Kykuit
Encyclopedia
Kykuit also known as John D. Rockefeller Estate, is a 40-room National Trust
house in Westchester County, New York
, built by the oil businessman, philanthropist and founder of the prominent Rockefeller family
, John D. Rockefeller
, and his son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
, enriched with art collected by a third-generation family member, the Governor of New York and Vice-President of the United States, Nelson A. Rockefeller
. It has been the home to four generations of the family.
"Kykuit" means "lookout" in Dutch (though currently spelled "uitkijk"). It is situated in Pocantico Hills
, on the highest point of the local surrounds near Tarrytown
and Sleepy Hollow
, one hour's drive north of New York City
. It overlooks the Hudson River
at Tappan Zee
and, in the distance, the New York
skyline
.
Chester Holmes Aldrich
and William Adams Delano
(Aldrich was a distant relative of Junior's wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
, who was involved as artistic consultant and in the interior design of the mansion). Senior had originally purchased land in the area as early as 1893, inspired by his brother William's
ostentatious 204-room mansion (Rockwood Hall), which had already been built in the spectacular natural setting of the area.
The Classical Revival Georgian mansion took six years to complete and was refurbished some years after initial construction, being finally completed in its present form in 1913. It is six-stories, with a mansard roof, and has two basement floors, with many interconnecting underground passageways and service delivery tunnels. It features interiors designed by Ogden Codman, Jr.
, collections of Chinese
and Europe
an ceramics
, fine furnishings
and 20th century art
. It was designated a National Historic Landmark
in 1976.
In 1979, its occupant, Nelson Rockefeller
, upon his death, bequeathed his one-third interest in the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. As a result of that gift, Kykuit is now open to the public for tours. The tours are operated by Historic Hudson Valley
. The imposing local stone structure, fronted at the top with the Rockefeller emblem, is centrally located in an inner sanctum of about 250 acres (101.2 ha), referred to as the "Park", in the expansive Rockefeller family
estate. This inner area is fenced off, patrolled and guarded at all times around its perimeter, and has massive gates at its entrance. The rest of the estate is known as the open space; apart from the family residences, it has always been available to members of the public for recreational purposes.
Initially, landscaping of the grounds was given to the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted
, who had designed Central Park
. Rockefeller senior was unhappy with this work however and took over the design himself, transplanting whole mature trees, designing lookouts and the many scenic winding roads. In 1906, the further design of Kykuit's grounds was completed by landscape architect
William Welles Bosworth, who designed the surrounding terraces
and garden
s with fountain
s, pavilion
s and classical sculpture
. These gardens in the Beaux-Arts style are considered Bosworth's best work in the United States, looking out over very fine views of the Hudson River
. His original gardens still exist, with plantings carefully replaced over time, although his entrance forecourt was extended in 1913. The gardens are terraced, with formal axes, and include a Morning Garden, Grand Staircase, Japanese Garden, an Italian Garden, a Japanese-style brook, a Japanese Tea-house, a huge Oceanus
fountain, a Temple of Aphrodite
, loggia
, and a semicircular rose
garden.
Nelson transformed the previously empty basement passages beneath the mansion that lead to a grotto
into a major private art gallery. It contained corridor upon corridor of paintings by Picasso, Chagall and Warhol, the latter two being amongst the many prominent visitors invited to the estate. Over the period from 1935 to the late 1970s more than 120 works of abstract, avant garde and modern sculpture were added to the gardens and terraced grounds from Nelson's collection, including works by Pablo Picasso ('Bathers'), Constantin Brâncuşi
, Karel Appel
('Mouse on Table'), Jean Arp
, Alexander Calder
, Alberto Giacometti
, Gaston Lachaise
, Aristide Maillol
, Henry Moore
, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi
('Black Sun'), and David Smith
.
