The Rhinelander Mansion and Ralph Lauren.

The Rhinelander Mansion

Ralph Lauren use

Renovation

867 Partnership began renovating the building in 1984, converting the second floor to retail space and the third through fifth floors into office space. The facade was also restored. The fashion designer Ralph Lauren, head of the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, leased the basement and the first four stories in January 1985, with an initial lease of 20 years and an option to extend it another 29 years. Lauren had considered leasing the Charles Scribner's Sons Building and a Trump Tower storefront on Fifth Avenue before deciding upon the Rhinelander Mansion. He submitted plans that March to expand the mansion's rear and to renovate the exterior. Lauren planned to convert the house into New York City's first standalone Polo Ralph Lauren clothing store (at the time, all of his New York City sales were through other stores). One company executive said they wanted to "restore the charm and dignity the building had to create an interior that's elegant and clubby", and Lauren himself told Architectural Digest that "I've always thought that showing clothes in a townhouse would be the ultimate for me". Rhinelander Florist, Eat, and La Cuisiniere all had to relocate to accommodate the Polo Ralph Lauren store.

 

Naomi Leff & Associates were hired to design the house's renovation; this was a contrast to other Ralph Lauren stores, which had been designed by Ken Winslow. Polo Fashions executive Buffy Birrittella assisted Lauren with the renovation. The Rhinelander Mansion's renovation required as many as 400 workers at a time. As part of the project, workers installed furniture and decorations that were reminiscent of the house's original design, including oak floors and mahogany balustrades. Although many of the original architectural drawings and decorative details were no longer extant, Leff's firm restored some of the original decorations, such as stairways and plasterwork.The main entrance was moved to the corner of the building Ralph Lauren employees traveled to Europe to acquire antique decorations and furniture for the interiors. The renovation team also acquired materials such as 82,000 square feet (7,600 m2) of mahogany, in addition to felt walls and drapery. The interiors were fitted with such lavish displays as antique toys, rattan cages with live canaries, and real grass.[33] One commentator called the mansion's store "the first flagship store to actively engage with filmic fantasy as a whole of brand merchandising strategy".

 

Though the store was originally supposed to open in November 1985, it was delayed by factors ranging from constant bomb threats to stringent preservation requirements.The 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) store opened on April 21, 1986, following a preview event. According to Lauren, the project cost over $14 million,though other sources described the renovation as costing up to $18 million or $30 million. Leff's firm also gained media attention when the renovation was completed. Following the renovation, Polo Ralph Lauren requested a $4 million federal tax credit for the building's restoration, as the structure was on the NRHP. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), which had to endorse the tax credit, spent over a year reviewing Lauren's request, as many of the original decorative details had been covered up or even destroyed.

 

1980s and 1990s

Polo Ralph Lauren was the sole operator of the 867 Madison Avenue store, in contrast to other Ralph Lauren stores that had co-owners. Lauren intended to sell new clothing designs at the Rhinelander Mansion before selling them elsewhere.[ Originally, the first two stories were for men's clothing and accessories; the third floor was for women's clothing; and the fourth story was for home furnishings. The arrangement was deliberate: the store was marketed as primarily a menswear store, and Birrittella said that, while women would walk through men's clothing departments, the inverse was not true. After the Rhinelander Mansion store opened, Lauren said: "I saw families go upstairs and shop, and that's an experience." The Rhinelander Mansion store earned between $80,000 and $120,000 daily in its first month; within a year, the store had made $31 million. During Christmas holiday seasons, Polo Ralph Lauren replaced the house's awnings and redecorated its interior. The company spent more than $100,000 in 1988 to refurbish a room on the third floor for the women's collection, and it opened a "country store" on the fourth floor the same year.

