The DARK SECRET of the Gilded Age Mansion Built to Spy on Guests
In this episode, we uncover the hidden truth behind a Fifth Avenue mansion that was built not just for luxury, but to spy on the rich and powerful. The opulent townhouse at 854 Fifth Avenue, designed by the same firm behind Grand Central Terminal, was transformed during the Cold War into a fortress of espionage—equipped with bulletproof windows, a Faraday cage to block wiretaps, and a metal-padded room for secret meetings [citation:3][citation:6][citation:9]. But the obsession with surveillance didn't stop there.
From the sinister Dictograph listening devices of the Progressive Era, which…
The skinny
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