Kykuit was renovated and modernized in 1995 by the New Haven architecture firm Herbert S. Newman and Partners. The work included major infrastructure changes to enable it to accommodate group tours of the first floor and art gallery, and provide guest rooms on the upper floors. On the third and fourth floors the original staff quarters were reconfigured and enlarged to become guest suites.
The vast rambling estate, located 40 km north of New York City, occupies a total area of about 1380 hectares (3,410.1 acre) and is known as Pocantico, or sometimes, Pocantico Hills. At its peak, the estate covered almost 1420 hectares (3,508.9 acre) and was described as a self-contained world, with its resident workforce of security guards, gardeners and laborers, and its own farming, cattle and food supplies. It has a nine-hole, reversible golf course, and had a total, at one time, of seventy-five houses and seventy private roads, most of them designed by Rockefeller Senior and his son. A longstanding witticism about the estate goes thus: 'It's what God would have built, if only He had the money'.
Today, there are around ten Rockefeller families who live within the estate, both in the fenced-in park area and beyond. Much area over the decades has been given over to New York State, such as the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, and is open to the public for horse riding, bike trails and running tracks (Bill Clinton
, who lives just north of the estate, in Chappaqua, has taken regular runs in the State Park).
In late 1946, a portion of the estate was proposed as the site of the UN Headquarters, when New York City was trying to beat off strong opposition from Philadelphia and San Francisco and secure the organization. Two of Junior's sons, John D. 3rd
and Laurance
both offered their estate residences, Rockwood Hall and Fieldwood Farm, respectively, for the site of the building. Junior—who was living in Kykuit at the time—although appreciating the generous gesture, vetoed it on the grounds that the estate was simply too isolated from Manhattan. He subsequently sent his second eldest son, Nelson, to buy a proposed 6.9 hectares (17.1 acre) development site along the East River which he then donated for the headquarters.
Prominent officials to visit the estate over the years, for dinners hosted by Nelson and his wife, as well as David's lengthy list of illustrious guests, have included Presidents and their wives: Lyndon B. Johnson
, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald Ford
and Ronald Reagan
. Other notable visitors, to cite just a few, have included: Kofi Annan
, Nelson Mandela
, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, the last Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan, President Anwar Sadat
of Egypt and Lord Mountbatten of Burma
of the United Kingdom.
, which leased the area from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1991 and is the steward of what is now called "the historic area".
Public tours are conducted via shuttle van from the Visitor Center, located at Philipsburg Manor House on Route 9 in Sleepy Hollow, New York
; these tours are organized by Historic Hudson Valley
, an organization set up in 1951 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
“to celebrate the region’s history, architecture, landscape, and material culture, advancing its importance and thereby assuring its preservation."
Originally the massive "Coach Barn", a three-story complex ultimately redesigned and completed in 1913-14, in heavy stone from the local area, it was the first new structure built on the estate. It is three times the size of the Kykuit mansion. It still houses today an impressive collection of horse-drawn carriages, and an equally noteworthy collection of 12 family-owned vintage cars for public viewing, graphically illustrating the development of automotive design from the early to the mid-twentieth century. In 1994, with funding from David Rockefeller
and brother Laurance
, its lower floor was converted by the New Haven architects Herbert S. Newman and Partners into a modern, fully equipped meeting facility for the Fund's conferences, with limited overnight accommodation on the upper floor. The facilities, furthering the projects and objectives of the RBF through conferences, seminars, workshops and retreats for RBF staff, are also available to both domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations, including annual gatherings of all the major foundation presidents and UN Security Council officials, amongst many other dignitaries.
A rambling French Norman two-story structure completed by Junior in 1927, this structure is also three times the size of the Kykuit mansion. Standing alongside the nine-hole, reversible golf course, and an outdoor swimming pool and two tennis courts, it contains an array of sporting facilities, including an indoor swimming pool and tennis court, fully equipped gym for basketball, a squash court, a billiard room and a full-size bowling alley. It also has dining and living rooms, and a huge reception room resembling an English baronial hall.
