ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. LOCATION
The Estates District Scenic Area of Statewide Significance (SASS) consists of the Hudson River and its eastern shorelands in the Towns of Germantown and Clermont, Columbia County, and in the Towns of Red Hook, Rhinebeck and Hyde Park and the Villages of Tivoli and Rhinebeck in Dutchess County. The western half of the Hudson River lies in the Towns of Saugerties, Ulster, Esopus and Lloyd, the Village of Saugerties and the City of Kingston in Ulster County.
Cheviot Road in Cheviot Landing, Town of Germantown, constitutes the landward portion of the northern boundary which continues due west across the Hudson River to meet the western boundary. The SASS extends approximately 27 miles to south of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site. Its southern boundary lies 500 feet to the south of the Maritje Kill and follows the configuration of the Maritje Kill, then crosses the Hudson due west. The western boundary is the mean high water line on the west bank of the Hudson River. The eastern boundary follows NY Route 9G in Germantown, Clermont and Red Hook; NY Route 9G, Hook Road, Old Post Road and NY Route 9 in Rhinebeck; and Old Post Road and NY Route 9 in Hyde Park.
Consult the Estates District SASS map for SASS boundaries.
II. DESCRIPTION
The Estates District SASS is comprised of 29 subunits:
ED-1 Clermont, ED-2 Clermont/Tivoli Estate Farmland, ED-3 Tivoli, ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood, ED-5 Tivoli Bays, ED-6 Bard College, ED-7 Annandale-on-Hudson, ED-8 Barrytown, ED-9 Astor Point, ED-10 Astor Cove, ED-11 River Road, ED-12 Mount Rutsen, ED-13 Rhinebeck Center, ED-14 Rhinecliff Road, ED-15 Rhinecliff, ED-16 Rhinecliff Woods, ED-17 Mill Road Meadows, ED-18 Vanderburgh Cove, ED-19 Dinsmore Golf Course, ED-20 Mills State Park, ED-21 Staatsburg, ED-22 Norrie Heights, ED-23 Norrie State Park, ED-24 Vanderbilt Mansion, ED-25 Hyde Park Center, ED-26 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Estate Entrance and ED-27 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site.
Together the subunits constitute a landscape of national and international significance which evolved through the development of a rich cultural heritage in an outstanding natural setting. As its name implies, the Estates District SASS is dominated by over twenty major and numerous minor historic estates and the Hudson River toward which they are oriented. The beauty of the region's landscape, including views of the Hudson and the distant Catskill Mountains, has been celebrated for generations, most notably in the paintings of the Hudson River School, the first indigenous art movement in the United States.
The Hudson River in this area is a tidal estuary whose flow reverses at high tide. The Hudson has served many functions in both pre-historic and historic times which continue in the present day -- transportation corridor, trade and migration route, water supply and nurturer of the creatures, both human and animal, which make their home in or along the river. The Hudson corridor is also part of the Atlantic flyway which brings migrating species to the numerous coves, flats and marshes.
The scenic environs and the bustling commerce generated by the Hudson River's presence have successfully coexisted for centuries. Archeological evidence has been uncovered of native shoreland settlements, and canoes were the first ferries. The native American communities called the river Mukheakunnuk, "river that flows two ways."
From colonial times this scenic landscape has attracted landed gentry, industrial magnates and historic figures who built lavish mansions. Among those who established their country seats in this area are Frederick Vanderbilt, Archibald Rogers, John Jacob Astor, Ogden Mills, Jacob Ruppert, Levi P. Morton, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, Morgan Lewis, James Roosevelt, Franklin H. Delano, Edward Livingston, Mrs. Richard Montgomery, General DePeyser, General Armstrong and others. In the hamlets and villages is found the vernacular architecture of the people who worked the land, maintained the mansions and were employed in the commercial ventures. Evidence of the bustle of earlier times is found in the remains of old docks and bridges and overgrown roads and trails.
In 1697 a single land grant called the Great Nine Partners patent incorporated approximately 149,000 acres or one-third of what is now Dutchess County. Since there were no roads at the time, the Hudson River provided the only route for transporting the lumber and furs harvested on the land. The partners were guaranteed equal access to the Hudson through the division of the shorelands into nine equal lots. The early estates such as Clermont and the Kip-Beekman house were sited close to the Hudson to facilitate the transport of agricultural products via water to the urban markets.
By the early 1800s the natural landscape became the focal point; and the main houses, sited on rolling hills and bluffs overlooking the Hudson River, were oriented to take advantage of panoramic views. The environs of the earlier houses were altered and redesigned in the romantic style, an environmentally sensitive movement that originated in New York State and provided the foundation for national trends in landscape design and the 19th century urban parks movement.
The estates and manor houses were designed by renowned architects and landscape architects including Richard Morris Hunt, Stanford White, Calvert Vaux, Andrew Jackson Downing, Charles Platt, Hans Jacob Ehlers, Alexander Jackson Davis and the Olmsted Brothers. The region has traditionally been, and largely remains, a shining example of how the human hand can carefully and creatively enhance the beauty of a natural landscape through inspired design and the highest standards of construction, maintenance and preservation. The historically harmonious blend of the built environment with the natural setting and the remarkable lack of major discordant features, despite extensive contemporary development, has yielded a remarkably well-preserved and visually unified historic landscape of both national and international significance. The numerous coves, islands, marshes and creek beds compose a varied shoreline of great interest, while the vegetative cover of forest, pasture, orchards, gardens and expansive lawns enhances the rolling topography and frames views.
Punctuating the estate landscapes and gracing the hamlet and village streetscapes are fine examples of period vernacular architecture, comprising the former homes of tenant farmers and independent farmers, mariners and storekeepers. One room schoolhouses now adapted to other uses, inns, commercial buildings and ruins of dams at former mill sites give further evidence of the history of the area and provide focal points in interior views. The fact that so much of the fabric of the natural and cultural landscape remains is unusual and serves to enrich the individual viewer's experience of the landscape by providing evocative elements to which the he or she can relate.
III. AESTHETIC SIGNIFICANCE
The Estates District SASS is of statewide aesthetic significance by virtue of the combined aesthetic values of its landscape character and its uniqueness, public accessibility and public recognition.
There exists in the SASS variety as well as unity of major landscape components and striking contrasts between lines, forms, textures and colors in the landscape. The collection of large estates with their designed landscapes, the many undisturbed natural features and the significant public historic sites and architectural treasures render this SASS unique in the Hudson River coastal area, the State and the nation. The Hudson River and its influence on the historical development of the area constitute the major unifying features. The SASS is generally free of discordant features, evidence of the strong conservation ethic operating there.
Although private estates cover most of the eastern shore of the Hudson River, the Estates District SASS is publicly accessible to a great extent, both visually and physically, from the Hudson River, from public streets and highways and from significant national and State parks and sanctuaries.
Because of the attraction these facilities create and because the SASS has been the subject of treatises and art works, surveys and designations at both the State and national level, the Estates District Scenic Area is well recognized by the public for its aesthetic values.
A. Landscape Character
1. Variety
The Estates District SASS exhibits an unusual variety of major components. The landform consists of rolling topography behind steep bluffs which drop 150 feet to the Hudson River. Mt. Rutsen, the highest point in the SASS at 350 feet above sea level, rises above the generally level terrain which surrounds it.
There is a variety of water features which contribute a myriad of linear elements to the landscape composition. The Hudson River is the dominant water body, its shoreline configuration changing throughout the SASS. Creeks, the principal ones being Stony Creek, Saw Kill, the Mudder Kill, the Landsman Kill, Fallsburgh Brook, Staatsburg Creek, the Indian Kill, Bard Rock Creek, Crum Elbow Creek and the Maritje Kill, meander through the landscape and cut deep ravines with waterfalls, particularly as they near the Hudson. The shoreline of the Hudson is characterized by coves, marshes and scattered islands along the eastern shore, Magdalen Island and Cruger Island in Red Hook being the two largest. When seen from a distance, however, the east bank shoreline appears unbroken because railroad causeways bridge the natural indentations and transform the east bank into a single fluid line.
The Hudson is alternately narrow and broad. It deepens to wind around points of land such as Crum Elbow and then spreads thinly over shallows and tidal flats. The varied depths influence the landscape at the river's edge, governing, along with the railroad causeway, the size and location of tidal marshes as well as the surface texture. In the areas of broad expanse the water is of greater visual consequence, while narrow sections of the river such as Crum Elbow cause each opposite shore to appear in certain perspectives as if not separated by water at all.
The coves vary in size, but all present an intimate waterscape rich with flora and fauna. Tivoli North and South Bays provide the broadest expanse of marsh vegetation interlaced with waterways. Other coves of note are Vanderburgh Cove and Roosevelt Cove. Because fill was used to form the railroad bed, some of the marshes were created when the causeways were built.
The rich variety of vegetative cover gives a textural diversity to the SASS and enhances both its scenic character and its ecological value. The sylvan corridors of the rural roads screen new development and maintain the scenic quality of these avenues of public access to the SASS. Specimen trees are found in estate gardens and along pasture edges, while mature street trees grace many hamlet and village streets. The pastoral countryside includes forests of both deciduous and coniferous species, cropland, pasture and orchards. Steep forested bluffs 100 feet high along the Hudson River operate as a buffer between upland development and the river, maintaining the corridor's rural character.
Land use within the SASS reflects the initial large land grants that were farmed by tenants and residents of the adjacent compact hamlets. Several estates are preserved as historic sites and parks, while others remain in private ownership. The forms of their stately manor houses and great lawns punctuate the forested river corridor, while their extensive stone walls and handsome gateways bejewel the rural roads and tease the imagination of the traveler as to what lies beyond these estate guardians.
Denser development is generally concentrated in villages and hamlets, and distinct edges are usually evident between the pastoral landscape and the settled centers. The Hudson River is regaining its former level of importance as a transportation and recreation corridor, drawing people to the waterfront and stimulating the revitalization of historic river landings.
Farming continues to be a major, though rapidly diminishing industry in the area. A significant portion of the SASS contains prime agricultural soils, and some farms have been incorporated into agricultural districts. The working landscape contributes texture and color as well as expansive open space to the landscape, background for the forms of the attendant structures such as barns, stone walls and fences which provide accents of color and form to the pastoral composition. In some parts of the SASS 100% of the land is in open space, covered by contrasting forests, wetlands, pastures and other vegetation.
The SASS exhibits a number of positive ephemeral characteristics: sleek thoroughbreds grazing on the horse farms, observable wildlife activities in the marshes, the seasonal operations of the working pastoral landscapes, the change in texture and color of the Hudson River's surface under various weather and light conditions, and the magnificent sunsets that tinge the Hudson and its marshes and silhouette the Catskill Mountains within the panoramic views to the west.
The interplay of water and land, the stately reserve of the tasteful manor houses, the friendly scale of the hamlets and villages, the teasing glimpses of intimate views framed by gardens and specimen trees and the breathtaking panoramic vistas up, down and across the Hudson River combine to make an ever intriguing setting for the commerce of daily life.
2. Unity
The Estates District SASS is unified by the dominance of the large estates, their orientation toward the Hudson River and the common history of the intertwined natural and cultural landscapes. Most of the estate landscapes were designed in the American Romantic Period and exhibit similar patterns and progressions. The main houses with their immediate environs of lawns and gardens are focused on the Hudson and create rhythmic openings in the woodlands along the river's corridor. The stone walls and gatehouses of the estates establish a pattern that provides a strong sense of place along the winding rural roads of the inland areas.
The villages, hamlets and landings were established either to take advantage of the river's commerce or to service the estates. Although neither the Hudson nor the estates is the economic center of the area today, the pattern of development remains essentially unchanged with clear edges still existing between the thickly settled areas and the surrounding pastoral working landscape and forested open spaces. The farmland which surrounds the estates was once a part of them, and the connection between the commercial and residential centers and their environs is still evident, providing a model of harmonious human interaction with the natural landscape.
The Hudson River is the connector, stretching the length of the SASS, a necklace sometimes calm and blue, sometimes grey and heaving, its linear shoreline leading the eye through the composition of the panoramic views. The Hudson carved its corridor out of the surrounding upland and is the destination of the creeks which drain the upland. Its waters encircle the islands, alternately cover and reveal the flats and marshes, reflect the images of the forested bluffs, support the migrating waterfowl and carry the vessels that are guided by the lighthouses and call at the landings.
In views to the west the river sparkles behind the trees along the shore, changing color with the weather and the sunsets and influencing through this reflected light the tonality and mood of most landscape compositions. The Hudson is the unchanging element, the unifier, which influenced the topography and history of the SASS in the past and continues to dominate its physical and cultural landscape.
3. Contrast
The Estates District SASS is replete with both physical and cultural contrasts. There is first the contrast between water and land, the broad expanse of the Hudson juxtaposed with its forested slopes and estate lawns, the absorptive texture of the overhanging trees antithetical to the reflective surface of the river. The intimate water spaces of creek ravines, coves and marsh streams invite visitors, in contrast with the less tame Hudson which can intimidate the neophyte boater.
Inland, there are contrasts between land uses and the elements they contribute to the landscape. Perpendiculars contrast with horizontals in the forms of dense deciduous forests and specimen trees which stand tall along the edges of rolling pastures and appear as sentinels among their weaving folds. The sweeping lawns of the estates and the exotic species of their ornamental gardens contrast with the wildness of second growth forests. Grand houses stand out against the natural landscape and provide a scale by which to appreciate the extent of the estate grounds and their viewshed. The land folds are as drapery in a still life, providing a softly textured and colored background for the sharper architectural details of the structural forms.
Both grand and intimate views are available in the Estates District SASS. Panoramic views from the SASS to the west are dominated by the Hudson River and the distant Catskill Mountains, which loom over the western horizon and are visible from throughout most of the SASS. The designed landscapes within the SASS create more intimate views, framing these views and providing focal points and shaping more controlled compositions. Other internal views, particularly from local roads, range from intimate glimpses of estate edges and streetscapes to broad sweeps of pasture. The winding rural roads weave their way through the landscape, unfolding new compositions at each bend.
4. Freedom from Discordant Features
There are few discordant features in the Estates District SASS. Both the natural and the cultural landscape are well preserved and maintained. Historic development patterns have been continued in most cases, and vegetation provides effective natural buffers between historic landscapes and new development. Some strip development is located in isolated patches along the major highways, however. The railroad tracks along the Hudson River are discordant but not overwhelming since the tracks are of insufficient scale to affect panoramic views and are often not visible in views from the bluffs at the river's edge. The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge over the Hudson River also introduces an engineered element into the primarily natural landscape, but its influence on the scenic character of the SASS as a whole is minimal.
B. Uniqueness
The Estates District SASS, a major collection of significant estates with the integrity of their original settings largely preserved, is unique. Some estates have become museums or institutional properties, but most still serve their original function as country seats. The companion land uses of working farms, river landings and villages remain essentially intact.
The activities of modern life coexist in a landscape with its constitutive historic and scenic elements conserved. Designed landscapes which spawned the American Landscape Movement that subsequently spread across the country remain, as does the work of renowned architects, some of whom were ingenious innovators in the architectural history of the nation, including Calvert Vaux and Stanford White. Their works have earned for a majority of the SASS a National Historic Landmark District designation.
The fact that the land uses of the working pastoral landscape remain visually distinct from the commercial and residential centers is uncommon in the face of significant development pressure that usually yields suburban sprawl. Because the historic development pattern has been continued, the original interdependence of the hamlets and river landings with the estates and the Hudson River is still evident.
C. Public Accessibility
The Estates District SASS is moderately accessible to the public because most of the land is in private ownership and the railroad tracks along the Hudson River effectively cut off most access between the Hudson River and its shorelands. A number of former estates, however, are owned by the federal and State government and operated as parks open to the public. These provide important visual and physical access to the Hudson and its shorelands and foster public understanding and appreciation of the history and beauty of the SASS. These public properties are the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Sites, Clermont State Historic Site and Mills-Norrie State Park. Other sites operated by non-profit organizations, such as Wilderstein and Montgomery Place, as well as some quasi-public institutions, such as Bard College and the Linwood Retreat, provide additional, though more limited access.
The Hudson River provides visual access to the entire western portion of the SASS with views of the coves, marshes and estate buildings and grounds on the east bank of the river. The Hudson is regaining its former importance as a transportation corridor, although the presence of the railroad tracks severely limits docking opportunities, increasing the importance of the existing landings. Rhinebeck Town Landing in Rhinecliff, accessible via a bridge over the railroad tracks, provides docking for transient vessels and is a popular boat launch and viewing area.
Because the railroad lies inland from the Hudson River within Norrie State Park, Norrie Point and the marina in the park provide docking and slip rentals. Small boats can also be launched into Tivoli North and South Bays from a State car-top boat launch accessible from NY Route 9G in Red Hook. The bays and much of their associated shorelands constitute the National Estuarine Sanctuary and Research Reserve and are State-owned. These extensive holdings provide public access to one of the most significant marshes on the Hudson and to Cruger's Island.
As passenger vessels become more common on the Hudson, more members of the public other than recreational boaters will be able to view the Hudson and its shorelands from the river, including views of estate properties not otherwise accessible, thus increasing public understanding of the landscape's significance.
The railroad tracks, although minor discordant features in the landscape, provide visual access to the Estates District SASS. Since the bluffs along the tracks block views in most cases to the estates and other upland areas, the views from the trains are primarily of the Hudson River, its coves and creek mouths, islands, lighthouses, wildlife and river traffic.
Municipal waterfront parks provide additional public access to the Hudson - visual access only at the Hyde Park Railroad Station and both visual and physical access at the Rhinebeck Town Landing at Rhinecliff. In addition, village-owned land in Tivoli provides visual and physical at- grade access to the Hudson, although the land is not officially developed as a park. At Barrytown there is an above-grade vehicular bridge on a public street.
The Hyde Park Trail, an initial segment of which is now open along the Hudson River between the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Sites with a second segment planned to connect with the Mills-Norrie State Park, traverses private property through easement arrangements and provides visual access to the Hudson River. As this trail is extended and others are developed elsewhere, public access to the interior landscape of the SASS will increase.
Ferncliff Forest in Rhinebeck, which includes Mt. Rutsen, is a private nature preserve open to the public for hiking. An observation tower at the top of the forested knob could provide panoramic views of the SASS if it were repaired.
State highways and county and local roads provide visual access to the edges and interior of the SASS. Dutchess County has included many roads in the county's network of designated Historic Tourways. Maps for self-drive tours are available from the county.
D. Public Recognition
The Estates District SASS is highly recognized by the public for its scenic and historic values. The landscape and panoramic views of the SASS were frequently the subject matter for artists of the 19th century Hudson River School of Painting, the first indigenous art movement in the United States and of international renown. Many scenes appearing in their works remain relatively unchanged.
The scenic quality of the Estates District SASS is recognized under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law through designation of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the following Scenic Roads:
1. In Red Hook, Santage Road from its junction with Woods Road to its junction with Stony Brook Street;
2. In Red Hook, Stony Brook Street from its junction with Santage Road to its junction with NY Route 9G;
3. In Red Hook, River Road and Annandale Road;
4. In Rhinebeck, Rhinecliff, Morton and South Mill Roads and parts of the road also known as County Route 103;
5. In Rhinebeck, NY Route 199 from its junction with NY Route 9G west to the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge;
6. In Hyde Park, NY Route 9 from the southern border of the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site northerly 2.3 miles;
7. In Hyde park, Old Post Road in the hamlet of Staatsburg for its entire length between its intersections with NY Route 9;
8. In Hyde Park, Golf Course Road in the Dinsmore Golf Course;
9. In Hyde Park, Norrie State Park Roads from the entrance to the park to both Norrie Point and the camping area.
Many roads in the area have also been designated by Dutchess County as Historic Tourways.
For more detailed information concerning the designed landscapes of the estates, the Management Plan for the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District should be consulted.
Most of the SASS is included in the thirty two square mile Hudson River National Historic Landmark District designated in 1990 as the nation's largest landmark district. In addition, the SASS contains three historic districts listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places - The Clermont Estates Historic District, the Sixteen Mile Historic District and the Town of Rhinebeck Multi-Resource District. Most of the estates included in these designations would individually meet the criteria for listing on the State and National Registers, but they gain additional significance from their grouping along the Hudson River.
The Estates District SASS is also well recognized by the general public as the location of two National Historic Sites, the Vanderbilt Mansion and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home, both in Hyde Park. Also frequented by the public are the Mills-Norrie State Park in Staatsburg and the Clermont State Historic Site in Clermont. These public properties attract a large number of visitors each year.
During the tenure of President Franklin D. Roosevelt the SASS was the destination of international dignitaries. President Roosevelt welcomed world leaders to his home in Hyde Park, often greeting them or seeing them off at the Hyde Park Railroad Station. Photographs recording their visits are in the collection of the Presidential Library at the F.D.R. Home National Historic Site and at the Hyde Park Railroad Station Museum.
In addition to the public properties, other estates are being preserved and opened to the public, increasing the number of visitors attracted to the SASS. Montgomery Place in Red Hook, operated by Historic Hudson Valley, is open to the public. Wilderstein, in Rhinebeck, owned by Wilderstein Preservation and undergoing restoration, is open to the public on a limited basis.
Several educational and religious institutions have been developed on former estates and provide limited access to the SASS. Among them are Bard College and the Linwood Retreat.
IV. IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Whether within or outside a designated Scenic Area of Statewide Significance (SASS) all proposed actions subject to review under federal and State coastal acts or a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program must be assessed to determine whether the action could affect a scenic resource and whether the action would be likely to impair the scenic beauty of the scenic resource.
Policy 24 provides that when considering a proposed action, agencies shall first determine whether the action could affect a scenic resource of statewide significance. The determination would involve:
(1) a review of the coastal area map to ascertain if it shows an identified scenic resource which could be affected by the proposed action, and
(2) a review of the types of activities proposed to determine if they would be likely to impair the scenic beauty of an identified resource.
Impairment includes:
(i) the irreversible modification of geologic forms; the destruction or removal of vegetation; the modification, destruction, or removal of structures, whenever the geologic forms, vegetation or structures are significant to the scenic quality of an identified resource; and
(ii) the addition of structures which because of siting or scale will reduce identified views or which because of scale, form, or materials will diminish the scenic quality of an identified resource.
Policy 24 sets forth certain siting and facility-related guidelines to be used to achieve the policy, recognizing that each development situation is unique and that the guidelines will have to be applied accordingly. The guidelines are set forth below, together with comments regarding their particular applicability to this Scenic Area of Statewide Significance. In applying these guidelines to agricultural land it must be recognized that the overall scenic quality of the landscape is reliant on an active and viable agricultural industry. This requires that farmers be allowed the flexibility to farm the land in an economically viable fashion, incorporating modern techniques, changes in farm operation and resultant changes in farm structures. Policy 24 guidelines include:
SITING STRUCTURES AND OTHER DEVELOPMENT SUCH AS HIGHWAYS, POWER LINES, AND SIGNS BACK FROM SHORELINES OR IN OTHER INCONSPICUOUS LOCATIONS TO MAINTAIN THE ATTRACTIVE QUALITY OF THE SHORELINE AND TO RETAIN VIEWS TO AND FROM THE SHORE;
COMMENT: The most notable of views available in the SASS are the panoramic views which include lawns or fields, the Hudson River and its shoreline and the distant Catskill Mountains. The siting of structures in a manner that causes them to intrude upon, block, alter the composition of or introduce discordant features into these views would impair the scenic quality of the SASS.
Interior views are less well known but equally contribute to the aesthetic significance of the landscape. They tend to be views down winding rural roads and carriage trails and glimpses of small clearings framed by vegetation. The essential character of these views is of pastoral or forested landscapes. If commercial or industrial structures or large scale residential structures were introduced into these views, they would constitute discordant features, impairing the scenic quality of the views and, consequently, the scenic quality of the SASS.
CLUSTERING OR ORIENTING STRUCTURES TO RETAIN VIEWS, SAVE OPEN SPACE AND PROVIDE VISUAL ORGANIZATION TO A DEVELOPMENT;
COMMENT: Two types of views are found in the SASS. These are 1) panoramic views, generally including fields or lawns, the Hudson River and its western shorelands and 2) intimate views of a pastoral or forested nature. If care were not taken to cluster and orient structures to retain these views, discordant features would be introduced into the views, reducing their scenic quality and impairing the scenic quality of the SASS.
If agriculture were not to remain as a viable industry, a significant amount of open space could be lost. Measures which stimulate the accelerated appreciation of farmland could lead to the loss of farmland in the SASS, to the extent that pressure on farmers to sell farms for residential and commercial development increases. Loss of the working farm landscape to other uses would reduce the unifying element of the pastoral landscape and eliminate some of the ephemeral elements of the SASS, thus impairing the scenic quality of the SASS. The failure to cluster new development at the edges of fields and adjacent to existing population centers rather than allow it to sprawl across the fields would obliterate the sharp edges between settled areas and open space, affecting the variety and contrast of the landscape composition and impairing the scenic quality of the SASS.
Other types of open space in the SASS include estate lawns and forests. The latter provide an opportunity to screen new development on the estates. Failure to preserve forested areas and to
cluster structures within them in order to retain the open lawns of the estates would reduce open space and contrast in the landscape, impairing the scenic quality of the SASS. Failure to maintain the forests and use them to screen new development would eliminate the contrast between the open lawns and forested areas and impair the scenic quality of the SASS. Siting of structures in the lawn areas would alter the composition of the views, reduce open space and, in some cases, block views in the SASS, a significant component of its scenic quality.
The forested shorelands also contribute open space to the landscape composition and provide an opportunity to screen new development. Failure to retain the forests to the maximum extent practicable and screen new development within them would change the open space character of the Hudson River corridor, reduce the amount of texture and contrast of the SASS, impair the visual organization and verdant character of the Hudson River corridor and impair the scenic quality of the SASS.
The expanse of the Hudson River is itself a significant open space element in the SASS. Its ever changing surface provides a variety of contrasts with its forested shores and settled landings. The siting of extensive dock and mooring facilities would reduce the open space of the Hudson and the alternately tossing and reflective surface of the water. This would reduce the variety and contrast of the landscape, impairing the scenic quality of the SASS.
INCORPORATING SOUND, EXISTING STRUCTURES (ESPECIALLY HISTORIC BUILDINGS) INTO THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT SCHEME;
COMMENT: The historic structures in the SASS relate the story of the cultural landscape as well as contribute to the landscape and provide focal points in views. Architectural gems such as the Hudson River lighthouses along the western shore, estate and farm structures, streetscapes and specimen trees are examples of focal points. Other cultural elements include the estate houses and their designed landscape environs including the expansive lawns; other estate features such as gateways and entrance roads, historic barns and stone walls; historic streetscapes in the villages and river landings; and the vernacular village and farm architecture reflecting earlier agricultural practices. Failure to preserve these historic structures through incorporation in an overall development scheme would alter the cultural landscape, reduce variety and contrast of the landscape and eliminate focal points from views, impairing the scenic quality of the SASS. Loss of historic structures would also reduce the visible story of the landscape, reducing its symbolic value and reducing public recognition of that history and value.
REMOVING DETERIORATED AND/OR DEGRADING ELEMENTS;
COMMENT: Some historic elements are deteriorated, such as stone walls and certain historic structures, but removal of these important landscape components would result in the loss of important cultural features and focal points in views as well as reduce the variety and contrast of the landscape, thus impairing the SASS. Rehabilitation rather than removal is the more appropriate action for historic structures.
The SASS is generally free of discordant features. The railroad tracks are discordant when they figure prominently in the landscape, however. This occurs primarily when the viewer is close to the tracks. Therefore, avoiding the application of herbicides in the railroad corridor which renders vegetation unsightly or failure to control scrub growth along the corridor to maintain views, can impair the scenic quality of the SASS. In addition, leaching of other pollutants from the tracks into the adjacent marshes, if such leaching were to adversely affect the viability and visual character of the marsh vegetation, would change the color and texture of the marsh and impair the scenic quality of the SASS. This loss of vegetation and marsh viability could result in a reduction of wildlife populations, reducing ephemeral elements of the SASS and impairing its scenic quality.
Bulkheads and docks in the river landings are evidencing signs of deterioration, and some waterfront areas are cluttered with abandoned structures and discarded materials. Failure to invest in the river landings, such as Rhinecliff, Barrytown and Tivoli, through repair of bulkheads and docks may increase deterioration to the extent that the bulkheads and docks become discordant features.
Rehabilitation of these docks has the added advantage of preserving opportunities to increase public access to the SASS in the future via passenger vessels and to reinforce the historic ties to the Hudson River. Increased tourism could support the continued economic health of the public and private attractions as well as of the landings and community centers, thus maintaining the character and good repair of significant scenic elements of the SASS.
MAINTAINING OR RESTORING THE ORIGINAL LAND FORM, EXCEPT WHEN CHANGES SCREEN UNATTRACTIVE ELEMENTS AND/OR ADD APPROPRIATE INTEREST;
COMMENT: The shoreline of the Hudson River is characterized by coves, marshes and scattered islands which contribute to the variety and contrast of the SASS and the interest of an undulating shoreline in many locations. Meandering streams cross the upland fields and rush through ravines as they approach the river. Actions and development which would alter the configuration of the shorelines or the relationship between water and land elements would impair the scenic quality of the SASS.
The bluffs along the Hudson River are highly erodible and subject to slumping and sliding. Their wooded character in certain portions of the Hudson River corridor significantly contributes to its scenic quality. Failure to maintain the undisturbed nature of the bluffs and their woodlands would alter the natural character of the landscape and the river corridor and impair the scenic quality of the SASS.
The topography behind the bluffs is generally rolling with some promontories. Alteration of this underlying form would diminish a unifying element of the landscape and impair the scenic quality of the SASS.
MAINTAINING OR ADDING VEGETATION TO PROVIDE INTEREST, ENCOURAGE THE PRESENCE OF WILDLIFE, BLEND STRUCTURES INTO THE SITE, AND OBSCURE UNATTRACTIVE ELEMENT, EXCEPT WHEN SELECTIVE CLEARING CREATES VIEWS OF COASTAL WATERS;
COMMENT: The variety, type and arrangement of vegetation in the SASS contributes significantly to the scenic quality. From marshes to wooded slopes to forests, to gardens and working farms, the natural and designed landscapes exhibit a wide range of color and texture. Vegetation screens discordant features, defines edges, softens harsh contrasts, frames views and provides focal points such as specimen trees. The wildlife supported by the various vegetation constitutes ephemeral effects on the landscape. Tree-lined scenic roads and carriage trails constitute important access ways for public experience of the landscape. Failure to preserve vegetation and provide for its continuance to the maximum extent practicable would alter the composition of the landscape, introduce discordant features through the failure to screen development, change the nature of views and significantly impair the SASS.
Vegetation also provides a buffer between the SASS and discordant elements outside the SASS and preserves the ambience of historic landscapes by screening adjacent incompatible development. As development and related traffic increase in the SASS, the importance of this buffer increases. Loss of vegetation along the edge of the scenic district and the edges of historic sites would adversely impact the historic context of the historic sites and impair the scenic quality of the SASS.
The failure to undertake selective clearing of brush along the railroad corridor at the Hyde Park Railroad Station Park will result in further diminishment of visual public access to the Hudson River and reduction in the quality of the views available there, impairing the scenic quality of the SASS.
USING APPROPRIATE MATERIALS, IN ADDITION TO VEGETATION, TO SCREEN UNATTRACTIVE ELEMENTS;
COMMENT: The SASS is a living landscape which has successfully absorbed change over time because each new period of development has been compatible with the scale, design and materials of previous periods. Failure to use appropriate materials, the color and texture of which would blend new development into the historic and natural landscape, would introduce discordant features into the landscape which singularly or collectively would disrupt the unity of the SASS and impair its scenic quality.
USING APPROPRIATE SCALES, FORMS AND MATERIALS TO ENSURE THAT BUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES ARE COMPATIBLE WITH AND ADD INTEREST TO THE LANDSCAPE.
COMMENT: The SASS is a living landscape which has successfully absorbed change over time because each new period of development has been compatible with the scale, design and materials of previous periods. Failure to continue to use appropriate scales, forms and materials in new development that are compatible with neighboring structures and do not dominate the landscape would introduce discordant features into the landscape which singularly or collectively would disrupt the unity of the SASS and impair its scenic quality.
Estates District Scenic Area of State Significance
Index to Estates District Subunits
ED-2 Clermont/Tivoli Estate Farmland Subunit
ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood Subunit
ED-7 Annandale-on-Hudson Subunit
ED-13 Rhinebeck Center Subunit
ED-16 Rhinecliff Woods Subunit
ED-17 Mill Road Meadows Subunit
ED-18 Vanderburgh Cove Subunit
ED-19 Dinsmore Golf Course Subunit
ED-20 Mills State Park Subunit
ED-23 Norrie State Park Subunit
ED-24 Vanderbilt Mansion Subunit
ED-25 Hyde Park Center Subunit
ED-26 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Entrance Subunit
ED-27 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Subunit
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Clermont subunit constitutes part of the northernmost portion of the Estates District SASS. Its northern boundary is Cheviot Road in the river landing of Cheviot, and its southern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit bordering Tivoli Bay in the Village of Tivoli. Woods Road constitutes the eastern boundary north of Callendar House, a common boundary with the ED-2 Clermont/Tivoli Estate Farmland subunit. The eastern boundary south of the village center is the edge of the fields surrounding the village center, a common boundary with the ED-3 Tivoli subunit. On the west the boundary is the mean high tide line on the west bank of the Hudson River, part of the Ulster North SASS. The subunit is located in the Towns of Germantown and Clermont in Columbia County, in the Town of Red Hook and the Village of Tivoli in Dutchess County and in the Town of Saugerties in Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 1 and 2, for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The Clermont subunit consists of steep, wooded bluffs rising 150 feet above the Hudson River and a rolling landscape behind them punctuated with rock outcrops. Meadows and lawns of several major estates create clearings in the extensive woodlands. Vegetation is a mix of native species and the ornamental plantings of the estates' landscapes, most designed in the American Romantic Landscape Style. Mature trees line Woods Road and estate entrance roads. The land is laced with intermittent streams, and the White Clay Kill/Stony Brook cut through the fields and woodlands on their way to the Hudson.
The Hudson River is about 2,200 feet in width in this area. The shoreline of the Hudson is primarily linear with long gradual curves emphasized by the railroad tracks which are located on an eight foot high embankment. Small points occasionally project into the Hudson west of the railroad tracks.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit is dominated by historic estates which are part of a unique grouping of historic properties that stretches for twenty miles along the Hudson River. Some once had their own docks on the Hudson, but the docks are now in ruins and separated from the upland by the railroad tracks. In this subunit, there is only one bridge across the tracks - at Midwood - and it is in good repair and regular use. Ruins of docks and ice houses are located along the Hudson on both sides of the railroad tracks. Dry laid stone walls and rows of mature trees line Woods Road. Overgrown trails and paths on the estate grounds give evidence of one pastime followed on these country seats.
One of the most scenic and historic of the Hudson river estates is Clermont, the heart of the original 162,248 acre Manor of Livingston charter given to Robert Livingston by Governor Dongan in 1686. This original tract constituted the bottom third of Columbia County and reached east to the borders of what is now Massachusetts and Connecticut. Clermont, or the "Lower Manor", consisting of 13,000 acres, was carved out of the southwest corner of Livingston Manor for the third son of Robert Livingston, Robert of Clermont, who built the first house at Clermont in 1728. His son, the third Robert Livingston, was a judge in the Supreme Court of the Province of New York and, as delegate to the Stamp Act Congress, wrote the letter of protest to the King of England. His son, Robert R. Livingston, was an advocate of colonial rights and a member of the Second Continental Congress, one of five chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolution the British, after burning Kingston, sailed up river and burned the buildings at Clermont in 1777. Charred members of the original house are a part of the existing Clermont house, constructed in 1782 on the original foundation.
Chancellor Livingston became prominent in the affairs of the new nation and, in 1781, was appointed the first United States Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was interested in mechanics and formed a partnership with Robert Fulton. Fulton's first steamboat, known to posterity as the Clermont, stopped at the Clermont wharf on its maiden voyage up the Hudson River in 1807.
The original gift of 414 acres to the State of New York, which became Clermont State Historic Site, was made by Alice Delafield Clarkson Livingston in 1962. In 1991 Honoria Livingston McVitty, the last surviving direct descendant of Robert Livingston to have grown up at Clermont, gave the State an additional 71 acres of wooded shoreland and meadows plus 88 acres of underwater land adjacent to the State Historic Site. Farm fields and woods east of Woods Road are part of the Historic Site. Ms. McVitty retained the Sylvan Cottage, once the gatekeeper's cottage, and the remaining 15 acres of the Livingston holdings north of the Historic Site.
The Clermont house is sited on bluffs overlooking the Hudson River amidst a pastoral, designed landscape of tall locust trees and ornamental plantings. Enlarged and modified several times, the house was last remodeled in the 1920s in the Colonial Revival Style. Other historic structures, including the Children's Playhouse and the Livingston Family burial site built in 1750, are located in the newly acquired parkland.
The McVitty gift includes "The Avenue," the original Eighteenth Century entrance road to Clermont which was used to transport produce from inland farms to the Clermont wharf. Stone walls and piers along Woods Road mark the beginning of The Avenue, and the white pines that line it were planted by John Henry Livingston around 1885. The Garden Path leads to a greenhouse and upper garden which includes historic plants. Carriage roads and trails wind through the property.
The Clermont subunit stretches many miles along the Hudson River and includes many smaller estates. To the south of Tivoli and north of Lower Dock Road is located The Pynes, once called Green Hill. Its main house, built perhaps as early as 1762, predates the house at Clermont because it was not burned by the British, its owner, Gilbert Livingston, having convinced the British soldiers that he was a Tory. This estate adjoins the original river landing for the Tivoli area.
Callendar House, located in the southeastern corner of the subunit south of The Pynes, consists of 175 acres, presently in two ownerships, separated by a wooded ravine. Some of this acreage is now called Tivoli Farms and is located in the Tivoli subunit. The entrance road is bordered by mature pine trees. The original portion of the main house, built in 1794, is Georgian in style and adorned with a Greek Revival colonnaded portico, while the later south wing was designed by McKim, Mead and White. There is an Italianate carriage house on the grounds.
Northwood, composed of 230 acres, most of which lie east of Woods Road, is the largest of the subunit's estates. Orchards along Woods Road and an 1875 gatehouse notify the traveler of the estate's presence. The stucco main house built in 1856 is approached through a wooded area. Other structures of note on the property are a carriage house and mounting shed along with a collection of barns.
Oak Lawn, an 1872 Second Empire masonry structure, is built at the edge of a bluff that rises steeply above the Hudson River. Then forty-six acres in size, the estate was the childhood home of Eleanor Roosevelt. The long curving entrance road begins at an 1870 gatehouse with French inspired details. Overgrown trails and paths are still identifiable on the property. The main house has, unfortunately, fallen into extensive disrepair, and the property has been reduced to five acres and has lost its view.
Other estates, of which only a portion are located in the subunit, include Rose Hill and Teviot to the south of Clermont. Rose Hill's masonry house with its Italianate tower was built in 1843. The estate's original entry road, located just north of St. Paul's Church, is now overgrown; but its border of trees is still visible, and its gate lodge and gates still stand. Also visible along Woods Road are former farm structures of Rose Hill, some transformed into residences. Teviot still sports its 1843 Gothic Revival house graced by weeping hemlocks.
North of Clermont are Ridgely, now the Motherhouse of the Carmelite Sisters and site of an 1850 farmhouse, and Southwood and Chiddingstone, two other mid-19th century estates. The 1885 rambling main house of Midwood, less formal in demeanor than its neighbors, was designed by Michael O'Connor as a year-round home. Situated on a bluff above the Hudson River, it sports panoramic views of the Hudson and the distant Catskills. The property also has access to the Hudson River via a bridge over the railroad tracks to a small point of shoreland, the site of an old dock. Midwood is connected to the adjacent Oak Lawn via an interior road. Holcroft and Northwood are located in the most northerly portion of the subunit.
Tivoli Landing, once a bustling wharf, is now a quiet spot on the Hudson. Passenger vessels and cargo vessels alike once docked there, including the Saugerties-Tivoli ferry. Near the western shore of the Hudson River to the north of the landing stands the Saugerties Lighthouse, the oldest existing Hudson River lighthouse. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it has been restored as a museum and bed and breakfast. (Refer to the UN-5 Esopus Creek subunit in the Ulster North SASS for more detailed information about the Saugerties Lighthouse and other features of the western shore.)
The subunit has few discordant features. Some of the estates suffer from neglect and inappropriate bulky additions, but the landscape is generally well kept and its integrity maintained.
The railroad bed is somewhat discordant. Located on an embankment eight feet high, it parallels the straight shoreline at the foot of the bluffs and for the most part cannot be seen from the estates; but it does constitute a discordant feature from nearby river perspectives. Its scale renders it insignificant in panoramic views, however.
The railroad tracks, although not highly visible, do cut off access between the Hudson River and its uplands except for a few individual landings, including Tivoli Landing. Hudson River landings developed over two centuries of orientation to the river as an avenue of commerce. The village landing is no longer used and is in a deteriorated condition that is discordant with the surrounding estate properties. However, it does still evidence the close connection between the Hudson and historic development in the subunit.
C. Views
Views from the subunit are both deep and broad, especially from the grounds of the estates which have been designed to create, frame, and enhance the composition of the views of both the natural riverfront setting of the mansions and of the Hudson River and distant Catskills. The mansions, the river, the Saugerties Lighthouse on the western shore and the Catskills are the focal points of these views. The shorelands of the Ulster North SASS to the west are important as the middleground of these extensive views.
The Hudson River dominates many views, especially those from Tivoli Landing where the Hudson is experienced as a broad and sometimes foreboding body of water. Rough water and large waves are ephemeral effects generated on windy days.
Glimpses of the estate grounds are available along Woods Road, but in most locations the estate gatehouses and stone walls provide the only hint of the landscape beyond. Portions of the estates are visible from the Hudson River.
III. Uniqueness
The Clermont subunit, a collection of significant historic estates with both their architectural values and their designed landscapes relatively unaltered, is unique. The historic setting is irreplaceable. The estates exemplify a blending of exceptional architecture, beautifully integrated with an enhanced natural setting and oriented to take full advantage of views of the Hudson Valley.
IV. Public Accessibility
Clermont State Historic Site is open to the public and provides the opportunity for the public to experience the ambience, views and designed landscape available to the private landowner. The private estates of the subunit are visible from the Hudson River and from some locations on its western shore in the Ulster North SASS. Woods Road and other local roads provide access to the edge of the subunit and some limited visual access to estate grounds. The subunit is also visible from the trains, although the bluffs limit views to the east. Tivoli Landing provides access to the Hudson River.
