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The Vanderbilt Estate in Hyde Park, New York is perhaps the best, most
intact example of the types of estates constructed by wealthy industrialists
in the 19th century. The fully-furnished, 54-room mansion is placed in a
wondrous landscape with breathtaking views of the Hudson River and distant
Catskill Mountains. If offers a glimpse into a past world known by only
an elite few.
W
ith spectacular views of the Hudson River as well as the Catskill and Shawangunk
Mountains, the Hudson River valley has much to offer both residents and
visitors. By the turn of the 20th century, many wealthy families, including
the Vanderbilts, had built palatial houses along the Hudson, between New
York City and Albany. The Hudson River held special significance for the
Vanderbilts. In the early 1800s, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt
laid the foundation for the Vanderbilt fortune when he began a ferry service
between Staten Island and Manhattan.
Later, the family's New York Central Railroad ran along the Hudson. In
1895, Frederick Vanderbilt, grandson of the Commodore, built his country
estate overlooking the river in Hyde Park, New York. With more than 600
acres of landscaped property and a palatial Beaux-Arts mansion, the Hyde
Park estate came to symbolize the enormous wealth accumulated by a privileged
few during the Gilded Age. Today, the Vanderbilts' Hyde Park home is preserved
as Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site.
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