The Last Supper – The Mansion

Location & Neighbourhood

Morningside Heights, Manhattan (late 1980s / early 1990s)

A historically accurate setting. Morningside Heights in this period sits in a tense in-between state: anchored by institutions like Columbia University, yet bordering neighborhoods struggling with economic decline and rising crime. The area retains traces of academic prestige and old money, but many properties have fallen into partial neglect due to shifting demographics and deferred maintenance.

Tree-lined streets still suggest dignity, but it is uneven. Well-kept facades stand beside buildings with cracked stone, boarded windows, and creeping graffiti. The neighborhood is not a slum—but parts of it feel as though they are slowly slipping toward one.

The mansion stands slightly withdrawn from the street behind a wrought-iron fence, its gate hanging unevenly. The garden is overgrown, yet intentionally trimmed just enough to maintain order. It feels less abandoned than withheld.

The Mansion

Style: Late 19th-century New England-inspired townhouse mansion
Condition: Structurally sound, aesthetically deteriorating, meticulously maintained

Tall, narrow windows with warped wooden frames. Faded white paint peels to reveal older layers beneath. The roofline sags slightly at one corner—but there is no true structural neglect. Every surface is clean. Dust does not gather here. Floors are polished. The decay is controlled, preserved rather than allowed to spread.

A paved driveway slopes discreetly down to the underground garage, its surface cracked but regularly swept. Around the house, an overgrown garden presses close—dense with exotic flowers and plants that do not quite belong to the climate. It appears neglected at first glance, yet nothing has fully withered; growth is unchecked but not dead.

Inside, the air carries a mixture of old paper, cleaning agents, and something faintly organic beneath it all. At times, faint movement can be heard within the walls—rats, present throughout the house. They are rarely seen, and even their sounds are restrained, as if careful not to disturb.

The house is two stories plus basement, arranged vertically with narrow corridors and high ceilings.

Basement

  • Garage (housing an old but fully functional Rolls-Royce, polished despite its age)
  • Painter’s Workroom / Studio
  • Storage Room (old crates, covered furniture, paint supplies, all carefully arranged)
  • Coal / Utility Room (disused, damp, but swept; rats audible in walls)

Ground Floor (1st Floor)

  • Entrance Hall (with coat stand and cracked mirror, spotless)
  • Main Library (large, two-wall shelving, partially rotting books but meticulously ordered, ladder rail polished)
  • Fireplace Room / Sitting Room (ash cleared, hearth unused but clean)
  • Pool Room with Cocktail Bar (glasses aligned, surfaces immaculate)
  • Dining Room (rarely used, table set or cleared with precision)
  • Kitchen (functional, worn, but clinically clean)
  • Servant Corridor (narrow passage connecting kitchen to rear exit)
  • Unused Study (locked desk, controlled air; several works attributed to Pablo Picasso carefully stored rather than displayed—crated, wrapped, and prepared for transport, yet still partially visible)
  • Abandoned Music Room (out-of-tune upright piano, sheet music neatly stacked rather than scattered)

Upper Floor (2nd Floor)

  • Master Bedroom (dominated by an enormous bed, linens pristine)
  • Gentleman’s Wardrobe / Dressing Room (clothes arranged, unused but maintained)
  • Dance Salon (open space, warped parquet floor polished to a dull sheen)
  • Guest Bedroom (unused, furniture covered but free of dust)
  • Bathroom (old fixtures, stained porcelain, but scrubbed clean)
  • Hallway with heavy velvet drapes and worn carpets, carefully brushed and aligned
  • Unused Nursery (empty crib, peeling wallpaper, but the room is kept clean; discoloration remains)
  • Sealed Room (door swollen shut, key missing, frame wiped clean; something faintly audible beyond at times)