If ever a building threaded itself into the hallowed history of New York City, it is the red brick town house at 41 Charlton Street, framed by lustrous wrought-iron railings topped with little pineapples, a symbol of hospitality. Built in 1827 by John Jacob Astor, it occupies what was originally the site of Richmond Hill, the Georgian mansion that served as Aaron Burr's country seat. Over the decades the...