Beechwood (Vanderlip mansion)

Coordinates: 41°8′12″N 73°51′53″W / 41.13667°N 73.86472°W / 41.13667; -73.86472
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Beechwood
Part of a large white house
West elevation
Location1–3 Beechwood Way, Briarcliff Manor, New York 10510
Area33.3 acres (13.5 ha)[1]
Built1780
Part ofScarborough Historic District (ID84003433[2])
Added to NRHPSeptember 7, 1984
Map
Coordinates41°8′12″N 73°51′53″W / 41.13667°N 73.86472°W / 41.13667; -73.86472

Beechwood is a Hudson River estate in Scarborough-on-Hudson, in Briarcliff Manor, New York. The estate was most notably the home of Frank A. Vanderlip and his family, and is a contributing property to the Scarborough Historic District. The house and property were owned by the Vanderlip family from 1906 to 1979. The property is now a 37-condominium complex as the result of a development project that began in the 1980s.

Contemporarily, Beechwood is known for being a filming location of the 1970 film

Merchant Ivory film.[4][5] In June 2016, Money Man: Frank Vanderlip and the Birth of the Federal Reserve premiered there. The film documents Vanderlip's life and was filmed at Beechwood.[6]

History

House exterior
Northern portion of east elevation
Southern portion of east elevation, part of the two-story white house
North side and octagonal library, side and octagonal wing of the white house
Rear elevation, classically ornate side of the two-story white house

The first portion of the main residence dates to 1780, and includes the original kitchen's fireplace.

Matthias of the New Testament.[8]: 18  Matthews persuaded his followers to fund an expansion to the house, which he had named "Zion Hill". During this time, Isabella Baumfree (Sojourner Truth) was a housekeeper to him. After he spent the money his followers and Folger had given him, Matthews became violent. Further on, he was tried for murder, and acquitted for lack of evidence.[9] Matthews was later found guilty of assaulting his grown daughter, and he served a short jail term.[8]
: 19 

The property containing the mansion had been in the Remsen family for decades. Anna Remsen Webb was one of the inheritors of the estate. In the 1890s, her husband's half-brother

Federal style of the original but more ornate.[10]

Woodlea, although his wife prevented the family from moving, due to her preference of Beechwood over the grandiose Woodlea.[8]: 89  Vanderlip then collaborated with other wealthy estate owners to create Sleepy Hollow Country Club, which he sold Woodlea to in 1912. In 1924, Vanderlip purchased 57 acres (23 ha) of Rockwood Hall's riverfront property to add to his estate.[13] Actress-model Mary Louise Weller rented the estate in June 1973.[14] In 1979, Vanderlip descendants sold the Beechwood property.[10] Three condominiums were built during a transformation of the mansion in the 1980s. A later expansion resulted in a total of 37 condominiums on the property's 33.3 acres (13.5 ha).[15]

Description

Lawn
The garden's pergola
The garden's pergola
The garden's fountain and teahouse

Near the center of the property, at the southwest corner of Route 9 and Scarborough Station Road, sits the

Scarborough School, a progressive school which the Vanderlips established just south of the mansion in 1916.[1]

The 80-acre (32 ha) private parkland was designed by

Italianate garden with an alcove, fountain, and small pool with Wisteria-covered trellises. The lawns, formal gardens, and stone gazebo, erected by the Vanderlips, have been preserved and feature in wedding ceremonies that occasionally occur on the property.[15]

The Beechwood estate also contained a

squash court (no longer extant), and a white-stucco artist's studio named Beech Twig, which was home to author John Cheever, whose children attended the school on the property. The family rented the house until they moved to Ossining.[16] Descriptions of the building's interior closely match descriptions employed by Cheever in some short stories. In his youth, novelist Richard Yates also lived there, as well as other artists, writers, and composers. The estate's garage is located northeast of the mansion, and is a flat-roof, two-story concrete building dating to the early 1900s.[1]

  • A small white house
    Beechtwig, one of two guest houses
  • A large Art Deco garage building
    Beechwood's two-story seven-bay Art Deco garage
  • Gates to an unused driveway
    The former entranceway, designed by
    William Welles Bosworth
  • A large grey stone Ionic column and fence
    An Ionic column from 55 Wall Street

See also

  • Scarborough School

References

  1. ^ a b c d O'Brien, Austin (August 6, 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination form - Scarborough Historic District". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 4, 2015. See also: "Accompanying photographs".
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  3. ^ Stafford, Jeff. "House of Dark Shadows". Turner Classic Movies. Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  4. ISBN 0-394-17799-1
    . Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  5. ^ Madsen, Krista (February 19, 2014). "Movies Made Here: Recapping the Reviews of 2011". Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow Patch. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  6. ^ Reif, Carol (May 31, 2016). "Documentary About Federal Reserve's Architect Premieres In Briarcliff". Briarcliff Daily Voice. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  7. OCLC 24569093
    .
  8. ^
    OL 1884671M
    .
  9. ^ Gelard, Donna (2002). Explore Briarcliff Manor: A driving tour. Contributing Editor Elsie Smith; layout and typography by Lorraine Gelard; map, illustrations, and calligraphy by Allison Krasner. Briarcliff Manor Centennial Committee.
  10. ^
    ISBN 0-915585-14-6
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-671-02850-3
    . Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  12. OCLC 22957281
    .
  13. ^ "Vanderbilt Buys Piece of Rockefeller Land". The New York Times. January 6, 1924. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  14. ^ Burton, Anthony (June 9, 1973). "Naked Nymph Has a Quip for Copter Flip". New York Daily News. p. 3. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Brenner, Elsa (June 30, 2002). "If You're Thinking of Living In/Scarborough; Where Plutocrats Enjoyed a River View". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  16. ^ McGrath, Charles (February 27, 2009). "The First Suburbanite". The New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2014.

External links

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