In addition, family members over the generations have had a profound impact on the township of Pocantico Hills which is situated in the open space of the estate and is completely surrounded by family-owned land. The Union Church of Pocantico Hills
, now owned by Historic Hudson Valley
, was built by the family, who commissioned the famous stained-glass windows by Matisse (an abstract rose window, memorializing Abby Aldrich), and Chagall (the remainder of the windows, focusing on Biblical prophets and some New Testament themes, and memorializing various member of the family and others); they also helped finance the construction of the local Pocantico Hills School.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
house in Westchester County, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, built by the oil businessman, philanthropist and founder of the prominent Rockefeller family
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
, John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
, and his son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
, enriched with art collected by a third-generation family member, the Governor of New York and Vice-President of the United States, Nelson A. Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
. It has been the home to four generations of the family.
"Kykuit" means "lookout" in Dutch (though currently spelled "uitkijk"). It is situated in Pocantico Hills
Pocantico Hills, New York
Pocantico Hills is a hamlet in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, northeast of the village of Sleepy Hollow and southwest of the village of Pleasantville. The area was originally settled by native Americans of the Wecquaesgeek tribes; "Pocantico" means "running between two hills," and the name...
, on the highest point of the local surrounds near Tarrytown
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line...
and Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow, New York
Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line.Originally...
, one hour's drive north of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It overlooks the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
at Tappan Zee
Tappan Zee
The Tappan Zee is a natural widening of the Hudson River, about 3 mi across at its widest, in southeastern New York in the United States. It stretches about 10 mi along the boundary between Rockland and Westchester counties, downstream from Croton Point to Irvington...
and, in the distance, the New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
skyline
Skyline
A skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...
.
History and construction
One of America's most famous private residences, the stone mansion was constructed by the architectsArchitecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
Chester Holmes Aldrich
Chester Holmes Aldrich
Chester Holmes Aldrich was an American architect and director of the American Academy in Rome from 1935 until his death in 1940.-Early life:...
and William Adams Delano
William Adams Delano
William Adams Delano , an American architect, was a partner with Chester Holmes Aldrich in the firm of Delano & Aldrich. The firm worked in the Beaux-Arts tradition for elite clients in New York City, Long Island and elsewhere, building townhouses, country houses, clubs, banks and buildings for...
(Aldrich was a distant relative of Junior's wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, , was a prominent socialite and philanthropist and the second-generation matriarch of the renowned Rockefeller family...
, who was involved as artistic consultant and in the interior design of the mansion). Senior had originally purchased land in the area as early as 1893, inspired by his brother William's
William Rockefeller
William Avery Rockefeller, Jr. , American financier, was a co-founder with his older brother John D. Rockefeller of the prominent United States Rockefeller family. He was the son of William Avery Rockefeller, Sr. and Eliza Rockefeller.-Youth, education:Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York,...
ostentatious 204-room mansion (Rockwood Hall), which had already been built in the spectacular natural setting of the area.
The Classical Revival Georgian mansion took six years to complete and was refurbished some years after initial construction, being finally completed in its present form in 1913. It is six-stories, with a mansard roof, and has two basement floors, with many interconnecting underground passageways and service delivery tunnels. It features interiors designed by Ogden Codman, Jr.
Ogden Codman, Jr.
Ogden Codman, Jr. was a noted American architect and interior decorator in the Beaux-Arts styles, and co-author with Edith Wharton of The Decoration of Houses , which became a standard in American interior design....
, collections of Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an ceramics
Ceramics (art)
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
, fine furnishings
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
and 20th century art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. It was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1976.
In 1979, its occupant, Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
, upon his death, bequeathed his one-third interest in the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. As a result of that gift, Kykuit is now open to the public for tours. The tours are operated by Historic Hudson Valley
Historic Hudson Valley
Historic Hudson Valley is a not-for-profit educational and historic preservation organization headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, in Westchester County...
