Docsity
Docsity
Prepare for your exams
Prepare for your exams

Study with the several resources on Docsity

Earn points to download
Earn points to download

Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan

Guidelines and tips
Guidelines and tips
Sell on Docsity
Sell on Docsity
Docsity AI
Docsity AI
Log inSign up

Prepare for your exams

Study with the several resources on Docsity

Find documents

Prepare for your exams with the study notes shared by other students like you on Docsity

Search for your university

Find the specific documents for your university's exams

Docsity AINEW

Summarize your documents, ask them questions, convert them into quizzes and concept maps

Explore questions

Clear up your doubts by reading the answers to questions asked by your fellow students

Earn points to download

Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan

Share documents
download point icon20 Points

For each uploaded document

Answer questions
download point icon5 Points

For each given answer (max 1 per day)

All the ways to get free points
Get points immediately

Choose a premium plan with all the points you need

Study Opportunities

Choose your next study program

Get in touch with the best universities in the world. Search through thousands of universities and official partners

Community

Ask the community

Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts

Free resources

Our save-the-student-ebooks!

Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors

VANDERBILT MANSION, Exams of History

History

Point until they sold it in 1906. Vacation Houses. The Adirondacks were another place that the Vanderbilts congregated at various times.

Typology: Exams

2022/2023

Uploaded on 03/01/2023

anarghya
anarghya 🇺🇸

4.2

(21)

254 documents

1 / 487

Toggle sidebar

This page cannot be seen from the preview

Don't miss anything!

bg1
VANDERBILT MANSION
A GILDED-AGE COUNTRY PLACE
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
Hyde Park, New York
VANDERBILT MANSION NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY
pf3
pf4
pf5
pf8
pf9
pfa
pfd
pfe
pff
pf12
pf13
pf14
pf15
pf16
pf17
pf18
pf19
pf1a
pf1b
pf1c
pf1d
pf1e
pf1f
pf20
pf21
pf22
pf23
pf24
pf25
pf26
pf27
pf28
pf29
pf2a
pf2b
pf2c
pf2d
pf2e
pf2f
pf30
pf31
pf32
pf33
pf34
pf35
pf36
pf37
pf38
pf39
pf3a
pf3b
pf3c
pf3d
pf3e
pf3f
pf40
pf41
pf42
pf43
pf44
pf45
pf46
pf47
pf48
pf49
pf4a
pf4b
pf4c
pf4d
pf4e
pf4f
pf50
pf51
pf52
pf53
pf54
pf55
pf56
pf57
pf58
pf59
pf5a
pf5b
pf5c
pf5d
pf5e
pf5f
pf60
pf61
pf62
pf63
pf64

Partial preview of the text

Download VANDERBILT MANSION and more Exams History in PDF only on Docsity!

VANDERBILT MANSION

A GILDED-AGE COUNTRY PLACE

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site Hyde Park, New York

VANDERBILT M ANSION NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY

Vanderbilt Mansion , 1898. Wurts Brothers Photographers, Vanderbilt Mansion Photograph Collection, Roosevelt-

Vanderbilt National Historic Site Archives, Hyde Park, NY (VAMA 208).

V ANDERBILT M ANSION

A GILDED -AGE C OUNTRY PLACE

A Historic Resource Study

by

Peggy Albee Molly Berger H. Eliot Foulds Nina Gray Pamela Herrick

National Park Service Northeast Museum Services Center Boston, Massachusetts Printed 2008

iii

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

List of Illustrations .......................................................................................................................................... ix

List of Diagrams and Tables .......................................................................................................................... xi

Foreword ......................................................................................................................................................... xiii

Preface ............................................................................................................................................................... xv

Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... xix

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... xxi Architecture of the Mansion................................................................................................................... xxi Furnished Interiors .................................................................................................................................. xxi Service Areas ............................................................................................................................................. xxi Mechanical Systems ................................................................................................................................ xxii Landscape Architecture.......................................................................................................................... xxii Significance of the Estate........................................................................................................................ xxii

