National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Analysis of Historical Significance and Integrity by Resource Type
On the other hand, McKim was developing a clear, aesthetically consistent, and concise
expression of understanding the classical precedents through his artistic maturation. This was
keenly evident in the new Vanderbilt Mansion. It was designed in the Beaux-Arts tradition, was
very classical, and very French. Samuel White attributes the final design to a combination of
influences:
Formal precedents for the main house lie in European neoclassicism filtered through
Vanderbilt's nostalgia for the original Langdon Mansion and the firm's emerging style for
classical villas with two-story porches. The architecture is imperial, with no concession to
images of rural domesticity. 1320
Other contemporary suburban projects of the firm included the casino - a type of
"recreational pavilion" 1321 - for John Jacob Astor IV, built in Rhinebeck just north of Staatsburg.
Although not the residence of the estate, it is included as a comparison in this study due to its
proximity and nearly identical construction date to the Vanderbilt Mansion, as well as its design
by the same architectural firm. While exhibiting purely classical details, it is relatively free of
additional ornament, and therefore should be considered Neoclassical in style. Its interior plan
is pure Beaux-Arts, exemplified by its hierarchical arrangement of rooms - the most important
rooms being the most accessible - radiating from side halls. 1322 Although this casino is the work
of Stanford White, it shares similarities with McKim's Vanderbilt Mansion in the use of
academic classical detailing and planning. Not only is it another example of White's drift
toward purer classical expression, but also of enduring influences within the firm's office.
Rosecliff (1897-1902) in Newport may bear the closest resemblance to Hyde Park within
the realm of suburban and country houses by McKim, Mead & White, although this, too, was
designed by Stanford White. It was conceived during the construction of Hyde Park for the
Herman Oelrichs. Like Hyde Park, it is very classical and Beaux-Arts in character 1323 and its
exterior elevations are monochrome. But instead of Hyde Park's limestone, the exterior skin is
white glazed terra-cotta tile, an example of White's fondness for experimenting with different
textures or materials. 1324 Unlike Hyde Park, which is perfectly symmetrical, Rosecliff gives only
the appearance of perfect exterior symmetry by camouflaging an off-center entranceway, a
technique that the firm employed in many of its Colonial Revival houses. Both houses are three
stories high, but Rosecliff's second story appears only as an extension of a high-ceilinged
first, 1325 and its third story is recessed behind the parapet so that it is barely visible. 1326 One has
to wonder if McKim, Mead & White borrowed the recessed third-story element from the old
Langdon house, which they demolished to make way for the new Vanderbilt Mansion.
1320
White, 192.
1321
Roth, 265. Roth attributes this project to a later date, 1902-04.
1322
McKim, Mead & White, 113-15. According to this edition of the Monograph, this structure was
completed in 1898.
1323
White, 208. He refers to the design as scientific eclecticism. "This term was created to describe
buildings that were more or less based on a specific historic prototype - a Renaissance palace, a Roman
bath, or an Egyptian temple - selected for its symbolic relevance and manipulated into an appropriate
enclosure for a more contemporary program, such as a town house, a train station, or a university library.
Julles Hardouin Mansart's Grand Trianon at Versailles was the prototype for Rosecliff, although the
palace is barely recognizable after its 'scientific' transformation."
1324
Roth, 29, 32, 211-12.
1325 Roth, 211.
1326 White, 198-200.
235