Show Sunday Morning The its social colony gets a new champion battle of pride that started with a snub ultra-ultr- a 30-year-o- October 12 1911 rtribunt It Ilnke rIjc 1d - - 0 ""'"""" " 4 I 4 a fl‘ n 1 - I r : Lmi LA teem ' ' oe ' : : '' ek ' t : 1 4 1 'I de $ - r - - I - - -- sift 4At 1: 4 -- ' ) r ) i t 1 4 i ''' e - 4flt :V " 4 i A i 1' ' ' I well-attend- ' I A a I k 0 fp 4 t - Ix h i AC k‘ 'OM 'NES haps the best contemporary example of what has been termed the early 20th century housebuilding "megalomania" of the American rich But then as the house was a masterpiece of Georgian tramps began to filter in and the' house architecture with massivepaars and a to give way to the ravages of wind rain frieze-lik- e facade above a magnificent and snow it began to become a disgrace IId shrubbery clambered up the walls doorway Expansive portion began to totter the Today it is a shambles Its entrance gates have rotted away its grounds are entrance gates collapsed and with them a tanglewood of weeds and underbrush the patience of Newport dowagers and its interior a shocking sight For Within sight and sound of the estate years tramps wade their way into the were and are the homes of folks like Rear Admiral Livingston Hunt Rear place to spend a night on what once beds restwere gilded and satin-tufte- d Admiral William Sims Roderick Terry Richard W Corbin F B Sands and ing their grimy heels on spindle-legge- d chairs and scrawling their initials on others to say nothing of folk like Mita Wetmore who simply insist that ouch brocaded walls conditions cannot continue Not so long ago a mysterious fire Local Newporters wistfully point out which pitched the upper stories of the mansion and all their contents into the however that there is an angle and an cellar put an end to "Whitehall" as a important one Newport needs the hoboes' paradise and then the city fa$2000 in axes that Mrs Coogan pays then of Newport decided to put a wood out annually for the privilege of conen wall around the place in an effort to tinuing to own her Chamber of Horrors and even those most anxious to see spare neighbors and passersby its hot "Whitehall" torn down haven't brought Tors But further than that they could not go For Mn Coogan the legal up the subject of trying to buy it for owner of the place religiously paid her cold hard cash taxes making seizure and demolition It is perfectly possible however that such a thing could not be done—perimpossible The reason for her strange behaviour haps even for millions For Mrs Coogoes back raany years to the day when gan ever since that day of what might she--trightly be termed the "great rebuff" has daughter of a wealthy busibeen out of touch with the world Two nessman—moved into "Whitehall with her husband and family satisfied that of her sons live in quiet seclusion with judicious investment of wealth and a their socially prominent family sear sound business judgment had won or swank Morristown N J Another son is registered at the Harvard Club in them the final accolade of society New York but few persons ever see Coogan himself bluff and generous to him a degree agreed with his wife that luxu'And Mrs Coogan and her daughter riot's entertainment was the bait to lure to their doorstep and Jessie live at the Biltmore in New York the socially-eleinvitations to be ex- - Their meals are sent up to them and left elicit the in The records indicate outside their door on a wagon with the return pected that the first of the Cooganst parties emptied plates returned to position when but it seemed the the waiter comes back They answer no was bluebloods stayed away in droves and telephone calls nor knocks on the door continued to stay away but their mail is delivered regularly Months and years passed The Coo- Despite the fact that Mn Coogan and gans sent out invitations for great balls her daughter receive a great deal of mail they never answer any letters and banquets The children Jay Jr Even when Mayor McCauley of Newport wrote to her a few weeks ago sugN A ft gesting that she sell "Whitehall' to the for conversion into a park to be more inhib city szs s named the Coogans she ignored ited than Miss it And after e Matthew Sampson a wholesale 7 " 1 Wotmoroare florist who was once one of Mrs Coo-gitenants in a building which she on 'owns on Sixth Avenue at 29th Street in New York City had many occasions to complain of her apparent lack of intleo 0 terest in any and all communications t:11Q) "I wrote Mrs Coogan again and he says "All I wanted was a again" CEE3 few repairs done after all I'd been a tenant of hers for over 30 years But II she wouldn't aAswer Finally however t she sent word by Mike the janitor she'd meet me in her oface at 9 that night ZT5w "You wouldn't believe it" he contin ted "She was there but she didn't turn the lights on We sat there arguing in the dark You might say I saw her yet I never laid eyes on her I moved out gilt-edg- ii 4 Lull L ct : 1 NINssOF he I 6 tt LInti tuna - put him into the upper brackets is not on Bellevue Avenue itself but on Catherine Street which is equally beautiful although a little more secluded The ' I -- - PP4 41 ed 1 it a II ed r Nwpeart's dowagers :N 04) ns betting ii ii N nom tt) 4 't A after that" In her quiet way Mrs Coogan is one of the more important realty owners in New York City The major part of her holdings have been in her family for six generations and were deeded to her by her mother Mrs William Lynch before the latter's death in 1903 The Polo Grounds which were once part of two farms owned by Mrs Lynch's grand father is of course one of the most Yalu able of her properties all of which Mrs Coogan is supposed to manage from her "offices" downtown But actually at cording to Mike the janitor and the doormen at the Biltmore Mn Coogan has not been in the °Mc for many mazy months doubt if Mrs Coogan has been out of her room for a year" said one of the Biltmore bellboys We never see her or ) 4 -- 4" A 4 A otOttallikVAL ' 4 ii 40 11101001104Pler r Wetmore has picicod up a figurativo axe In Nowport's battle Strongswillod socially correct Miss Matildewhose owner Mn James Coogan was snubbod by the socialite to raze tho dilapidated Coogan mansion tho boautiful and pretentious mansion as a