. The imposing local stone structure, fronted at the top with the Rockefeller emblem, is centrally located in an inner sanctum of about 250 acres (101.2 ha), referred to as the "Park", in the expansive Rockefeller family
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
estate. This inner area is fenced off, patrolled and guarded at all times around its perimeter, and has massive gates at its entrance. The rest of the estate is known as the open space; apart from the family residences, it has always been available to members of the public for recreational purposes.
Gardens and Landscape
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
, who had designed Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. Rockefeller senior was unhappy with this work however and took over the design himself, transplanting whole mature trees, designing lookouts and the many scenic winding roads. In 1906, the further design of Kykuit's grounds was completed by landscape architect
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
William Welles Bosworth, who designed the surrounding terraces
Terrace (gardening)
In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the hard materials of the architecture and softer ones of the garden.-History:...
and garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s with fountain
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
s, pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
s and classical sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
. These gardens in the Beaux-Arts style are considered Bosworth's best work in the United States, looking out over very fine views of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. His original gardens still exist, with plantings carefully replaced over time, although his entrance forecourt was extended in 1913. The gardens are terraced, with formal axes, and include a Morning Garden, Grand Staircase, Japanese Garden, an Italian Garden, a Japanese-style brook, a Japanese Tea-house, a huge Oceanus
Oceanus
Oceanus ; , Ōkeanós) was a pseudo-geographical feature in classical antiquity, believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to be the world-ocean, an enormous river encircling the world....
fountain, a Temple of Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
, loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
, and a semicircular rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
garden.
Nelson transformed the previously empty basement passages beneath the mansion that lead to a grotto
Grotto
A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
into a major private art gallery. It contained corridor upon corridor of paintings by Picasso, Chagall and Warhol, the latter two being amongst the many prominent visitors invited to the estate. Over the period from 1935 to the late 1970s more than 120 works of abstract, avant garde and modern sculpture were added to the gardens and terraced grounds from Nelson's collection, including works by Pablo Picasso ('Bathers'), Constantin Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
, Karel Appel
Karel Appel
Christiaan Karel Appel was a Dutch painter, sculptor, and poet. He started painting at the age of fourteen and studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam in the 1940s...
('Mouse on Table'), Jean Arp
Jean Arp
Jean Arp / Hans Arp was a German-French, or Alsatian, sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist in other media such as torn and pasted paper....
, Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...
, Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
, Gaston Lachaise
Gaston Lachaise
Gaston Lachaise was an American sculptor of French birth, active in the early 20th century. A native of Paris, he was most noted for his female nudes such as Standing Woman.-Early life and education:...
, Aristide Maillol
Aristide Maillol
Aristide Maillol or Aristides Maillol was a French Catalan sculptor and painter.-Biography:...
, Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
('Black Sun'), and David Smith
David Smith (sculptor)
David Roland Smith was an American Abstract Expressionist sculptor and painter, best known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures.-Biography:...
.
Kykuit was renovated and modernized in 1995 by the New Haven architecture firm Herbert S. Newman and Partners. The work included major infrastructure changes to enable it to accommodate group tours of the first floor and art gallery, and provide guest rooms on the upper floors. On the third and fourth floors the original staff quarters were reconfigured and enlarged to become guest suites.
The family estate
Today, there are around ten Rockefeller families who live within the estate, both in the fenced-in park area and beyond. Much area over the decades has been given over to New York State, such as the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, and is open to the public for horse riding, bike trails and running tracks (Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, who lives just north of the estate, in Chappaqua, has taken regular runs in the State Park).
