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Page 211: Biography of Charles Vincent Paterno (1878-1946)
Charles funded his college education with an invention to mount gas illuminated jet lamps in subway stations. He graduated from Cornell Medical College. Charles terminated his internship at Bellevue Hospital to help complete the building his father, John (Giovanni) was unable to complete due to illness. Although he renewed his license annually and signed legal documents with the title Dr., he never practiced medicine again. When their father’s building projects were completed, Charles and his brother, Joseph Paterno formed the construction company, Paterno Brothers Inc.. He married Minnie Minton Middaugh, a tall, stately, beautiful lady ten years his senior. The Paterno Family did not approve of the marriage as Minnie was older, a Protestant, had been previously married and had a child. Nevertheless, the marriage was a successful one. After the wedding, his Catholic brothers and sisters did not invite Charles and his wife to dinner parties, which created a strained relationship between Joseph and Charles. After eight years, the original firm of Paterno Brothers, Inc. dissolved and Charles formed the firm of Paterno Construction Company.
[Carla’s Note: Joseph and Charles formed Paterno Brothers Construction together. When they separated as business partners, Joseph kept the name Paterno Brothers Construction and Charles formed a new firm Paterno Construction Company in 1910.]
Charles was dapper, neat, and fastidious with a shrewd mind. He was of short stature but long on success. As a child, he had an accidental fall while playing leapfrog over fire hydrants and broke his leg. Since the leg did not heal properly, he walked with a stiff knee.
As a child, Charles envisioned that he would one day be rich enough to build a castle overlooking the Hudson River. Many years later, Dr. Charles Paterno selected a seven-acre hilltop site for his home in upper Manhattan, which became known as Paterno Castle. The Castle stood at what is now Cabrini Boulevard and West 181st Street in Washington Heights. It was built between 1907 and 1909 and was the residence of Charles, Minnie, and Carlo Paterno until 1938. A tremendous retaining wall thirty-five feet wide at the base and seventy-five feet high and one thousand feet long was built around the Castle property. Decorative columns and beams formed an impressive pergola walk to the Castle entrance gates. The frontage was enclosed with marble piers and a high decorative wrought iron fence. The south end of the property contained garages and storage rooms, with apartments built above them to house the families of the chauffeur and head gardener. Tennis courts were also built on the beautifully landscaped property.
The luxurious marble mansion was a three-story home of over thirty rooms, which were exquisitely decorated with excellent furnishings and oil paintings. The large entry vestibule, which was decorated by the famous artist, Buccini, had a lovely marble circulating fountain surrounded by red carpeting, and led to a large hall. The view from the fountain included some of the oil paintings on the second floor and the ceiling of the third floor. A winding stairway led to the second floor. Behind the stairway was the music room, which contained a $61,000 organ and Aubusson gilded furniture. Minnie, a talented pianist, frequently entertained guests by playing one of the seven pianos in the Castle. The library, which was furnished with oak and blue velvet furniture, faced the dining room and kitchen. The elevator on the north side of the Castle was designed to travel from the basement to the roof level.
Page 212: Cherub frescoing and an Italian round mahogany table decorated the dining room. Next to the dining room was a glass-enclosed conservatory containing tropical trees, shrubs and orchids. This room led to the billiard room and the enclosed Olympic-size swimming pool with dressing rooms, showers and facilities. Aquariums stocked with tropical fish were built-in the tiled walls of the poolroom. Seventeen greenhouses with a lush assortment of flowers and orchids surrounded the pool. Charles spent a great deal of time in the greenhouses.
The twenty-foot by eighty-foot master bedroom was among the several bedrooms located on the second floor. The leaded glass window of the master bedroom included “07” which was the year of the ground breaking for the Castle. A tremendous ballroom graced the third floor and was the site of many gala parties. The Castle basement contained wine and mushroom cellars.
Charles demolished the Castle in 1938 to construct Castle Village, five twelve-story luxury apartment buildings. The unique site plan of Castle Village was designed to give each apartment a spacious view and ample sunlight.
In 1921, Charles purchased a twelve hundred fifty acre farm in upper Westchester County, near Armonk, New York, in order to pursue his horticultural interest and enjoy the country life. He created artificial lakes and installed large windmills to pump water for them. He them renamed it Windmill Farm. During the Great Depression, Charles hired over three hundred men to erect a seven foot high stone wall along the front of the farm, a distance of a mile and a half. This project was suggested by local politicians and endorsed by Charles to employ individuals the community. The fam produced fruit trees and garden vegetables. It was stocked with horses, cattle and chickens.
Charles toured the area around Windmill Farm in 1937 and decided to buy Round Hill in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was the highest property along the Long Island Sound between New York City ad Boston, Massachusetts. After negotiating the purchase of the twenty-three acre property, he commissioned his son Carlo to supervise the construction of a beautiful replica of an old French chateau for his family residence. Since Charles had been advised that trees could not grow on Round Hill, he dug trenches and placed drains and water pipes in the trenches. As a result of his efforts, trees and flowers flourished.
A neighborhood group, Friends of Paterno Trivium, proposed, designed and raised funds for a site to honor the contribution of Charles Paterno to the development of New York City. Trivium is a Latin term for the space created by the merging of three roads. Pinehurst Avenue, Cabrini Boulevard and 187th Street form the Trivium, which was designed by Thomas Navin. The ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate Paterno Trivium was held on August 4, 2001. Carl (Toni) Paterno Darlington and Mary Faiella Turkus represented the Paterno family at the dedication.
[Go to: Paterno Trivium 20th Anniversary Celebration]
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