Derived from the Dutch word for “lookout”, Kykuit is aptly named, sitting atop the highest hill in Mount Pleasant. Close to Tarrytown, the six-story, 40-room mansion boasts sweeping views of the Palisades and Hudson River. It was home to four generations of the Rockefeller family. Today, it’s a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, managed by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Since the family still uses the grounds, Kykuit is only accessible to the public via guided tour. Conducted by the Historic Hudson Valley, the tours depart via shuttle bus from the Visitor Center at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow. Elizabeth and I made it just time on a drizzly, overcast morning. She’d invited me to spend the weekend at her family home, and it was our second day of exploring the area together.
Located in Sleepy Hollow, Kykuit can easily be paired with any or all of the village’s attractions, depending on how much time you have to spare. There are three tours to choose from: Selected Highlights (90 min), Classic (120 min), and Grand (180 min). We settled on the Classic, which covers the main floor of the house as well as the art galleries, inner garden, golf room, west terrace, and coach barn. Photos aren’t allowed inside the house but you can take pictures in the gardens and on the terrace.
Kykuit was originally designed in 1908 by William A. Delano and Chester H. Aldrich as a three-story mansion constructed using locally quarried fieldstone and limestone. It took six years to complete, and then, before being occupied, was largely rebuilt as the four-story Beaux-Arts villa it stands as today. The mansion’s neo-classical interior was designed by Ogden Codman Jr. and features Chinese and European ceramics, English furnishings, and family and presidential portraits.
In the ’60s, Nelson Rockefeller added galleries of modern art, including works by Chagall, Pollock, Warhol, and Matisse, and a collection of Picasso tapestries. The galleries are housed in the basement levels of the mansion, which also include a network of passageways and service tunnels.
One of the best features of the estate are the gardens, which include Italian and Japanese gardens complete with pavilions, fountains, and sculptures. They were designed between1906–1913 by William Welles Bosworth and are considered some of his finest work.
I also enjoyed the ivy-covered coach barn, which was originally designed with a carraige room and stables. Of course, it had to be later transformed into a garage to house the family’s automobiles. It was further modified to include a mechanic shop and clock tower. The three-story structure is nearly three times as large as Kykyuit. It currently houses the family’s collection of antique carriages and vintage cars, including John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s Crane-Simplex Model 5 Tourer.
Before we knew it, the two hours of the tour were up and we were seated back on the shuttle bus headed for the Visitor’s Center.
Visit Kykuit
Kykuit is only accessible via guided tour, which leaves from the Visitor Center at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow (pinned on the map below). Tours are offered May through November.
There are three tours to choose from and each includes a shuttle bus ride to and from the estate. It’s best to book tickets on the website ahead of time, as space is limited and prices increase on the day of the tour.
Selected Highlights Tour: 90 minutes; $25 │ Classic Tour: 2 hours; $55 │ Grand Tour: 3 hours; $75
The Visitor Center is a 15-minute walk from the Philipse Manor Station on the Metro-North Hudson Line. The station is a 55-minute ride from New York’s Grand Central Terminal.