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... xxv

Chapter One: The Gilded Age and Country Places ................................................................................... Historiographic Essay by Molly Berger..................................................................................................... Material Culture Historiography by Nina Gray.................................................................................... 11 Gilded-age Estates by Style and Type: The House Forms of Gilded-Age Residences

by Nina Gray and Pamela Herrick ................................................................................... 18

The Vanderbilts' Hyde Park.......................................................................................................... 22 Architects and Decorators............................................................................................................. 26 The Vanderbilt Family as Clients and Patrons by Nina Gray.............................................................. 27 Townhouses .................................................................................................................................... 28 Seaside Cottages.............................................................................................................................. 31 Vacation Houses ............................................................................................................................. 33 Country Places ................................................................................................................................ 34 Management of Gilded-Age Estates by Pamela Herrick...................................................................... 38

Chapter Two: Historical Overview by Pamela Herrick ......................................................................... 43 Evolution of the Estate, 1764-Present..................................................................................................... 43 Description of Historical Occupancy 1895-Present ............................................................................. 45 Frederick W. Vanderbilt (1856-1938) ............................................................................................. 45 Louis Holmes Anthony Torrance Vanderbilt (1844-1926) .......................................................... 50 The Vanderbilts' Seasonal Residency at Hyde Park ...................................................................... 54 Entertaining at Hyde Park................................................................................................................. 59 Managing the Estate Departments of Hyde Park........................................................................... 63 The Estate Superintendent ........................................................................................................ 63 The Farm ............................................................................................................................... 65 Dairy Barn ...................................................................................................................... 66 Horse Barn ..................................................................................................................... 67 Farm Gang ..................................................................................................................... 68 Poultry House................................................................................................................ 69 Vegetable Garden and Orchard .................................................................................. 69 Park ........................................................................................................................................ 69

iv

vii

ix

L IST OF I LLUSTRATIONS

Illustrations begin on p. 273.

  1. Vanderbilt Mansion, North Elevation. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Hunter, delineator. August 10, 1896, drawing # 1, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  2. Vanderbilt Mansion, South Elevation. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Hunter, delineator. August 10, 1896, drawing # 2, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  3. Vanderbilt Mansion, East Elevation. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Hunter, delineator. August 10, 1896, drawing # 3, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  4. Vanderbilt Mansion, West Elevation. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Hunter, delineator. August 10, 1896, drawing # 4, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  5. Vanderbilt Mansion, Subbasement Plan. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Hall, delineator. August 13, 1896, drawing # 7, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  6. Vanderbilt Mansion, Basement Plan. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Elliot, delineator. August 13, 1896, drawing # 8, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  7. Vanderbilt Mansion, First Floor Plan. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Vendrasco, delineator. August 11, 1900, drawing # 9, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  8. Vanderbilt Mansion, Second Floor Plan. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Hunter, delineator. February 18, 1897, drawing # 10, Revised, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  9. Vanderbilt Mansion, Third Floor Plan. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Hall, delineator. August 13, 1896, drawing # 11, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  10. Vanderbilt Mansion, Plan of Deck House and Roof. McKim, Mead & White, architects; Hall, delineator. August 13, 1896, drawing # 12, Ink on Linen, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  11. Vanderbilt Mansion , 1898. Wurts Brothers Photographers, printed from original glass plate negative, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  12. Vanderbilt Mansion , 1898. Wurts Brothers Photographers, printed from original glass plate negative, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.

