Gilded Age, Meet New Gilded Age
By 
Sometimes even I am not cynical enough for these times. Such as the estate of Gilded Age scumbag Henry Clay Frick seeking to buy up the estate of New Gilded Age scumbag Jeffrey Epstein.
Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan perv palace could soon be an art museum.
The convicted sex offender’s posh Upper East Side mansion — a house of horrors where he allegedly abused dozens of underage girls for years — might become a part of the Frick Collection across the street if a group of art preservationists get their way.
Critics of the Frick’s controversial expansion plan argue that the late financier’s pricey townhouse at 9 E. 71st St. would be much better suited to house the art museum’s proposed additions, instead of sacrificing existing areas of the Gilded Age gallery where industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick amassed his treasures.
Campaigns like Stop Irresponsible Frick Development and Save The Frick — the latter of which is run by architect and preservationist Theodore Grunewald — have been fighting against the expansion plan since it was announced several years ago.
The current proposal includes gutting the Frick’s 85-year-old music room to make space for a larger exhibition area — something that Grunewald says can be avoided if the Frick buys Epstein’s pad and others around it.
“I can’t imagine a family that would want to raise their children in that cursed mansion. It’s going to be hard to sell,” Grunewald said. “The fact that it’s so convenient to the museum means that the Frick could potentially lay Jeffrey Epstein’s name to rest by purchasing it and changing the function. It could essentially be cleansing the house.”
I’m not sure that adding the legacy of Henry Clay Frick to anything really cleanses Epstein’s house. Maybe there can be a room dedicated to other great Americans, such as Horatio Alger or James Henry Hammond.