National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Resource History and Description of Existing Conditions
to let me know if you come across something fine for the new hall or large rooms during
your wanderings that you think we ought to have & I will cable you . . . 474
This letter suggests that some discussion occurred that focused on demolishing and replicating
the Langdon house. When this idea was rejected, the first design for wholly-new construction
in brick and stucco was proposed. A set of twelve drawings shows this proposal, dated March
27, 1896. 475 However, in the end, this design also was rejected. Surviving documentation does
not record the reasons for this rejection or the rationale for the design of the next (and final)
proposal; however the earliest plans and exterior elevations for the final proposal are dated
August 1896, almost a full year later than the original Langdon house alteration drawings.
The new plan eliminated some of the room uses that had been included in the proposal
for renovating the Langdon house. The first story had included a breakfast room, a drawing
room, and a billiard room in addition to the accompanying dining, living, and reception rooms,
the latter of which were still programmed for the new mansion. Mr. Vanderbilt's Lobby (Office)
and Lavatory were added to the first story in the newest plan. The new plan afforded absolute
symmetry and a rigorous plan laid out according to the purest principles of Beaux-Arts design.
McKim focused the plan around a central elliptical space, from which most other rooms
radiated. This allowed for a dramatic opening in the center of the second floor and a skylight in
the third story and roof, which afforded great quantities of natural light to flood the first and
second-story Elliptical Halls. The design of these openings also contributed to a ventilation
system, where a slight vacuum was created at the upper level when the exterior windows were
open. The Langdon plan had provided for eight smallish guest bedrooms in the second story
with less gracious bathroom amenities. The newest plan called for only five second-story guest
rooms, relocating an additional four or five to the third story. Where the third story originally
had been dedicated to servants' rooms, it was now divided for mixed use, with guest bedrooms
in the south half, and servants' rooms in the north half, segregated by the skylight and dividing
walls. The final plan was defined by the perfection of the first floor: the central ellipse clearly
outlined the disposition of the major public spaces at either end of the house, and the placement
of the secondary spaces oriented from the central ellipse. The progression of the plan upward
was revealed through the opening in the hall to the second floor and the skylight above that. On
the second floor, in turn, the gracious proportions of the guestrooms necessitated the division of
the third floor into both service and guest areas. The basement layout also had to accommodate
the first floor plan as defined by the central ellipse and resulted in less than ideal service areas. 476
McKim was back at the helm of the Frederick Vanderbilt project no later than October
1896 and most likely earlier. 477 The final drawings exhibited an elegant mansion in the Beaux-
Arts tradition with clear axial plan arrangements, sited on the same spot as the Langdon house.
McKim's training had provided the ability to express a cohesive design that most displayed the
474
Letter from Frederick Vanderbilt to Charles F. McKim, February 25, 1896. New York Public Library,
Manuscript Division, Margaret McKim Maloney Collection. From research by Nina Gray. It is
interesting to note that McKim was also looking for items to decorate the interior, which was a role that
was usually reserved for Stanford White.
475
Vanderbilt Mansion Drawings (Second Proposal), 1896, Series II.D, Architectural Drawings Collection
(circa 1874-1940), ROVA Archives.
476
I wish to thank Nina Gray for her notes comparing the Langdon renovation proposal to the new plan.
477
Charles Follen McKim (CFM) Papers, Reel #3, Library of Congress, evidenced by letter to F.W.
Vanderbilt from CFM, October 29, 1896. From research by Nina Gray.
93