x

  1. Vanderbilt Mansion , 1898. Wurts Brothers Photographers, printed from original glass plate negative, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  2. Vanderbilt Mansion , 1898. Wurts Brothers Photographers, printed from original glass plate negative, McKim, Mead & White Collection, The New-York Historical Society.
  3. The Langdon House , Hyde Park, NY, circa 1895. Vanderbilt Mansion (VAMA) Photograph Collection, #V 327, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site Archives, Hyde Park, NY. [III.A. p. 2, l. 4-5]
  4. The Vanderbilt Mansion under Construction , circa 1897. VAMA Photograph Collection, #V 60, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY. [III.A. p. 9, l.17-18]
  5. The Newly-completed Vanderbilt Mansion , circa 1899. VAMA Photograph Collection, #V 68, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY. [III.A. p. 9, l. 29 & V.A. p. 24, l.33]
  6. The Vanderbilt Mansion with Shutters , n.d. VAMA Photograph Collection, #V 67, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY. [III.A. p. 10, l.19]
  7. The Lower Gate House, Vanderbilt Estate , circa 1899. VAMA Photograph Collection, #V 147, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY. [III.A. p. 12, l. 7]
  8. Stone Crusher. The stone crusher was used to produce stone for road surfacing on the estate. VAMA Photograph Collection, #V 593, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY.
  9. The F. W. Vanderbilt Mansion at Hyde Park on the Hudson, N.Y. in Course of Construction. May 12, 1897. McKim, Mead & White Architects. Norcross Bros., Builder. The steel frame is visible through the window openings. VAMA Photograph Collection, #V 66, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY.

xiii

FOREWORD

I have always thought of the Hyde Park place with the greatest interest and affection

because with the exception of one or two old Van Rensselar or Livingston places, it

is the only country place in the North which has been well kept up for nearly two

centuries. It would be a wonderful thing to have the maintenance of it assured for all

time....

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1939

The Vanderbilt estate came into the National Park Service (NPS) in 1940 due in large

part to the interest of FDR, who described the site as an arboretum. The President valued

the estate for its historical integrity, extraordinary river view, and its aged collection of

specimen trees. The site is described as representative of an economic and social period in

American history in the enabling legislation in 1940. And yet, a comprehensive study of the

site's integrity, significance, and representational value has not been undertaken until now.

To study the diverse resources of the Hyde Park estate, a team of five writers was

assembled. The landscape component had received scholarly attention in 1992 with the

publication of the Cultural Landscape Report for Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site.

For this larger study, emphasis was put on the architecture, designed interiors/furnishings,

and decor of the Mansion itself, and on the staffing and operation of the estate, which have

received little scholarly attention during the almost sixty years of NPS stewardship, and

practically none since the early 1960s. The park owes a debt of gratitude to Senior Curator

Nancy Waters of the Northeast Museum Services Center, and to the project consultants for

the energy, skill, and great personal interest with which they approached this project and for

the depth and breadth of their research. This study has unearthed a wealth of new

information, well beyond the sources that were previously known to exist; much of this

information is synthesized here, and even more sources are flagged for future research.

From this sound scholarly footing, a wide range of additional research and resource

documentation can be expected to emerge. Already, the results of the study are enriching

the experiences of our visitors and more fully informing our management of this striking

site.

Sarah Olson

Superintendent

Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites

December 1999

xv

PREFACE

When the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site was designated by the

Secretary of the Interior on December 18, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt hoped to

see the grounds set aside as an arboretum for public enjoyment. He believed the estate

would be an example of a social and economic phase of our national development that

would be of distinct national interest.

Unlike the site of a decisive battle, or the home of the great American patriot, the

justification for accepting the site was at least in part based on the belief that it was

"representative." The designation order states that certain buildings and structures of the

estate are "representative and illustrative of their period and hence of national significance

in the economic, sociological, and cultural history of the United States."

Taking the lead from the legislative mandate, park planning and research efforts

focused on economic, social, and cultural history. Surprisingly little scholarly research was

undertaken during the park's first half century on the developmental history of the estate,

the history and significance of the furnished interiors, the history and significance of the

cultural landscape, and the domestic life of the Vanderbilts and those employed on the

estate. These research efforts largely pre-date 1965 and are, therefore, not informed by the

most recent scholarship.

While these early research efforts provided a basis for managing and interpreting the

site, the research did not provide specific guidance for management decisions relating to

individual resources by type. A change in direction is represented by the publication in 1992

of a cultural landscape report for the site. This report, Cultural Landscape Report for

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Volume I: Site History, Existing Conditions, and

Analysis , provided park staff with the basis for managing and interpreting the cultural

landscape.

