Washington Irving is believed to have written some of his 'Life of Washington' here. The house (red brick on corner) once belonged to his nephew John T. Irving. It is thought he used it as his city residence.

The home at 49 Irving Place was also the home of Elsie de Wolfe who was America's first professional interior decorator. She and her companion Elisabeth Marbury, live in the corner house from 1892 to 1912. During the period they rented it, they ran a famous salon. De Wolfe, a stage actress, is famous for saying 'It is the personality of the mistress that the home expresses. Men are forever guests in our homes, no matter how much happiness they may find there.'

Elsi began a career as a stage actress. She also began a lifelong affair with the theatrical agent and producer Elisabeth Marbury (1856-1933). Scandalous gossip ensued. The couple was alleged to have hosted 'Sapphic orgies' at the Sutton Place home of Anne Morgan, the daughter of financier J. P. Morgan. The women did mentor young lesbians in the New York theatrical world, including Katherine Cornell, Eva Le Gallienne, and Mercedes de Acosta.

In 1905 at age 40, her career was finished. At the suggestion of Marbury and Sara Cooper Hewitt, de Wolfe became a decorator for the wealthy. Her first major commission was the exclusive female Colony Club. She created a style that encompassed light and airy spaces. Her principles of design were: simplicity and airiness through the use of mirrors and light shades of paint. She helped kill the then-reigning Victorian style. She was successful, she wrote a book 'The House in Good Taste' (1913) and she wrote for magazines and newspapers.

Moving to France, she restored the Villa Trianon at Versailles and entertained heavily. During WWI, de Wolfe worked as a nurse and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor by the French for her services to the wounded. In 1935 her autobiography, 'After All,' was published.

At age 60, she made a platonic marriage with Sir Charles Mendl a British diplomat. She took his name and became known as Lady Mendl. Her relationship with Marbury continued until her death. Paris dressmakers voted her the best-dressed woman in the world when she was 70. At the start of WWII, she returned to the U.S. and lived in Hollywood. When the war ended, she returned to France where she died. She had served as a link between the Edwardian international society of the 1900s and 'café society.'

He began his literary career as a journalist working for his brother Peter on the Morning Chronicle. Irving went on to publish satirical essays and poems collected in 'Salmagundi; or, The Whim-Whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. and Others' (1808). He followed this with his comic history of the Dutch regime in New York, 'A History of New York,' by the imaginary 'Dietrich Knickerbocker,' who was supposed to be an eccentric Dutch-American scholar. His 'The Sketch Book Of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent' (1819-20), a collection of stories, was successful, and allowed him to become a full-time writer.

He moved to Europe, where he lived from 1815-1832. In Spain he wrote 'Columbus' (1828); 'Conquest of Granada' (1829) and 'The Companions of Columbus' (1831), all based on historical research. In 1829, he moved to London and published 'Alhambra' (1832), on the history and the legends of Moorish Spain.

When Irving returned to New York he was the first American author to gain international fame. He toured the South and West, and wrote 'The Cayon Miscellany' (1835) and 'A Tour Of The Prairies' (1835). He spoke out against the treatment of the Indians. Irving wrote 'Astoria' while he stayed with the retired John Jacob Astor in Oregon. About his time in the West he said, 'We send our youth abroad to grow luxurious and effeminate in Europe; it appears to me, that a previous tour on the prairies would be more likely to produce that manliness, simplicity, and self-dependence, most in unison with our political institutions.' Irving served as U. S. Ambassador to Spain from 1842-45.

Back in America he spent his final years in his home 'Sunnyside' at Tarrytown, NY. From 1848 to 1859, he was president of Astor Library (later New York Public Library). His later works were 'Mahomet And His Successors' (1850), 'Wolfert's Roost' (1855) and his five-volume 'The Life of George Washington' (1855-59).