Anthony Campagna

Anthony (born Antonio) Campagna, Count of Castelmezzano (December 31, 1884 – May 8, 1969)[1] was a prominent real estate developer and member of the Board of Education in New York City. Today, he is best known for the destruction of architecturally significant buildings and the subsequent development of new luxury buildings in New York City.[2]

Anthony Campagna
BornDecember 31, 1884
Castelmezzano, Basilicata, Italy
DiedMay 8, 1969(1969-05-08) (aged 84)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting placeFerncliff Cemetery
Alma materUniversity of Naples
OccupationReal estate developer
Known forDeveloper of 960 Fifth Avenue
Spouse(s)Marie Paterno
Children2
RelativesCharles V. Paterno (brother-in-law)
AwardsOrder of the Crown of Italy

Early life

Campagna was born in Castelmezzano, Italy in 1884.[3] His father was a builder.[2] His brother Armino Campagna (1898–1985), who married his wife's sister Christina Paterno, also moved to New York and worked in real estate with him.[4]

He received his preliminary education in Potenza, later attended the University of Rome and graduated, with honors, from the law school at the University of Naples in 1906.[2][1]

Career

After graduating from law school, he moved to Chicago to work with on an Italian language newspaper. During a visit to New York City. he met with several builders inspiring him to change his profession and move to New York.[2]

Real estate

In 1909, he moved to New York to work for the Paterno Brothers construction firm.[5] Campagna later formed the company Campagna Construction Company, and was responsible for building several of the most prominent luxury apartments in the City following World War I, including 960 Fifth Avenue, 35 Park Avenue and 530 Park Avenue.[2][6] He also developed 173-175 Riverside Drive which occupied the entire blockfront between 89th Street and 90th Street on the Upper West Side.[5]

In 1927, he purchased 962 Fifth Avenue for $3 million (equivalent to $43,736,000 in 2019).[7] The building, which was the residence of the late Senator Clark and cost $7 million to build, was sold by Clark's widow and daughter, Huguette Clark, who moved to 907 Fifth Avenue.[8] Campagana had the mansion torn down just 19 years after it was built in 1911.[9][10] Campagna hired Warren & Wetmore and architect Rosario Candela to design the new building, along with Dorothy Draper, the prominent interior decorator.[11][12] The building was completed in 1928[13][14] and the original apartments were priced from $130,000 to $325,000.[15] More than 75 percent of the apartments were sold before the frame of the building was enclosed.[15] The largest initial stockholder in the building was Dr. Preston Pope Satterwhite who reportedly paid $450,000 for his 20-room apartment,[15] which was considered the most expensive cooperative sale ever paid at the time.[11]

In 1935, as the executive head of Rialto Times Square Inc., he was responsible for tearing down the old Rialto Theatre, developed by Paramount Pictures and located at 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue.[16] After Campagna demolished the theatre, he rebuilt it on a smaller scale and dedicated the rest of the building to shops and office space.[17]

Philanthropy

In addition, he was the founder of the Casa Italiana at Columbia University, which was originally opened as an outreach of the Italian government of Benito Mussolini.[18][19] In 1926-27, he hired William M. Kendall of McKim, Mead & White to design the building in the Renaissance style, modeled after a 15th-century Roman palazzo,[20] which was built by his firm.[5]

He traveled back to Italy and helped restore Virgil's tomb in Naples and a Roman tower in Minturno.[2]

Honors

In 1929, he was conferred the order of Grand Officer of the Crown of Italy by Dr. Emanuele Grazzi, Consul General of Italy.[21]

In 1930, he was bestowed with the title Count of Castelmezzano by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.[5] Reportedly, he did not use the title, stating: "Builder is title enough."[1]

Political career

In 1943, Campagna was appointed by New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to replace Dr. Bonaschi and serve as a Bronx member of the New York City Board of Education.[22] He served as chairman on the Committee of Building and Sites in the 1940s,[23] and directed a $100 million program to construct schools.[2][24][25] He retired from the Board in 1949.[1]

Personal life
The driveway to the Anthony Campagna Estate

Campagna was married to Marie Paterno (1885–1967). She was the daughter of Giovanni Paterno and Carolina Trivigno Paterno and the sister of Joseph and Charles V. Paterno.[26][27] Marie was also from Castelmezzano and was the daughter of his former employer at Paterno Brothers.[5] Together, they were the parents of:[1]

  • Joseph Anthony Campagna, who married Irene Harriet Dunkak, daughter of Henry Dunkak, in 1937.[28][29][30]
  • John J. Campagna, who married Irene Winslow, the daughter of Dr. Paul Vergil Winslow,[31][32] in 1937.[33]

Campagna died in his sleep at the age of 84 on May 8, 1969 at his apartment in Delmonico's Hotel in New York City.[1] He was interred at Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum in Hartsdale, New York.

Residence

Campagna and his wife lived in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, where Campagna purchased land from Percy Rivington Pyne and built the now landmark palatial residence at 640 West 249th Street,[34][35] across the street from Wave Hill, the "oldest Riverdale mansion" and the former residence of Arturo Toscanini, Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt,[3] and George Walbridge Perkins.[36][5] The home, modeled after an Italian villa, was built in 1929 to 1930 and was designed by architect Dwight James Baum and landscape architect Ferruccio Vitale and his partner, Alfred Geiffert, Jr., who won the 1934 gold medal in landscape architecture from the Architectural League of New York for the property.[36] As of 2011, the building was owned by Yeshiva of Telshe Alumni.[37]

Descendants

Through his son John, he was the grandfather of David Winslow Campagna (b. 1939),[31] who married Jered A. McAllister in 1963.[38][39]

