Wednesday, February 25, 2009

#75 Vanderbilt Mansion NHS


Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, located in Hyde Park, New York, is one of America's premier examples of the country palaces built by wealthy industrialists during the Gilded Age. The severe classicism, balance, and heavy ornamentation of Hyde Park, designed for Frederick Vanderbilt by McKim, Mead & White, is a typical example of Beaux-Arts architecture. The property entered the National Park Service in 1939. The site includes 211 acres (85 ha) of the original larger property historically called Hyde Park. Situated on the east bank of the Hudson River, the property includes pleasure grounds with views of the river and the distant Catskill Mountains, formal gardens, natural woodlands, and numerous support structures. The grounds also include Italian Gardens that have been restored by the volunteer Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association. Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856-1938) purchased the property in 1895 for use as a seasonal country residence. A niece, Margaret "Daisy" Van Alen, inherited the property when Vanderbilt died in 1938. Encouraged by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Van Alen donated a portion of the estate, including the residence with most of its original furnishings, to the National Park Service. The crowning feature is a 54 room mansion by the distinguished architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. Completed in 1898, the house is a perfect example of the Beaux-Arts architecture style and one of the architects' finest residential projects. The interiors of the mansion are archetypes of the American Renaissance, incorporating a range of European antiques and finely crafted period reproductions.

My pictures- follow this link.

No comments: