Very Elegant Vanderbilt Estate

Last weekend, my mom and one of my aunts came out to visit me at Bard. We did a lot of local wandering, but the most noteworthy place we visited was without a doubt the Vanderbilt Estate in Hyde Park, NY. It's the smallest of the Vanderbilt homes scattered along the East Coast, but what it lacked in size (it is still a pretty sizeable home, with three stories above ground and two below) it certainly made up for in elegance. What makes this estate so fun to visit is that it was donated to the government with all its original furnishings, so you really feel as though you've stepped back in time to about a century ago (except for the presence of the other tourists, of course). I personally felt like I'd been transported into a novel by Edith Wharton, and I mean that in the best way. But enough of what I thought; I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

the estate from outside

the foyer

the ladies' salon

a guest bedroom (I believe)

one of the bathrooms
(pretty snazzy plumbing for the turn of the 20th century)

Mrs. Vanderbilt's dressing room

Part of the servants' quarters... this is in the basement!
(That's a pretty nice window for a basement, huh?)

The kitchen--also in the "basement."