from the 17th century...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. It is being used as a hotel known as Mälardrottningen.
The CKG Billings Amateur Driving Series, a much recognised amateur USA sporting event, as of 2010.
External links
- CKG Billings Estate. Slideshow.