In late 1946, a portion of the estate was proposed as the site of the UN Headquarters, when New York City was trying to beat off strong opposition from Philadelphia and San Francisco and secure the organization. Two of Junior's sons, John D. 3rd
John D. Rockefeller 3rd
John Davison Rockefeller 3rd was a major philanthropist and third-generation member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the eldest son of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the grandson of John D. Rockefeller...
and Laurance
Laurance Rockefeller
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller was a venture capitalist, financier, philanthropist, a major conservationist and a prominent third-generation member of the Rockefeller family. He was the fourth child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and brother to John D...
both offered their estate residences, Rockwood Hall and Fieldwood Farm, respectively, for the site of the building. Junior—who was living in Kykuit at the time—although appreciating the generous gesture, vetoed it on the grounds that the estate was simply too isolated from Manhattan. He subsequently sent his second eldest son, Nelson, to buy a proposed 6.9 hectares (17.1 acre) development site along the East River which he then donated for the headquarters.
Prominent officials to visit the estate over the years, for dinners hosted by Nelson and his wife, as well as David's lengthy list of illustrious guests, have included Presidents and their wives: Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. Other notable visitors, to cite just a few, have included: Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
, the last Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan, President Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
of Egypt and Lord Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
of the United Kingdom.
Public tours
The inner park area was opened to restricted conducted tours of the mansion and immediate surrounds in 1994, but it is still occupied by and controlled by the family through the Rockefeller Brothers FundRockefeller Brothers Fund
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...
, which leased the area from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1991 and is the steward of what is now called "the historic area".
Public tours are conducted via shuttle van from the Visitor Center, located at Philipsburg Manor House on Route 9 in Sleepy Hollow, New York
Sleepy Hollow, New York
Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line.Originally...
; these tours are organized by Historic Hudson Valley
Historic Hudson Valley
Historic Hudson Valley is a not-for-profit educational and historic preservation organization headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, in Westchester County...
, an organization set up in 1951 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
“to celebrate the region’s history, architecture, landscape, and material culture, advancing its importance and thereby assuring its preservation."
Notable outbuildings
- The Pocantico Conference Center of the Rockefeller Brothers FundRockefeller Brothers FundThe Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...
(RBF), in the Park, where regular conferences are held.
Originally the massive "Coach Barn", a three-story complex ultimately redesigned and completed in 1913-14, in heavy stone from the local area, it was the first new structure built on the estate. It is three times the size of the Kykuit mansion. It still houses today an impressive collection of horse-drawn carriages, and an equally noteworthy collection of 12 family-owned vintage cars for public viewing, graphically illustrating the development of automotive design from the early to the mid-twentieth century. In 1994, with funding from David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
and brother Laurance
Laurance Rockefeller
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller was a venture capitalist, financier, philanthropist, a major conservationist and a prominent third-generation member of the Rockefeller family. He was the fourth child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and brother to John D...
, its lower floor was converted by the New Haven architects Herbert S. Newman and Partners into a modern, fully equipped meeting facility for the Fund's conferences, with limited overnight accommodation on the upper floor. The facilities, furthering the projects and objectives of the RBF through conferences, seminars, workshops and retreats for RBF staff, are also available to both domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations, including annual gatherings of all the major foundation presidents and UN Security Council officials, amongst many other dignitaries.
- The "Playhouse" - The family seat. In the Park, this is the location, since 1994, of the regular semi-annual family meetings, in June and December.
A rambling French Norman two-story structure completed by Junior in 1927, this structure is also three times the size of the Kykuit mansion. Standing alongside the nine-hole, reversible golf course, and an outdoor swimming pool and two tennis courts, it contains an array of sporting facilities, including an indoor swimming pool and tennis court, fully equipped gym for basketball, a squash court, a billiard room and a full-size bowling alley. It also has dining and living rooms, and a huge reception room resembling an English baronial hall.
- The Orangerie - Housing citrus plants, this is modeled after the original at the Palace of VersaillesPalace of VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
. - Breuer Guest House - A modern house that was exhibited at the Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, then disassembled, shipped to, and reassembled at the estate. - Underground Bomb Shelter - The location of cabinet papers and private telephone transcripts delivered to the estate in 1973 - and kept there for an unknown period of time - by the then Secretary of StateSecretary of StateSecretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
, Henry KissingerHenry KissingerHeinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
.
