National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Analysis of Historical Significance and Integrity by Resource Type
Nonetheless, the firm designed a variety of country houses and seaside cottages during
this time frame, including the Frederick W. Vanderbilt house at Hyde Park. The firm's use of an
early American architectural vocabulary continued, interspersed between other commissions.
For instance, Stanford White built the octagonal Head of the Harbor for his sister-in-law, Mrs.
Joseph B. Wetherill, in St. James, Long Island, between 1894 and 1895. 1315 The firm then
accepted the commission in 1895 to remodel and enlarge Staatsburgh, the Ogden Mills mansion
in Staatsburg, New York, and this was also White's project. Here the Greek portico may have
been incorporated from the original structure but the end result is too academic to be called
Colonial Revival. Neoclassical is a more suitable term because both Greek and Roman elements
are used and it is a monumental structure without extravagant exterior decorative detailing.
Coincidentally, or perhaps modeled on it, there are also similarities to the White House in
Washington, D.C.
Similarities also exist between the Mills Mansion and the Vanderbilt Mansion, which
was located a few miles south of Staatsburgh. Begun the same year but later than Staatsburgh,
the Vanderbilt project also began as a remodeling and enlargement. The Mills' exterior of
monochrome-painted stucco 1316 imitated the look of stone, whereas Indiana limestone was used
to build the new Vanderbilt house; the original alterations to the old Langdon house called for
the use of exterior stucco. In addition, "[t]he Millses wanted to impress at every level, from the
winding driveway, which provides tantalizing and well-framed views of the monumental
entrance, to the elevated terrace overlooking the Hudson, and all spaces in between." 1317 The
Frederick Vanderbilt property would mimic this particular elemental idea, which McKim, Mead
& White also employed at Woodlea. While the siting of the new Vanderbilt house could not be
improved because the former house had been sited at the best possible location, Frederick did
improve the impact of this siting by redirecting the entrance drive. The drive first provides a
picturesque introduction to the property over the newly redirected Crumb Elbow Creek and
newly constructed White Bridge; the visitor's anticipation builds as he weaves around the
continued curve of the drive to crest the top of a hill; and finally a grand house, situated across
the open lawn that is bordered by the large circular drive, appears beyond the trees to reward
the traveler's interest. 1318
The Mills and Vanderbilt mansions also differ in some respects. In addition to stylistic
differences, inherent differences exist between the interior plans of the two houses because the
shorter floor heights of the older core were maintained at the Mills mansion. This created a
series of levels between the higher floors of the new wings and extant main house. Had the
Langdon house been sound enough for the Vanderbilts to renovate, the same type of situation
would have existed there. These were contemporary projects, one designed by White (Mills)
and the other by McKim (Vanderbilt). However, the Mills mansion may have marked the
beginning of Stanford White's trend to depend more directly on classical sources. 1319
1315
White, 164-71.
1316
He points out that the structure was painted "in the manner of Nash's Regents Park terraces." (White,
177.)
1317
White, 174-77.
1318
Originally Vanderbilt's drive was a semicircle with a north-south diameter bisecting the front lawn. It
was altered to its current configuration in 1910. See O'Donnell, et.al., 132.
1319
Roth, 259.
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