Vanderbilt Mansion NHS, in terms of architecture, interiors, mechanical systems, road systems and landscape, is a remarkably complete example of a gilded-age country place, illustrating the political, economic, social, cultural, and demographic changes that occurred as America industrialized in the years after the Civil War. - NPS
| Y/M/D | Person | Association | Description | Composition | Food | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y/M/D | Person | Association | Description | Composition | Food | Event |
| 1705/04/18 | Peter Fauconnier and three other men are granted a patent for 3,600 acres of land on the east side of the Hudson River. Fauconnier was secretary to Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, Governor of the Province of New York. | |||||
| 1764/00/00 | Magdalene Valleau, Fauconnier's daughter, sells her interest in the patent to her son-in-law, Dr John Bard. Dr Bard, a noted physician and pioneer in hygiene, will later buy the entire patent. | |||||
| 1799/00/00 | Dr Samuel Bard, son of Dr John Bard and attending physician to President George Washington, owns the Bard estate from 1799 to 1821. He imports fruits from England, France, and Italy, and vines from Madeira. | |||||
| 1828/00/00 | William Bard, son of Samuel, sells Hyde park to Dr David Hosack. Hosack was a former professor of natural history at Columbia College and a partner of Dr Samuel Bard. Andre Parmentier is hired to lay out roads, walks and scenic vistas. | |||||
| 1840/00/00 | John Jacob Astor | Buyer | John Jacob Astor buys an estate of about 125 acres of land west of the Albany Post Road. Astor almost immediately makes a gift of this purchase to his daughter Dorothea Langdon and her five children. | |||
| 1895/05/00 | Frederick William Vanderbilt | Owner | Frederick Vanderbilt buys an estate from Walter Langdon Jr. Close to New York City, his neighbors include the Rodgerses, the Roosevelts, the Millses. Scenic, Vanderbilt pursues his interests in purebred livestock and horticulture. | |||
| 1896/10/00 | Charles Follen McKim | Architect | The smaller Greek style Langdon House is torn down in 1896 and, that October construction begins on the 54-room Vanderbilt mansion. | |||
| 1897/00/00 | Robert H Robertson | Architect | Designed by R H Robertson as early as August 1895, the Coach House (located on the river hill, a short distance east the river gate), is erected by Norcross Brothers in 1897. | |||
| 1897/00/00 | Edward Emerson Simmons | Painter | Styled after an C18th French drawing room, guests gather for sherry before dinner in the Gold Room. Gold leaf was not spared in decorating the room. The ceiling painting by Edward Simmons in 1897 was rediscovered in 1962 during cleaning. | Sherry | ||
| 1897/10/00 | Stanford White | Antiques Buyer | Stanford White spends the fall of 1897 in Europe making extensive purchases of antiques for Frederick Vanderbilt's Hyde Park mansion. | |||
| 1898/12/00 | Ogden Codman Jr | Decorator | Building is completed in December 1898. Over the next few months, the mansion is lavishly furnished in continental motifs, mostly Italian and French. Georges A Glaenzer and Ogden Codman design some of the rooms, while McKim, Mead and White did the others. | |||
| 1899/05/00 | Frederick William Vanderbilt | Home | Vanderbilts give their first of many gala parties. | |||
| 1940/12/18 | Margaret Van Alen Bruguiere | Benefactor | In 1938, The estate was left to Louise Vanderbilt's niece, Margaret Van Alen (Mrs Louis Bruguiere). She worked with FDR to donate the acreage west of the Albany Post Road to the National Park Service, becoming a national historic site in 1940. | |||
| 1941/00/00 | From 1941 to 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt's Secret Service are housed in the basement and 3rd floor service areas, and some of FDR's personal White House staff and friends occasionally stay in the main bedrooms of the house. |
| Particulars for Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: | |
|---|---|
| Area of Significance | Architecture |
| Criteria | Architecture-Engineering |
| Architectural Style | Beaux Arts |
| Area of Significance | Economics |
| Owner | Federal |
| Sight Category | Historic District |
| Criteria | Historic Event |
| Material | Indiana Limestone |
| Area of Significance | Landscape Architecture |
| Level of Significance | National |
| Historic Use | Single dwelling |
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