Bucket List: Kykuit

Bucket List: Kykuit: A trip to Kykuit is more than a house tour on steroids. It’s a mini trip to MOMA, Versailles, Storm King and a classic car museum all rolled into one. The Rockefeller footprint in Westchester County ranges from Kykuit and the Union Church of Pocantico Hills, to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and the Rockefeller State Preserve that has some of the best hiking trails around. Tapping into the grand gifts the Rockefellers left behind should be on everyone’s bucket list. Starting with a trip to Kykuit.

This is why they call Armonk houses McMansions

Kykuit is the six-story (six story!) stone house that was home to four generations of Rockefellers. This 400-acre hilltop estate, set at an elevation of 500 feet, offers panoramic views of the Hudson River. It is almost universally rated the top cultural attraction in the lower Hudson Valley.

John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil, bought the land in 1894 to serve as a spring and fall retreat. He built a modest home there ten years later. In 1911 John D. Rockefeller Jr. re-designed the home. He added its neoclassical façade and the Oceanus fountain at the entrance. And with that he turned Kykuit into a grand mansion “worthy of his father,” the richest man in America.

New York Governor and Vice President of the United States, Nelson Rockefeller and his wife Margaretta “Happy” Rockefeller (you would be too) and their children was the last generation of Rockefellers to live at Kykuit. It is now a historic site of the National Trust. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund maintains and operates Kykuit as a center for its philanthropic programs. Historic Hudson Valley operates public programs there.

When we were there

A theme of our guided tour was John D. Rockefeller’s efforts to avoid ostentation in the design of the house. The classical-revival style interior designed by Ogden Codman Jr. reflected JDR’s strict Baptist upbringing. In his house smoking, drinking and dancing were not allowed. That’s why you’ll find no ballroom upstairs or grand staircase in the entry at Kykuit.

The mansion reflects the lifestyles of many generations of Rockefellers, offering an interesting historical perspective on the family and America in the twentieth century. As you pass through the rooms, the classical influences of JDR’s Gilded Age opens up to the more libertine affects of the mid-century Rockefellers.

The modest foyer flanked with Ming Dynasty ceramics segues into the airy back rooms. There you’ll find amazing views of the Hudson River and Modern Art on the walls. The home transforms from a turn of the century sanctuary for the industrialist to a meetinghouse for Nelson, who as Vice President of the United States entertained Ronald Reagan and Anwar Sadat. (Don’t miss the extensive collection of imported China that would put Nancy Reagan to shame.)

SoHo on the Hudson

Kykuit’s subterranean museum adds a touch of SoHo to your standard house tour. The Rockefeller’s love for twentieth century art began with John D. Rockefeller Jr’s. wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who was a founder of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Nelson inherited Abby’s love for contemporary art and brought more of it into the house. By the time you get to the museums on the lower floor you’ll be seeing Andy Warhol portraits of Nelson and his wife. Clearly the game had changed in America and for the Rockefeller clan.

Nelson’s art collection, that includes works by Picasso, Warhol and Chagall, rivals that of a small city museum. His commissioned tapestries of some of Picasso’s greatest paintings highlight it. They include Picasso’s Three Musicians, Girl With a Mandolin, Night Fishing at Antibes and Harlequin.

The real money is in the Gardens

The Rockefeller’s built Kykuit for a mere $1.1 million dollars – Monopoly money compared to the $35 million that it would cost to construct today. But they saved the big bucks for the gardens that ran up a bill of $1.3 million or $39 million in today’s dollars. And it shows. The estate’s gardens and terraces, designed by William Welles Bosworth, are regarded as one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts gardens in the United States.

The classical Italian, French and English gardens are a cerebral mix of breath-taking site lines, beautiful plantings, and world-class sculpture. They include a Morning Garden, Grand Staircase, Italian Garden, Japanese Garden, Japanese-inspired brook and teahouse, large Oceanus fountain, Temple of Aphrodite, loggia and a rose garden. The range of sculptures in the garden also reflects the estate’s migration from classical to modern influences. You’ll see large classical figures of Hercules as well as Nelson Rockefeller’s collection of 20^th century sculptures. Including works by Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, Louise Nevelson, and many more.

The Coach Barn – Here’s one for dad and the kids

If you’ve read this far and still aren’t convinced dad’s on board – trust us he’ll love the Coach Barn. The Coach Barn houses Rockefeller’s collection of horse drawn carriages and classic cars. The collection features city buggies from the early 20th century. As well as racing carriages the Rockefellers put to the test on the trails at what is now Rockefeller State Park. (Another WTD Bucket List item but more on that in another article.) The automobile collection showcases more than a half century of classic cars. From a 1907 Ford Model 8 to a 1966 Datsun 1600 Roadster. There’s a Crane Simplex Tourer from 1918. And a 1939 Cadillac and a Chrysler limousine with Governor plates from 1959. Isn’t that special!

Add on a trip to the Union Church of Pocantico Hills

The Union Church of Pocantico Hills is nearby on a parcel of land donated from the Rockefeller’s original 400-acres. Nelson Rockefeller commissioned ten stained glass windows by Marc Chagall and Henry Matisse that you will find inside. Check it out while you are there or you’ll never live it down!

What To Eat: Stone Barns Café and Blue Hill at Stone Barns

It’s just a short ride over to Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture if you want to grab a nosh after the tour. Former Chase Manhattan Bank Chairman David Rockefeller and his daughter Peggy Dulany created Stone Barns on 80 acres of family land. Pick up a latte and some baked goods or a light snack like their pressed duck Panini and eat in the courtyard.

If you take a late afternoon tour make a reservation at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, chef Dan Barber’s homage to the future of food. The New York Times gave it an Excellent rating in 2014. Don’t be surprised if they take you into the kitchen for an appetizer while the cooks prepare your entrée.

Tours of the Kykuit house and gardens are offered Thursdays through Sundays from May to mid-November and on Memorial Day and Labor Day. Tours operate daily in October except Tuesdays. You can purchase tickets online www.hudsonvalley.org, by calling 914-366-6900 or at the Kykuit Visitor Center at Philipsburg Manor, 381 North Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow.

Images courtesy of Historic Hudson Valley, Jaime Martorano and Bryan Haeffele.

More What To Do: In & Around Town

Sign Up for the What To Do Newsletter … carefully curated for townies, foodies, culture-vultures & locavores