Fodor's Expert Review Green-Meldrim House

Designed by New York architect John Norris and built in 1850 for cotton merchant Charles Green, this Gothic-revival mansion cost $93,000 to build—a princely sum in those days. The house was purchased in 1892 by Judge Peter Meldrim, whose heirs sold it to St. John's Episcopal Church in the 1940s to use as a parish house. General Sherman lived here after taking the city in 1864. Sitting on Madison Square, the house has Gothic features such as oriels, a crenellated roof, and an external gallery with filigree ironwork. Inside are mantels of Carrara marble, carved black-walnut woodwork, and doorknobs and hinges of either silver plate or porcelain.