Frederick Vanderbilt's Little Hovel

After leaving the great state of Pennsylvania, I ended up in the Hudson River Valley in New York. The land of Vanderbilts and Roosevelts -new money vs. old money. As far as I'm concerned, money is money. Who cares how long you have had it? Evidently it was a big deal back in the day. Sarah Roosevelt, FDR's mother seemed to look down quite a bit on her neighbors, the Vanderbilts, and their ostentatious wealth displays.

Frederick Vanderbilt, grandson of the Commodore who started building the Vanderbilt fortune , bought the land which was called Hyde Park and built the Vanderbilt Mansion in 1895. This house was meant to be a spring and fall cottage where the Vanderbilts would come to play.  I guess this particular Vanderbilt house is rather understated when you compare the house to the Vanderbilt summer cottages in Newport, Rhode Island. It only took 26 months to build which is rather impressive. As the tour Ranger pointed out, though, is that the construction workers worked twelve hour days with no coffee breaks or days off.  

When the Vanderbilts were in court, they had upward of 60 staff to help take care of them 

Can we say Downton Abbey?

The formal gardens predate Vanderbilt ownership. Frederick redesigned the gardens and planted hundreds of trees and shrubs.  On weekends Frederick and his wife Louise liked to walk through the gardens twice a day.  Today the gardens have been restored to its 1930s appearance.  The gardens encompass five acres.