result abandonod who colony more than 30 cows ago and still represents to the fullest degree the best that polite society means Against berm n a battle of pride (that has raged on and off since the turn of the century stands an aged recluse the widow who once owned and ruled "Whitehall" and who vowed she would let the house rot on its foundations when she failed—for all her 'wealth and Undoubted charm—to gain the nod of social recognition which is still the hallmark of happiness here The latter is Mrs James Coogan owner of the Polo Grounds and widow of a former New York City borough president who now lives hermitlike in a hotel suite seeing no one seemingly content in the knowledge that the ghastly wreckage of her social failure n In Newport stands still as a rebuke to those who refused to accept her as an equal The weird story of this Coogan mansion in Newport was retold only a few days ago in more trenchant words than ' usual for Miss Wetmore was discussing it and Miss Wetmore as an outstanding champion of women's rights and a great political leader in her own is somewhat less inhibited than most of those who live beneath the great shade trees of Bellevue Avenue "Anybody who allows their property to remain an eyesore for 30 years doesn't show‘ good citizenship" Miss Wetmore said "'Whitehall' is a disgrace to our town It is seriously affecting neighborhood property values The late Mrs Louis Lorillard's house which adjoins the Coogan place has not been rented for three or four years You can't blame to live next door people for not wanting to that squalor- - Other residents nearby are also complaining This time something must be done I can't imagine any valid reason for Mrs Coogan's curious conduct It is shocking" Persona not familiar with Newport - By John Cahill - Miss Maude Wetmore has finally the situation in hand and is betting odds—conservative odds of course for Newport II always conservative in everything— that something is going to be done about it The "it" in this case has nothing to do with feminine beauty or personality Nor even a scandal of the type that might be expected to shock this ultra-ultr- a community of bluebloods to the core "It" is a house To be more exact it Wall once a house now cascading slowly Into ruins an eyesore and a property among the biggest and grandest if not the most beautiful houses to be found anywhere in the world And after 30 years of deteriorating somnolence Newport believes it is going to i)e torn down or renovated—or else Behind the grotesque tragedy of the Newport mansion known as "Whitehall" Is one of the most astonishing stories of crushed social ambitions that can possibly be imagined But against the stern and uncompromising refusal of "Whitehall's" owners to do anything about the shocking condition of the a dwelling is the equally astonishing determination of Miss Maude Wetmore This entire colony from the mansion owners on Bellevue Avenue to the shopa sigh keepers on Broadway breathed of relief when they learned Miss Wet- more bad stepped into the breach For decades she has been Newport embodied in the personality of a strong-wille- d - price-wreck- t - who while far n than many of the gilded less habitues of this Narragansett Bay town well-know- ct woman and its entirely unique place in the American scheme of things would benefit in understanding Miss Wetmore's attitude by taking the famous drive around the colony Along the shores of Narragansett Bay it carries one past an unending succession of gigantic houses and beautifully-kep- t estates until finally it pours into Bellevue Avenue where there stands an unbelievable succession of white blue and pink palaces each one larger than the next with sprawling marble balustrades wrought iron gates of incalcu table value and occasionally a monument of abysmal architectural taste 12-mi- le ' t But all are there as proof of how the spent their money in another far more lush day and age than this one and it is to be said for the landlords of Newport that their property anachronistic as it sometimes may be in these days of a tight war economy— is invariably in the pink of condition multi-millionair- es e resi"That's Newport" one dent said "Millions were spent here and it'a worth a few thousands more to old-tim- keep itgoing" Not so the Coogan place however The weird house of memories that the late James Jay Coogan built for his wife and family when his real estate dealings Gordon and Jessie became individually popular and the unparalleled Harry Lehr—King Lehr of the Gilded Age— took the children with him on tally-h- o rides But Mr and Mrs Coogan themselves somehow remained outside the - pale or perhaps Finally Mrs Coogan the blunt old realtor himself —said: "Enough of this" With their children they marched out of the house and swore they would never enter it again Doors were left unlocked French windows unlatched china in the pantries clothing in the closets expansive furniture in every room For a little while rumor says there was even food in the kitchens and wine in the basement but this lasted for a brief time indeed But through the years the Coogan mansion stood at first a curiosity per - Miss Jessie" A Biltmore doorman tells of the dark and stormy night when be attempted to help Mrs Coogan out of a taxicab and shield her under his umbrella "When I took her arm" be said in re-calling the incident she said: 'Don't you dare touch me I'll go my own way' The widow Coogan has been seeing her own way ever since she decided to leave "Whitehall" to its own devices Whether she will succeed eternally depends upon Maude Wetmore And as said before Newport is betting on Maude gMeWW111Md0 - ' : - weed-grow- rat-infest- ed er socially-corre- - - - p 1 1 c f k 1 I 60110Fig Vamonroonnibiti- - - IPWW IhamitVNIEom To Miss Wetmore above Mrs Coogan's cstt In allowing "White- - hail" to rot away is "shocking" - - Iota n rat anothor view of the famous old mansion to monumnt hoboos—a for itinerant Infested and for pears all This Is wood-grow- von is-ha- Mrs Coogan's social failure In the snootiest of - Werbi Ilk( Ms Zassmed by Mae Features Iedits ts ' law towns—Newport 171 This photo of Mrs Coogan was mad about the time she stormod NewperVs gates—and failed ot |