The basement contains the rooms that were used by male employees of the
mansion. There were single rooms for the three butlers, a room for
visiting valets, and a room for the day and night men. In addition there
were four storage rooms, two laundry rooms, a pressing room, a wine
cellar, and an ice room. The kitchen was located under the dining room.
Food prepared here was lifted via a large dumbwaiter to the butler's
pantry on the first floor, then carried from there into the dining room,
where it was served. The servants' hall, used as a recreation and dining
room by the servants, was also located in the basement.
_Description of the Grounds_
_Trees._
For almost two centuries these grounds have been part of country estates
owned by influential and wealthy men. The magnificent specimen trees
which they planted here may be ranked as a feature of interest second
only to the mansion itself. Approximately two score species and
varieties are represented, many of them from Europe and Asia.
Trees of foreign origin include European ash, European beech, English
elm, Norway spruce, Norway maple, the red-leaved Japanese maple, and a
ginkgo, or Chinese maidenhair-tree. This ginkgo is among the largest of
that species in the United States.
Among the native American trees represented are sugar maple, flowering
dogwood, eastern hemlock, Kentucky coffeetree, white oak, black oak,
eastern white pine, and blue spruce. Other fine examples of their kind
include large beeches, bur oak, and a great cucumber magnolia. Many of
these trees are labeled.
_Pavilion._
Designed by McKim, Mead, and White, this building was erected by
Norcross Brothers in 66 working days, September 8 to November 24, 1895,
on the site of the old Langdon carriage house. Cost of the structure
probably exceeded $50,000. The pavilion was used by the Vanderbilts
during the construction and furnishing of the mansion, and, later, on
weekends in the winter season when they came to Hyde Park for winter
sports. The pavilion was also used to house the overflow of guests from
the mansion.
The pavilion represents an adaption of classic Greek architecture.
Certain liberties have been taken in the interest of functional
arrangement, such as the placement of window openings and modifications
necessary for the captain's walk on the roof. The result is a pleasing
combination of classic form and informal detail.
[Illustration: _Ginkgo, or Chinese maidenhair-tree._]
_Gardener's Cottage and Tool House._
These two buildings, located south of the mansion, are the only
structures on the estate that antedate the Vanderbilt era. Walter
Langdon had them built in 1875 according to the design of John H.
Sturgis and Charles Brigham, architects of Boston, Mass. Neither
building is open to the public.
_The Italian Gardens._
These gardens, which lay south of the mansion, may possibly date back as
far as Dr. Samuel Bard's era in 1795. They certainly existed in 1830 as
a part of Dr. David Hosack's estate, and the later owner, Walter
Langdon, continued to maintain them. Landscape architect James L.
Greenleaf radically revised and enlarged the gardens in 1902-3 for
Frederick Vanderbilt.
The gardens thus represent several periods of development. They were
divided into three units: The greenhouse gardens, the cherry walk and
pool gardens, and the rose garden. The first of these consisted of three
separate parterre gardens within a rectangle framed on the west by the
rose and palm houses and on the north by the toolhouse, carnation house,
and gardener's cottage. The cherry walk and pool gardens were located
east of this group at a lower level, and progressed from the pergola to
the garden house. The rose garden, still further east, had two terraces
and contained panel beds.
_North Drive and North (Exit) Gate._
The land north of the pavilion was added to the estate in 1905. From the
north drive are unsurpassed views of the Hudson, the Shawangunk Range to
the west, and the Catskill Mountains to the north. The north gate was
erected in 1906. Directly opposite, on the east side of the Albany Post
Road, are the Vanderbilt barns, built in 1901. This part of the estate
is now in private ownership.
_Main (Entrance) Gate and Gatehouse._
These structures date from 1898 and again represent the combination of
McKim, Mead, and White-Norcross Brothers. The gatehouse is still used as
a residence and is closed to the public.
[Illustration: _Main gatehouse._]
_White Bridge._
This bridge over Crum Elbow Creek was designed and constructed in 1897
by the New York City engineering firm of W. T. Hiscox and Company. A
Melan arch bridge, it was one of the first steel and concrete bridges in
the United States.
[Illustration: _River gatehouse._]
_River Gate and Gatehouse._
The carriage road and Crum Elbow Creek proceed southward, ending near
the Hyde Park railroad station at the Hudson River. Near this point is
the river gate and gate lodge. These were designed by McKim, Mead, and
White, and constructed by Norcross Brothers in 1898. The gatehouse is
still used as a residence and is closed to the public.
_The Coach Home._
Located on the river hill, a short distance east (or above) the river
gate, is the coach house. It was designed by the New York City
architect, R. H. Robertson, and erected by Norcross Brothers in 1897. In
1910, R. H. Robertson altered the coach house so it could also be used
as a garage.
