National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Resource History and Description of Existing Conditions
trousseau chest or pots for flowers. 546 The space was subsequently furnished with an early
sixteenth century Florentine cassone, purchased by Stanford White from Donaldson in
London. 547 A Venetian hanging lantern purchased by Stanford White with a matching one in
the South Foyer provides light. 548 There is a Chinese blue and white pot with stand that would
have contained a palm 549 and tapestries on the east and west walls.
The rug in the North Foyer was removed between 1938 and 1940. 550 Its replacement was
also removed in 1974. 551
Dining Room
The Dining Room is a grand, formal entertaining space decorated in the Renaissance
style. It occupies the entire northern end of the mansion with windows facing west, north, and
east. The room is accessed through pocket doors from the North Foyer that can be closed to
isolate the space. There is another door on the south wall, eastern end that leads into the
Butler's Pantry. The northern wall has a triple window (the center section is surmounted by a
demi-lune tympanum) while the side windows have gilt-bordered rectangular panels with
crosseted corners. The east and west walls have two full-length casement or French windows,
each of which has a demi-lune panel above it. At the top center of each tympanum is a carved
and gilded bracket with a head, and swags that drape to the sides of the demi-lune. The
classically-based decoration is marked by the prominent use of architectural motifs such as the
stop-fluted pilasters with gilded ionic capitals. The somber walnut paneling has two tiers of
recessed panels with gilded borders of egg-and-dart carving. Each of the panels has crosseted
corners. The incorporation of antique elements, such as ceilings and mantels, into the design of
the room is typical of interior design of the later phase of the American Renaissance. This room
is a prime example of the "scientific eclecticism" that first appeared in the 1890s. Artists,
architects, and decorators carefully studied classical examples and gave their designs a new
historical accuracy that was absent in the more romantic interpretations of the revival styles of
the earlier nineteenth century. 552
The form and decoration of this room is similar to the Lounging Room at the University
Club in New York City, built at the same time as Hyde Park and also designed by McKim. In
particular the use of fluted pilasters and tympana over the windows is seen at Hyde Park and the
overdoors at the University Club.
546.
SW Papers letter, September 17, 1897, Box 19:2.
547
See bills SW Papers, Box 49:3, Box 19:2.
548
See bills SW Papers, Box 49:3, Box 19:2. According to Mitchell Samuels this lantern and its
mate are rare. (Samuels, French & Co., 1940.) The lanterns were probably electrified by E.F.
Caldwell & Co.
549
Knauss, List of Flower Arrangements.
550
The 1938 Inventory recorded a rug 6'3" x 13', Curry Inventory, 26. This inventory also noted three
steamer shawls and two automobile robes, presumably stored in the cassone. These items suggest a
storage/closet aspect to this space that is somewhat intriguing.
551
Albert McClure, Monthly Report, September 1947.
552
Wilson, et al, The American Renaissance, 57. "Scientific eclecticism" is the mixing of historical styles
and elements, using carefully studied models and types.
109