National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Resource History and Description of Existing Conditions
the firm took on the Vanderbilt project, McKim was the partner-in-charge; he hired Norcross
Brothers as the general contractor, a widely-known and respected construction company.
McKim and White no doubt had worked together with Norcross Brothers during the
construction of Boston's Trinity Church while employed by H.H. Richardson in the 1870s.
James O'Gorman credits one of the two principals of Norcross Brothers as Richardson's
"Master Builder," and notes that the firm was "without question . . . among the most important
construction companies in the country in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century." 457
Dated surviving drawings clearly suggest that McKim, Mead & White's first task for the
Vanderbilts was designing the building called the Pavilion, presumably for eventual use by
bachelor guests. Six of the seven drawings are dated August 23, 1895, while the seventh, one of
interior details, is dated September 12 of the same year; "Brower" signed all of these drawings,
indicating him as the delineator. 458 The Pavilion was constructed to the north of the mansion.
Originally it was planned to rest on the foundation of the old Langdon coach house, which did
not have a subterranean level. 459 Drawing No. 4 of the original set depicts the cellar plan of the
Pavilion. This drawing is contemporary to the other plans and reflects conditions similar to
what is extant today. Because no earlier plans exist, it most likely was determined early in the
planning stages that the old foundation was inadequate, either in strength or exact plan. Once
begun, the Pavilion was constructed in sixty-six days between September 8 and November 24,
1895. 460 Initially the Vanderbilts used it as a temporary residence while the mansion was under
construction, and later used it during their winter stays in Hyde Park.
Based on the chronology of dated drawings, McKim, Mead & White's second task seems
to have been the renovation and enlargement of the Langdon Mansion. These drawings were
finalized in late September 1895. At the same time the firm also was developing plans for two
other houses on the property. One house was for Frederick's friend and stockbroker, Edward
Wales. The drawings for this house were finalized probably in mid-November of the same year.
The other house was for Thomas H. Howard, whose wife was Louise's niece. 461 The drawings
for the latter house are undated, but probably were completed in 1895, since a group of
photographs by J. Sterling Bird, Jr., date the construction of the house between January and
September 1896. 462
Although the drawings for the Pavilion were completed first, McKim obviously was
working on the main house as early as June 18, 1895, when he wrote to Mr. Vanderbilt:
457
James F. O'Gorman, "O.W. Norcross, Richardson's 'Master Builder': A Preliminary Report," Journal of
the Society of Architectural Historians, 32:22 (May 1973), 105.
458
Set of seven drawings for the "Pavilion for F.W. Vanderbilt, Esq." Collections of The New-York
Historical Society.
459
Memorandum to Superintendent, ROVA from Historian, ROVA re: "Report of Visit with Mr. John B.
Clermont [Norcross Brothers' Superintendent of Construction], of Ruby, NY, October 13, 1954,"
October 14, 1954, 2, Folder "McKim, Mead & White," VAMA General File, ROVA Curatorial Division.
460
"Report of Visit with Mr. John B. Clermont," ROVA Archives.
461
Wales and Howard House drawings, Architectural Drawings Collection, Pre-1940s Vanderbilt
Mansion (circa 1874-1940), VAMA 5002, ROVA Archives. From The New-York Historical Society. Five
of the twelve drawings for the Wales House are labeled "House No. 1." None of the Howard House
drawings have any such correlating notations.
462
J. Sterling Bird, Jr. photographs, VAMA Photograph Collection, ROVA Archives. This series of
photographs was donated to ROVA by J.B. Clermont, Superintendent of Construction for the builders,
Norcross Brothers.
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