- The Stone Barns Center for Food & AgricultureStone Barns Center for Food & AgricultureStone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture is a non-profit farm and educational center with a partner restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, located in Westchester County, New York. The Center was created on formerly belonging to the Rockefeller estate in Pocantico Hills by David Rockefeller and...
- Outside the Park, this was opened by David Rockefeller and Peggy Dulany in 2004 and was established in memory of Rockefeller's wife, Peggy. It is a not-for-profit agricultural and educational center on 32 hectares (79.1 acre) of farmland, in the heart of the 445 hectares (1,100 acre) family-donated Rockefeller State Park Preserve, allied to the family-funded Pocantico Central School. It sells organic local produce, meat and eggs to the nearby public for-profit restaurant, Blue Hill, as well as to local businesses in the Pocantico Hills area.
- The Rockefeller Archive Center - A voluminous three-story underground bunker built below the foundations of the Hillcrest mansion of Martha Baird Rockefeller, situated just outside the Park area. This is an impressively equipped repository of 150-plus years of Rockefeller papers, memorabilia and other outside organizations' collections. It is staffed by ten full-time archivists who patrol forty-foot-long shelves on rails, and it contains, for researchers, the publicly restricted and expurgated family history.
In addition, family members over the generations have had a profound impact on the township of Pocantico Hills which is situated in the open space of the estate and is completely surrounded by family-owned land. The Union Church of Pocantico Hills
Union Church of Pocantico Hills
Union Church of Pocantico Hills is a historic church located at 555-559 Bedford Road in Pocantico Hills, New York. The church was built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1921, as part of his plans to develop the town of Pocantico Hills, which was below his estate Kykuit...
, now owned by Historic Hudson Valley
Historic Hudson Valley
Historic Hudson Valley is a not-for-profit educational and historic preservation organization headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, in Westchester County...
, was built by the family, who commissioned the famous stained-glass windows by Matisse (an abstract rose window, memorializing Abby Aldrich), and Chagall (the remainder of the windows, focusing on Biblical prophets and some New Testament themes, and memorializing various member of the family and others); they also helped finance the construction of the local Pocantico Hills School.
Residences of other family members on the estate
- "Hudson Pines" - The residence and farm of the family's current patriarch, David RockefellerDavid RockefellerDavid Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
, located just north of the Park (177 acre (71.6 ha)), originally built for, and occupied by his only sister, AbbyAbby Rockefeller MauzéAbigail "Abby" Rockefeller Mauzé was the first child and only daughter of John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. and Abigail "Abby" Greene Aldrich Rockefeller...
. - "Abeyton Lodge" - The residence of Junior, outside the Park, demolished when he took up residence in Kykuit after his father's death.
- "Fieldwood Farm" - The residence of John D. Rockefeller III, outside the Park.
- "Hawes House" - The residence of Nelson, in the Park.
- "Hunting Lodge" - The residence of Nelson, outside the Park.
- "Kent House" - The residence of Laurance, in the Park.
- "Hillcrest" - A Rockefeller UniversityRockefeller UniversityThe Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
property, outside the Park, formerly the mansion built for Martha Baird Rockefeller, the second wife of Junior, and the current location of the massive 3-story underground bunker housing the Rockefeller Archive Center, built deep beneath the home's foundations. - "Rockwood Hall" - The one time residence of Laurance RockefellerLaurance RockefellerLaurance Spelman Rockefeller was a venture capitalist, financier, philanthropist, a major conservationist and a prominent third-generation member of the Rockefeller family. He was the fourth child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and brother to John D...
, outside the Park, this was the 1000 acres (404.7 ha) original property of Senior's brother William RockefellerWilliam RockefellerWilliam Avery Rockefeller, Jr. , American financier, was a co-founder with his older brother John D. Rockefeller of the prominent United States Rockefeller family. He was the son of William Avery Rockefeller, Sr. and Eliza Rockefeller.-Youth, education:Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York,...
