An architect of prominence in New York from 1896, when he organized the firm of Warren & Wetmore, until his retirement from practice in 1931. Born and educated in New York, at the age of eighteen he went to Paris to study architecture, and while attending Atliers of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, led the life of a cosmopolite, and became so enamored with France that he continued to live there for a decade. 
In 1896 he returned to New York and formed a partnership with Charles Wetmore under the name Warren & Wetmore. The firm’s bid for recognition in the city was made in submitting plans in a competition for a new home for the New York Club, and having won the competition, the partners embarked on a career which brought fame and notoriety to Whitney Warren.

The firm’s first important commission, Grand Central Terminal in New York was followed by Stations on other Railroad Lines, such as the Michigan Central, Canadian Northern and Erie Roads, and in New York a new Office Building for the New York Central, the Chelsea Piers, Steinway Building, and Aeolian Hall.

Early in the 1900’s Warren & Wetmore established a reputation in hotel work. Among the firm’s successfully executed designs were the old Belmont, the Ambassador, Ritz Carlton, the Commodore, Vanderbilt, and the Biltmore, all in New York, the Ritz Carlton in Atlantic City, the Belmont, Providence, R.I., Royal Hamilton Hotel in Honolulu, and the Broadmore in Colorado Springs. While all of these were important commissions, Mr. Warren took the most pride in having designed the reconstructed Louvain Library in Belgium, destroyed by the Germans in World War I. The dedication of the building in 1928 led to an international controversy because of Warren’s insistence on an inscription placing on the Germans the guilt of having destroyed the building— “Furore Teutonica Diruta; Dono Americano Restituta” (destroyed by German fury; restored by American generosity).

Although Mr. Warren gave up professional practice in 1931, he was frequently called upon the serve as Consultant on public projects, and retained his studio in the Beaux Arts Building on West 44th Street as Office headquarters. A co–founder of the Beaux Arts Institute of Design and a Director for many years, he remained active in its affairs, and originated the famous Annual Ball, parties over which he presided until they were given up in 1937. One of his chief characteristics was an intense individualism, both in his professional career and social life.
—References: Obit., New York Herald–Tribune, 1/25/1943: Who Was Who in America, 1943–1950.

WETMORE, CHARLES D. (1867&151;5/9/1941) New York, N.Y.

Formerly a partner of the later Whitney Warren, and under the firm name of Wetmore & Warren established a reputation in designing modern hotel buildings in New York and other cities.

Mr. Wetmore was a native of Elmira, N.Y., and after attending the city schools completed a formal education at Harvard, where he was graduated in 1889. During five succeeding years he studied architecture in New York., subsequently joined Whitney Warren in partnership. Two of the firm’s major works were the New York Central R.R. Terminal and the adjoining Biltmore Hotel, while other important buildings erected from the firm’s plans include the Aeolian Hall, and the following Hotels: the Ritz Carlton, the Commodore; Ambassador; the Vanderbilt (1912), and additions to the Plaza Hotel, all in New York. Warren & also designed the Ritz Carlton in Atlantic city, N.J., the Belmont in Providence, R.I., the Westchester, Rye, N.Y., the Broadmoore, Colorado Springs, Colo., and the Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu, completed in 1937.
— References: Obit., New York Times, 5/10/1941.

[The above citations are from: Henry F. and Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased) (Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc. 1970; facsimile of 1956 edition), pp. 636–637 and p.647.]

Whitney Warren [1864-1943] was a cousin of the Vanderbilts. After deciding to study architecture in 1883, he enrolled at Columbia University but stayed for only one year. In 1884, he left for Paris to attend the Ècole des Beaux Arts and remained for ten years, studying under Daumet and Girault. Warren returned to New York in 1894 and, with characteristic resourcefulness, convinced one of his first clients, a lawyer named Charles Wetmore [1867-1941], to become his partner. The new firm's bid for recognition came in 1899 when the New York Yacht Club [an organization familiar to William K. Vanderbilt, II] held a competition for a new clubhouse. Warren & Wetmore received the commission, and as a result, established their reputation in New York.

Almost immediately, the firm was engaged as architects for the New York Central, Michigan Central and Erie and Canadian Northern Railroads. They were responsible for the design of the entire Grand Central Terminal Group, which began with the design of the Grand Central Station [1903-1913] and ended with the New York Central Office Building [1928]. The complex included several Vanderbilt-financed hotels, among them the Vanderbilt [1911], the Biltmore [1912] and Hotel Commodore [1919].

Considering these associations with the Vanderbilt family, it is reasonable to attribute the 1910 design of "Eagle's Nest" to Warren & Wetmore, although documentary evidence has yet to be found that confirms this attribution. Stylistically, the original buildings on the estate did resemble some of the early work that the firm produced on Long Island, such as the outbuildings for Clarence MacKay's "Harbor Hill" in Roslyn [1904]. In addition, although no records have been located for the first phase of the mansion's construction, later blueprints and drawings confirm that the firm was commissioned in various capacities from 1926 until 1930. During this period, Warren & Wetmore also designed the Deepdale Golf and Country Club in Great Neck [1926] for William K. Vanderbilt II. It was also in the "Spanish" style.