Vanderbilt Home

After briefling walking around the Roosevelt welcome center we decided to head over to the Vanderbilt home. We chose not to buy tickets to tour the inside of the home and instead just walked around the beautiful grounds. I don’t envy the person who has to mow this lawn!

“Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt purchased the 600 acre property in 1895 because of its beauty and Frederick’s deep interest in horticulture. By then, the Langdon mansion had deteriorated, as had much of the gardens. Frederick contracted with McKim, Mead and White of New York City to build a new mansion on the site of the original 2 buildings. When construction of the mansion began in 1896, one of the spectators was a 14 year old Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose family were close neighbors.

The new mansion was to be very modern, including electricity. The power plant to supply it was completed in 1897. The mansion was completed two years later, in 1899. Final alterations were made to the mansion in 1906 by Whitney Warren of New York City. The mansion stands today much like it was after these alterations.”

Reference: Vanderbiltgarden.org