V. Public Recognition
The subunit is included the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. Woods Road is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49 and is an Historic Tourway designated by Dutchess County. The subunit constitutes most of the Clermont Estates Historic District and the northernmost portion of the Sixteen Mile Historic District, both listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The subunit is also located in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Clermont subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it contains a variety of vegetation, water features and cultural elements. Woodlands, lawns, ornamental plantings and rows of mature trees along the roadway grace the landscape. Intermittent streams, creeks and the Hudson River provide interest. Estate houses from several architectural periods, gatehouses and stone walls signal the historical significance of the area. The landscape is characterized by contrast between the lawns and mansions of the historic estates and the woodlands and Hudson River of their surroundings. The distant Catskill Mountains provide additional contrast in the sweeping views to the west from the estate grounds. The subunit is unified by the landscape design and the degree of preservation of the historic architectural and landscape elements. It is generally well kept and has few discordant features.
The subunit is unique. The estates exemplify the blending of exceptionally sited architecture integrated with an enhanced natural setting that typifies the aesthetic sensibilities of the owners and the Age of Romanticism which shaped the Estates District SASS.
The subunit is accessible via the Hudson River, Woods Road and other local roads. The Clermont State Historic Site is accessible to the public and presents an excellent sense of the total scenic character of the subunit. The remaining estates are in private (in one case institutional) ownership, but the buildings and grounds of the estates are visible from the Hudson River and from some points on the western shore in the Ulster North SASS. Their edges and some of their fields are visible from the public roads. Portions of the subunit are also visible from the railroad trains, although the bluffs limit views to the east.
The subunit is very well known and is recognized through several designations. It is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. Woods Road is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49 and is an Historic Tourway designated by Dutchess County. The subunit is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and the Clermont Estates Historic District and constitutes a portion of the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-2 Clermont/Tivoli Estate Farmland Subunit
I. Location
The Clermont/Tivoli subunit constitutes part of the northernmost portion of the Estates District SASS. The subunit is bounded on the north by Roundtop Road in Germantown, the northern boundary of the SASS. Its southern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-3 Tivoli subunit. The western boundary consists of Woods Road and the settled center of the Village of Tivoli, common boundaries with the ED-1 Clermont and ED-3 Tivoli subunits. The subunit is bordered on the east by New York Route 9G and on the south by the ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit. The subunit is located in the Towns of Germantown, Clermont and Red Hook in Columbia and Dutchess Counties. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 1 and 2, for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The landform consists of essentially flat, open terrain with some gradually rolling areas. Orchards and small woodlots along with extensive meadows, pastures and hayfields create varied vegetation patterns on the expansive agricultural landscape. Water features consist of some small ponds and small streams which cross the meadows through shallow, wooded swales. The golf course of the Edgewood Club of Tivoli lies east of Woods Road and north of Tivoli. The course has a varied terrain, contains mature trees and is bordered by woodlands. A portion of the club's holdings is cultivated.
B. Cultural Character
The land use of the subunit is agricultural, containing the farmland portion of several major estates and religious institutions. The landscape is shaped primarily by lush horse farms, orchards and estate farms, the fields of which provide a visual connection between the structures along NY Route 9G and the estate landscapes in the ED-1 Clermont subunit to the west. The large estates originally were located on both sides of Woods Road with the agricultural landscapes to the east of the road and the designed landscape and main houses located to the west.
Stone and wood frame vernacular houses and barns from the 1860s to 1870s and associated old agricultural fields of former tenant farms flank Woods Road. This landscape hints of the era when the owners of large estates such as Clermont, the main house of which is located in the ED-1 Clermont subunit to the west, controlled extensive productive farmlands from their country seats. The fields and woods that lie between Woods Road and NY Route 9G were once part of the Livingston estate, and the southwest corner of the subunit is part of the Clermont State Historic Site.
An historic house of note, the "The Stone Jug" or Konradt Lasher House, is located at the eastern edge of the subunit. Built in 1752 at what is now the intersection of NY Route 9G and Jug Road, the Stone Jug was originally a tenant house on Livingston property. Just to its north stand residences from the mid-1800s and associated barns and fields which were once part of the Oak Lawn estate, also located in the ED-1 Clermont subunit. Situated along NY Route 9G is the Clarkson Chapel, an 1860 Gothic Revival wood fame church with a bell cote in a setting of cemetery, lawns, stone walls and mature trees. Also located along NY Route 9G is the Red Church and its cemetery, believed to be the oldest house of worship in Dutchess County. Largely unaltered, the church's hilltop setting on Route 9G is picturesque.
Some portions of the subunit contain agricultural landscapes designed as gracious entrance ways to estates such as Clermont with carefully placed fields and trees in the American Romantic landscape tradition. Other sections of the agricultural lands are more utilitarian and support cash crops more typical of working farms. One 230 acre horse farm was until recently associated in ownership with Chiddingstone, the main house of which is located in the ED-1 Clermont subunit to the west. Several elaborate horse breeding and exercising facilities are sited on the horse farm.
The land in the subunit is very well maintained, generally to a higher level of maintenance than typical of working farms. Some of the large horse farm structures and tracks as well as recent strip development along the roads constitute discordant features.
Sections of this landscape are protected through State ownership associated with the Clermont State Historic Site and the Tivoli Bays Nature Preserve which extend easterly to front on NY Route 9G.
C. Views
Views from the subunit are enhanced by the openness of the agricultural landscape, the fields of which provide long views over the surrounding countryside. The livestock on the horse farms provide ephemeral effects. Specimen trees, stone walls, tree-lined entrance roads and carefully sited agricultural buildings enhance the composition of these designed agricultural landscapes. There is no major central focal point.
The extensive fields provide sweeping views to the Catskill Mountains to the west, while views of nearby hills and woodlands are available throughout the subunit. Views of the Hudson River generally are not available, except from NY Route 9G between Bard College and Tivoli.
III. Uniqueness
The Clermont/Tivoli Estate Farmland subunit with its expansive estate farm landscape constitutes a uniquely large band of pastoral field landscapes.
IV. Public Accessibility
The subunit is accessible via NY Route 9G and local roads, such as Woods Road, Sengstack Road and Roundtop Road, which run along the edges and through portions of the subunit. A portion of Clermont State Historic Site extends into the subunit along the Columbia-Dutchess county line.
V. Public Recognition
The Clermont/Tivoli Estate Farmland subunit is part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. Woods Road, which lies along most of the western boundary of the subunit, is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The subunit is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District in part because it was the working landscape of the nearby estates. A small portion of the subunit is part of the Clermont State Historic Site. The estate lands are also part of the Clermont Estates Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Stone Jug, the neighboring Lasher properties and the Clarkson Chapel are listed on the State and National Registers as an individual historic resource.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Clermont/Tivoli Estate Farmland subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it contains varied field patterns and a variety of vegetation which are unified by the estate farm uses. Contrasts exist between the flat open fields, the orchards and woodlands and the Catskill Mountains viewed in the distance. The subunit's expansive estate lands constitute a uniquely large band of pastoral landscape which is accessible via NY Route 9G and local roads and is well recognized as the working landscape of the associated well-known estates. It is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic Area designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law and forms the viewshed of Woods Road, a Scenic Road also designated under Article 49.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Tivoli subunit consists of the village center of the Village of Tivoli and surrounding farmland, its boundaries being the woodlands and fence rows enclosing the fields. The subunit boundaries are common boundaries with the ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood, ED-2 Clermont/Tivoli Estate Farmland and ED-1 Clermont subunits. The subunit is located in the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS Map sheet number 2 for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic components
A. Physical Character
The topography of the subunit is flat to slightly rolling. Vegetation consists of extensive fields punctuated by small woodlands and groups of trees. Lawns, gardens and trees are found in the village center. The Stony Creek cuts a ravine through part of the subunit.
B. Cultural Character
Land use is a combination of the historic village center and the estate farm landscape. Structures in the village are primarily residential with some minor commercial and transportation - related buildings. Tivoli was settled in the early 1800's, initially to support the riverfront commerce of Tivoli Landing, or lower village, the waterfront portion of which is located in the ED-1 Clermont subunit. Woods Road connects the village center with the Clermont subunit, and County Route 402 connects the village center with NY Route 9G located in the ED-2 Clermont/Tivoli Estate Farmland subunit.
Tivoli's historic architecture is well preserved. Both the upper and lower village contain fine examples of period housing, including Gothic Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne styles. Among the prize structures are three Gothic Revival churches - St. Paul's, built in 1868; Tivoli Methodist Church, built in 1892; and St. Silvia's Church, built in 1902. St. Paul's is particularly noteworthy because of its setting. Located on a knoll along Woods Road, its stone walls and cemetery are focal points in the Woods Road scenic corridor. Also notable is the former Trinity Church on North Road, now a private residence but architecturally intact.
The residences of note stem from the mid-1800s to the turn of the century and sport such details as verandas, balustrades, brackets and Tuscan columns. There are several good examples of adaptive reuse of historic buildings. An 1870 frame school with a hipped roof has been converted into apartments with structural details intact. Storefronts and commercial structures from 1865 to 1890 remain. An 1890 Queen Anne schoolhouse is now a private residence. The exuberant DePeyster Firehouse is presently being rehabilitated with State funding assistance.
The strong, geometric village center lined with old homes contrasts dramatically with the immediately adjacent expansive farms, such as Tivoli Farms, a horse farm which was once part of the Callendar House estate located in subunits to the west. Such clear village edges are an increasingly rare phenomenon as development pressure increases.
The village is well maintained. Minor discordant features are limited to the few less attractive recent residential and commercial developments. The town houses along Woods Road constitute a discordant feature because their design, scale and materials do not reflect the historic fabric of the rest of the village, especially of neighboring properties.
C. Views
Views from the subunit include picturesque internal views of historic buildings and streetscapes as well as sweeping views from the village edges and roadways across the extensive open farm and estate fields. The sweeping views contrast with the narrow village streets. No single major focal point dominates the views. Background elements include nearby woodlands and, from certain locations, the distant Catskill Mountains to the west. The Hudson River is generally not visible except from the lower village where the Hudson's western shorelands, located in the Ulster North SASS, can be seen. Some winter views are available from remote fields in the upland areas.
III. Uniqueness
The Tivoli subunit is unique. Its historic village center and the clear edge between the village center and the adjacent fields are rare.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Tivoli subunit is highly accessible from Woods Road, village streets and County Route 402. Woods Road and County Route 402 are used by some visitors to the Clermont State Historic Site located in the ED-1 Clermont subunit to the north, although they are not the primary access route. The western portion of the subunit is also visible from the Hudson River and its western shorelands and from the passing railroad trains.
V. Public Recognition
Tivoli is part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. Woods Road, which forms a portion of the western boundary of the subunit, is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The Village of Tivoli is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Tivoli subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it exhibits a variety of land uses and vegetation including the lawns, trees and gardens of the village center as well as farms, fields and woodlands. The structures in the village center exhibit a variety of architectural styles. Strong contrast remains between the historic village center and the expansive adjacent fields. All elements are unified in both an historic and visual context. The preserved village center and the clear distinction between the compact village and the open space of adjacent farms are unique.
The subunit is accessible from River Road, village streets and County Route 402. It is publicly recognized as part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. Woods Road, which forms part of the western boundary of the subunit, is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The Village of Tivoli is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood Subunit
I. Location
The Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit borders North and South Tivoli Bays. It is bounded on the north by the Village of Tivoli center in the ED-3 Tivoli subunit and on the east by the more densely settled areas along Annandale Road and River Road located in the ED-6 Bard College, ED-7 Annandale-on-Hudson and ED-11 River Road subunits. The southern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-8 Barrytown subunit, and the western boundary is a common boundary with the ED-5 Tivoli Bays subunit. The subunit's central portion reaches east to touch NY Route 9G about 1/4 mile north of the intersection of Route 9G and Annandale Road and borders Route 9G for approximately 2,000 feet. The subunit is located in the Village of Tivoli and the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 2 for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit consists of steep bluffs covered with mature deciduous forest and dissected by small ravines. The bluffs border North and South Tivoli Bays and serve as a buffer from upland development. The land is divided primarily into large estates, the main houses of which are situated on high points with extensive lawns that reach down to the bluff edges. Farm complexes and fields are included in the estates, and the orchards of Montgomery Place flank Annandale Road behind rows of mature locust trees. There is some evidence of historic designed landscapes, but most are overgrown.
The shoreline configuration of the bays is complex, undulating along marshy coves. Both the Stony Creek and the Saw Kill flow through the subunit and empty into North and South Tivoli Bay, respectively. As they near the bays, they tumble over rocky beds at the foot of steep ravines. The cataracts of the Saw Kill are dramatic and in the 19th century were renowned romantic landscape features.
B. Cultural Character
The Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit is named after its two major estates. Montgomery Place is a Livingston Family home now owned by Historic Hudson Valley and open to the public. It is one of the most historic, architecturally valuable and scenic of the Hudson River estates. The main house is a Federal period structure built in 1805 which was enlarged and transformed into a Classical Revival building by Alexander Jackson Davis during the mid-1800s. The designed landscape, which was extravagantly admired in print by Andrew Jackson Downing, includes wooded areas, called "South Woods" in the south and "The Wilderness" in the north, which are laced with carriage roads and trails. Mature locust trees dot the lawns surrounding the house and frame views to the west. Woods Road is also lined with mature locust trees and stone walls, and glimpses are available of the fields behind them.
The original mansion of Blithewood, called Mill Hill, no longer stands. Subsequently called Annandale, it had been redesigned in 1836 by Alexander Jackson Davis. The present Blithewood, a Beaux-arts residence now owned by Bard College, was designed by the firm of Hoppin & Koen in 1901. Other buildings designed by Davis survive as does his designed landscape in an overgrown condition. The grounds once afforded the mansion site more sweeping views of the Hudson River than are now available. The turn of the century formal gardens on the west side of Blithewood and a portion of the view are now being restored. A.J. Downing lavishly praised these grounds in print, as well.
There are several discordant features in the Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit, primarily academic buildings unsympathetically designed and placed along the Blithewood driveway. Most of the land bordering the Tivoli North and South Bays is either in public ownership or protected by easements as part of the Hudson River National Esturarine Sanctuary and Research Reserve.
C. Views
The view compositions of the designed landscape are overgrown at Blithewood (not at Montgomery Place) and the extensive views they once offered are now more limited or no longer visible. Expansive lawns surround the mansions, however, and specimen trees on the grounds of Montgomery Place frame some sweeping views to the west across Tivoli Bays to the distant Catskill Mountains, including the bluffs on the Hudson's western shore in the Ulster North SASS. Views three to four miles up-river are also available from certain locations. The Tivoli Bays observation area offers spectacular views.
Blithewood is located high above the Hudson River, but its grounds offer less sweeping views of the river. Its site is an attractive wooded location, however.
The composition of views within the subunit is enhanced by the historic mansions and their designed landscapes. Views toward the water are focussed by lawns and fields on the estates or by the forested shore elsewhere along the Tivoli Bays. Internal views include mature woodland scenes and views of the estate grounds, woodland clearings and fields surrounded by woodlands.
III. Uniqueness
The Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit is unique. Groups of preserved historic estate mansions and their attendant designed landscapes, such as found in the Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit, present important examples of exceptional historic structures which have been successfully integrated with their enhanced natural setting and oriented to take full advantage of views of the Hudson Valley. Montgomery Place is a particularly fine example of such compatible siting.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit is highly accessible. Extensive State holdings border Tivoli North and South Bays as part of the Hudson River Estuarine Sanctuary and Research Reserve. The sanctuary is open to the public through educational programs sponsored under the Estuarine Sanctuary Program and is available to the casual visitor as well. Views of the estates from the bays are available to those who launch small boats into the bays to tour the wetlands. The subunit is also visible from the Hudson River and from railroad trains passing through the ED-5 Tivoli Bays subunit.
The Bard College campus lies along most of South Bay. Parts of the campus are accessible to the general public during special events sponsored by the college. Montgomery Place is owned by Historic Hudson Valley and operated as a destination point for tourists. Tours of the main house and grounds are available. There is an admission fee.
Cruger Island Road crosses the center of the subunit, leading to Cruger Island located in the ED-5 Tivoli Bays subunit to the west.
V. Public Recognition
The Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit is well recognized by the public. It is part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The estates and their designed landscapes are included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Bard College and Montgomery Place attract both students and the general public to the area. The presence of the National Estuarine Sanctuary and Research Reserve draws members of the scientific community as well as members of the public interested in hunting or observing the resident wildlife. Land along the Tivoli North and South Bays is protected either by State ownership or by easements held by the State.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it exhibits variety created by the juxtaposition of the natural landscape along the Bays and the estates and their designed landscapes. The subunit is unified by the estate design and lack of discordant features. There is contrast between the lawns, historic structures and surrounding woodlands and between those elements and the Hudson River and distant Catskill Mountains in the views from the subunit. The subunit is highly accessible to the public and is recognized at the State and national level by the following designations: the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District, the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and the Sixteen Mile Historic District.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Tivoli Bays subunit consists of North and South Tivoli Bays, Cruger Island and Magdalen Island and the Hudson River associated with them. The subunit's boundaries are contiguous with the edge of North and South Tivoli Bays on the north, east and south and are common boundaries with the ED-8 Barrytown and ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunits. The western boundary is the mean high tide line on the west shore of the Hudson River, located in the UN-4 Saugerties Bluffs and UN-8 Glasco subunits in the Ulster North SASS. Cruger and Magdalen Islands lie within the subunit. The subunit is located in the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County and in the Town of Saugerties, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 2 for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The Tivoli Bays subunit is dominated by Tivoli North and South Bays and the Hudson River. Almost the entire subunit is composed of high quality water features. The great flat marshlands stretch to the railroad causeway which separates the bays from the river. Tivoli North Bay, a true tidal marsh, encompasses 386 acres, while Tivoli South Bay, a tidal flat, contains 288 acres. Their appearance changes with the tides which flow through the five openings in the causeway, alternately exposing and covering the diverse vegetation. The edges of the bays are lined with mature trees.
Cruger Island, 32 acres in size including the surrounding marshes, is the larger of the two islands. It contains intertidal marshes, tidal swamp and deciduous forest and is an outstanding bird and wildlife habitat. Magdalen Island consists of more than eight acres of deciduous woods and wildflower populations. In the middle of State-owned Tivoli South Bay is located a rock outcropping called Skillipot Island, an old Dutch term for a large turtle. Such diversity yields a complex shoreline configuration except where the railroad draws a straight line between the river and the bays.
The Hudson River is approximately 2,200 feet wide in this area. Two tributaries empty into the Tivoli Bays, Stony Creek into Tivoli North Bay and the Saw Kill into Tivoli South Bay. The vegetation is very diverse, consisting of marsh, shrub and tree swamp and forest. Cruger and Magdalen Islands are densely forested. Except for the straight line of the railroad causeway, the shoreline configuration is varied, ringing islands, marshy coves, embayments and creek mouths.
B. Cultural Character
The eastern half of the subunit is entirely in State ownership except for the railroad right-of-way and a corridor along Cruger Island Road owned by Central Hudson Gas and Electric Company. Both Tivoli North and South Bays as well as Cruger and Magdalen Islands are publicly held as part of the Tivoli Bays State Nature and Historical Preserve/National Estuarine Sanctuary and Research Reserve. The Bard College Field Station operated by the sanctuary is located at the mouth of the Saw Kill on Tivoli South Bay. Use of the area includes hunting, fishing and trapping as well as extensive bird watching, scientific research and nature study.
The diverse wetland wildlife habitat of the bays is a relatively undisturbed natural area unbroken by any signs of development other than the railroad and Cruger Island Road, an unimproved dirt road. Henry Hudson landed on Cruger Island in 1609. The construction of the railroad in the 1850s greatly altered the natural conditions of the bays, and in the 1800s a swamp region near Cruger Island was diked to form an ornamental garden that has since reverted to swamp. Natural preservation uses dominate the cultural character of the subunit. Hunters use the area in season, and visitors to the sanctuary can use small boats to navigate the waterways of the bays to observe the wildlife.
Ephemeral effects include the subunit's wilderness quality with its attendant wildlife, disturbed only by an occasional train. The railroad causeway is an intrusion but does not constitute an overwhelming discordant feature.
C. Views
Views from and of the Tivoli Bays subunit are broad and extensive. In all cases they involve highly scenic water features. In most views the bays form the foreground surrounded by marshes and hills. The details of the marshland vary with the water levels, low tide revealing watery channels and more vegetation than high tide. From the eastern portion of the subunit, the railroad causeway somewhat blocks views of the open Hudson River. Views from the islands are extensive, reaching 2 to 3 miles up and down the Hudson River. The distant bluffs and hamlet of Glasco on the western shore, located in the UN-8 Glasco subunit of the Ulster North SASS, form a backdrop in views to the west.
The presence of abundant wildlife and the occasional passing of trains, dwarfed in the panoramic views, are ephemeral effects that generally enhance the area's visual interest, as is the tumbling Saw Kill as it rushes over rocks before emptying into Tivoli South Bay. The railroad causeway itself is a discordant feature, but it does not dominate the landscape.
