In his prospectus to the public he informed that the view from the windows was unrivalled, as it commanded the whole island and its surroundings.
But either "The House of Mansions" had some defect, or the situation was still too remote from the city.

The project was not a success, and in 1860 the Rutgers Female College, incidentally the first institution for the higher education of young women in the city, moved from its downtown home and occupied the neglected buildings.

Then there is the story of the great square opposite, running from Fifth to Sixth Avenues, between Fortieth and Forty-second Streets.

The Public Library holds the eastern half of it now and Bryant Park the western.

Like Washington Square and Madison Square the land once served as a burial place for the poor and the nameless dead.