Adelaide Howard Frick

In 1880, Henry married his sweetheart, Adelaide Howard Childs, and they bought the original eleven room mansion for $25,000, in 1882. The mansion sat on an acre and a half of land. While they had 4 children, only two survived. Their son, Childs (1883-1965), was born in March of 1883. In 1885, a daughter, Martha was born but she died at the age of 6 in 1891. Their third child, Helen Clay Frick was born in 1888. Their fourth child, Henry Clay Frick, Jr., died shortly after his birth in 1892.

As their family grew, they purchased the lots behind their home, creating a 4 acre estate, adding buildings and an expanded carriage house. For the children's parties and activities, they built "The Playhouse", a real, but smaller house.

By 1891, the family had grown to three children, so the Fricks remodeled, using the services of architect Frederick J. Osterling was hired to transform Clayton into the 23-room chateau-style mansion seen today. The family enjoyed their home and community until 1905, when Henry moved his family to New York City. Childs was already going to college, but Helen sorely missed the mansion in Pittsburgh, and her life there.

When her father died in 1919, she inherited quite a fortune, which she gave some back to the communities, in the form of philanthropic projects. both in Pennsylvania and New York. While Helen never married, she was busy making contributions to benefit the arts and people who enjoy them, and want to study and develop their own gifts.

Her most important contribution was the formation of the top American research institution, Frick Art Reference Library in New York; a research library and photo archive dedicated to the study of western art. In 1920, she started it, and she oversaw the operations of this library her whole life, as it was an interest dear to her heart, art!

To promote art at the college level, she funded Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh. Thinking ahead, she also funded the building of The Frick Art Museum on the back side of the family property in Pittsburgh, to show the community all the art that her father, Henry had collected, and her beloved collection as well.

While she was at it, she also funded the restoration of Clayton Mansion, with provisions in her will to open up Clayton Mansion to the public, leaving all the Frick memorabilia to be on display as well, which explains why 93% of the Frick's possessions are still there. At the age of 93, she moved back to Clayton Mansion and spent the last three years of her life there, passing away in 1984.

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