III. Uniqueness
The Tivoli Bays subunit is unique. It is an unspoiled natural landscape of marsh and islands.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Tivoli Bays subunit is highly accessible to the public. Its eastern half is entirely in State ownership, except for the railroad right-of-way, and is used by the public for hunting, fishing, trapping and wildlife observation. It can be accessed from the State-owned uplands, from the Bard College Field Station and from the Hudson River. The subunit is frequently viewed by train passengers, and Cruger Island is accessible via Cruger Island Road at low tide. The National Estuarine Sanctuary and Research Reserve conducts educational programs on a regular basis. Casual visitors can use the sanctuary's parking lot on NY Route 9G and paths leading to a canoe launch on North Tivoli Bay. Other sites for hand launching of boats are located near Cruger Island Road and Ward Manor Road.
The subunit is visible from the State-owned uplands in the Village of Tivoli and the Town of Red Hook; from Callendar House, an historic estate in Tivoli; from the Bard College campus and its historic mansion Blithewood; and from Montgomery Place, an estate owned by Historic Hudson Valley and open to the public.
The Tivoli Bays subunit is highly visible from the west bank of the Hudson River. Magdalen and Cruger Islands are focal points in views from the UN-8 Glasco subunit in the Ulster North SASS.
V. Public Recognition
The Tivoli Bays subunit is well recognized as part of the Hudson River Estuarine Sanctuary and Research Reserve. Cruger Island and the underwater lands in Tivoli North and South Bays are owned by the State. The subunit is also part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. It is located in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. The islands and the wetlands are landmarks for travelers by rail and by water.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Tivoli Bays subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it contains a variety of diverse wetland and upland vegetation, including marsh and wooded islands, that is unified by the undisturbed natural quality of the landscape. Contrast exists between the flat marsh and the wooded islands. Although the railroad causeway is a man-made intrusion into a natural landscape, it is not an overwhelmingly discordant feature. The unspoiled natural landscape of marsh and islands is unique.
The subunit is highly accessible to the public because it is publicly owned and available to hunters, wildlife viewers, boaters and participants in the educational programs of the National Estuarine Sanctuary and Research Reserve. It is visible from the railroad trains, the historic estate properties on the adjacent uplands and from the Hudson River and its western shore. The subunit is well known as the Hudson River Estuarine Sanctuary and Research Reserve and is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. It is also a part of the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and is included in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Bard College subunit consists of the grounds of Bard College bounded by woodlands in the ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit to the north, New York Route 9G on the east and the hamlet of Annandale-on-Hudson in the ED-7 Annandale-on-Hudson subunit to the south. The western boundary lies along the edge of the main campus and is a common boundary with the ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit. The subunit is located in the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 2 for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The topography of the Bard College campus is flat to gradually rolling terrain, and a ridge runs north and south through the campus east of Annandale Road. Vegetation consists of woodlands bordering NY Route 9G and Annandale Road. Trees, including some specimen trees, playing fields and expansive lawns are interspersed among the campus buildings. Water features do not play a major role in the landscape, although there are some small meandering streams and ponds.
B. Cultural Character
The subunit is dominated by the Bard College campus, a diverse but unified group of academic buildings, quadrangles, playing fields and woodlands located on a former estate.
The Bard College was originally known as St. Stephen's College. Founded in 1860, its historic quadrangle remains surrounded by sloping lawns and mature specimen trees. The 1859 Gothic Revival Bard Chapel was known as the "Chapel of the Holy Innocents" when it formed the core of St. Stephen's College. Flanked by rolling lawns, it now provides a focal point in views to the east from Annandale Road. The area exhibits a transition of the landscape from its estate origins to its current academic use, with the restored mansions of Blithewood, located in the subunit to the east, and Ward Manor coexisting with contemporary academic architecture and a modern sculpture garden.
Ward Manor, originally known as the Hamersley Estate, is located on the campus in the northern portion of the subunit, its presence heralded along Annandale Road by a crenelated stone gatehouse in the Jacobean/Elizabethan style. The gatehouse and associated mansion were built about 1918. Later developed as a health care facility owned by the Ward Baking Company under the auspices of the New York Association for Improving the Conditions of the Poor, the Manor did not become part of Bard College until the 1960s. The original drive lies to the east of the present entrance and is lined with mature trees.
In the southern portion of the subunit along Annandale Road stands Blithewood's hexagonal gatehouse designed by Alexander Jackson Davis. Located at an intersection with what is now a campus road, it once welcomed people to the earlier mansion that preceded the present Blithewood. Some vernacular cottages also are located along Annandale Road.
Providing additional interest are the innovative contemporary campus architecture and sculpture gardens. Careful site planning and design and the preservation of the site's key open spaces have allowed the college to evolve generally in keeping with the visual character of the landscape, although some of the contemporary buildings are discordant features because their design and materials are not in keeping with the rest of the campus buildings.
C. Views
Views within the subunit are primarily internal and about 1/2 mile long, organized by the large academic buildings and recreational open spaces. The preserved mansions and clusters of academic buildings constitute focal points. Compositions are enhanced by specimen trees, academic quadrangles, and the remains of the open estate landscapes. The Hudson River is rarely visible. Restoration of the designed landscape could restore historic views to the river, but only if the agricultural landscape in the adjacent subunit were also restored. In the vicinity of Ward Manor views are available across open fields to the distant Catskill Mountains.
III. Uniqueness
The subunit is not unique, but the Bard College campus's mixture of 19th century and modern academic buildings in an historic estate setting is uncommon.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Bard College subunit is accessible to the public via Annandale Road, and its edges are visible from Annandale Road and NY Route 9G, primarily wooded areas of the campus along with some lawns and historic structures. The views from NY Route 9G are primarily of the wooded landscape that borders the highway. Bard College is a private college which invites the public to attend certain events and conferences.
IV. Public Recognition
The Bard College subunit is part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. Annandale Road is a designated scenic road under Article 49 and an Historic Tourway designated by Dutchess County. The Bard College subunit is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Bard College is an accredited academic institution and is well- known in the Hudson Valley.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Bard College subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it contains a great variety of physical and cultural features, including extensive vegetation, designed open spaces and historical architecture, which are unified by the campus and estate setting. Contrast exists between the natural elements of fields and woods and the cultural elements of historical and modern academic buildings. The subunit is generally free of discordant features. It is recognized by the public for its scenic value through the designations of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the Annandale Road Scenic Road under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The subunit is accessible to the public via Annandale Road, and its edges are visible from Annandale Road and NY Route 9G. The public is regularly invited by Bard College to attend and participate in events at the college.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-7 Annandale-on-Hudson Subunit
I. Location
The Annandale-on-Hudson subunit consists of the historic hamlet of Annandale-on-Hudson and is bounded on the north by the ED-6 Bard College subunit, on the east by New York Route 9G, on the south by the open fields of the ED-11 River Road subunit and on the west by the estate grounds of the ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit. The subunit is located in the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 2 for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit consists of a rolling valley along the meandering Saw Kill cut by small swales and gullies. The Saw Kill shoreline is complex, and the creek has been dammed in places to create mill ponds. Vegetation consists of mature forests, fields, orchards and diverse village vegetation in the hamlet, including a village green.
B. Cultural Character
The subunit is dominated by the small historic hamlet of Annandale-on-Hudson. The gated entrance to Montgomery Place is located just south of the hamlet, and the estate's orchards and fields flank both sides of Annandale Road which runs through the center of the subunit.
The historic vernacular structures of the tightly clustered hamlet are oriented around a central common, the Saw Kill and numerous former mill sites. The dwellings were originally associated with the mills. Some of the original mill structures remain. The overall pattern of the hamlet, with its close relationship to the Saw Kill, reflects its heritage as a center for early milling. Annandale-on-Hudson was the site of the original Bakers Chocolate factory. Two dwellings on the south side of the Saw Kill were designed by Andrew Jackson Davis.
The hamlet structures, most now owned by Historic Hudson Valley which owns Montgomery Place, retain their historic fabric but are showing deterioration which is somewhat discordant.
C. Views
Views in the subunit are mainly internal and focus on the hamlet common, the historic homes and mills and the usually placid Saw Kill. Composition is enhanced by the tight historic settlement pattern of the hamlet, the simple grass common and the close siting of former mill structures and residences next to the creek. The architectural groupings create focal points, as does the creek.
III. Uniqueness
The hamlet of Annandale-on-Hudson, with its collection of related historic structures and absence of major discordant features, is unique.
IV. Public Accessibility
The hamlet green, owned by Bard College, and the other property in the Annandale-on-Hudson subunit is private. The hamlet is accessible via Annandale Road, and a large part of the subunit is visible from the road.
V. Public Recognition
The Annandale-on-Hudson subunit is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. It is also part of the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and of the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. River Road is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. It is also an Historic Tourway designated by Dutchess County. In 1993, the Town of Red Hook placed Annandale-on-Hudson in a special "historic hamlet" zoning classification requiring design review of proposed development for compatibility with the existing historic structures.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Annandale-on-Hudson subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it is a unique hamlet which exhibits great variety of village spaces and structures unified by the historic hamlet settlement pattern. There is contrast between the hamlet form and the meandering Saw Kill. The hamlet is generally free of discordant features other than its incipient state of disrepair. The subunit is publicly accessible via River Road and is visible from River Road and other local roads. The subunit is publicly recognized through the designations of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the River Road Scenic Road under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. It is also part of the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and is included in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The hamlet is also closely associated with Montgomery Place located in the ED-4 Montgomery Place/Blithewood subunit.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Barrytown subunit consists primarily of the hamlet of Barrytown and the grounds of the former Massena Estate, now the Unification Theological Seminary. The southern tip of Tivoli Bay constitutes its northernmost boundary, a common boundary with the ED-5 Cruger's Island subunit. Its eastern boundary lies approximately halfway between the Hudson River and River Road and is a common boundary with the ED-11 River Road subunit. The southern boundary is shared with the ED-9 Astor Point subunit, and the western boundary is the mean high tide line on the western shore of the Hudson River which is also located in the Ulster North SASS. The Barrytown subunit is located in the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County and in the Towns of Saugerties and Ulster, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 2 for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit consists of rolling hills centered on a small valley. Vegetation is primarily mature deciduous town and estate trees. A small stream flows in a wooded ravine at the bottom of the valley, while the Hudson River, about 2,000 feet wide in this area, dominates the western portions of the subunit. The shoreline has a linear configuration created by bulkheaded fill and docks.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the Barrytown subunit is one of contrast between the historic hamlet and the somewhat imposing collection of institutional buildings of the Unification Theological Seminary on the former Massena Estate, located on a hilltop to the north. First developed in 1790 by John Livingston, the Massena property had two entries, one of which near Barrytown Landing is still marked by a Gothic Revival masonry gatehouse.
Two historic churches are located in the Barrytown subunit, the 1852 Sylvania Chapel (designed by Andrew Jackson Davis) on Barrytown Road and the Church of the Sacred Heart on Station Hill road, a Gothic Revival structure built in 1875. A pair of semi-octagonal gatehouses on Station Hill Road were also designed by Davis. Late 19th century residences give strong form to the linear, tree-lined streets of the hamlet, but the massive institutional buildings of the theological seminary constitute a discordant feature which overwhelms the picturesque hamlet and significantly reduces the overall visual quality of the subunit. The subunit as a whole is well maintained, however.
Barrytown was once a river landing called Lower Red Hook Landing. With its houses clustered along two country roads leading down a small valley to the Hudson River, the hamlet is now known locally for its tiny post office situated beside the Hudson River at the site of the former passenger railroad station.
Land use in the subunit is primarily village residential and institutional with remnants of a former riverfront commercial district along the railroad line. The Red Hook Boat Club is located on the waterfront just north of the Edgewater estate. The subunit also contains the farm complex of Sylvania, another country seat.
C. Views
Views from the subunit tend to be linear in the hamlet and sweeping from the open grounds of the religious institution. Internal views within the hamlet are enhanced by the historic buildings and the strong, linear character of the main street. Sweeping views of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains from the seminary are somewhat reduced in quality by the massive new buildings. Views are also long, extending to the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge in the ED-10 Astor Cove subunit to the south and to the Catskill Mountains to the west. The forested bluffs of the Hudson's western shore figure prominently in the middleground of these views, with the now protected lands at Turkey Point providing a focus. The institutional buildings and the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge provide other focal points.
III. Uniqueness
Although picturesque, the Barrytown subunit is not unique. The Barrytown hamlet is a typical small hamlet of the region which is overwhelmed by the imposing institutional buildings of the Seminary.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Barrytown subunit is accessible via the Hudson River and Barrytown Road and is visible from the Hudson and its western shore, from Barrytown Road and from the passing railroad trains. The western shorelands are part of the Ulster North SASS which offers views of the subunit. A bridge over the railroad tracks provides access to the waterfront area, but the hamlet is not visited by many people, and there is no public facility for launching or landing boats in Barrytown. Accessibility to the Hudson could increase in the future if a public landing area were developed in Barrytown. The Unification Theological Seminary is private but portions are open to the public on occasion.
V. Public Recognition
The Barrytown subunit is publicly recognized through its inclusion in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also part of the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and is in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. In 1993 the Town of Red Hook placed Barrytown in a special "historic hamlet" zoning classification requiring design review of proposed development for compatibility with the existing historic structures.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
Although the Barrytown subunit is not a distinctive subunit, it is included in the Estates District SASS because it lies among and connects four distinctive subunits in the SASS. The divergent landscapes of the hamlet and estate create variety but reduce unity. The contrast between the estate, the hamlet and the Hudson River is noteworthy; but the institutional structures also constitute discordant features. The subunit is accessible to the public via the Hudson River and Barrytown Road and is visible from the Hudson and its western shorelands, which are located in the Ulster North SASS, and from the railroad trains and Barrytown Road. The subunit is publicly-recognized through its inclusion in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. It is also a part of the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and of the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Astor Point subunit is located south of the hamlet of Barrytown. It is bounded on the north by the houses in the ED-8 Barrytown subunit. Its southern boundary is the edge of the woodland just north of the town line, a common boundary with the ED-10 Astor Cove subunit. The western boundary is the mean high tide line on the west bank of the Hudson River. The subunit shares its eastern boundary with the ED-11 River Road subunit. The Astor Point subunit is located in the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County, and in the Town of Ulster, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 2 and 3, for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the landform is undulating, consisting of a series of unique, rounded hills cut by shallow ravines extending down to the Hudson River. Extensive fields and meadows of the estates are located on the hilltops, while the ravines are mainly wooded. Mature trees line River Road. The unique landform has been emphasized and enhanced by the exceptional designed pastoral landscapes of four estates.
The Hudson River, two thousand feet wide in this area, is a major element in the landscape. Except for the projection of Astor Point, the Hudson's shoreline is linear, shaped by the railroad causeway. Cliffs and promontories highlight Astor Point. Goose Island, a small, thickly vegetated, privately owned but unused island southwest of Barrytown, lies west of the tracks, as does Chander Island (with its federal navigation beacon), Astor Point, Picnic Point and Edgewater and its grounds.
East of the railroad tracks, however, the undulating shoreline consists of several coves and small points. The cove just northeast of Astor Point contains a wooded swamp where the Mudder Kill becomes tidal.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit centers on four major estates built by the Astor and Livingston families: Mandara, Rokeby, Edgewater and Sylvania. The Mandara estate extends into the Astor Cove subunit. Noted architects Stanford White, Alexander Jackson Davis and Charles Platt and the landscape gardeners H. J. Ehlers and Olmsted Brothers all contributed to the development of these historic properties. Two semi-octagonal gatehouses designed by Davis for Edgewater also still stand. The mansions, except for Edgewater, are located at the upper reaches of the meadows extending down to the water. Edgewater is located on low land along the Hudson, the only estate on the water side of the railroad tracks.
Once a single estate which was divided in 1849, Mandara and Rokeby are connected by pathways and roads. Mandara, formerly called Steen Valetje, was given to Laura Astor Delano, a great aunt of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The estate house was built in 1849, then altered in 1973 when the third floor was removed. Stone walls and an Italianate stone gatehouse from the late 19th century are located along River Road. Other structures on the property, some of which are visible from River Road, include a farm house, guest house, a stable and barns.
Rokeby's main house was built in 1811, then enlarged in 1858 and remodeled in 1894. Its octagonal library dates from 1858. The Rokeby landscape was designed in the 1850s by Hans Jacob Ehlers. Formal gardens, now overgrown, were designed by the Olmsted firm. Rokeby is connected with both Mandara and Sylvania by carriage roads and paths, including "The Poet's Walk" visited by Washington Irving. The winding entrance road, lined with mature specimen trees, begins at a stuccoed gatehouse. Other estate gates and stone walls line River Road. Four small stone bridges from the 1850s cross the Mudder Kill which runs through the property.
The railroad and the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, which is located to the south outside the subunit, constitute discordant features; but they are not major intrusions. The railroad is not highly visible. The bridge, although it introduces an industrial element into a verdant corridor and its traffic can be distracting, does not dominate the views. The state of upkeep in the subunit is excellent.
C. Views
Views from the subunit are extensive and are greatly enhanced by the unique landform, as well as by the design of the pastoral landscapes and the architecture of the estate buildings. The tree-lined meadows and ridges shape internal views of the upland. The open hilltop meadows of the estates allow for views up, down and across the Hudson River.
The views to the west extend to the distant backdrop of the Catskill Mountains. Wooded bluffs along the eastern bank of the Hudson constitute the middle ground of these views and provide an important buffer to the Estates District SASS from the development spreading on the plateau to the west. Views from the Hudson River to the east include the estate houses and their sweeping lawns. The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge is prominent in the views to the south and somewhat reduces their scenic quality. Discordant elements in the views include two that intrude at night: the exterior lighting at the IBM County Club in the Town of Ulster, and the radio tower on Overlook Mountain.
III. Uniqueness
The subunit is unique, an exceptional grouping of historic estates designed by prominent architects and landscape architects.
IV. Public Accessibility
The subunit is accessible via the Hudson River, but the mansions and their grounds are privately owned and are not accessible to the public. The subunit is highly visible, however, from the Hudson River and its western shore and from the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge located in the ED-10 Astor Cove subunit. The Hudson and its coves and wetlands are visible from the railroad trains. Astor Point and its deteriorated pier are connected to the upland by a private steel-decked vehicular bridge crossing over the railroad. There is a pedestrian above-grade bridge crossing the tracks at Mandara.
V. Public Recognition
The Astor Point subunit is publicly recognized through its inclusion in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49 because of the views available from the bridge, including those of the Mandara and Rokeby estates. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The subunit is publicly accessible via the Hudson River. Although the estates are in private ownership and not accessible to the public, they are visible from the Hudson River and the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Astor Point subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it contains an exceptional grouping of four historic estates with mansions and grounds designed by notable architects and landscape architects. It exhibits a high degree of variety among the scenic components of landform, designed and natural landscapes and historic structures. High contrast exists between the historic mansions and the surrounding woods and fields and between the rolling upland and the sweeping Hudson River. The landscape is also unified by the underlying topography, the designed landscapes and the dominant Hudson River.
The subunit is publicly recognized through the designations under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge Scenic Road, which offer views of the subunit. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The subunit is publicly accessible via the Hudson River, and the private estates are visible from the Hudson River and its western shorelands and from the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Astor Cove subunit extends along the Hudson River from just north of the Rhinebeck/Red Hook town line south to just north of Long Dock Road in Rhinecliff. Its northern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-9 Astor Point subunit, and its southern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-14 Rhinecliff Road subunit. The subunit is bounded on the east by the top of the bluffs along the Hudson River, a common boundary with the ED-11 River Road subunit. The western boundary is the mean high tide line on the western shore of the Hudson. The subunit is located in the Towns of Red Hook and Rhinebeck, Dutchess County and in the City of Kingston and the Town of Ulster, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 3 for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The Astor Cove subunit consists of the Hudson River, which is 2,000 feet wide in this area, and the 100 foot high steep, wooded bluffs that constitute its eastern shore. The Hudson dominates the entire subunit. The river's shoreline is straight, defined by the railroad embankment that parallels the shore, except at Mills Point and Clifton Point. To the east of the tracks are located Astor Cove and wetlands, several other coves and wetlands, and small streams and ponds. Small ravines have been cut through the bluffs by the streams. Upland vegetation consists of mature woodland and occasional meadows. The designed landscapes of several estates located in the subunit include unique specimen trees and other notable plantings.
B. Cultural Character
Land use in the subunit consists mainly of four large 20th century estates that line the bluffs and provide dramatic views of the Hudson River. Although generally set at the summit of the bluffs and the properties are primarily wooded, the houses are visible from the Hudson. Several of the mansions include extensive landscaped grounds that extend into the adjacent River Road subunit. The southern portion of the Mandara estate, located in the Astor Point subunit to the north, extends into this subunit. The estates include Orlot, Ferncliff, Marienruh (now called Valeur), and The Meadows (formerly Leacote). The subunit also contains numerous vernacular structures from the 18th and 19th centuries. Although past neglect led to the demolition of Leacote, the subunit is currently well maintained.
In the northern portion of the subunit lies Orlot, its grounds flanked by ravines extending to the Hudson. The estate entrance road predates the estate as it was in the 18th century a public road, an extension of Upper Hook Road, which leads to a small settlement called Schultz's Landing. The original Orlot farmhouse still stands, a 1 1/2 story frame house whose original fabric dates from the late 18th century. In 1940 its colonial revival main house was built on terraces leading to the lawns and the Hudson River. The estates's 350 acres were farmed and a portion was mined for iron deposits, the latter use having given the land its name. The view to the 1950s Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge to the north is less than successful, letting the discordant features of traffic and industrial architecture intrude on the estate grounds.
