The Vanderbilt’s, starting with “The Commodore,” rose from modest means to the very richest of the very richest. Making most of his money in shipping and railroads, the Commodore was the one who standardized track gauge, created a continuous track from New York to Chicago and made the trains run on time. He and his descendants built forty-three mansions, with the one we saw in Hyde Park being the smallest.
Built in 1895 by Frederick and Louise for $2.25 million, the mansion has fifty-four rooms and is a modest 56,000 square feet. It has central heating, flush toilets, and was the first to have electricity (even before neighbor FDR). The couple had no children and their niece tried to sell the property in the late ‘30s for as little as $250,000. With no buyers, she donated it to the National Park Service where today it is a prime example of the Gilded Age.
No comments:
Post a Comment