Seeing the Vanderbilt Mansion

August 16, 2019

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Mummy and Daddy set off again to tour another mansion here in Hyde Park, New York. This time it was the VANDERBILT MANSION that caught their eye, and after hearing about, we can see why! It wasn’t a doggie friendly place so we took a nap and waited for our parents to come back for us… we would take a little drive thru the mountains and check out a nearby town later!

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Here’s what they told us about the place:

It was built in 1898 by Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt, and it took 3 years to build. Frederick inherited his money from his father,  Cornelius Vanderbilt, who made his money in the shipping industry. It is interesting to note here that Cornelius was just a poor immigrant kid… I mean really, NO MONEY! He had $100 that he invested in some kind of rowboat or something and started ferrying people across the Hudson River. His little business grew from there and he started putting the bigger boats out of business! Fast forward to the time that he dies… this one man dies leaving $105 million dollars in his estate… which was just UNHEARD OF IN THAT TIME, for ONE MAN to have that much money!!! That is about $250 BILLION dollars now, and would make him the richest man in the world x2!!! George Vanderbilt (the guy who built THE BILTMORE) is the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt and he inherited from his dad and grand-dad about $7 million dollars… and built that humongous house with his money! Almost all of the kids and grand-kids who inherited their money lost it over wasteful spending!

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Soooo… back to the Vanderbilt mansion… this house was built in 1898 in the Beaux-Arts architecture during the late 19th-century. It was known as a country place and was furnished with original French and Italian furnishings, Flemish tapestries, and Oriental rugs. It was considered very modern for the time with plumbing, forced hot air central heating and electric lights, which were powered by a hydroelectric plant built on the estate. They had electric lights here before the surrounding area did… and at night, people would line up down at the road just to watch THE LIGHTS go on inside the mansion… it was such a sight to see!!! The 54-room mansion now sits on 211-acres but used to include 600 acres that are on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. Mark Twain called this time in history, the “Gilded Age” because he said that the period was glittering on the surface, but corrupt underneath. In the popular views, it was a century of greed and guile; of Robber Barrons, unscrupulous spectators and corporate buccaneers, of shady business practices and vulgar displays.

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As a couple, Frederick and Louise entertained here often, having lavish dinner parties and inviting many important guests to stay with them. Only the finest foods and wines were served and everything in the house was of the highest quality. Louise died while on a shopping trip in Paris and it would be another 12 years before Frederick would pass away in 1938, but he continued to come to this huge mansion, all alone, and enjoy the surroundings. They had no children, so when he died, the estate went to his niece. She tried to sell it for only $250,000 (the furnishings alone had cost well over $1,000,000) but it was shortly after the Depression and no one had any money. The yearly upkeep on the place was $1,000,000 so, with no buyers in sight, it was suggested that she donate the house to the National Park Service… which she did. Today, the house sits in pristine condition, almost exactly like it was left the day that Frederick Vanderbilt died.

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From 1941-1943 President Roosevelt, who lived just down the road, would house his Secret Service in the basement and 3rd floor service areas of this house. Some of the President’s staff and friends sometimes stayed in the main bedrooms of the mansion, including those of Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt.

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One of the later Vanderbilts, William Vanderbilt, is quoted as saying: “Inherited wealth is a big handicap to happiness. It is a certain death to ambition as cocaine is to morality.”