Marienruh was purchased in 1868 by Louis Augustus Ehlers, the landscape gardener who designed the grounds of Ferncliff. Ehlers' designed landscape for Marienruh has subsequently been altered, and his estate house was demolished in 1908. The present mansion is the second main house on the property. Built in the 1920s for Prince Obolensky and his wife Alice Astor, the Georgian house is oriented to take advantage of the long view to the south across Astor Cove, a view now blocked by forest growth.
The Ferncliff Casino, located south of Astor Cove, was designed in the Neo-classical style by McKim, Mead & White in 1902 and was converted to a residence for Vincent Astor, son of John Jacob Astor, after the Ferncliff mansion was demolished in 1941. A tea house, also designed for Vincent Astor by David Pleydell Bouverie, is now located near the site of the original mansion. French Provincial barns and two arched bridges from the early 1900s remain.
The most significant discordant features are the industrial and mining sites visible in Ulster and Kingston, just outside the western boundary of the SASS. Because the railroad corridor along the eastern shore is not highly visible, it is not a major discordant feature except when viewed from nearby locations. The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, which opened in 1957, is an undistinguished utilitarian structure that is not compatible with the historic architecture in the subunit, but it does not significantly detract from the subunit's visual quality because it is not visible from many places in the subunit.
C. Views
Views from the subunit are sweeping 180 degree panoramas from the grounds of the major estates, and many include the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. Many views are framed and enhanced by the designed landscapes surrounding the mansions. In other areas of the subunit the dense forest cover limits views.
Except for Orlot and The Meadows, views have a focus to the southwest, and those downriver are three miles in length. Views to the north from south of the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge are blocked by the bridge which also limits somewhat the breadth of views. Views to the west extend to the Catskill Mountains. The industrial sites on the western shore across from the southern portion of the subunit are somewhat discordant and reduce the scenic quality of the views.
In the northern portion of the subunit the steep wooded bluffs along the western shore just north of the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge are important as the middle ground of views to the west. Recent residential development is located on the ridge of the bluffs, introducing an element of discordance to an otherwise pristine length of wooded bluffs that extends northward to Glasco.
III. Uniqueness
While some of the historic integrity of the landscape has been lost, the grouping of the estates and their grounds in the Astor Cove subunit remains unique, a grouping of historic estates designed by prominent architects and landscape architects.
IV. Public Accessibility
The subunit consists primarily of private property which is not physically accessible to the public. The subunit is visible from the Hudson River and its western shorelands and from the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. An abandoned railroad right-of-way which connects Slate Dock with NY Route 9G crosses the subunit and could provide additional public access if developed as a hiking trail. A vehicular above-grade bridge crosses the railroad tracts at The Meadows.
V. Public Recognition
The subunit is located in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge and the adjacent portion of N.Y. Route 199 are designated Scenic Roads under Article 49 because of the views they offer. The Astor Cove subunit is also part of the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and of the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Astor Cove subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it contains a variety of landscape and architectural components including mature woodlands, unique specimen trees and estate plantings associated with notable early 20th century mansions. Contrast exists between the buildings and the natural elements of the surrounding grounds and woods, while the design of the estate grounds and their structures effects a strong unity among these elements.
The subunit is visible to the public from the Hudson River and its western shore and from the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. The subunit is publicly recognized through its inclusion in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49 because of the views it offers, including views of the Astor Cove subunit. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The River Road Subunit extends for almost seven miles between the hamlet of Annandale-on-Hudson on the north and Rhinecliff Road on the south. The subunit's western boundary is a common boundary with the ED-10 Astor Cove, ED-9 Astor Point and ED-8 Barrytown subunits along the Hudson River to the west. Its eastern boundary is coterminous with the boundary of the ED-12 Mount Rutsen subunit to the east, except where the northern and southern ends of the subunit reach east to New York Route 9G. The northern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-7 Annandale-on-Hudson subunit, and the southern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-14 Rhinecliff Road subunit. The subunit is located in the Towns of Red Hook and Rhinebeck, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 2 and 3, for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit consists of flat to moderately rolling upland plateau accentuated by extensive estate farm fields and pastures and divided by small swales and gullies. Rock outcroppings are found throughout. The water features of very small brooks and ponds do not play a major role in the landscape. The Mudder Kill, which rises in Snyder Swamp in the adjacent subunit to the east, is a small perennial stream that recedes to a trickle during dry summers. Vegetation consists of mature deciduous forests, fields and pastures with large specimen trees located in fields and around estate houses. Large trees also line the rural roads and estate entrance roads.
B. Cultural Character
River Road/Annandale Road winds generally north and south through the entire subunit. The corridor is lined with trees and stone walls, some dry laid and some faced and topped with cap stones. The extensive pastoral landscape which flanks both sides of the roadway is associated with estates, the main houses of which are located in the adjacent riverfront subunits to the west. These estates include Massena, Edgewater, Sylvania, Rokeby, Mandara, Orlot, Leacote, Marienruh (now called Valeur) at Clifton Point, Ferncliff and Ankony.
Some of the outbuildings, elaborate barns and farm buildings associated with the estates are located in the subunit, along with stone walls, historic gate houses and winding entrance roads. More modest rural buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries are located along the roadways. The structures in the subunit are generally well maintained.
Kipsbergen, once located on the shore of the Hudson River just north of Slate Dock in the ED-14 Rhinecliff Road subunit, was the first settlement in Rhinebeck. A railroad, its now abandoned right-of-way leading from Slate Dock to NY Route 9G and beyond, once carried commodities from inland areas to the dock and the main line of the New York Central Railroad.
The country seat of Ankony was established in the early 19th century and was named after the Indian Chief who sold the land to the Kip family in the 1680s. Its three-story Greek Revival main house, dating from 1825 and 1860, was demolished in 1979. Stables and barns remain. Mature white pines and locusts line the estate entrance road which crosses the undulating terrain.
In the southern portion of the subunit west of River Road is located a nursing home, a large institutional structure built in the 1970s on property that was formerly a part of the Ferncliff estate. The landscape designed by Louis Augustus Ehlers in part remains.
The straight, wide corridor of NY Route 199 cuts through the central portion of the subunit on its way to the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, its discordant qualities softened near the Hudson River by its sunken profile there. NY Route 9G, where it borders the subunit, is also discordant. Some recent scattered roadside development and a large institutional structure in the southern portion of the subunit create minor discordance in this otherwise unified pastoral landscape.
C. Views
Views are generally of an upland landscape and can be either shallow and broad, or long, as much as two to three miles in length across open fields. The composition of the views is enhanced by the fields and vegetation, including specimen trees. Minor focal points abound, including elaborate stone walls and entrance gates. Background views are limited to nearby woods and hills. The Hudson River is rarely visible from the subunit.
Some glimpses of estate grounds are available through formal gateways and down winding entrance roads which give a tantalizing hint of the elegance waiting at their termini.
III. Uniqueness
The River Road subunit is not unique, although its landscape of extensive estate grounds is of noteworthy scenic quality.
IV. Public Accessibility
There is no public access to the private estates, but the edges of the subunit are visible to the public from River Road/Annandale Road and other rural roads and from NY Routes 9G and 199. A panoramic view may be had from the publicly accessible observation tower atop Mt. Rutsen in Ferncliff Forest Preserve. The possible development of a trail along the old railroad bed that runs across the subunit from Slate Dock on the Hudson River in the ED-10 Astor Cove subunit to NY Route 9G would greatly increase public access to the interior of the subunit.
V. Public Recognition
The River Road subunit is part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. River Road/Annandale Road and NY Route 199 are designated Scenic Roads under Article 49. The subunit is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and is part of the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. River Road/Annandale Road is an Historic Tourway designated by Dutchess County, and has also been selected by a Washington D.C. interest group - Scenic America - as one of the ten most scenic roads in the nation.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The River Road subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it contains a great variety of open space, fields and woodlands which are unified by the pastoral estate setting and the general absence of discordant features. There is moderate contrast between the fields, woods and estates. Although some discordant features exist, they do not overwhelm the landscape. The edges of the subunit are visible from the public roadways, including River Road/Annandale Road and NY Routes 9G and 199.
The subunit is recognized through the designations of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and of the River Road/Annandale Road Scenic Road under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Mount Rutsen subunit is located northwest of the Village of Rhinebeck adjacent to and including Mt. Rutsen Road. The subunit's northernmost boundary extends to Rokeby Road in the Town of Red Hook. The eastern boundary follows NY Route 9G, Hook Road and Old Post Road. The edge of the farmland north of the Village of Rhinebeck constitutes the southern boundary. The western boundary lies east of the River Road corridor, a common boundary with the ED-9 River Road subunit. The subunit is located in the Towns of Rhinebeck and Red Hook, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 3 for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The Mount Rutsen subunit is dominated by Mount Rutsen, a 350 foot-high hill covered with mature deciduous forest. The remaining terrain is flat to gradually rolling and is primarily forested. The forest on Mount Rutsen is protected as part of the 192-acre Ferncliff Forest Preserve donated by Mrs. Vincent Astor and composed of extensive stands of deciduous trees with white pine and hemlock groves interspersed.
Water features include Snyder Swamp, a 110 acre hardwood swamp with areas of permanent standing water which spawns several woodland creeks. Snyder Swamp, a state-regulated freshwater tidal wetland, is the source for both the Mudder Kill, which meets the Hudson River north of Astor Point, and the Rhinebeck Kill, which joins the Landsman Kill to flow into the Hudson in Vanderburgh Cove.
B. Cultural Character
Land use in the subunit outside of the forested area consists of former farmlands, small historic farmsteads and recent exurban development. The cultural character is of generally well kept residential areas and natural surroundings enhanced by sightings of the wildlife.
Several winding rural roads border and cross the subunit, including River Road, Mt. Rutsen Road and Hook Road. The northern portion of the subunit is bisected by NY Route 199 which leads to the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. The widened, heavily traveled highway corridor and the recent exurban development constitute discordant features.
In the immediate vicinity of Mount Rutsen was once located a Methodist conference camp established in memory of Rutsen Suckley. Evidence remains of the sites of 19th century camp buildings, roads and landscape elements.
C. Views
Views within the subunit are limited by the generally flat terrain and dense forest cover. The interior views of historic rural homes and woodlands, stream corridors, wetlands and small pastures are of moderate scenic quality. Most views are narrow, consisting of roadway corridors and glimpses of fields. Some partial distant views of the Hudson River are available through the trees on the upper flanks of Mount Rutsen. The observation tower on the property is now open and accessible and provides long views in all directions.
III. Uniqueness
The 192-acre Mount Rutsen Ferncliff Forest Preserve is somewhat unusual, but not unique.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Mount Rutsen Ferncliff Forest Preserve is open to the public for hiking and wildlife viewing. Rural roads, including River Road, Mt. Rutsen Road and Hook road, traverse the subunit, providing visual access to the rest of the landscape. River Road is used by large numbers of commuters traveling to the Rhinecliff railroad station from NY Route 199 and the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge.
V. Public Recognition
The Mount Rutsen subunit is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The forested subunit also contributes to the rural and wooded viewshed of River Road, a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The northern portion of the Mount Rutsen subunit is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and is part of the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Individual properties elsewhere are included in the Town of Rhinebeck Multi-Resource District, also listed on the State and National Registers. River Road is an Historic Tourway designated by Dutchess County.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
Although the Mount Rutsen subunit is not distinctive, it is included in the Estates District SASS because it lies adjacent to distinctive subunits and contributes positively to the scenic character of their viewsheds. The forest cover and conservation theme of the Mount Rutsen Ferncliff Forest Preserve unifies the varied terrain and the contrasting fields and water features. The Mount Rutsen Ferncliff Forest Preserve is open to the public, and the subunit is publicly accessible via River Road, Mt. Rutsen Road and Hook Road. The subunit is visible from the local roads and viewed by the large number of commuters using River Road.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-13 Rhinebeck Center Subunit
I. Location
The Rhinebeck Center subunit consists of the central business district of the Town and Village of Rhinebeck located within the coastal area boundary west of the Old Post Road and New York Route 9. The northern boundary intersects Old Post Road just north of its junction with Mt. Rutsen Road. The western boundary parallels Old Post Road and NY Route 9 and lies along the edge of the open fields that surround the business district. The southern boundary intersects NY Route 9 south of Mill Road. Most of the district lies within the village boundaries. The subunit has common boundaries with the ED-12 Mount Rutsen, ED-9 River Road, ED-14 Rhinecliff Road and ED-17 Mill Road Meadows subunits. The subunit is located in the Town and Village of Rhinebeck, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 3 for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The terrain of the Rhinebeck Center subunit is flat to gently rolling. Vegetation consists of mature wooded areas, garden plantings, lawns and street trees. Although there are small brooks and ponds, their shoreline features are minor, and water does not play a major role in the landscape.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit is dominated by the tightly clustered grid pattern of Rhinebeck's historic village center. Its visual character is defined by the contrast between the dense settlement and the surrounding open fields and woodlands on gently rolling terrain. The ordered settlement pattern and adjacent open space creates a strong sense of place.
The cultural character of the town center creates a distinct and unique historic visual character. Rhinebeck has one of the Hudson Valley's most historic and best preserved village streetscapes. Accented by the Beekman Arms, reputed to be the oldest continually operating inn in America, the 18th and 19th Century architectural facades are very well preserved and maintained. Period styles range from Dutch vernacular to Federal and Victorian. Other notable features include: the Delamater House (A. J. Davis, 1844); Wager-Parisi House; Kiersted-Wells House; U. S. Post Office (replica of the Kip-Beekman house of 1700, built under the personal supervision of President Franklin D. Roosevelt); the Astor Home (McKim, Mead and White, 1914); and the Rhinebeck Community Cemetery.
Some discordant features such as gas stations and other recent development are present, but they are not major detractions.
C. Views
Views are generally short in range and limited to the streetscape. They are narrow and have a strong linear composition, framed by facades and street trees, with
the Beekman Arms and other historic buildings as focal points.
III. Uniqueness
The Rhinebeck Center subunit is a unique historic village center with a great variety of well preserved historic architecture.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Rhinebeck Center subunit is accessible from the village streets and roadways. NY Route 9 is a major north-south artery and brings both commuters and tourists through the community. Rhinecliff Road intersects with NY Route 9 in the village center and connects the village with the hamlet of Rhinecliff, its railroad station and the town dock on the banks of the Hudson River, about 2.5 miles to the west in the ED-15 Rhinecliff subunit.
V. Public Recognition
The Village of Rhinebeck is well known and attracts visitors to its historic business district. The subunit is a part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. It also is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and constitutes a portion of the Rhinebeck Village Historic District, listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Rhinebeck Center subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it exhibits a great variety of architecture styles unified by the intact historic character of the business district. There is some contrast between the building facades and the associated lawns and street trees. The subunit is a unique historic town center that is highly accessible to the public. It is well recognized as a tourist destination and is part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and the Rhinebeck Village Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Rhinecliff Road subunit consists of a corridor of land along Rhinecliff Road connecting the hamlet of Rhinecliff with the Village of Rhinebeck. The subunit is bounded on the west by the mean high water line on the west bank of the Hudson River and on the east by the outskirts of the village center, a portion of which is included in the ED-13 Rhinebeck Center subunit. The subunit's northern and southern boundaries are common boundaries with the ED-9 River Road and the ED-17 Mill Road Meadows subunits, respectively. The subunit is located in the Town of Rhinebeck, Dutchess County and in the City of Kingston, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 3 for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit consists of a flat to rolling upland along the corridor of Rhinecliff Road and the 150 foot high bluffs along the east bank of the Hudson River which narrows to approximately 3000 feet in width as it rounds Kingston Point on the west shore. On the east bank the shoreline is straight, formed by the railroad embankment. The construction of the railroad tracks and the piers and docks on the east bank, now abandoned, has created some small man-made coves. Vegetation consists primarily of large street trees and lawns associated with the houses along the Rhinecliff Road and the fields and pastures that lie behind the houses.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit is centered in the Long Dock Road area near the Hudson River north of Rhinecliff where a number of the oldest homes are located. The formerly bustling Long and Slate Docks once serviced ferries and shipping traffic, but are now idle. The earliest settlement in Rhinebeck, called Kipsbergen, was located just to the north of Slate Dock. Beside the Hudson on the north side of Slate Dock Road stands the pre-1708 Jacob Kip House and Tavern, a stone and frame building. At the intersection of Slate Dock Road and Rhinecliff Road is another ancient Kip house, and several hundred yards to the south are the ruins of the Kip-Beekman-Hermance House.
Although such signs of the former farming and shipping heritage of the area remain, recent residential and commercial development along the eastern portion of Rhinecliff Road has eroded a significant amount of the historic architectural and scenic character of the landscape. The Rhinecliff Road corridor is an historic landscape in a rural context that is undergoing changes associated with the growth of development along the highway. The road is lined with a mixture of historic homes and farmsteads along with more recent residential and commercial development.
The subunit is generally well maintained, but recent development has created numerous discordant features which detract from the overall quality and composition of views, including unscreened equipment storage areas, commercial land uses and the suburban development pattern. The railroad tracks along the Hudson are also discordant, although they do not dominate the eastern shore. Ephemeral characteristics consist of lights along the highway corridor.
C. Views
Views in the subunit are generally narrow or linear along the axis of the roadway or through clearings into adjacent subunits and are framed by trees and fields. Broad views of the Hudson River are available, however, from the western end of Rhinecliff Road. Views from the Hudson are primarily of the bluffs which rise along the shoreline. There are no major focal points.
III. Uniqueness
The subunit is not unique. It is a fairly typical rural highway corridor that is being changed by spreading development.
IV. Public Accessibility
The subunit is accessible via Rhinecliff Road and the Hudson River, but is limited to the highway and river corridors. The fields behind the immediate highway corridor are visible from Rhinecliff Road which is well travelled. Rhinecliff Road links NY Route 9, Rhinebeck Village and other areas outside the subunit with the railway station in Rhinecliff and the Town of Rhinebeck Dock, a park and boat launch facility on the Hudson River. The bluffs along the Hudson River are highly visible from the Hudson, from the trains that run along the eastern shore and from the western shore.
V. Public Recognition
The Rhinecliff Road subunit is well known because of its association with the historic Rhinebeck Village and Rhinecliff hamlet. Rhinecliff Road is also an important commuting route, providing access to the Rhinecliff railroad station as well as to the Town of Rhinebeck Dock. The subunit is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law, and the western portion of Rhinecliff Road is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The subunit is also included in both the Sixteen Mile Historic District and the Town of Rhinebeck Multi-Resource District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The easterly segment of the highway corridor is one of the few portions of the Estate District SASS that is not included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
Although the Rhinecliff Road subunit is not a distinctive landscape, it is included in the Estates District SASS because it lies between and links two distinctive subunits. The subunit has a moderate variety of fields, trees and historic structures which are unified by the highway corridor. The repetitive new development reduces contrast to a moderate level as well.
The subunit is accessible to the public via the Hudson River and Rhinecliff Road, a heavily travelled Scenic Road designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The land adjacent to the highway corridor is visible from the highway. The bluffs along the Hudson River are highly visible from the river and its western shore and from the passenger trains that run along the eastern shore. The subunit is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District, also designated under Article 49, and in both the Town of Rhinebeck Multi-Resource District and the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Rhinecliff subunit consists of the hamlet of Rhinecliff in the Town of Rhinebeck and the associated portion of the Hudson River west to the mean high tide line on its western shore, primarily the mouth of the Rondout Creek. The subunit is bounded on the north by the ED-14 Rhinecliff Road subunit, on the east by the ED-16 Rhinecliff Woods subunit and on the south by the ED-18 Vanderburgh Cove subunit. The subunit is located in the Town of Rhinebeck, Dutchess County and the City of Kingston, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 3 for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the Rhinecliff subunit is composed of a steep bluff rising from the banks of the river to the height of 150 feet and the dramatic 20 to 30 foot high cliffs created by the railroad cut. Vegetation consists of mature street trees in the hamlet of Rhinecliff and the meadows and dense deciduous woodlands that surround the hamlet. The 5,000 foot wide Hudson River features prominently in the subunit.
B. Cultural Character
The historic hamlet of Rhinecliff, a compact cluster of buildings nestled in a grid pattern of streets on steep slopes, was founded as Kipsbergen in 1686. Historic homes line tree-shaded streets in this small, compactly developed Hudson River port surrounded by farmland. The varied period vernacular architecture gives hints of the hamlet's history. A notable feature is the Morton Memorial Library and Community Hall, built by local resident Levi P. Morton, a Vice President of the United States.
Across the Hudson River at the western edge of the subunit stands the Rondout 2 Lighthouse, an historic sentinel which has been restored as a museum. Its flashing light constitutes an ephemeral feature on the landscape.
Large passenger vessels once frequented the town-owned Rhinecliff Landing, and ferry boats plied the river between Kingston and Rhinecliff until the 1950s. Today, Rhinecliff's historic role as a transportation center continues in part, as the historic Rhinecliff railroad station hosts large numbers of commuters who come to Rhinecliff daily to take the train. The railroad station was built in 1914 in the Mission style. Keystones crown its corbelled arches, and light transoms and side lights frame the entrances.
