Friday, August 24, 2007

Location, Location, Location

From CBC.CA:

NEW YORK (AP) - The so-called Queen of Mean's last property is fit for a king.

Leona Helmsley, for years the imperious head of a multibillion-dollar real estate and hotel empire, will spend eternity in a $1.4 million suburban mausoleum with a magnificent view, alongside her beloved husband, Harry. She previously moved her husband's remains after becoming dissatisfied with his old neighbourhood.
....

The ornate granite mausoleum boasts about 120 square metres, with a dozen Doric columns and stained-glass windows re-creating the Manhattan skyline - including the Empire State Building, once the crown jewel of the Helmsley properties.
....

"You can't take it with you," the mayor [Philip Zegarelli] of Sleepy Hollow,said. "But this is certainly an image of the Helmsley style and elegance, the New York skyline, and her pieces of property."


Is it unseemly to build one's own monument? If it is, Leona Helmsley, God rest her soul, is not the first to do so. She is remembered for her comment, as quoted by a member of her staff, upon being convicted of tax evasion, "Only the little people pay taxes."

The mausoleum has a lovely view, and she's in good company in Sleepy Hollow, with Washington Irving, Andrew Carnegie, Brooke Astor.

2 comments:

  1. I imagine the view from the mausoleum is the least of Leona's worries.

    Lindy

    ReplyDelete

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