National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

ROADS
Analysis of Historical Significance and Integrity by Resource Type
TRANSPORTATION, POWER AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
Road construction at Hyde Park represents a combination of methods, all of which were
in common use in the late nineteenth century. Roads within the estate were of Telford,
macadam, and undistinguished stone-surface design. Attention was paid to ensuring proper
drainage, as well as to maintenance, improvement, and aesthetics. The stone surfaces were
appropriate for horse and carriage use. Fine roads, which implied the use of equally fine
equipage, were an important component of an upper-class life. The ownership and use of
horses and carriages distinguished the wealthy from lower classes who would find such things
prohibitive in cost. The public context and model for these kinds of parkways is found in New
York's Central Park and other similar parks and parkways in major cities such as Boston,
Chicago, Detroit, and San Francisco where designers, led by Frederick Law Olmsted,
specifically constructed roads with the carriage-trade in mind. In the mid-1890s, rules
governing the use of public parks eased and thus allowed tradesmen and their families greater
access to parkways formerly used exclusively by the rich. Thus, private estates, such as Hyde
Park with extensive roadways for pleasure driving, provided a sanctuary from interaction with
increasingly diverse urban populations.
BRIDGES
The White Bridge and the Rustic Bridge are historically significant structures because
they represent the early employment of the Melan Arch method of bridge construction in the
United States. While the use of the Melan Arch was widespread in Europe primarily as a floor
system, its transfer to the United States elicited the interest of American engineering journals
and bridge engineers. The two Vanderbilt bridges were the subjects of an article published by
Engineering News in 1898. The Melan Arch system was superseded by other construction
methods by the early years of the twentieth century and so these bridges are significant
examples of late nineteenth-century bridge-building techniques.
ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY
An isolated direct current electric generating plant provided electricity for lighting at the
Mansion and the Pavilion. The plant was built by W.T. Hiscox of New York City and was
located in a charming rounded-fieldstone building alongside Crum Elbow Creek. The
commitment to use only electricity for lighting rather than a combination of gas and electric was
a somewhat progressive one, but not innovative. The estate continued to use the direct current
system long after alternating current systems had become established within the electrical
industry. The Vanderbilt electrical system was consistent with those being used nationwide at
other estates. Very few of these installations still exist which makes the Vanderbilt Power
House extremely significant. Enough of the original equipment remains so that, with the
necessary allocation of resources, the generator could be made to work again. The original
battery is missing, but it would be unsafe to reconstruct in any event.
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