Rhinecliff is well maintained, but some discordant features are present, including the Kingston industrial waterfront visible in views to the west, the extensive macadam parking lots associated with the railroad station and the railroad itself which cuts off access from the hamlet to the Hudson except at Rhinecliff Landing, which is reached by a bridge over the tracks.
C. Views
Views from the subunit are extensive and include expanses of the Hudson River to the north and south, the wooded bluffs of the opposite shore, the City of Kingston, and the distant Catskills which are visible from the higher elevations in the subunit. The Rondout 2 Lighthouse in Kingston is a focal point in views from the water and the eastern shore. The hamlet's tight residential street grid frames views of the river in a linear composition. Rhinecliff Landing and the restored railroad station are dominant features in views from the Hudson. Negative elements in the viewshed include the derelict industrial facilities on the East Kingston waterfront and the recent housing development on the riverfront slopes at Port Ewen.
III. Uniqueness
The Rhinecliff subunit is unique because it is a scenic landscape which also retains its historic character and some of its historic functions as a Hudson River port and transportation center.
IV. Public Accessibility
The subunit is accessible from the hamlet streets and the Hudson River and is visible from the river, the passing railroad trains, the City of Kingston and the Rondout 2 Lighthouse. The Town-owned Rhinecliff Landing attracts large numbers of boaters and other visitors wishing to get close to the Hudson River and provides access to the hamlet from the river.
V. Public Recognition
The Rhinecliff subunit is publicly recognized through its inclusion in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The western portion of Rhinecliff Road is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. Rhinecliff is well known as a stop for AMTRAK passenger trains and vessels on the Hudson River. It is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Town of Rhinebeck Multi-Resource Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The railroad station has been maintained in a manner which recognizes its architectural value.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Rhinecliff subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it is a unique scenic and historic Hudson River landing. The Rhinecliff subunit exhibits a variety of architectural styles unified by their historic character and hamlet development pattern. Contrast is found between the hamlet form, the steep bluff and the expansive Hudson River. The subunit is both visually and physically accessible via the Hudson River, the railroad trains and local streets and roads. Rhinecliff is well known for its historic railroad station and river landing. The hamlet is publicly recognized for its scenic and historic values through the designations of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the Rhinecliff Road Scenic Road under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The hamlet is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Rhinebeck Multi-Resource Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-16 Rhinecliff Woods Subunit
I. Location
The Rhinecliff Woods subunit has two separate sections. The northern section is located east and southeast of the hamlet of Rhinecliff. The southern section, along the Landsman Kill inland and north of Vanderburgh Cove. The subunit has common boundaries with the ED-17 Mill Road Meadows and ED-18 Vanderburgh Cove subunits and is located in the Town of Rhinebeck, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 3 and 4, for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The Rhinecliff Woods subunit is composed of two sections, neither of which border on the Hudson River. The physical character of the sections differs, the terrain of the northern section being undulating, while the southern section consists primarily of the 60 foot high banks of the Landsman Kill ravine. Both sections are generally covered with dense second growth deciduous woodlands. Scattered small fields occasionally add diversity to the forested landscape in the northern section. The vegetation in the southern section is that of swamp forest. Water features include the meandering Landsman Kill, ponds and wetlands.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit is composed of scattered historic farm and estate buildings located at its fringes and along the portions of Mill Road included in the subunit. The subunit includes portions of three historic properties: Ellerslie, Graymere and Foxhollow. The pastures east of Rhinecliff have been continuously farmed since the founding of the hamlet. Minor discordant features include a quarry and a radio tower.
C. Views
Views within the subunit are primarily confined to the forest understory. Internal views in the southern section of the subunit are predominately linear and include the Landsman Kill's forested steep valley and associated wetlands. The Hudson River is not visible. Composition, distance, and breadth of views are minimal due to the dense forest cover. The stream and its ravine constitute focal points.
III. Uniqueness
The Rhinecliff Woods subunit is not unique. It is a fairly typical wooded upland landscape.
IV. Public Accessibility
The edges of the subunit are moderately visible from local roads.
V. Public Recognition
The subunit is not well known on its own, but it is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. South Mill Road, which borders portions of the southern section of the subunit, is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The subunit is also part of the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and is included in the Town of Rhinebeck Multi-Resource Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
Although the subunit is not distinctive, it is included in the Estates District SASS because it is located between and links distinctive subunits and does not detract from the overall scenic quality of the SASS. The forest creates strong visual unity but lacks contrast. The Landsman Kill and its wooded ravine contribute some localized variety. Visual access is limited to the landscape edges along local roads. The subunit is neither unique nor well- known in itself, but it is part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the corridor of the South Mill Road Scenic Road designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Town of Rhinebeck Multi-Resource Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-17 Mill Road Meadows Subunit
I. Location
The Mill Road Meadows subunit consists of an extensive area of farmland southwest of the Village of Rhinebeck center. The subunit is bounded on the north by the Village of Rhinebeck center and the corridor of Rhinecliff Road included in the ED-14 Rhinecliff Road subunit. New York Route 9 constitutes the eastern boundary. Its other boundaries are common boundaries with the ED-16 Rhinecliff Woods and ED-18 Vanderburgh Cove subunits. The Mill Road Meadows subunit is located in the Town of Rhinebeck, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 3 and 4, for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit is of flat to gradually rolling topography. Vegetation consists of open meadows and pasture bounded by woods. Large specimen trees, including locust trees, are scattered throughout the meadows and line their edges. There is a variety of small water features such as streams, ponds and wetlands. The meandering streams have a varied but small-scale shoreline. Woodlands line the shores of the Fallsburg Creek.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit consists of scattered historic rural residences, estates and farmsteads located along narrow rural roads lined with stone walls and mature specimen trees. The pastoral landscape is an historic remnant of a land use that once was predominant in the Hudson River Valley and contributes to the Town of Rhinebeck's rural character. This open space also contributes to the defined edges of both the Village of Rhinebeck and the hamlet of Rhinecliff. Historic Mill Road, South Mill Road and other rural roads, lined with stone walls and locust trees, wind their way through the landscape.
Land use consists of farms, including horse farms, and estate grounds which compliment and enhance an otherwise uninteresting landform. Grazing animals and wildlife dot the meadows, creating ephemeral characteristics. Scattered older vernacular homes are reminders of the historic farm landscape.
Some of the meadows are part of the Wildercliffe and Linwood estates, the main houses of which are located in the Vanderburgh Cove subunit to the west. Other farms were once purchased by Tracy Dows and added to the Fox Hollow property in the early 20th century. Dows was an estate owner who was personally involved in farming, belonging to local farm organizations. He was an early member of the Dutchess County Agricultural Society and was partly responsible for bringing the Dutchess County Fair to Rhinebeck. Glenburn, located near Fox Hollow Road, was inherited by Dows' wife, Alice Olin Dows. The dwelling was built in 1850 and remodeled in the early 20th century. The collection of barns is an excellent example of a 19th century farm complex. The grounds include an intact designed landscape by the Olmsted Brothers. The property also contains two humpback bridges built over the Fallsburg Creek in 1850 and 1875.
Located on the Glenburn property is the studio of the late Olin Dows, son of Tracy Dows and the painter of the murals in the Rhinebeck Post Office which was constructed during the tenure of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Southlands Farm, which borders NY Route 9, was also once part of the Dows property. Its open space along the highway is an important landscape feature protected by a conservation easement held by Scenic Hudson, Inc.
The estate lands of Grasmere also extend eastward to NY Route 9 as well. The 1750 Steenburg Tavern, now a private home adjacent to NY Route 9, was a tenant house on the Grasmere estate. Grasmere was built by Richard Montgomery and Janet Livingston Montgomery in 1775, the same Janet Montgomery who subsequently built Montgomery Place in 1806. After the original main house of Grasmere was destroyed by fire in 1824, it was rebuilt to retain the original character. The property has been subdivided over the years, but 25 acres have remained with the main house, including early 20th century gardens in the English country house style. The stone barns of the estate are in separate ownership, and the land is still farmed. The acreage in farming has been reduced by new housing development, however.
A portion of this subunit includes farmlands formerly comprising part of Ellerslie, the 1000 acre county seat of Levi P. Morton, Governor of New York and a Vice-President of the United States in the 1880s and 1890s. Another portion encompasses the historically intact Van Steenburgh-McLaughlin farm.
The Mill Road Meadows subunit is well maintained. Except for some intrusive development along NY Route 9, the subunit is remarkably free of discordant features, considering its location along a main north-south State highway.
C. Views
Views are primarily long interior views, some extending two miles along the local rural roads and across fields and meadows to the surrounding low, forested hills. Some views across meadows may be wide, but short, depending on the depth of the meadow. Nearby hills and woods provide background. The land generally is too flat to afford views to the Hudson, but it does reach sufficient elevation at its eastern edge to provide views from NY Route 9 west across the open meadows that border the highway. Varied wooded edges and specimen trees along the roads and in the meadows frame views and create numerous and varied visual compositions. The specimen trees also provide focal points in the views.
III. Uniqueness
Although the subunit's large, undeveloped meadows are uncommon, the Mill Road Meadows subunit is not unique.
IV. Public Accessibility
The subunit is accessible and visible from NY Route 9, Mill Road, South Mill Road and the other rural roads which traverse it.
V. Public Recognition
The Mill Road Meadows subunit is located in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. South Mill Road is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Town of Rhinebeck Multi-Resource Historic District which is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Mill Road Meadows subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it has a variety of vegetation and meadows unified by the agricultural and estate uses. Contrast exists between the forest and the meadows, and the subunit is generally free of discordant features. It is accessible and visible from NY Route 9 and local roads and is publicly recognized through the designation of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the South Mill Road Scenic Road under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Town of Rhinebeck Multi-Resource Historic District which is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-18 Vanderburgh Cove Subunit
I. Location
The Vanderburgh Cove subunit extends from the southern end of Vanderburgh Cove north to Rhinecliff. The subunit is bounded on the north by the hamlet of Rhinecliff in the ED-15 Rhinecliff subunit. Its eastern boundary generally follows the crest of the Hudson River bluffs and is a common boundary with the ED-17 Mill Road Meadows and ED-16 Rhinecliff Woods subunits. The subunit is bounded on the south by the ED-20 Mills State Park subunit and on the west by the mean high tide line on the western shore of the Hudson River. The subunit is located in the Towns of Rhinebeck and Hyde Park, Dutchess County and in the Town of Esopus, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 4 for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit is composed of steep, wooded bluffs rising prominently 150 feet above Vanderburgh Cove and Suckley Cove, and Hudson River wetlands and shorelands. The northern portion of the subunit curves to the west to form Sturgeon Point. Vegetation consists of mature deciduous forest, estate lawns, specimen trees and wetlands species.
Water features are the Hudson River and its coves and associated wetlands. The Landsman Kill and Fallsburgh Creek cut through the bluffs and empty into Vanderburgh Cove. The Nature Conservancy and Scenic Hudson, Inc. have collaborated to preserve lands encompassing the lower Fallsburgh Creek, a pristine, partly tidal zone which provides habitat for significant species. This stretch of the Hudson River is about 6,000 feet wide with large shallows and mudflats along both shores.
B. Cultural Character
Eight historic estates figure prominently on the ridgeline overlooking Vanderburgh and Suckley Coves - Ellerslie, Wilderstein, Wildercliffe, Wyndcliffe, Whispering Pines, Linwood, Foxhollow and Hopeland. They evidence outstanding designed estate grounds and varied and unique architecture which accentuate their settings. The status of these properties varies from excellent (Wildercliffe) to undergoing restoration (Wilderstein), extreme disrepair (Wyndclyffe), and seriously compromised integrity (mansions destroyed at Ellerslie, Linwood and Hopelands). Most of the estates originated in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The stucco main house of Whispering Pines was designed in 1906 in the Mission style, the main house at Foxhollow in 1909. Hopeland continues as land only, its main house having been demolished in the 1950s.
Ellerslie lies north of Suckley Cove. Now the site of the Holy Cross School, 112 acres in size, the estate was developed as a country seat by Maturin Livingston beginning about 1810. It is thought that the original mansion was designed by Benjamin Latrobe. As an 800 acre country seat with a celebrated landscape pleasure ground regularly open to the public, Ellerslie served as the house of William Kelly and his family for some fifty years. By 1888 the house was replaced by one designed by Richard Morris Hunt for Levi P. Morton, a Governor of New York State and a United States Vice-President. That house burned in 1940, and the existing school quadrangle dates from the 1950s and 1960s.
The estate landscape, which included formal gardens, paths and roads, stone walls and a man-made lake, survives, though in poor condition. Of note is the Ellerslie or Morton schoolhouse. A gable front Romantic style building located on Mill Road, it is attributed to Alexander Jackson Davis.
Wilderstein overlooks Suckley Cove and provides long views across the Cove to the Hudson River and the opposite shorelands. Its main house was originally designed in 1852 as an Italianate Villa. In 1888 it was enlarged and altered into the Queen Anne country home it is today. Its wood panelled interior, leaded glass windows and marble fireplaces were designed by J. B. Tiffany. In 1891 Calvert Vaux was engaged to enhance the landscape in the American Romantic style. The Suckley family has donated the estate to Wilderstein Preservation, a non-profit organization which is restoring the property which is now open to the public on a limited basis.
Wildercliffe lies between Vanderburgh Cove and Suckley Cove. The main house exhibits several architectural styles. The original wood-frame structure was a modest Federal style house built in 1799 for Reverend Freeborn Garretson and his wife, Catherine Livingston. Reverend Garretson was a Methodist minister who effectively propagated Methodism throughout the Hudson Valley, traveling long distances to individual congregations. Additions to the structure during the 19th century consist of a gambrel roof, French windows and library wings. Windows abound, presumably to take advantage of the views from the property, including Esopus Meadows.
The Norman-style mansion of Wyndcliffe was built in 1853. Its central tower once commanded panoramic views up and down the Hudson River, but today the house is in extreme disrepair, its grounds reduced to four acres, and its river view wholly obscured by forest growth. It was built by an aunt of the novelist Edith Wharton. She visited her aunt at Wyndcliffe. She disliked the estate and satirized it in her writings.
Linwood, which lies along the Landsman Kill, is now a private religious institution, but is accessible to the public. First developed in the 1780s by Dr. Thomas Tillotson and his wife Margaret Livingston, it was later owned by uncles of the writer Henry James, who spent his summers there as a youth, and later still by the beer baron Jacob Ruppert.
When Thomas Wolfe was a college student, he spent time at Fox Hollow, the home of the Dowses whose son Olin was a friend of Wolfe. He returned later to write Look Homeward, Angel while residing in the gatehouse of the estate. The 1906 gatehouse is located on South Mill Road and overlooks a pond on the Landsman Kill that had been impounded for an earlier mill. This sojourn inspired another work of Wolfe, entitled Of Time and the River.
The subunit is generally free of discordant features except for the railroad causeways which figure prominently at the mouth of the coves and somewhat reduce visual quality. The railroad does provide, however, the interesting ephemeral effect of passing trains framed by the expanse of the Hudson River. Other unsympathetic elements in the subunit are the institutional structures and exterior lighting at Ellerslie (Holy Cross School) and the tract housing development east of Vanderburgh Cove.
C. Views
Most of the estates in the Vanderburgh Cove subunit command superb views, framed by the sweeping estate lawns. These views are expansive, extending across Vanderburgh and Suckley Coves to the Hudson River, the Esopus-Lloyd Scenic Area on the distant western shore and the distant Catskill Mountains. The views to the north and south include the Hudson River. The Esopus Meadows Lighthouse forms a focal point in the middle of the Hudson in views to the south from most of the subunit, as does the Hoyt-Norrie peninsula and Esopus Island to a lesser degree.
A detailed analysis of the Wilderstein viewshed was performed by Scenic Hudson, Inc. in 1989. Two areas identified as being of greatest importance in the viewshed are the northern half of Mills-Norrie State Park, including the lands surrounding Mills Mansion and the Hoyt House and the shorelands that rise above the Hudson River in Esopus, land included in the Esopus-Lloyd SASS in the EL-1 Big Rock and Hemlock Point, EL-2 Esopus Uplands and EL-3 Esopus Bluff subunits. In the absence of significant visual intrusion, the expanse of the Hudson River dominates the views. The viewshed of Wilderstein intersects with that of the Mills Mansion and Hoyt House in Mills-Norrie State Park.
The corridor of the Hudson River in this subunit is primarily wooded punctuated with lawns of the estates which provide visually interesting focal points in views of the eastern shore from the Hudson River and the west shore.
III. Uniqueness
The Vanderburgh Cove subunit is a unique grouping of present or former estates and summer residences.
IV. Public Accessibility
Because the land in the Vanderburgh Cove subunit is in private ownership, the subunit is accessible only within the corridors of the local public roads. Wilderstein, however, is owned by Wilderstein Preservation, a non-profit corporation which is restoring the property for use as a house museum and nature preserve. As Wilderstein's visitation schedule becomes more extended, physical access should increase significantly.
Local roads provide views of the portions of the subunit within their scenic corridors, mostly of a wooded landscape. The shorelands of the subunit are highly visible from the Mills Estate in Mills-Norrie State Park and from the Hudson River and its western shore. The steep bluffs generally block views of the estates from the passing trains; but Vanderburgh Cove, Suckley Cove and their shorelands are visible from the passing trains.
V. Public Recognition
The Vanderburgh Cove subunit is publicly recognized through the designation of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. South Mill Road, which runs through the subunit, is designated a Scenic Road under Article 49. It is also an Historic Tourways designated by Dutchess County. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District which is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
The Wilderstein Preservation Viewshed Report prepared by Scenic Hudson in 1989 is another indicator of the importance the public attaches to the scenic quality of this portion of the Hudson River. Regional and local land trusts and New York State agencies are engaged in acquiring land and conservation easements to protect the scenic quality of the Hudson River corridor in this area.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Vanderburgh Cove subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it is a unique collection of historic estates with designed landscapes that incorporate dramatic views of the Hudson River, its western shorelands and the distant Catskill Mountains. The landscape exhibits a variety of terrain, water features and architectural styles unified by the estate land uses and views. The contrast between the forests, the estate lawns and the mansions is distinctive. Except for the railroad causeways, the subunit is generally free of discordant features.
The subunit is accessible via the Hudson River and local roads, although only the edges of the subunit are visible. Public access should increase when restoration of Wilderstein is completed and the estate is open to the public on a regular basis.
The Vanderburgh Cove subunit is publicly recognized through the designations of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the South Mill Road Scenic Road under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. South Mill Road is also part of the Dutchess County system of Historic Tourways.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-19 Dinsmore Golf Course Subunit
I. Location
The Dinsmore Golf Course subunit consists primarily of the public golf course in Mills-Norrie State Park. The subunit is bounded on the north by the Rhinebeck Town line, on the east by NY Route 9 and on the south by the hamlet of Staatsburg located in the ED-21 Staatsburg subunit. Its western boundary lies just to the west of Old Post Road and is a common boundary with the ED-20 Mills State Park subunit. The Dinsmore Golf Course subunit is located in the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 4 for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit consists of a broad hillside which slopes toward Old Post Road to the west and is almost fifty percent covered by an extensive public golf course. The landform is accentuated by the carefully mown fairways and greens which are dotted with specimen trees. Water features include several small ponds and the North Staatsburg Creek.
B. Cultural Character
The subunit is primarily devoted to open space, the land use on the site being recreational. The golf course is sited on land that was previously the farmland and estate grounds of the Mills and Dinsmore Estates and is now operated as a State Park by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. In its earliest, smallest configuration, this is believed to have been one of the first golf links developed, owned and enjoyed by a private individual in the nation. An historic barn on the property is used for maintenance operations. Golf Course Road traverses the course from east to west. Significant stone walls line the west side of Old Post Road and frame the entrance to the Mills Estate which lies to the west of the subunit.
The recreational activity of the golfers constitutes ephemeral effects which contribute interest to the scene. Several undistinguished buildings, including the golf course restaurant, are located along NY Route 9. Although they are discordant features, they have a relatively minor visual impact.
C. Views
Views in the subunit are mainly internal along the fairways of the golf course to nearby woods, hills and the hamlet of Staatsburg. The higher portions of the subunit afford distant views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains which provide a dramatic background, especially in the winter. The mostly uniform foreground created by the open golf course fairways results in somewhat monotonous foreground compositions with few focal points, but middle ground and distant views are excellent. Wide views are somewhat reduced by the adjacent wooded areas.
III. Uniqueness
The Dinsmore Golf Course subunit is not unique, although the views it affords of the Hudson River and the Catskills enhance the landscape of rolling meadows and golf links.
IV. Public Accessibility
The subunit is highly accessible to the public via NY Route 9, Golf Course Road and Old Post Road and is visible from these roads. The golf course is a State park and open to the public.
V. Public Recognition
The Dinsmore Golf Course is operated as a State park. It is located in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. Golf Course Road is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The subunit is also part of the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and the Sixteen Mile Historic District which is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Old Post Road is part of the Dutchess County Historic Tourway.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Dinsmore Golf Course subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it is a distinctive landscape with high public accessibility. It has a somewhat monotonous foreground but a varied background. The landscape is highly unified by the single recreational use of the golf course but is of moderate contrast. The subunit is also publicly recognized through the designations of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the Golf Course Road and Old Post Road Scenic Roads under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and the Sixteen Mile Historic District which is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Old Post Road is part of the Dutchess County Historic Tourway.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-20 Mills State Park Subunit
I. Location
The Mills State Park subunit is located just north and east of the hamlet of Staatsburg. The subunit is bounded on the east by the railroad tracks and the hamlet of Staatsburg in the ED-21 Staatsburg and the ED-19 Dinsmore Golf Course subunits, on the north by Vanderburgh Cove, on the south by Norrie State Park in the ED-23 Norrie State Park subunit, and on the west by the mean high tide line on the western shore of the Hudson River. The subunit is located in the northern corner of the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County and in the Town of Esopus, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 4 for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The topography of the subunit consists of rolling hills sloping down to the Hudson River. Vegetation includes specimen trees, estate vegetation, mature woodlands and landscaped estate grounds. The Hudson River is the most prominent scenic element in the subunit. Four thousand feet wide just north of the subunit, it narrows as it winds its way around Esopus Meadows Point on the west shore and the projection on the east shore that is Mills-Norrie State Park.
