Vanderbilt and Roosevelt Homes at Hyde Park, NY

With Bob and Linda Knighton we visited National Park sites on the Hudson River in Hyde Park, NY. The top picture is the Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt Mansion, 1898 on a 600 acre estate. It is a very ornate gilded age showplace considered by Vanderbilt to be a cottage in the country.

The middle picture is Val-Kill, the home where Eleanor Roosevelt lived and received national and international guests from 1945 until her death in 1962. She used these visits as an opportunity to discuss her humanitarian concerns with leader including John Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson, Nikita Khrushchev, Haile Selassie, and Nehru.

The picture at the bottom is the Hyde Park home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Although large and stately it is a home of the 20th century with understated decor left as it was in 1945 when FDR died.