Architectural Traditions: A Virtual Tour of Three National Trust Historic Sites
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Plan Your VisitWe hope you have been enjoying our virtual tours of National Trust Historic Sites. Taken together as a portfolio, our 27 historic sites help tell the full American story, and the places we visit today represent the architectural grandeur of homes built by the captains of industry and finance from the Colonial times through the Progressive Era.
First on tour is Cliveden. Constructed in Philadelphia between 1763 and 1767, it represents the earliest history of the United States as a nation. The home was occupied by the Chew family during a time of exploration, revolution, and establishing a new nation. It is important to note that much of the Chew family wealth created and sustained during the 18th and 19th centuries was founded on investments directly or indirectly connected to slavery.
Cliveden remained the Chew family home until 1972, when the National Trust became steward of the property.
photo by: Cliveden
Built in Philadelphia at the dawn of the American Revolution, this stone house is the area’s finest example of Colonial Era Palladian architecture. Built by the prominent lawyer and Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania colony, Benjamin Chew, the structure exemplifies the ideals of the finest Colonial Era architecture.
photo by: Ron Blunt
Occupied by seven generations of the Chew family, Cliveden was improved and updated over the centuries, but for the most part, the décor and architectural detailing remained in keeping with the home’s original design.
photo by: Cliveden, Inc.
As with many 18th century houses, kitchens were located in buildings separate from the main house. This prefab Mid-Century Modern kitchen was added in 1959 and is located in a colonnade built in 1776 to connect the main house with the original kitchen.
The Cliveden property is an important Revolutionary War site and was briefly occupied by American soldiers during the Battle of Germantown. Today, annual events and re-enactments commemorate this history.
Next up, we visit Lyndhurst, a Gothic Revival “castle” in Tarrytown, New York, built some 70 years after Cliveden. Lyndhurst was home first to New York city mayor William Paulding, then New York merchant George Merritt, and and finally railroad magnate Jay Gould.The home represents America’s growing economic strength during the Industrial Age.
An awe-inspiring Gothic Revival-style castle overlooking the Hudson River and the Tappan Zee Bridge, Lyndhurst also features a view of the New York skyline. The property grounds are normally open as a public park, and a comprehensive landscape restoration, which began in 2019, will welcome the public to experience the property as it was originally intended.
photo by: Mark Liflander Photography
In 2018 Lyndhurst offered the special exhibit, “Becoming Tiffany: From Hudson Valley Painter to Gilded Age Tastemaker.” Some of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s most important work was commissioned by inhabitants of Lyndhurst. The exhibit explored the artist’s connections to the property as well other aspects of his work and career.
photo by: Lane Coder
When Lyndhurst began the landscape restoration project, re-establishing seating areas was a high priority. This original 19th-century marble bench was restored and replaced in the landscape where it would have been located during the early 20th-century—the period the restoration project is hoping to re-create.
And for the last site we'll visit as part of our Architectural Traditions tour, let's check out Lyndhurst's neighbor, Kykuit, just three miles away. This home was completed in 1913 for businessman and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, during what is now known as America’s Progressive Era—a time when people were reacting to the problems caused by industrialization through social activism and political reform.
photo by: Carol Highsmith
Located in Tarrytown, New York, with sublime views of the Hudson River, this Rockefeller family home is a one-of-a-kind landmark. Interiors were designed by Ogden Codman and galleries feature the world-famous the Rockefeller collection of art.
photo by: Carol Highsmith
The Kykuit landscape features terraced gardens with fountains, pavilions, and classical sculpture. This hilltop paradise has been continuously and meticulously maintained for more than 100 years.
photo by: Carol Highsmith
The Beaux-Arts style house and the property's elaborate gardens were designed by architect William Welles Bosworth. Together, they are considered Bosworth’s finest work in the United States.
photo by: Ron Blunt
Among the notable sculptures in the Kykuit landscape is Max Bill's "Triangular Surface in Space," a twisting sculpture in the shape of a Möbius strip. Installed by Nelson Rockefeller, the piece creates a dramatic focal point at the end of a pergola overlooking the Hudson River.
Check out the rest of our virtual tours of National Trust Historic Sites, exploring places related to Commerce and Industry, Sacred Places, Garden Glory, Presidential Retreats, Modernism, and Southern History.
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