National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Resource History and Description of Existing Conditions
The variety of architectural styles used in constructing the new buildings is at first
puzzling. Most seem unrelated to one another, even when one remembers that the initial
concept included retaining the old Langdon Mansion. 486 A combination of classical and rustic
and picturesque exists. However, if one analyzes their arrangement, their styles imply a
segregation of zones. In 1899 after construction was finished, the primary zone included access
to and egress from the new mansion, ending or beginning at the mansion itself. The two gate
houses, one at the Post Road and the other at the lower or south road (see ill. 19) that leads to
the Hyde Park train station, were designed by McKim, Mead & White in the same style as the
mansion, but with less ornament, and are the two extremities of the primary zone. While
designed alike, they are highly successful miniature designs, placed at the two entrances where
guests would enter, indicating the formality of the mansion at the end of the road. These two
small jewel boxes retain a great deal of exterior architectural integrity, with later additions
behind the main blocks that are barely noticeable today due to growth of vegetation.
If guests entered from the Post Road, they would pass the main gatehouse, pass through
the main gates, and descend to the White Bridge that crosses over Crum Elbow Creek. This
bridge was designed by a New York engineer named Hiscox, who incorporated the Melan arch
- newly-introduced in the United States - in his engineering design. The bridge's overall style is
classical, but not as decorative as to be categorized as Beaux-Arts. Its main character-defining
feature as originally designed, in addition to the use of the Melan arch, was its overall white
appearance, which has been lost. From the bridge, guests would ascend to a winding drive that
skirts the edge of the Italian Gardens and related buildings. (The garden and structures are now
partially hidden by plantings.) The drive then veers to the south, away from the formal garden.
The end of this journey culminates at the large circular drive leading to the mansion, which is
landscaped on level ground to increase the impact of the view of the main house. This is the
ultimate terminus of the primary zone.
Guests entering the estate from the lower road would pass through the gate, pass by the
other gate house, and ride along the creek until they came to a choice of roads. One road
crosses the Stone Bridge on the right, the other veers slightly to the left. The informality of the
bridge's design and the sharper turn perhaps would discourage any driver from making that
choice if one were looking for the mansion. The left choice continues along the river until a dam
and the White Bridge comes into view. At this point the road merges into the main entrance
road, with the White Bridge and creek on the east or right side, and with continuing access to
the left, where one could see the edge of the formal garden on the left rise. Therefore, this
primary estate zone consists of structures designed in a classical style connected by roads.
Three main branches extend from the primary zone. The first leads northeast from the
mansion to the Pavilion, which is shielded by plantings. It is also designed using classical motifs,
but in the Colonial Revival style. It is less formal than the mansion, and although originally used
by the Vanderbilts until the main house was complete, was designed as bachelors' quarters.
Although its function is secondary in the overall layout of the estate, thus meriting a less formal
design, it has more direct social connection to the mansion than any other building, thus
meriting a design based in classicism, albeit an American interpretation of classicism.
486 The need for demolishing the Langdon house was not recognized until all other structures were
designed.
96