 She sold some of the property that she had inherited around 1896 and used the proceeds to cover a portion of the construction costs of two new adjoining homes on the property, which totaled $340,000, with the remaining balance in a $195,000 mortgage.Completed by 1898, the four-story house, which included a ballroom lit by 1,000 light bulbs and furnished at a cost of $1 million, was never occupied during Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo's life.It was assumed Gertrude would move in upon returning from a European trip in 1898 (when construction was nearing completion), but not only did she not move into the residence, much of the rare European furnishings were never unpacked, and remained in the crates on the lower floors, as they came from the steamer.