[Illustration: THE VANDERBILT FAMILY TREE
(Based on Andrews, _Vanderbilt Legend_, p. 79)]
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT I (1794-1877), "The Commodore"
m. Sophia Johnson
m. (2) Frank Crawford (_no children_)
3 other sons
8 daughters
WILLIAM HENRY I (1821-1885)
m. Maria Louisa Kissam
4 daughters
Cornelius II (1843-1899)
m. Alice Gwynne
Cornelius III (The General)
m. Grace Wilson
Cornelius IV (_Author and journalist_)
Gertrude
m. Harry P. Whitney
C. V. Whitney
Reginald Claypole
m. Cathleen Neilson
Cathleen
m. (2) Gloria Morgan
Gloria Vanderbilt
Gladys Moore (_The Breakers_)
m. Count Laszlo Szechenyi
5 daughters
Alfred Gwynne I (_went down on the Lusitania, 1915_)
m. Elsie French
William Henry III (_Former Governor of Rhode Island_)
m. (2) Margaret E. McKim
Alfred Gwynne (_President of Belmont Park_)
George Washington III
FREDERICK WILLIAM (1856-1938)
m. Louise Anthony Torrance (_no children_)
George Washington II (1862-1914) (Biltmore)
m. Edith Stuyvesant Dresser
Cornelia
m. Hon. John Francis Amherst Cecil
George Harry Vanderbilt Cecil
William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil
William Kissam I (1849-1920)
m. Alva Smith
m. (2) Anne H. S. Rutherford (no children)
Consuelo
m. 9th Duke of Marlborough
John, Marquis of Blandford
Lord Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill
m. (2) Louis-Jacques Balsan
William Kissam II
m. Virginia G. Fair
Muriel
Consuelo
William Kissam III
m. (2) Rose L. Warburton
Harold Stirling (_Famous yachtsman_)
m. Gertrude Connaway
_Travel Routes to the Site_
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site is on the New York-Albany Post
Road, U.S. 9, at the northern edge of Hyde Park, N.Y., about 6 miles
north of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. From New York City, 82 miles away, you can
reach it most conveniently by automobile over the Hendrick Hudson
Parkway, the Saw Mill River Parkway, the Taconic State Parkway, U.S. 55,
and U.S. 9. Approaches from the New York State Throughway and U.S. 9W on
the west side of the Hudson River are by the Mid-Hudson Bridge at
Poughkeepsie, the Rip Van Winkle Bridge at Catskill, or the
Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge at Kingston.
_About Your Visit_
You enter the grounds by the main gate on U.S. 9, just north of the
village of Hyde Park. You leave the site by the north drive and gate on
U.S. 9, near St. James Church. The exit drive affords fine views of the
Hudson River and the mountains to the west.
The grounds are open every day from 9 a.m. until dark. You are welcome
to spend as much time as you wish viewing them.
The mansion is open every day during the summer, June 15 through Labor
Day. It is closed Mondays at other seasons, and on Christmas Day.
Visiting hours are from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The nominal admission charge
to the mansion does not apply to children under 12, nor to groups of
elementary and high school children, regardless of age, and accompanying
adults who assume responsibility for their safety and orderly conduct.
A self-guided tour system enables you to begin your tour of the mansion
immediately upon arrival. Special guide service for groups may be
arranged in advance through the superintendent.
There are no accommodations for picnicking or dining at the site. These
services are available in the village of Hyde Park and at Norrie State
Park, 4 miles north. Overnight accommodations are available in the
village.
The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, administered
jointly with this site, is 2 miles south of the village of Hyde Park on
U.S. 9. It is open at the same times as Vanderbilt Mansion.
_The National Historic Site_
[Illustration: _View from west lawn across the Hudson._]
When Frederick W. Vanderbilt died in 1938, the Hyde Park estate was
bequeathed to Mrs. James Van Alen, a niece of Mrs. Vanderbilt. Two years
later, Mrs. Van Alen gave the estate to the Federal Government, and on
December 18, 1940, it was designated a National Historic Site. Since
that time it has been administered by the National Park Service, U.S.
Department of the Interior.
A superintendent, whose address is Hyde Park, N.Y., is in immediate
charge. His offices are in the pavilion.
_Suggested Readings_
Andrews, Wayne, _The Vanderbilt Legend: The Story of the Vanderbilt
Family, 1794-1940_. Harcourt, Brace and Co., New York, 1941.
Croffut, W. A., _The Vanderbilts and the Story of Their Fortune_.
Belford Clarke and Co., Chicago, 1886.
Lane, Wheaton J., _Commodore Vanderbilt: An Epic of the Steam Age_.
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1942.
Langstaff, John Brett, _Doctor Bard of Hyde Park: The Famous Physician
of Revolutionary Times, The Man Who Saved Washington's Life_. E.
P. Dutton and Co., Inc., New York, 1942.
Holbrook, Stewart, _Age of the Moguls_. Doubleday and Co., Garden City,
N.Y., 1953.