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Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, located in Hyde Park, New York, is one of America's premier examples of the country palaces built by wealthy industrialists during the Gilded Age. The site includes 211 acres (85 ha) of the original larger property historically named Hyde Park. Situated on the east bank of the Hudson River, the property includes pleasure grounds with views of the river and the distant Catskill Mountains, formal gardens, natural woodlands, and numerous auxiliary structures. The grounds also include Italian gardens that have been restored by the volunteer Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association. Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938) purchased the property in 1895 for use as a seasonal country residence. Its main feature is a 54-room mansion by the distinguished architectural company McKim, Mead & White, with Charles Follen McKim designing the plan and Stanford White assisting by serving as an antiques buyer. Designed and built between 1896–1899, the house is a good example of the Beaux-Arts architecture style and one of the architects' finest residential projects. The interior of the mansion is an archetype of the American Renaissance, incorporating a range of European antiques and finely crafted period reproductions. Herter Brothers and A. H. Davenport and Company were subcontractors who executed McKim's interior designs. The Vanderbilts also hired Georges Glaenzer and Ogden Codman to decorate several rooms. E.F. Caldwell & Co. manufactured the majority of the lighting. == History == The earliest development of the estate began in 1764 when Dr. John Bard purchased land on the east side of the Albany Post Road, where he built Red House and developed the agricultural aspects of the eastern section of the property that continued through Frederick Vanderbilt's occupancy. Bard family ownership continued through 1821 with his son, Dr. Samuel Bard (1742–1821), owning the property from 1799 to 1821. In 1828, Dr. David Hosack, president of the New York Horticultural Society, purchased the property from Samuel Bard's heirs, with André Parmentier helping to design the grounds. In 1840, John Jacob Astor purchased the property from Hosack's heirs for his daughter Dorothea and her husband Walter S. Langdon. Frederick W. and Louise Vanderbilt purchased Hyde Park in May 1895 from Langdon's heirs. Attracted to the beauty of the Hudson Valley and the east bank of the Hudson River, Frederick and his wife settled comfortably in their new estate. The location was ideal, offering quick and easy access to New York City on the Vanderbilt’s own New York Central Railroad. The estate was primarily used as a vacation home for the Vanderbilt family. The previous owners of the estate had made it famous for its grand landscape and array of different plants and trees throughout the property. The ''New York Times'' described the Vanderbilt’s estate as "the finest place on the Hudson between New York and Albany." A niece, Margaret "Daisy" Van Alen, inherited the property when Vanderbilt died in 1938. Encouraged by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (who owned an estate nearby), Van Alen donated a portion of the estate, including the residence with most of its original furnishings, to the National Park Service. The property became owned by the National Park Service in 1940.〔 From 1941 to 1943, President Roosevelt's Secret Service was housed in the basement and third-floor service areas, and some of the President's personal White House staff and friends occasionally stayed in the main bedrooms of the house, including those of Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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