The restrained exterior of the mansion belies the wealth of detail found within. Visitors to the house originally entered through a vestibule that led into the main hall, around which were arranged a series of formal reception rooms. The hall rises dramatically through two stories and is clad in 17 different types of marble from both Europe and America, along with onyx and alabaster. It was the lavish use of marble throughout this space that gave rise to the mansion’s moniker of the Marble Palace.