Our History
In 1920 the Harold Pratt House was designed and erected for Mr. and Mrs. Harold Irving Pratt by the famous New York architect, William Adams Delano, of the firm Delano and Aldrich. The prestigious firm was sought out from the wealthiest of families including the Rockefellers, Astors, Vanderbilts and Whitneys for their coveted architectural styles. Only the best materials available were used in constructing the house which is reputed to have cost over a million dollars in 1920. Mr. Harold Irving Pratt was the youngest of eight children. His father, Mr. Charles Pratt, merged Pratt Astral oil with John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil of New Jersey during the latter part of the 19th century.
The current Rockefeller Ballroom was the Pratt family’s formal drawing/living room. At Mrs. Pratt’s insistence it was square, being modeled after a room she had seen in Ireland. It is decorated with pine paneling and beautiful chandeliers each of whose crystals are completely unique. It was also Mrs. Pratt’s wish to use the hand-painted Venetian type doors for the entrance to the Library and the drawing room, although the architect demurred that they did not fit with the English architecture. These charming doors are still gracing the entrances to the Rockefeller Ballroom and Rubin Library.