Since the railroad lies inland in this subunit, the Hudson's undulating shoreline is unaltered. Several pronounced projections, such as Dinsmore Point, frame deep coves along the river including Mills Cove. Tributary streams and ponds constitute the other water features scattered about the landscape.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit centers on the Ogden and Ruth Livingston Mills State Park, including the Mills Mansion. From the 18th century onward, the estate was the site of lavish summer homes of the Livingston family, most notably General Morgan Lewis, third Governor of New York. In 1895 Ogden and Ruth Livingston Mills retained the noted architects McKim, Mead & White to remodel their 1832 Greek Revival house into a Beaux-Arts mansion with 65 rooms and 14 baths. The estate was donated to the State in 1938 by the Mills' daughter, Mrs. Gladys Phipps.
The Mills Mansion is superbly sited on a knoll overlooking a gracious estate landscape which sweeps down to the banks of Mills Cove and the Hudson River. It is approached via a winding entrance road lined with mature trees. Its encircling lawns, graced with clusters of mature copper beach trees, greatly enhance the views of the Hudson. Trails connect the Mills Mansion with the Hoyt House to the south. The subunit includes a portion of the historic grounds of the publicly-owned Hoyt property, landscaped by Calvert Vaux.
In the northern portion of the subunit is located The Locusts, an estate of the Dinsmore family who donated the Dinsmore Golf Course to the State of New York. Several main houses have been built in succession on the estate. The present neo-Baroque villa called Hull House was constructed in the 1941 for Mrs. Lytle Hull, formerly Mrs. Vincent Astor, to replace the Italianate mansion built by her great-grandfather William B. Dinsmore in 1871. Once known for the large number of black locust trees on the property, the estate still hosts magnificent trees. Mrs. Helen Huntington (Astor) Hull, the great granddaughter of William Dinsmore, also donated land to the Mills State Park.
Also in the northern portion of the subunit stands the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse which since 1872 has been warning vessels of the flats after which it is named. The structure is in need of restoration. [See the EL-3 Esopus Bluffs subunit in the Esopus-Lloyd SASS for more information on the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse.]
Sunsets, boating and river breezes are ephemeral characteristics which enhance the subunit. The public land is well maintained by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, while the expansive views are remarkably free of discordant features.
C. Views
Views from the Mills Mansion and estate grounds range from striking internal compositions of the estate grounds to sweeping vistas of the Hudson River and its west bank, the distant Catskills and Shawangunk Mountains. The west shore is located in the EL-1 Big Rock and Hemlock Point subunit of the Esopus-Lloyd SASS. Much of the Mansion's viewshed intersects with that of Wilderstein, an important estate located in the ED-18 Vanderburgh Cove subunit to the north. The Mills Mansion is ideally oriented for observing sunsets over the Hudson. Shorter, internal views are of the surrounding hillsides and Vanderburgh Cove. The composition of the views is greatly enhanced by the design of the estate landscape which frames and focuses the dramatic natural vistas. The historic Esopus Meadows Lighthouse constitutes a focal point in views of the Hudson. Scenic Hudson, Inc. recently prepared a detailed report mapping and documenting the viewsheds of the Mills and Hoyt properties.
III. Uniqueness
The Mills State Park subunit is unique because of its history, siting and scale. It is a classic historic estate in a superlative setting.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Mills State Park subunit is highly accessible to the public via the Hudson River and the park, which is open to the public and has a moderate visitation rate. The park grounds, Mills Mansion and Hoyt House are visible from the Hudson River and the Esopus-Lloyd SASS on its western shore, particularly from the EL-1 Rig Rock and Hemlock Point subunit and the El-2 Esopus Uplands subunit. Its edges are visible from Old Post Road and in views from NY Route 9 across the North Staatsburg Golf Course subunit. Because the train tracks are depressed below ground level in the park, only the vegetated corridor of the right-of-way is visible from the trains. There are four private and two state-owned above-grade vehicular crossings of the railroad in this subunit.
V. Public Recognition
Mills State Park subunit is a State Historic Site. It is located in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law and is visible from Old Post Road, a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The Park is included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and is also part of the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Esopus Lighthouse is also listed on the State and National Registers.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Mills State Park subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it is a unique landscape, well recognized and highly accessible to the public. The subunit exhibits variety in its vegetation and the shoreline configuration of the Hudson River which includes large coves and points of lands. The subunit is unified by the landform, site design and view composition. Contrast is found between the historic structures and their natural environs and between land and water surface textures. The subunit is generally free of discordant features.
The Mills State Park is unique because of its history, siting and scale and is well recognized through public ownership and State Historic Site status. The subunit is recognized through the designations of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the Old Post Road Scenic Road under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Staatsburg subunit consists of the hamlet of Staatsburg and the immediate surrounding areas. The subunit is bounded by the Ogden Mills and Ruth Livingston Mills Memorial State Park on the north and northwest, NY Route 9 on the east, and the ED-22 Norrie Heights subunit on the south. The subunit is located in the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 4 and 5, for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The topography of the Staatsburg subunit is flat to rolling, while the eastern edge is steeply sloped. Vegetation consists of woods, fields and mature street trees. A small stream runs through the subunit.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit is dominated by the compact historic hamlet of Staatsburg. Most of Staatsburg developed after the mid-19th century, and many of its earlier residents worked as servants and other employees on the adjacent estates. The vernacular architecture exhibits a variety of periods and is well preserved. Of particular interest is St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, a Gothic revival building designed by Richard Upjohn and built in 1891.
Old Post Road and the railroad line run north-south through the length of the hamlet, but trains no longer stop in Staatsburg. A number of local streets radiate from the center of the hamlet, and the historic grid pattern of streets is generally well preserved. A distinctive edge remains between the hamlet center and the surrounding open space, enhancing the sense of place.
The subunit is generally well maintained. Discordant features consist of a few newer buildings which are not compatible with the historic vernacular architecture. Also discordant is the paved surface which has replaced the former village green in the center of Old Post Road to provide a parking area.
C. Views
Views are generally confined to the corridors of the hamlet's streets and the immediate surrounding countryside. Included in these views are the nearby public golf course, located in the ED-19 Dinsmore Golf Course subunit, and the wooded areas of the adjacent State parks. Views are linear in composition and reflect the traditional development patterns of the hamlet. Individual historic structures, including St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, provide focal points.
III. Uniqueness
The Staatsburg subunit is not unique, although it is notable as an historic Hudson River hamlet.
IV. Public Accessibility
The hamlet is accessible from its streets, Old Post Road and NY Route 9 and is visible from the passing railroad trains. The roads are well travelled by visitors to the Mills and Norrie State Parks and the publicly owned Dinsmore Golf Course.
V. Public Recognition
The hamlet of Staatsburg is known as the location of the adjacent State parks, and visitors must travel through Staatsburg to reach them. The subunit is located in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law and forms the viewshed of Old Post Road, a designated Scenic Road under Article 49. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Staatsburg subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it connects distinctive subunits and influences their viewsheds. It exhibits a moderate variety of vegetation, landform and architectural style which is unified to some degree by the historic village character. The hamlet form contrasts with the surrounding natural landscape. The subunit is accessible to the public via local streets, Old Post Road and NY Route 9 and is visible from the passing railroad trains. It is publicly recognized through the designations of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the Old Post Road Scenic Road under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The subunit is also included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and in the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
I. Location
The Norrie Heights subunit extends from just north of the school building on Old Post Road in Staatsburg to within several hundred yards of the Vanderbilt National Historic Site on the south. The southern boundary is the southerly edge of the suburban development which lies north of National Historic Site between NY Route 9 and the Hudson River. NY Route 9 forms the subunit's eastern boundary. Its western boundary is shared with the adjacent ED-23 Norrie State Park subunit except for a small section in the southern end where the Hudson River's eastern shoreline constitutes the western boundary. The subunit is located in the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 5 for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The topography of the subunit is rolling and gradually slopes to the west. Vegetation consists of dense, second-growth deciduous forest about 1/4 mile wide, some of which creates a buffer between NY Route 9 and the rest of the subunit, screening the land uses and creating a vegetated corridor along the highway. There are some lawns on the institutional properties and in the subdivision to the south. A small stream - the Indian Creek - and a wetland are located near the entrance to Norrie State Park.
B. Cultural Character
The subunit contains the eastern portion of Norrie State Park, private institutions and a subdivision. The former Dominican Camp property and the Anderson School straddle the western boundary of the subunit, their buildings being located primarily in this subunit. The institutional structures exhibit a mix of architectural styles including some older school buildings as well as former estate houses and barns. On the Dominican Camp property stands a stone house built in 1769 by George Rymph on his 600 acre farm. Some of the buildings on these institutional properties are visible in the subunit, but in general the landscape is dominated by second-growth woodlands and the nearby presence of NY Route 9.
A recent subdivision along Scenic Drive in the southern end of the subunit reduces visual quality there. Although the street meanders pleasantly down the hill to the Hudson River, the contemporary houses and suburban character are not in keeping with the rest of the subunit. The institutional buildings and the subdivision constitute discordant features.
C. Views
Views are mainly internal, being limited by the dense woodlands. Although the topography indicates that the Hudson River could be visible from the subunit, very few water views are available to the public because of the forest cover and the fact that most of the land is in private ownership. The Hudson and the western shore are visible from certain locations on the Dominican Camp and Anderson School properties. Blunts Island, a portion of which is part of the Dominican Camp and a portion of which belongs to the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, provides views up and down the river. Views from the end of Scenic Drive focus on the west bank of the Hudson River and the estates located there. Because the Hudson is narrow in this area, the western shore, located in the EL-3 Esopus Bluffs subunit of the Esopus-Lloyd SASS, appears very close and looms above the homes near the shoreland.
III. Uniqueness
The Norrie Heights subunit is not unique. It is a typical, wooded, rolling upland landscape.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Norrie Heights subunit is moderately accessible to the public. The northern most portion is part of Norrie State Park, and the private institutional properties are open to at least some members of the public. The eastern forested edge of the subunit is visible from NY Route 9, but there are few views into the interior of the subunit from the highway. Norrie State Park includes a modern vehicular above-grade crossing of the railroad and a below-grade pedestrian crossing.
V. Public Recognition
NY Route 9 in the southern section of the subunit is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law as is Old Post Road in the northern section. The subunit is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District also designated under Article 49. A portion of the subunit is in the Sixteen Mile Historic District and the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
Although the Norrie Heights subunit is a common landscape, it is included in the Estates District SASS for two reasons. Its southern portion connects two distinctive subunits, ED-24 Vanderbilt Mansion and ED-23 Norrie State Park. The eastern portion of the subunit buffers the Norrie State Park subunit from the NY Route 9 corridor and contributes to the continuity of the Estates District SASS in Hyde Park by connecting the distinctive landscape to the west with an easily determined eastern boundary for the SASS, namely NY Route 9. The subunit exhibits some variety in the former estate landscapes, and the landscape is unified to a moderate degree by the forested areas. The portion in Norrie State Park is accessible to the public, and the eastern edge of the subunit is visible from NY Route 9. The northern portion is publicly recognized by virtue of its inclusion in Norrie State Park, and the subunit as a whole is part of the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The northern portion of the subunit is within the viewshed of Old Post Road, a designated Scenic Road under Article 49.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-23 Norrie State Park Subunit
I. Location
The Norrie State Park subunit stretches for three miles from the Ogden and Ruth Livingston Mills State Park on the north to just north of the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site on the south. The western boundary of the subunit is the mean high tide line on the western shore of the Hudson River. The southern portion of the eastern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-22 Norrie Heights subunit and the ED-20 Mills State Park subunit. The northern portion of the eastern boundary lies west of Old Post Road and is a common boundary with the ED-21 Staatsburg subunit. The Norrie State Park subunit is located in the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County and the Town of Esopus, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 4 and 5, for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit is dominated by the complex, undulating eastern shoreline and the adjacent relatively undeveloped wooded eastern shorelands of the Hudson River. The topography consists of low hills, 50 to 150 feet high, punctuated with rock outcroppings and vegetated with dense, mature deciduous forest that includes oak and hickory. In the northern portion of the subunit is located a single steep hill 150 feet in height where impressive specimen trees, including ancient copper beeches, abound on the grounds of Hoyt House.
The Hudson, approximately 3,600 feet wide in this area, is a dominant visual element. The northern portion of the subunit, which constitutes Mills-Norrie State Park, is essentially an oblong projection of land pointed at each end around which the Hudson winds. Several islands, the largest of which is Esopus Island (protected as part of the state park), are located just offshore. Several coves and wetlands extend inland from the river. The Indian Kill enters the Hudson in the vicinity of Norrie Point, presenting a highly visible example of the ravine and waterfall configuration formed near many of the creek mouths in the SASS.
B. Cultural Character
Land use in the subunit includes the Margaret Lewis Norrie portion of the Mills-Norrie State Park and, to the south of the park, a mixture of undeveloped, privately-owned woodlands and a private marina.
Norrie State Park was established in 1934, a gift from Mrs. Geraldine Livingston (Morgan) Thompson and her husband Lewis Stenrod Thompson in memory of Mrs. Thompson's sister, Margaret Lewis (Morgan) Norrie, a descendant of Governor Morgan Lewis whose 18th century estate stimulated the establishment of the Staatsburg hamlet in the 1780s. The State Park incorporates preservation, nature study and recreation on the property, hosting an environmental center at Norrie Point operated by Dutchess County Community College, a public marina, vacation cabins, trails and other amenities.
Because the railroad lies inland through the park, public access to the Hudson River is an important feature in this stretch of the river where public access to the Hudson is severely limited. The subunit is intimately connected with the Hudson because of this access and the long and panoramic views of the water which it provides. The site of the environmental center at Norrie Point in the southern portion of the Park was once a busy riverfront wharf and nightclub constructed along with the roads and cabins in the park by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Walking trails follow the shoreline and traverse the park, and curving park roads meander through the woodlands. This southern portion of the subunit is well maintained.
In the northern portion of Norrie State Park stands Hoyt House on a promontory known as "The Point" which projects into the Hudson River. This estate was added to the park in the 1960s. Built in 1853, the bluestone Gothic cottage was designed by Calvert Vaux and is his first significant surviving commission completed in the United States. It is described and illustrated in his book Villas and Cottages, published in 1857, which significantly influenced architectural design in the Northeast. The cottage and outbuildings, some of which were constructed in the early 1900s, have fallen into disrepair, but are undergoing restoration.
The Hoyt estate grounds were also designed by Vaux, and it is rare that both a Vaux house and a Vaux landscape survive on a single site. The Point was an ideal location for Vaux to apply the Romantic ideal, and his informal scheme is reflected in the parks which Vaux and Olmsted later designed throughout the country. An entrancing drive, one-third of a mile long and mostly in the Mills State Park subunit, connects the Hoyt House with NY Route 9. It winds through uneven terrain, teasing the traveler at every turn as to what lies beyond. The original landscape design is undergoing restoration as well, reopening views to the Hudson River and its wooded western bluffs which lie in the EL-3 Esopus Bluffs subunit of the Esopus-Lloyd SASS. Trails connect The Point with the Mills Mansion to the north.
Outside the State park, institutional land uses predominate, namely the Anderson School and the closed Dominican Camp which occupy the wooded grounds of former estates. A private marina, the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, is located on Blunts Island south of the Dominican Camp property. The tightly clustered groups of boats at the two marinas punctuate the otherwise undeveloped wooded shoreline both inside and outside the park.
The few buildings in the subunit are generally attractively designed and sited. While the boating activity and park uses provide some ephemeral characteristics, the densely developed and highly visible private marina and the clutter relating to the heavy boat use of the public marina create minor discordant features but do not overwhelm the otherwise unspoiled scenic landscape.
C. Views
Views in the subunit are varied and extensive, ranging from intimate views of woodlands, coves and waterfalls to panoramic views which incorporate the Hudson River and its offshore islands; the bluffs, hills, and religious estates in the Esopus-Lloyd SASS on the western shore; and, in the background, the distant Catskill Mountains. The complex, wooded shoreline frames and enhances view compositions, most of which are dominated by water elements. Blunts Island provides views up and down the Hudson. Ephemeral effects such as sailboats and other types of vessels generally enhance the setting of the subunit.
Because "The Point" projects into the Hudson River, the panoramic views from the site are spectacular. In views up-river the Hudson appears unusually broad, spread out before the Catskills in the distance, with the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse and the Esopus Meadows flats providing focal points in the middle ground. As the original Vaux landscape is restored, the views from The Point should increase in number and complexity. Scenic Hudson, Inc. recently prepared a detailed report mapping and documenting the viewsheds of the Mills and Hoyt properties.
III. Uniqueness
The Norrie State Park subunit as a whole is not unique, although the portion known as The Point is unique because both the Hoyt House and its surrounding landscape were designed by Calvert Vaux and remain on a single, original site.
IV. Public Accessibility
Because Norrie State Park is publicly owned, the northern portion of the subunit is highly accessible to the public. Trails follow the Hudson River shoreline and traverse the inland areas. These will eventually be part of the Hyde Park Trail, connecting the park with the Vanderbilt Mansion and Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Sites to the south. The marina in the park provides access between the land and the river. There is a vehicular bridge over the railroad tracks to the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club on Blunts Island and a footbridge on the Dominican Camp property. The subunit is highly visible from the Hudson River and its western shore and moderately visible from the trains and from public roads and trails in the park.
V. Public Recognition
The Norrie State Park is publicly recognized through its public ownership. It is also included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The Norrie State Park roads from the park entrance to Norrie Point and the camping area are designated Scenic Roads under Article 49. The northern portion of the subunit, The Point and Hoyt House is also part of the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Point, Hoyt House and Norrie State Park are included in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District. The Hoyt House is included in Calvert Vaux's book Villas and Cottages published in 1857.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Norrie State Park subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it exhibits a variety of topography, shoreline configuration and land uses that is unified by the sweep of the Hudson River and the absence of significant discordant features. Contrast is found between the natural elements of forest and river and the cultural elements of recreational boating, marinas and the Hoyt Estate. The subunit is highly accessible to the public, both physically and visually, and is recognized through the public ownership of the State park and the following public designations: the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and the Sixteen Mile Historic District listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, and the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District and the Norrie State Park Roads Scenic Roads designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-24 Vanderbilt Mansion Subunit
I. Location
The Vanderbilt Mansion subunit is bounded on the north by residential development located in the ED-22 Norrie Heights subunit and on the east by NY Route 9. Its southern boundary corresponds with that of the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site and is a common boundary with the ED-25 Hyde Park Center subunit. The mean high tide line on the western shore of the Hudson River constitutes the western boundary. Except for two small, privately-owned parcels in the north, the land in the subunit is part of the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site property administered by the National Park Service. The subunit is located in the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County and the Town of Esopus, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 5 for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit consists of a plateau atop 150 foot high wooded bluffs which provides a dramatic site for the Vanderbilt Mansion and its landscaped grounds. To the north of the mansion, sweeping meadows cover undulating topography which leads more gradually down to the Hudson River and Bard Rock, a point of land projecting into the river. Mature, dense deciduous and coniferous forests and mature landscape plantings grace the property.
Exceptional specimen trees abound, planted in the early 1800s by the estate's fourth owner, Dr. David Hosack, a New York physician, educator and naturalist. The formal gardens began with Dr. Hosack who retained a Belgian landscape gardener, Andre Parmentier, to design the landscape which includes trails and scenic vistas. Most of the exotic species on the property date from that time. The gardens were enlarged over the years to include a cherry walk and a formal rose garden. The most recent changes to the gardens date from 1934 when landscape architects James Greenleaf, Robert Gridland and Thomas Mehan & Sons completed their work for Frederick Vanderbilt. Now restored, the gardens are tended by the volunteer members of the Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association.
Water is a prominent feature throughout the subunit. The Hudson River is about 3,000 feet wide in this area, its curving shoreline configuration incorporating the point at Bard Rock and a small adjacent cove, both of which lie to the west of the railroad tracks. The waves breaking on Bard Rock's rocky shores are more reminiscent of a marine rather than a river landscape. Bard Rock Creek flows through the northern portion of the subunit, entering the Hudson near Bard Rock. The Crum Elbow Creek parallels the driveway on the southern part of the property, flowing past the Vanderbilt's hydro-electric power plant still located on its banks.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit centers on the Vanderbilt Mansion and grounds, land that was once part of a 17th century grant called Hyde Park. The site of a succession of mansions and estates since 1764, the 211 acre property is rich in history and has been a National Historic Site since 1940. The estate was given to the nation by Mrs. Margaret Van Alen, a niece of Mrs. Frederick W. Vanderbilt.