This Historic Resource Study (HRS) applies the same level of scholarship to

assessment of the architecture, furnished interiors, and technological systems of the

mansion. The study reevaluates some of the conclusions of the prior cultural landscape

report (which placed emphasis on the pre-Vanderbilt era) looking specifically at the

potential significance of the landscape during the Vanderbilt and NPS stewardship. The

purpose of the HRS is to document and assess the cultural resources of the Vanderbilts'

Hyde Park, from 1895 when Frederick W. and Louise Vanderbilt purchased the property, to

Frederick's death in 1938, and to the present. The study evaluates the integrity and

significance of the property and places it within broader historical contexts. This analysis

will be used to revise the National Register Nomination form to include additional

descriptive information, new contexts, and an expanded Statement of Significance.

The HRS has taken an interdisciplinary approach to research and interpretation:

Peggy Albee (NPS) wrote sections on architecture. Ms. Albee is a project manager and

architectural conservator/historian for the NPS's Northeast Region Building Conservation

Branch. She is the author of numerous Historic Structure Reports including those for the

xvi

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York; First Parish Church in Quincy,

Massachusetts; and Old Harbor Life-Saving Station in Provincetown, Massachusetts. In

addition, she has written many materials analysis reports including a multi-year study of the

Old Executive Building in Washington, D.C.

Nina Gray (independent scholar) wrote sections on the furnished interiors of the mansion,

material culture, the architectural patronage of the Vanderbilt family, and country house

types. Ms. Gray has conducted extensive original research on late-nineteenth and early-

twentieth century design and interior decoration including furnishing plans for Lawnfield,

the James Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio, and Meadow Croft, the circa

1910 John Ellis Roosevelt House in Sayville, Long Island. She was also responsible for

implementing the Meadow Croft furnishing plan. Her recent projects include the video

Beyond Architecture: The Frame Designs of Stanford White , "Within Golden Borders: The

Frames of Stanford White" in American Art Magazine , and a book review of Ogden Codman

and the Decoration of Houses in The American Decorative Arts Society Newsletter.

Pamela Herrick (independent scholar) wrote sections on the service areas of the mansion,

occupancy of the estate, the history of the Hudson Valley, and country house types. Ms.

Herrick has served as director of two historic sites in the Hudson River Valley. Her work as

consultant includes researching and writing assessments documenting the surviving fabric of

historic structures with recommendations for their treatment. Currently, she is researching

the history of a mid-nineteenth-century site that will appear in a planning document for the

establishment of a small, not-for-profit historic preservation resource center in the Hudson

Valley.

Molly Berger (independent scholar) wrote sections on the technology and mechanical

systems on the estate. Ms. Berger holds a PhD in history from Case Western Reserve

University and specializes in American history, American social/cultural history, the history

of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American technology, and the history of medicine.

She has held academic positions at John Carroll University, Case Western Reserve

University, and Oberlin College. Her recent publications include "A House Divided:

Technology, Gender, and Consumption in America's Luxury Hotels, 1825-1860" in His and

Hers, Gender Consumption, and Technology and "The American System: The Nineteenth-

century American Luxury Hotel" in Proceedings of 19th Annual Meeting , Groupe de

Recherche et d'Études Nord-Americaines.

H. Eliot Foulds (NPS) wrote sections on the cultural landscape. Mr. Foulds is a historical

landscape architect for the NPS's Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation. His projects

include rehabilitation guidelines for the historic motor-road system and CCC-era

campgrounds at Acadia National Park, detailed treatment plans and construction

documents for the rehabilitation of the Wright Brothers Memorial in Dayton, Ohio, and an

assessment of and recommendations for the historic military landscape of Fort Hancock in

Sandy Hook, New Jersey. His research and treatment planning for historic country places

and residential landscapes include Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in

Brookline, Massachusetts; Weir Farm National Historic Site in Ridgefield, Connecticut; and

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont.

Each writer brought a unique perspective to analysis of the resources and relied upon

primary source materials, secondary sources, and comparisons with related gilded-age