National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Resource History and Description of Existing Conditions
horticultural bent. Greenleaf's method was similar to that of an architect who might leave the
selection of interior finishes and furnishings to an interior designer. While Cridland did make
minor modifications to Greenleaf's structural elements, and added a few of his own, these
changes were insignificant in and of themselves. More radical was Cridland's wholesale
reordering of the interior plantings of the formal garden spaces, perhaps better suited for the
sale of plants than in bringing about perfection in garden design.
It is interesting, that while Cridland and his associate Agnes D. Russell refer to
themselves as landscape architects on the later Hyde Park plans, the title of Cridland's 1916
book speaks of the older term of "landscape gardening." Other than the traditional design
principles found in his book, very little biographical or professional materials have been
obtained on Robert Cridland that would help place his work on the Vanderbilts' garden within
the context of his body of work. Inquiry to the American Society of Landscape Architects
reveals that neither the Meehan company nor Cridland and Russell were members of that
professional society.
THE ROLE OF A KNOWLEDGEABLE CLIENT
Beyond the enclosure of the formal gardens, there is evidence that suggests Vanderbilt
sustained a long-term program of tree planting throughout his estate. This may have been done
in consultation with superintendent Herbert Shears or with Cridland. However, it is entirely
possible that Vanderbilt consulted none other than his own sensibilities, well developed after
decades of directing the embellishment of his various properties. During the winter of 1914-
1915, Vanderbilt employed a tree moving company for almost two months, incurring charges
for the company's personnel, as well as their specialized "tree mover truck." 1076 The estate
account books detail the purchase of thousands of trees, all charged to the park account,
indicating the pleasure grounds west of Albany Post Road.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STEWARDSHIP - EXECUTIVE DIRECTION
In a very real sense, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the next steward of the
Vanderbilt property following the death of Frederick Vanderbilt in 1938. There appears to be a
sense of urgency in his hands-on involvement which led to the property's designation as a
National Historic Site in 1940. Roosevelt that same year had declared a "limited national
emergency" in response to German aggression in Europe. The United States' preparation for its
inevitable involvement in the war had begun to siphon off personnel and material resources that
had once been directed to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
The President's recommendations were adopted as early landscape policy. The most
fundamental of these was a program of tree replacement which was intended to replace dead or
dying trees in kind. This policy would have the effect of perpetuating the collection of specimen
trees Vanderbilt knew at the time of his death. Unfortunately, a little more than one year after
its designation as a unit of the National Park System, the United States was at war on two fronts.
At that point, Vanderbilt's Hyde Park landscape began a long decline that was not adequately
countered until the mid-1960s, over twenty years later.
1076 Cash Book, "Hyde Park, June 1910-August 1916," February 15, 1915, 176, Hyde Park Estate Ledgers,
ROVA Archives.
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