Kykuit, The Rockefeller’s Grand American Family Home

Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

Set at the highest point in Westchester Country, Kykuit, home to four generations of Rockefellers, can’t be seen from the road.  Its grandeur reveals itself slowly.  Visitors are shuttled up a long hill from a remote parking lot and at first glance, the house, named after the Dutch word for look out, appears much smaller than its 40 rooms. It’s the grounds with their glorious views and large scale sculpture that first alert one to the specialness of this place.

View from the entrance at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

John D. Rockefeller Jr. (known as Mr. Junior to the staff) adhered to the restraint demanded by his strict Baptist faith when he commissioned architects Delano & Aldrich in 1904 to build the house as a retirement home for his father John D. Rockefeller Sr.  (JDR). Understated elegance was in; over-the-top gilding was out.  The architecture of the mansion is impeccably proportioned. Ogden Codman, Jr., who preached taste and “suitability” when he wrote The Decoration of Houses with Edith Wharton, decorated the rather intimately sized interior rooms.  There is no ballroom, typically a fixture in Gilded Age piles, because Baptists forbid dancing. In its place is a much more modest space, dubbed the music room because it once housed a pipe organ.

The reproduction Miro (blessed by Miro himself) is hung in the spot where a very large pipe organ was once located. Photo: Pinterest

What now appears perfect took several tries to get right.  Initially noisy delivery trucks rattled under JDR’s bedroom window waking the aging patriarch so often at dawn that a tunnel was dug underground to divert traffic. That and other glitches necessitated rebuilding that continued until 1913. Odd to think that even the Rockefellers had a punch list that would not quit.  

The final result is an estate in the Classical-Revival style that recalls a quintessential English country manor.  And like those found in Britain, the home is surrounded by a series of formal garden rooms designed  by William Welles Bosworth, that give way to a large “park” framing glorious views, in Kykuit’s case vistas of the Hudson River and Palisades.

Views of the Hudson River and Palisades from Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne.

Despite its vast size, somehow the estate conveys the feel of a beloved family home. Each Rockefeller who lived there left his or her personal stamp with collections of family portraits, Asian artifacts, modern art or porcelain. It’s easy to picture children having tea parties in the toadstool shaped dining sets located by the pool or enjoying milkshakes at the soda fountain installed in the Tea House pavilion. This visitor felt a certain warmth to the home not always present in a house museum.

Small pavilion with “toadstool” dining adjacent to the swimming pool at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

Kykuit's final full time occupant, Nelson Rockefeller greatly enriched its atmosphere.  Following in the footsteps of his art loving mother, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (cofounder of New York’s Museum of Modern Art), he chose to introduce modern art and sculpture throughout the interior and exterior of the estate.  Visitors will enjoy works by Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Constantin Brancusi, Louise Nevelson, Henry Moore, David Smith and Alberto Giacometti among many others.  To house some of his art collection, Nelson converted the large basement to an art gallery. He also installed modern sculpture throughout the property, agonizing over its precise placement. Nelson encouraged his 2 sons to become collectors in line with the family’s art-loving legacy and proudly displayed their bottle collection along side his blue chip art. Legend has it that Nelson was not at all pleased, however, when he found his sons using one colorful mouse-shaped outdoor sculpture as a target!  Boys will be boys, after all.

Basement art gallery at Kykuit which houses tapestries by Madame J. de la Baume of famous Picasso paintings among other art. Photo: Pinterest

Nelson Rockefeller’s sons’ bottle collection in Kykuit’s basement art gallery. Photo via Historic Hudson Valley.

The family home built for JDR, the richest man in modern history, and his descendants is a treasure not to be missed.  Kykuit is regularly open for tours and easily reached by train from Manhattan to Tarrytown followed by a short cab ride to the estate. In addition to the house and grounds, a Coach Barn filled with antique cars and carriages also is on view.

Enjoy these additional photos of the grounds and Coach barn at Kykuit.  Visitors are not permitted to take interior photographs.. The few interior shots included here were sourced on the web. You must go to know.

Front entrance at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

Side facade at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

The linden allee at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

Garden details at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

The Tea House at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

Handsome lighting at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

The Rose Garden pergola at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

The Temple of Aphrodite at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

Ceiling detail at the Temple of Aphrodite at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

The Rose Garden at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

A tunnel was dug behind the Rose Garden’s pergola to reduce traffic noise from truck deliveries. Photo: Lynn Byrne

Modern sculpture on the grounds at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne

This mouse sculpture was used as a target by Nelson Rockefeller’s sons, until they got caught. Photo: Lynn Byrne

Asian artifact in the gardens at Kykuit. Photo: Lynn Byrne.

Surreys with the fringe on top at the Kykuit Coach Barn. Photo: Lynn Byrne

Kykuit, as seen from the swimming pool. Photo: Lynn Byrne.

A friend and I enjoying the views at Kykuit.