Take a look inside a historic 54-room Gilded Age mansion that belonged to one of America's richest families

Talia LakritzApr 30, 2024, 21:45 IST

A study in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York, was built by Frederick Vanderbilt in the 1890s.
The 45,000-square-foot Gilded Age mansion is located on 153 acres of land in the Hudson Valley.

During the Gilded Age in the late 1800s, railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt was the richest man in America with a net worth of $100 million, or around $200 billion today — more money than the US Treasury had at the time.

After Cornelius' death in 1937, his son William Vanderbilt took over the businesses and doubled his father's fortune. He died the wealthiest private individual in the world in 1885.

William's son, Frederick Vanderbilt, and his wife, Louise, purchased a 153-acre Hyde Park property in 1895. Construction on the mansion began in 1895 and was finished three years later.

The mansion and its grounds are now owned by the National Park Service, which offers tours of the property. I visited the Vanderbilt mansion in February 2023 to see its opulent rooms for myself.

The Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York, was home to one of America's wealthiest families during the Gilded Age.

The Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Today, the Vanderbilt Mansion is owned and operated by the National Park Service.

The mansion is owned and operated by the National Park Service.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

I bought my tour ticket at the Pavilion Visitor Center, which once served as a guest house.

The welcome center.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The visitor center featured a Vanderbilt family tree and information about their other homes across the US.

The Vanderbilt family tree.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The tour began outside the Vanderbilt Mansion, where our park-ranger guide told us about the construction of the 45,000-square-foot home.

The Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

We then walked through the front door into an opulent entrance hall.

The ground floor in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The space was full of decorative tapestries, sculptures, and other artifacts.

The entrance hall in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Frederick used his office to manage the affairs of the Hyde Park estate.

Frederick Vanderbilt's office.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Frederick's den functioned as his private leisure space.

A study in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The dining room sat 18 people, which is believed to be the largest gathering the Vanderbilts hosted at Hyde Park.

The dining room in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

It also features a 400-year-old Persian carpet, one of the largest known Islamic carpets in the world.

The dining room in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

After dinner parties, guests would enjoy coffee and games of charades in the formal living room.

A parlor in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The ground floor also included an 18th-century-style French salon where Louise would occasionally have tea with guests or spend time alone.

A French salon in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

A grand staircase led to the second floor.

The grand staircase in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

An octagon-shaped balcony overlooked the entrance hall, with a similarly shaped skylight above.

The second floor of the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

In the winter months, when the Vanderbilts spent time in their New York City townhouse, the home's furniture was covered with linens.

A guest room in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Louise's bed was surrounded by a railing, as was often the case in royal bedchambers in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Louise Vanderbilt's bedroom.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

We concluded the tour in the basement, where servants would prepare the Vanderbilts' meals in the kitchen.

The kitchen in the Vanderbilt mansion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Stepping out onto the grounds of the mansion, I could see why the Vanderbilts relished their seasonal country home.

The view from the grounds of the Vanderbilt mansion in Hyde Park, New York.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

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