References
  1. "Anthony Campagna Dies at 84; Led School Building Program". The New York Times. 9 May 1969. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  2. "Anthony Campagna | Anthony Campagna was a developer responsible for the demolition of Greenwich Village's "House of Genius" and the Brokaw Mansion". www.nypap.org. The New York Preservation Archive Project. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  3. Rothstein, Mervyn (January 16, 1994). "Debating Limits on Landmark No. 1,003". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  4. "Joseph J. Campagna". The New York Times. January 18, 1949. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  5. "ANTHONY CAMPAGNA ESTATE 640 West 249th Street, The Bronx" (PDF). neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org. Landmark Preservation Committee. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  6. "$4,000,000 IS PAID FOR PARK AV. BLOCK; Anthony Campagna Buys West Frontage Between 60th and 61st Streets. TO ERECT LARGE APARTMENT Site Contains 520 Park Avenue, a Twelve-Story Building, and Brearly School". The New York Times. 26 March 1929. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  7. Gray, Christopher (June 2, 2011). "Huguette Clark's 'Worthless' Girlhood Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  8. Hughes, Tyler (25 February 2013). "The Gilded Age Era: 960 Fifth Avenue". The Gilded Age Era. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  9. "'Clark's Folly' Brings Price of $3,000,000 in Sale". Pittsbugh Press. February 2, 1927. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  10. Gray, Christopher (2 June 2011). "Huguette Clark's 'Worthless' Girlhood Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  11. Miller, Jonathan (1 August 2014). "A Fifth Avenue Co-op's 87-Year Price Increase was 3.6X Rate of Inflation". Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  12. "COOPERATIVE BUYERS.; Anthony Campagna Sells Two Suites in 960 Fifth Avenue". The New York Times. 20 December 1928. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  13. "960 Fifth Avenue". nytimes.com. NYT Real Estate. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  14. "Board approved: Who lives at 960 Fifth Avenue?". llnyc.com. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  15. "HIGH APARTMENT PRICES.; One Owner in 960 Fifth Avenue Has Suite of Twenty Rooms". The New York Times. 6 May 1928. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  16. "CAMPAGNA BACKS TIMES SQ. PROJECT; Builder Heads Syndicate Which Plans Modern Structure on Rialto Site". The New York Times. 22 November 1934. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  17. "ANIMAL FILM OPENS NEW RIALTO TODAY; Frank Buck's 'Fang and Claw' Is First Offering of Theatre -- Programs to Be for Men". The New York Times. 25 December 1935. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  18. White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot & Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7.
  19. LaGumina, Salvatore J.; Cavaioli, Frank J.; Primeggia, Salvatore; Varacalli, Joseph A. (1999). The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 101. ISBN 9780203801147. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  20. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1. p.195
  21. "ANTHONY CAMPAGNA FETED BY FRIENDS; Crown of Italy Order Is Conferred at TestimonialDinner". The New York Times. 15 December 1929. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  22. "New Board Member". The New York Times. 3 December 1943. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  23. Campagna, Anthony (6 April 1949). "Providing Emergency Schools". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  24. "$1,500,000 SOUGHT FOR SCHOOL WORK; Previous Allotment of Same Amount Already Allocated for Repairs to 8 Buildings". The New York Times. 30 April 1947. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  25. "98 SCHOOLS LISTED FOR CONSTRUCTION; Delays Have Allowed Revision of Plans by Architects, Campagna Reports COST PUT AT $130,000,000 Building of Red Brick, With Limestone Trim and Granite Base Cited as Example". The New York Times. 8 March 1946. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  26. "Mrs. Campagna". The New York Times. 23 August 1967. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  27. "JOSEPH PATERNO, BUILDER; 58, DEAD; Pioneer in the Construction of Skyscraper Apartments Succumbs to Pneumonia WAS NEWSBOY IN YOUTH Head of Paterno Bros., Inc., Since 1899--Decorated by Italian Government". The New York Times. 14 June 1939. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  28. "MISS IRENE DUNKAK BEGOMES ENGAGED; Mount Vernon Girl Betrothed to Joseph Anthony Campagna, Son of Count". The New York Times. 27 December 1936. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  29. "MISS IRENE DUNKAK MARRIED IN CHURCH; Westchester Girl's Marriage to Joseph A. Campagna Is Held at St. Thomas". The New York Times. 6 June 1937. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  30. "MRS. CAMPAGNA FILES SUIT; Sues Son of Count in Reno for a Divorce". The New York Times. 8 July 1942. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  31. "John J. Campagnas Have Son". The New York Times. 3 April 1939. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  32. "Paid Notice: Deaths CAMPAGNA, SUSAN W." The New York Times. 24 July 2005. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  33. "WEDDING IN CHURCH FOR IRENE WINSLOW; Marriage to John J. Campagna Takes Place at I'Eglise de Notre Dame Here". The New York Times. 19 September 1937. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  34. "Debating Limits on Landmark No. 1,003". New York Times. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  35. Commission, New York (N Y. ) Landmarks Preservation (1993). Anthony Campagna Estate, 640 West 249th Street, The Bronx: Architect Dwight James Baum : [report]. The Commission. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  36. "Anthony Campagna Residence - Riverdale (Bronx), NY". www.nycago.org. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  37. Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Barbaralee (2011). The Landmarks of New York, Fifth Edition: An Illustrated Record of the City's Historic Buildings. SUNY Press. p. 605. ISBN 9781438437712. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  38. "Jered McAllister Is Fiancee Of David Winslow Campagna". The New York Times. 25 November 1962. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  39. "Father Escorts Miss McAllister At Her Marriage; Bride Attended by 6 at Garden City Wedding to David Campagna". The New York Times. 23 June 1963. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
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