The Vanderbilts were called American royalty, and for good reason. Hi everyone, ken here,
welcome to this house. Today we are exploring the Palatial Vanderbilt Mansion known as Hyde
Park. Make sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an exciting episode of this house.
Frederick William Vanderbilt was born in the third generation of Vanderbilt wealth. He had as much
free time as he did extra money and was able to pursue his passions, including horticulture. He
and his wife Louise Holmes Anthony Torrance were visiting with their dear friends at the
Mills Mansion when they fell in love with the natural beauty of Dutchess County New York.
Around the same time, an estate known as Hyde Park had been put up for sale
by Dorothea Astor’s descendants. Hyde Park was a historic estate which had been
established in 1705 when Queen Anne granted Pier Fauconnier 10,000 acres. Over the years,
an ever expanding mansion was built up with manicured gardens surrounding the house and
lining the Hudson river. Its various owners over the years all seemed to have a keen
sense for horticulture as exotic plants were grown to maturity for centuries at Hyde Park.
This diverse landscape of rare and exotic plants coupled with the views of the
Hudson River are what compelled Frederick to purchase the now 600 acre estate. In 1895,
the Vanderbilts hired the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White to demolish
the 190 year old mansion and re imagine a palace in its place. At a grand cost
of 660,000 dollars, or the modern day equivalent of over 23 million dollars,
a 54 room Beaux Arts style mansion dominated the views from the gardens. Coming in at over
44,000 square feet, the exterior was finished out with Indiana Limestone with porticos fashioned
in the Corinthian order protruding from each face of the home. The Frieze above the columns
was embellished with relief work featuring lions heads set amongst twisting garland.
This theme continued vertically up the linear architectural elements exaggerating the height
of the already colossal mansion. The back side of the house broke with the rectilinear façade to
feature a semi circular portico with a radially coffered ceiling inset with limestone flowers.
The Entrance hall served as an elliptical circulation space from which the other
rooms of the main floor were anchored. Set in the center was a large fireplace
featuring maidens symbolizing fertility on its lower mantle which had been salvaged from
a European palace. Set in the ceiling was an octagonal oculus opening to the
second floor. This room was thought of as an informal space decorated with comfortable
furniture where you might find guests napping on the sofas after a long day of socializing.
The living room was more formal with walnut wall panels heavily embellished
with carvings surrounding the windows and the marble fireplaces. The ceiling
was coffered with ornamental plasterwork dividing the room into 3 distinct bays.
The dining room continued with walnut wall panels set below a ceiling which had been salvaged from
an Italian palazzo dating back to the 1600s. Two fireplaces in the dining room had been salvaged
from buildings a century older with carvings featuring both the Medici Family coat of arms
and the other featuring reliefs depicting the Judgement of Paris. Below the dining
room table was the most valuable item in the entire house. Measuring at 20 feet by 40 feet,
the 400 year old Islamic rug is one of the largest of its kind in existence.
The grand staircase twisted at its landing with layers of millwork continuing its form
as it wrapped about painted wall panels towards the second floor.
Arriving at the second floor, you would enter a grand hall mirroring the shape
of the entrance hall with balustrade surrounding the oculus cutting a void
to the floor below illuminated by a skylight mirroring the oculus
above. the ceiling rounded out with pointed arches vaulting towards each passage way.
To one end is the bedroom of Mrs. Vanderbilt which was modeled after the sleeping chambers
of European royals and decorated in the Louis the Fifteenth Style with a distinct
railing surrounding her bed. The wall panels were gilted with murals appearing in their
upper portions below a frieze boasting figures almost appearing to dance about the ceiling.
Mr. Vanderbilt’s bedroom was dramatically decorated with rose and gold tones set
against a deep green wallpaper. The ceiling fixture radiated with
decorative beams reaching towards corbels protruding from the frieze.
Each bedroom had it’s own color based theme
such as the pink bedroom set with single bed and all light furniture.
There was also the large red bedroom providing more space
for guests to spread out for extended stays.
Similarly, the mauve bedroom contained overstuffed
furniture ensuring guests would feel right at home.
On the third floor there were 5 additional guest suites as well as servants quarters.
Though the mansion was only occupied for a few months out of the year,
Mr Vanderbilt kept in close contact with the gardener as he had personally planted over
2,000 rose bushes and laid out the Italian levelled gardens. His passion for gardening
continued until the unexpected death of his wife in 1926. He spent the rest of his life grieving
her loss, shutting out friends and family he became a recluse and spent the rest of
his life living on the third floor with his servants until his passing 12 years later.
He never had any children, so he left Hyde Park to his niece, Daisy post whose home Wakehurst we
covered in a previous video. Daisy was already quite comfortable with her own mansions, so she
attempted to sell it. But the great depression was raging on and no buyers could be found.
Eventually rumors spread that the house would be demolished. By this time,
President Roosevelt was in office. He had grown up in the area and had always felt
a connection to the house. He convinced Daisy Post to convey the mansion along with 211 of
its acres to the federal government to create a national park under the National Park Service.
Since then, the mansion has been carefully maintained and restored
with visitors able to tour the house every year since.
Thank you all for watching I really hope that you enjoyed this video. I would also
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