The first owner of the property was the holder of the original patent, Peter Fauconnier, private secretary of Edward Hyde, Governor of the New York colony from 1702 to 1708. The second owner, Dr. John Bard, an attending physician to President George Washington, purchased the patent in 1746. He built a house outside the present property boundaries and began to develop the land. After Dr. Bard's death in 1798 his son Samuel, also an eminent physician, built the first mansion on the property in the same location occupied by the Vanderbilt Mansion. By 1828 the original patent had been reduced to an estate of 540 acres which was purchased by Dr. David Hosack, a New York physician, educator and naturalist.
In 1840 John Jacob Astor bought the property and presented it as a gift to his daughter, Dorothea Langdon, whose family lived on the property until 1894. During that period the gardens were enlarged. In 1895 the property was sold again, this time to Frederick W. Vanderbilt. He demolished the original mansion and erected the current structure, a 52 room Italian Renaissance Villa designed by McKim, Mead and White. Completed in 1898, it was one of a few centers of wealthy Hudson River social life during the Gilded Age, the site of galas attended by prominent social and political figures. While the structure itself is imposing, the landscape design successfully connects the building with its site.
During the early and mid-19th century, the "view from Hyde Park" to the northwest became one of the most popular, influential and oft-reproduced landscape images in America. This view is largely unchanged today.
Along NY Route 9, high cut stone walls and impressive gates alert travelers that an important property lies behind them, and a small picnic area on the Hudson's shore at Bard Rock provides a place for visitors to linger and view the river.
The maintenance of the building and grounds, including the formal gardens, is excellent; and, given the wide views, the subunit and its viewshed are remarkably free of discordant features. Only some very distant radio towers intrude on this imposing landscape.
North of the National Historic Site stands Placentia, former estate home of James Kirke Paulding, a popular novelist who, in 1828, wrote one of the first guidebooks on the Hudson entitled New Mirror for Travellers & Guide to the Springs.
C. Views
Views from the Vanderbilt Mansion subunit are some of the longest views available in the Hudson region. They also provide a 180 degree visual sweep of the Hudson River, nearby hills, and the distant Catskill Mountains. The Hudson River features prominently in the middle ground of the views, and the wooded bluffs on the western shore enhance views by mirroring the vegetated character of the eastern shore. The western shore is included in the Esopus-Lloyd SASS, in the EL-3 Esopus Bluffs subunit. From the Hudson and its western shorelands the mansion is clearly visible sitting in an opening of spacious lawns.
The design of the grounds and meadows has framed and enhanced views both up and down the Hudson, emphasizing the dramatic diagonal views to the northwest and southwest rather than the less imposing frontal views due west. Vanderbilt Mansion, the Hudson River and the Catskills provide major focal points.
The location of the Mansion near the edge of the bluff is dramatic, forming an impressive transition between the flat, wooded, enclosed front arrival lawn and the steep, grassy slopes and distant vistas available from the riverfront bluffs. The Mansion and grounds are an excellent example of the enhancement of views and the total experience of the landscape through inspired building location and landscape design.
The prospect of the property from NY Route 9 is of imposing stone walls and gateways. A glimpse of the tumbling Bard Rock Creek is available from a stone bridge on Route 9. The entrance road is particularly impressive. Overarched with mature trees, it leads down a shady glen before revealing the facade of the mansion. Because the public parking area is to the north of the mansion and not immediately visible, the initial impression is one of approaching the mansion as a guest at a private function.
Numerous dramatic landscape compositions feature the impressive architecture of the mansion, specimen trees, woodlands and winding drives. These are often seen against a backdrop of more distant panoramas. An overlook to the north of the mansion provides views to the north and west across the extensive undulating meadows and bordering forests to the Hudson and its shorelands. Because Bard Rock projects into the Hudson, extensive views up and down the river are available from the picnic area. The wooded shorelands of the Esopus-Lloyd SASS figure prominently in these views.
III. Uniqueness
The Vanderbilt Mansion subunit is unique, both for the architectural and historical value of its mansion and for its landscaped setting and superb views.
IV. Public Accessibility
The Vanderbilt Mansion subunit is highly accessible via the Hudson River and roadways and paths on the property, including a park road which leads to the picnic area at Bard Rock via an above-grade vehicular bridge crossing the railroad. The Mansion and its lawns are also visible from the Hudson River, from NY Route 9W on the western shore and from the bluffs in the EL-3 Esopus Bluffs subunit in the Esopus-Lloyd SASS. Only the northern edge of the subunit is in private ownership and not accessible to the public. The paths of the National Historic Site are part of the Hyde Park Trail which links the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site with the FDR Home to the south, located in the ED-27 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site subunit.
V. Public Recognition
The Vanderbilt Mansion subunit is highly recognized and valued by the public. The Vanderbilt estate is a National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service which receives tens of thousands of visitors each year. It is included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law. NY Route 9 from the southern boundary of the historic site property north for 2.3 miles is a designated Scenic Road under Article 49.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Vanderbilt Mansion subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it contains a dramatic and imposing historic estate located in an exceptional landscape with sweeping views up and down the Hudson River and across the Hudson to the Catskills. The landscape composition exhibits a high degree of variety in its vegetation, architecture and views. The site design and resulting composition of the views unify the contrasting architecture and landform. The subunit is free of discordant features.
The Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site is a unique estate in an notable setting. It is accessible to the public and is publicly recognized through its status as a National Historic Site The subunit is also included in the Mid-Hudson Historic Shorelands Scenic District designated under Article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law, and it contributes to the scenic quality of the NY Route 9 corridor, a designated Scenic Road under Article 49.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-25 Hyde Park Center Subunit
I. Location
The Hyde Park Center subunit consists of the residential neighborhood located between the ED-27 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site and ED-26 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Estate Entrance subunits to the south and the E-24 Vanderbilt Mansion subunit to the north. NY Route 9 constitutes the eastern boundary of the subunit. The western boundary is the mean high water line on the western shore of the Hudson River. The subunit is located in the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County and in the Town of Esopus, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheet number 5 for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The subunit consists of a flat plateau along its eastern half and steep slopes extending down to low bluffs along the Hudson River. The bluffs are broken by a single level area consisting primarily of Railroad Station Park. Most of the bluffs are still wooded, and large trees grace some of the streets in the subdivisions. The Hudson River is approximately 3,000 feet wide in this area. The embankment of the railroad tracks creates a small cove used by the Andros Marina for a docking area.
B. Cultural Character
Originally called Stoutenburgh, the early settlement was part of a 1705 land patent subsequently named Hyde Park. As late as the 1930s Hyde Park was a community of large farms with dirt roads that connected estates with the hamlet. The election of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a member of a leading Hyde Park family, to the Presidency became a catalyst for change and development in the community.
Much of the development that has occurred within Hyde Park's coastal area since World War II has occurred as infill housing within this subunit, the original hamlet area. The NY Route 9 corridor is extensively commercialized with some remaining residential and institutional uses, including government buildings and churches. Land use west of the Route 9 corridor consists primarily of single family residential subdivisions enhanced by mature trees. Interspersed among the newer homes are examples of vernacular architecture from the earlier growth period of 1850 to 1870. The southern portion of this suburban area is called Crumwold Acres, reflecting its location on the former Rogers Estate once graced by Crumwold Hall. Crumwold Hall, designed by the prominent architect Richard Morris Hunt, is now part of the Millennium Kingdom religious community located in subunit ED-27 to the south. Also located in the subunit is the Pope John Paul I Seminary operated by the Archdiocese of New York. Because of this mixture of uses, the eastern half of the subunit lacks a cohesive identity.
Hyde Park's residential neighborhoods are attractive, but the NY Route 9 corridor contains many discordant features including inappropriate architecture, large illuminated signs, extensive parking lots and overhead utilities. Period homes have been converted to offices and stores in a manner insensitive to the original architectural style. In contrast, the stone walls located throughout the highway corridor provide an element of historic and visual interest.
In the western portion of the subunit are found older homes clustered on the hillsides surrounding the former railroad station. No longer a stop on the rail line, the station is leased by the Town to the Hudson Valley Railroad Society which has restored the station for use as a meeting place and railroad museum. The structure is part of Railroad Station Park, the only public riverfront parcel owned by the Town and a node on the Hyde Park Trail. The railroad station is historically significant as the disembarking point of many dignitaries who traveled by train to Hyde Park to visit President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Displayed in the museum are photographs of national and world leaders who arrived and departed from the railroad station, usually in their private railroad cars. From the photos it appears that the site has changed little since that time.
Although trains no longer stop at the station, the tracks which lie along the shore and the chain link fence which separates the park from the tracks create a psychological as well as physical barrier to the Hudson River in this location. The tracks and fence thus constitute discordant features because they are both unattractive and obtrusive. Adjacent to Railroad Station Park on the north is located the Andros Marina. The presence of the boats in the marina, which can only reach the river at low tide via a bridge under the tracks, counterbalances to some degree this sense of separation.
The cultural character of the subunit along N.Y. Route 9 contrasts significantly with the two National Historic Sites to the north and south, but Railroad Station Park and the wooded shorelands provide a strong sense of both the bustle and the leisure of an earlier time.
There are some discordant features present in the subunit, including the commercial strip along NY Route 9, neon signs, utility wires and some recent subdivisions along the Hudson River.
C. Views
Views within the subunit are diverse. Most are of streetscapes in the suburban areas in which the Hudson River either does not play a major visual role or is not visible at all. This is in contrast to the views from Railroad Station Park and along the Hyde Park Trail which provide glimpses of the Hudson River and its western shore, although the railroad right-of-way and fencing affect the quality of the view.
Views from the Hudson River are primarily of wooded shorelands, the marina and the houses around the railroad station.
III. Uniqueness
The Hyde Park Center subunit is not unique. It is fairly representative of town centers in the region.
IV. Public Accessibility
The subunit is accessible via the Hudson River, NY Route 9, public streets and the Hyde Park Trail which runs parallel to the Hudson River. The Hyde Park Trail connects with trails in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Sites in the ED-27 and ED-24 subunits, respectively, crossing the intervening private property through easements arranged with the property owners. The western portion of the subunit is visible from the Hudson River and its western shore and from the passing railroad trains.
There are no public docking facilities in Hyde Park, but Railroad Station Park does provide visual access to the Hudson River. Visual access at Railroad Station Park would be increased if a less obtrusive fence could be used to separate the parkland from the railroad right-of-way. All other property is privately owned and not physically accessible to the public except within the trail easements.
V. Public Recognition
The Hyde Park Center subunit is not publicly recognized in itself but is recognized through its association with the larger Hyde Park community which includes the two well known National Historic Sites, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Vanderbilt Mansion. The presence of the Hyde Park Trail and Railroad Station Park as a node on the trail provides the opportunity for increased public familiarity with the subunit and increased public recognition of the subunit in the future.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Hyde Park Center subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it is a noteworthy landscape which links two distinctive landscapes. It is physically and visually accessible via the Hudson River, the Hyde Park Trail, NY Route 9 and public streets. The western portion of the subunit is visible from the Hudson River and the passenger trains which travel along the river. The subunit is not well recognized in itself but shares in the recognition of Hyde Park as the location of two well known National Historic Sites, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Vanderbilt Mansion.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-26 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Entrance Subunit
I. Location
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Entrance subunit consists of the main entrance lawns and drive to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home; the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and parking lot; and the grounds and mansion of Bellefield, an adjacent estate housing the offices of the National Park Service. The subunit's northern, western and southern boundaries are common boundaries with the ED-25 Hyde Park Center and ED-27 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site subunits, respectively. Ny Route 9 constitutes the eastern boundary. The subunit is located in the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 5 and 6, for subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Entrance subunit is composed of flat land covered with large expanses of lawn and dotted with ancient oak trees. There are no water features in the subunit.
B. Cultural Character
Other than the presence of the Bellefield mansion, the subunit is primarily undeveloped. It serves as the main entrance and approach to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site in the adjacent ED-27 subunit. Visitors to the library and home contribute ephemeral characteristics to the subunit.
The flat, fertile land of the subunit was farmed for centuries and was possibly the site of Native American fields. The land figured prominently in the Roosevelt Home grounds and was cared for by President Roosevelt, who especially admired the ancient oak and sycamore trees which date from Colonial times. Portions of the historic landscape have been saved and coexist with the library's more modern structure, parking lots and access road. The latter elements, which were constructed by the National Park Service and the National Archives, blend well with the natural environment of the subunit.
Bellefield, built in 1796 as a Federal style residence and also known as the Newbold-Morgan mansion, serves as the offices and meeting rooms of the National Park Service. The estate was part of the rural scene to the north of the Roosevelt Home, and the owners were close friends of the Roosevelt family. The two estates are located on one of the original lots of the Great Nine Partners land patent, now Hyde Park. Bellefield has gone through several remodelings, the last transforming it into a Georgian mansion in 1911. A portion of the estate is owned by the National Park Service. The remainder of the property, the meadows, is protected by a conservation easement held by Scenic Hudson, Inc. The subunit is well maintained by the Park Service.
Lights from the commercial development and traffic on adjacent NY Route 9 outside the SASS intrude upon the subunit and constitute discordant features.
C. Views
Views in the subunit are generally local in nature and restricted to the subunit by the flatness of the land, the surrounding vegetation and existing buildings. The ancient oak trees enhance the composition of views within the subunit. The adjacent commercial and residential uses of the town are visible to the east. Since the site is well inland, it lacks views of the Hudson River or other water features, which somewhat reduces the quality of the views. There are no focal points.
III. Uniqueness
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Estate Entrance subunit is not unique, but its connection with the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home makes it a noteworthy landscape.
IV. Public Accessibility
Because the subunit is a National Historic Site, it is highly accessible to the public. The subunit is also visible from NY Route 9. The grounds of Bellefield are in public ownership, but tourists are less likely to tour the grounds surrounding the mansion since it pales in importance to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and no signs indicate that it is open to the public. The subunit also provides parking for people interested in walking the trails located in the ED-27 Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site subunit to the west. The trails extend into the subunits to the north, linking, through the Hyde Park Trail, with trails on the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site in the ED-24 Vanderbilt Mansion subunit.
V. Public Recognition
The subunit is recognized by the public through its association with the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Entrance subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it is adjacent to a distinctive subunit to the west, the ED-27 Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site subunit, and is an integral part of the Historic Site, constituting in part the entrance to the FDR estate. The subunit buffers the FDR Home and grounds from the traffic and development of the NY Route 9 corridor. The subunit is highly accessible to the public, both visually and physically, and is recognized by the public through its association with the National Historic Site.
ESTATES DISTRICT SCENIC AREA OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE
ED-27 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Subunit
I. Location
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Home subunit is the most southern subunit in the Estates District SASS. It includes the western portion of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site as well as adjacent estates and contiguous waters of the Hudson River. The subunit extends north to include a portion of the grounds but not the main house of the Millennium Kingdom religious community, formerly the Eymard Seminary.
The southern boundary lies 500 feet south of the Maritje Kill and repeats the configuration of the Maritje Kill, then crosses the Hudson River to Crum Elbow. The northern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-25 Hyde Park Center subunit. The eastern boundary of the subunit corresponds to the edge of the developed area along NY Route 9, including the shopping center south of the historic site entrance and the suburban neighborhood north of the entrance located in the ED-25 Hyde Park Center subunit. The central portion of the eastern boundary is a common boundary with the ED-26 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Estate Entrance subunit. In the very southern portion of the subunit, NY Route 9 is the eastern boundary. The subunit's western boundary is the mean high water line on the western shore of the Hudson River. The subunit is located in the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County, and in the Towns of Lloyd and Esopus, Ulster County. Consult the Estates District SASS map sheets, numbers 5 and 6, for the subunit boundaries.
II. Scenic Components
A. Physical Character
The physical character of the subunit is of moderate topographic relief sloping down to the Crum Elbow section of the Hudson River. The wooded rolling bluffs and swales reach back to a 150 foot height. Dense, deciduous vegetation containing mature hardwoods is occasionally broken by estate lawns and recently restored meadows accented by specimen oaks. At the southern end of the subunit the Maritje Kill has carved a stream/ravine formation through the rolling landscape and empties into a wetland east of the railroad tracks.
Curving to the southwest in this area, the Hudson River narrows dramatically to a width of about 1,800 feet and increases in depth and rate of flow as it courses past the higher hills and bluffs of Crum Elbow. The indentation of Roosevelt Cove extends the water surface to the east of the railroad embankment in the south central portion of the subunit.
B. Cultural Character
The cultural character of the subunit consists predominantly of historic homes and religious institutions. Central to the subunit's identity is Springwood, the birthplace of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States. President Roosevelt was raised here, and in 1905 he brought his bride Eleanor here. It is now their final resting place. A National Historic Site since 1944 when President Roosevelt gave it to the nation, the estate is rich in symbolism, as it was the site of many historic events associated with the Roosevelts and played an important role in their lives. For over seventy years this landscape was shaped by Franklin and his parents. Today, it continues to inspire the many thousands of people who visit the site each year because of its scenic beauty and its close association with the lives of these two great world figures.
The main house has undergone many renovations and is now a Georgian Revival mansion, the result of major remodelling of an earlier Italianate frame house. The architects of the transformation were F. V. L. Hoppin and Terrence Koen, formerly designers in the firm of McKim, Mead & White. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum, which are not part of the Historic Site, are located nearby. Maintained by the National Park Service, the property is in an excellent state of upkeep.
The wooded portion of the historic site is accessible via paths and carriage roads that are now part of the Hyde Park Trail. The carriage road which connects Bellefield Mansion, located in the adjacent ED-26 Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Entrance subunit, and Crum Elbow Point is particularly scenic. Specimen trees line the road, and stone walls, bridges, culverts and the road bed add textural interest to the corridor. Other paths rise and fall across rolling terrain and intermittent streams, approaching the Hudson in some places to offer water views and dipping into hollows filled with wetlands and their associated vegetation and wildlife.
North of the Roosevelt property lies the extensive Morgan property. Protected by a conservation easement held by Scenic Hudson, Inc., the property will remain primarily undeveloped.
Located in the northern portion of the subunit is the former Crumwold Hall, recently called Eymard Seminary and now part of the Millennium Kingdom religious community. Built in 1889, the Romanesque granite main house was designed by Richard Morris Hunt. Only 20 acres remain of the original estate, the rest having been subdivided.
Although the railroad embankment and the new buildings at the national historic site introduce more modern elements into the landscape, they are not discordant features. The railroad embankment is visible only in views from the water and is not of sufficient scale to significantly impact those views. The new buildings of the national historic site are well designed and unobtrusive.
C. Views
The views available from the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site are focussed to the west and southwest by the topography, vegetation, and designed estate landscape. Recent restoration of the original landscape design includes meadows which historically enhanced the composition, breadth, and extent of views from the subunit. Photographs in the collection of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library show the Roosevelts sitting on the spacious lawn enjoying the views. The Catskill Mountains do not play as prominent a role in these views as they do in most other portions of the Estate District SASS. Instead, the dramatic sweep of the river through Crum Elbow and the tall, wooded bluffs and hills on the opposite shore, part of the Esopus-Lloyd SASS, figure prominently in views from the subunit.
Views from the Hyde Park Trail are primarily interior views of the woodlands, streams and wetlands found in the rolling terrain. Carriage roads, stone walls and bridges and significant trees constitute focal points. An occasional glimpse of the Hudson is available, except at Crum Elbow Point which offers sweeping views of the river and western shorelands.
Views from the Hudson River are primarily of the wooded shorelands, embellished with the curving shoreline of the dominant Roosevelt Cove and the lawns and main house of the Roosevelt Home. Views from the trains are constrained by the bluff and consist mainly of the Hudson River and Roosevelt Cove.
III. Uniqueness
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site subunit is unique. It includes a publicly accessible historic site of international significance designed to take advantage of its highly scenic location.
IV. Public Accessibility
Although the national historic site is open to the public and receives large numbers of visitors, visual access to many areas of the property remains limited due to extensive forest cover and the relative remoteness of key viewpoints. However, historic views across the lawns to the southwest, which were often enjoyed by President and Mrs. Roosevelt, have been restored. Carriage roads on the national historic site are part of the Hyde Park Trail which crosses the private property in the subunit on its way north to the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site in the ED-24 Vanderbilt Mansion subunit. The trail lies near the Hudson River and provides views of the interior wooded landscape and occasional glimpses of the Hudson River. The land that is in private ownership is otherwise not accessible. Visual access to the eastern shorelands is available from the Hudson River and its western shore.
V. Public Recognition
Public recognition of the subunit is extremely high. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Home is a National Historic Site of international significance. The conservation easement that protects the Morgan property to the north of the Historic Site and the Hyde Park Trail are also evidence of public recognition of the subunit's scenic quality. Development of the Hyde Park Trail has involved leaders and organizations from the local and regional community as well as State and federal agencies.
VI. Reason for Inclusion
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Home National Historic Site subunit is included in the Estates District SASS because it is a highly distinctive subunit. While the physical setting and architectural design of the National Historic site are above average but not exceptional, Springwood's exceptional historic value, recognition, symbolism and public accessibility make it one of the Hudson's most significant, unique and valued landscapes.
The subunit exhibits a moderate variety of landform and vegetation because of the uniform forest cover. The buildings on the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Historic Site contrast with the expanded meadows, the landform and the Hudson River. The woodlands and the river unify the landscape composition which is generally free of discordant features. The subunit is accessible to the public via the Hudson River, the public ownership of the National Historic Site and the Hyde Park Trail. The subunit is publicly recognized through the National Historic Site designation and the development of the Hyde Park Trail.