 

The house was placed for sale at the beginning of 1989, and several foreign firms expressed interest in buying the mansion. An Irish company, Power Corporation plc, bought the house in mid-1989 for $43 million; Power Corporation's executive vice president called the building a "trophy property" because of factors such as the Ralph Lauren store's sales revenue and the consumer price index. At the time, Polo Ralph Lauren's rent was eight percent of the Rhinelander Mansion store's sales revenue.The Rhinelander Mansion flagship was one of Polo Ralph Lauren's most profitable stores in the early 1990s, and the store had outgrown the mansion.In 1991, the company leased space at 888 Madison Avenue, across the street from the mansion, for its sportswear division. The company decided to renovate 888 Madison Avenue, opening a Polo Sport store there in September 1993. Unlike the Rhinelander Mansion, the Polo Sport store was designed in a contemporary style. The opening of the Polo Sport store at 888 Madison Avenue further increased sales at the flagship store in 867 Madison Avenue.

 

Despite the flagship's popularity among tourists, as well as the location's high revenues (which reached $33.8 million in 1993), it operated at a net loss in the mid-1990s due to high expenses. The mansion's owner Power Corporation was also experiencing financial difficulties and discreetly placed the house for sale in 1992. The firm sought to resell the house for $46 million, but there were few potential buyers. By early 1997, Power Corporation was still negotiating to sell the house to one of several potential buyers, including Polo Ralph Lauren.The mansion was sold in November 1997 to an unidentified German entity for around $36 million. At the time, Polo Ralph Lauren was the sole tenant of the mansion, paying $3 million annually in rent. 867 Madison Avenue retained its country-club atmosphere through the end of the 20th century. A 1998 Los Angeles Times article noted that the flagship store's patrons were given complimentary drinks.

 

2000s to present

In the early 2000s, a Women's Wear Daily reporter wrote that the Rhinelander Mansion maintained its manor-like character, while the store inside had 50 salespeople "who behave more like servants at an English estate than typical retail clerks". Polo Ralph Lauren kept the mansion's drapes closed to entice visitors, while the decorations and artwork inside were swapped out every few weeks to attract repeat customers. By then, men's and women's clothing departments each occupied about half of the house's space. Polo Ralph Lauren acquired yet another building across the street, at 872 Madison Avenue, in 2004; that structure housed the store's baby-clothing department, which had opened the previous year. The boys' clothing department moved to another structure nearby, at 878 Madison Avenue, in 2004. A writer for The New York Times said in 2006 that the block of Madison Avenue adjoining the Rhinelander Mansion had become a "Disney-like mall of Ralph Lauren stores". Lauren also opened stores downtown to attract younger customers who did not travel to the Rhinelander Mansion.

 

The Rhinelander Mansion was sold again in 2005 for $80 million to Sloane Capital Group, an investment group led by the Irish investors Aidan Brooks and J. P. McManus. Although Polo Ralph Lauren had offered to buy the house, Sloane Capital had submitted a higher bid. The Rhinelander Mansion remained Polo Ralph Lauren's flagship through the late 2000s. Cheaper items were placed near the main entrance, while more pricey objects were deeper inside the mansion. Ralph Lauren opened an eyewear division within the mansion in 2006. Ralph Lauren announced plans in 2008 to rebuild the neighboring structure at 888 Madison Avenue into the company's second New York City flagship. The womenswear and home appliances departments were moved from the Rhinelander Mansion to the new flagship when the latter structure opened in 2010. The Rhinelander Mansion was converted into Ralph Lauren's flagship menswear store, while the company's eyewear and children's divisions were located elsewhere.

 

When the Rhinelander Mansion opened in September 2010, each story was occupied by different menswear brands.The first floor contained watches and Polo-branded items; the second floor had the Purple Label brand and a luggage department; the third floor accommodated a "world of heritage" department and the RRL brand; and the fourth floor was used by the Black label collection, the RLX activewear label, and a sportswear room. Ralph Lauren opened a shoe salon for men on the mansion's ground floor in 2013. At Lauren's request, the Polo division was relocated upstairs in the mid-2010s, resulting in decreased sales. The company instead displayed expensive accessories and objects in the storefront windows. In the 2010s, the Ralph Lauren Corporation also hosted shows outside its stores at Madison Avenue and 72nd Street.

 

Brooks and McManus continued to own the building through Tribeca Holdings, which agreed in 2016 to sell the building to an unnamed buyer at an undisclosed price.The store closed temporarily in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. In December 2023, Ralph Lauren renewed its lease for the building until 2034.