Slavery in the Lower Hudson Valley - The Journal News

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14 A Newspaper-in-Education Supplement to The Journal News • LoHud.com Philipsburg Manor is Part of a Local Network of Historic Sites . . . Washington Irving’s Sunnyside A visit to Sunnyside is an enchanted adventure in a romantic landscape with a much-loved riverside home that has been charming guests for generations. Visitors today hear about Washington Irving’s storied past and how he came to be America’s first internationally famous author, best remembered now for “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and other short stories. His characters, from Brom Bones and Ichabod Crane to the mysterious Headless Horseman and the comic Rip Van Winkle, are icons in American culture. A gently curved path leads to gorgeous views of the Hudson River and reveals the allure of Sunnyside’s unusual architecture, a smorgasbord of ideas Irving picked up while living in Europe. Guides wearing period dress explain how Washington Irving designed Sunnyside and its grounds himself, collaborating with his neighbor, the artist George Harvey. Beginning in 1835, he expanded a small cottage in stages, combining his sentimental interests in the architecture of colonial New York and buildings he knew in Scotland and Spain. The house became a threedimensional autobiography. The grounds reflect Washington Irving’s romantic view of art, nature, and history. He arranged garden paths, trees and shrubs, vistas, and water features to appear natural, and planted an exotic wisteria vine (still growing) to envelope the house. “It is a beautiful spot,” Irving wrote, “capable of being made a little paradise.” Sunnyside is open to the public weekends in March and daily except Tuesday from April to December. See www.hudsonvalley.org for information. Popular special events at Sunnyside include: May 13 Artists on Hudson – Watch more than a dozen artists capture Sunnyside on canvas and paper. July 4 Independence Day, 1856 – Celebrate the nation’s founding the 19th-century way. Sept. 9 Children’s Book Day – Meet dozens of children’s book authors and illustrators. Union Church of Pocantico Hills Stained glass windows by French masters Marc Chagall and Henri Matisee adorn this unassuming country church in the middle of Westchester County, just up the road from Kykuit. Visitors marvel at Matisse’s colorful Rose Window, his last work of art before his death in 1954. The commission, spearheaded by Nelson A. Rockefeller, honors the memory of his mother, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. Mrs. Rockefeller, one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art, admired Matisse and collected his work. The glorious Good Samaritan window by Marc Chagall is a memorial to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller’s husband, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Their son David Rockefeller masterminded the commission in 1963, which later expanded to include all eight windows in the nave of the church. Chagall and members of the Rockefeller family carefully selected the subject matter for the windows from Biblical texts. The Union Church is open to the public daily except Tuesday from April to December. See www.hudsonvalley.org for information. Nine windows by Marc Chagall, including the “Good Samaritan” shown here, and Henri Matisse’s last work of art, the “Rose Window,” are on display at the Union Church of Pocantico Hills. Above: The lush, romantic, slightly wild landscape of Sunnyside, Washington Irving’s beloved homestead, has attracted visitors for more than 150 years. Left: Independence Day celebrations at Sunnyside feature a variety of fun activities and performers, such as juggler Will Shaw. Van Cortlandt Manor Children and adults can learn 18th-century crafts at this historic site devoted to the New Nation period, just following the Revolutionary War. The site of Westchester County’s biggest Halloween event, The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze, Van Cortlandt Manor was the homestead of one of colonial New York’s most prominent families. The family faced and influenced pressing political issues of the time, including Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates over the drafting of the constitution. They also grappled with religious change following the rise of evangelical religions and had to confront the controversy over emancipation, since they were slaveholders. These issues, along with everyday life and social activities of the period, are explored at Van Cortlandt Manor. Costumed guides demonstrate and invite visitors to try their own hands at blacksmithing, brick making, open-hearth cooking, spinning, weaving, and other crafts and tasks of the period, helping bring the past to life. Van Cortlandt Manor is open to the public daily except Tuesday from April to October, and on weekends in November and December. See www.hudsonvalley.org for information. Popular special events at Van Cortlandt Manor include: May 26-28 Animals and Acrobats – Experience all the wonder of an early American traveling circus. August 13 River Day – Hands-on activities include fishing, hearth cooking, and brick making, plus modern boat building and chances to test drive a kayak. Selected The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze – More than 3,000 October hand-carved pumpkins delight all ages in this elaborate, evenings artistic display.
A Newspaper-in-Education Supplement to The Journal News • LoHud.com 15 Kykuit, The Rockefeller Estate This hilltop paradise was built by John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil, and his son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. JDR’s business acumen made him, in his day, the richest man in America. Now a historic site of the National Trust, this extraordinary landmark has been continuously and meticulously maintained for almost 100 years. Tours include the main rooms of the six-story stone house, as well as the expansive, terraced gardens containing Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller’s exceptional collection of 20th-century sculpture. Artists represented include Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith, among many others. The private, underground art galleries with Governor Rockefeller’s collection of Picasso tapestries, and the cavernous Coach Barn, with its collections of classic automobiles and horsedrawn carriages, are also part of the experience. On each tour, guides share many stories that highlight the lives of Rockefeller family members and their contributions to philanthropy, conservation, business, government, and the arts. Public tours at Kykuit are administered by Historic Hudson Valley, and include a variety of options catering to all tastes and time budgets. Each tour begins at the Visitor Center at Philipsburg Manor, where you’ll board a shuttle bus for a short ride to the estate. The most elaborate visitation experience is the three-hour Grand Tour, which shows off every stunning feature of this early 20th-century masterpiece. Kykuit is open to the public from May 12 through Nov. 4. Tours take place daily except Tuesdays. You can buy tickets online at www.hudsonvalley.org, or by calling 914-631-9491. Completed in 1913, Kykuit was home to four generations of Rockefellers and is a preeminent Hudson Valley landmark. For lovers of architecture, gardens, art, history, and spectacular scenery, a trip to Kykuit is unparalleled. Kykuit’s elaborate, terraced gardens are studded with works of art by modern masters, such as Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi, shown here. Below: A view of the Inner Garden fountains, with the Aristede Maillol sculpture Bather Putting Up Her Hair in the distance. Montgomery Place Montgomery Place is best known as a landscape influenced by the great Andrew Jackson Downing and an architectural landmark designed by Alexander Jackson Davis. The 434-acre property is an amazingly intact example of Hudson Valley estate life. Each of the estate’s features has a story to tell about changing American attitudes toward nature, landscape, and home design over time. You can walk the woodland The formal gardens at Montgomery Place have undergone extensive restoration in recent years. trails, laid out over a hundred years ago through a hemlock and mixed hardwood forest, to the cascading waterfalls of the Saw Kill. Picturesque and productive orchards border the estate, and in season you can purchase the delicious fruit at the Montgomery Place Orchards Farm Stand. The grounds of Montgomery Place are open to the public weekends from May to October; the manor house is currently closed for renovations. See www. hudsonvalley.org for information. Become a member and save! Members of Historic Hudson Valley get unlimited admission to five historic sites and all special events, plus discounted admission to Kykuit. It’s the best way to explore the area’s history and attend events like the Blaze. Go to www.hudsonvalley.org and click “join,” or call 914-631-8200 Ext. 612. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You Are Invited to Visit Them All All images on pages 14 and 15 by Bryan Haeffele
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