May 21, 2008
Recently Dead

Huntington Hartford, who inherited a $1.5 million annual income from his grandfather George Huntington Hartford, who founded the A&P grocery business, died Monday of natural causes at home in the Bahamas. He was 97. At one time, Hartford was one of the richest people in the world, but spent his entire fortune on failed businesses, art, four marriages, and an extravagant lifestyle. After spending all his money, Hartford became a drug addict, disappeared from New York’s social scene, and moved to Lyford Cay, a Bahamas enclave. New Yorkers should think of him whenever they're in Columbus Circle and see the landmark Huntington Hartford Gallery of Modern Art, the marble building he commissioned in 1964, which now stands empty, crumbling, and endangered. (eFluxMedia)
Update: Well, it seems the building's no longer crumbling and in danger, nor empty. It's been renovated into this. We should get to New York more often. Thanks, commenter Boogiedown.
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