, which was sold to Junior in 1937. He had no real use for the property, however, and so had the mansion and its outbuildings razed. Later he deeded the property to Laurance who, in 1970, sold 80 acres (32.4 ha) to IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
for its Americas/Far East headquarters; this is now owned and occupied by New York Life Insurance. Subsequently, Laurance leased the rest of the property to the State of New York as a public park for one dollar a year, underwriting the maintenance costs. He donated this property outright to New York State in 1999, as part of the Rockefeller State Preserve.
Further reading
- The House the Rockefellers Built: A Tale of Money, Taste, and Power in the Twentieth-Century America, Robert F. Dalzell and Lee Baldwin Dalzell, New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2007.
- The Rockefeller Family Home: Kykuit, Ann Rockefeller Roberts (Text), Mary Louise Pierson (Photographs), and Cynthia Altman (Captions and additional text), New York: Abbeville Publishing Group (Abbeville Press, Inc.)Abbeville Publishing Group (Abbeville Press, Inc.)Abbeville Publishing Group is an independent book publishing company specializing in fine art and illustrated books. Based in New York City, Abbeville publishes approximately 40 titles each year and has an active backlist of over 700 titles on a wide range of subjects, including art, architecture,...
, 1998. - Abby Aldrich Rockefeller: The Woman in the Family. Bernice Kert, New York: Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, 1993. - Pocantico: Fifty Years on the Rockefeller Domain, Tom Pyle, as told to Beth Day, New York: Duell, Sloan and Pierce, 1964.
- Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr, Ron Chernow, London: Warner Books, 1998.
- Memoirs, David Rockefeller, New York: Random House, 2002.
- The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family, John Ensor Harr and Peter J. Johnson. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988.
- Great Houses of the Hudson River, Michael Middleton DwyerMichael Middleton DwyerMichael Middleton Dwyer is an architect practicing in New York City known for renovating historic structures and designing new ones in traditional vocabularies. He is also a writer of architectural history who was the editor of Great Houses of the Hudson River and author of Carolands...
, editor, with preface by Mark RockefellerMark RockefellerMark Fitler Rockefeller is a fourth-generation member of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest son of Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller and Happy Rockefeller...
, Boston, MA: Little, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
, published in association with Historic Hudson ValleyHistoric Hudson ValleyHistoric Hudson Valley is a not-for-profit educational and historic preservation organization headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, in Westchester County...
, 2001. ISBN 082122767X.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Westchester County, New York
External links
- HABS: 12 photos, 6 maps and drawings, 23 data pages on Kykuit at Historic American Buildings SurveyHistoric American Buildings SurveyThe Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
- Rockefeller Brothers Fund Official Website Details the regular conferences held by the Fund at the Pocantico estate.
- Rockefeller Archive Center A division of Rockefeller University, these family archives are located outside the Park area in the estate.
- Life at Pocantico Then and Now A 2002 New York Times interview with David Rockefeller on growing up on the estate.
- Spending a Day at the Rockefellers’ February, 2007 NYT article profiling the family estate.
- The Estate Next Door 2003 NYT article giving a brief overview of the estate.
- Development: Rockefeller Kin to Save Land 2003 NYT article on David Rockefeller's plans for the organic Stone Barns complex and a niece's intervention regarding a housing development on the estate.
- Dine at the Rockefellers', Get in Touch With the Earth A 2004 NYT article describing the history of the Stone Barns Center and Blue Hill Restaurant.
- Kykuit: The Rockefeller Estate The public tours of the estate conducted by Historic Hudson ValleyHistoric Hudson ValleyHistoric Hudson Valley is a not-for-profit educational and historic preservation organization headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, in Westchester County...
. - Restoration of Kykuit Architect's Website
- Architect's Website: Restoration of the Coach Barn