Tuxedo Park: The Many Mansions of an Old Money Enclave

[@Gizathecat2]

The fact that these mansions were called cottages is very amusing! To me a cottage is a small house, between 500 and 1000 square feet. These houses are beautiful though.

[@jimwiskus8862]

I know, crazy right? The first time I heard that was while in Newport RI. The Vanderbilts summer cottage was a 25,000 square foot mansion.

[@soreloser18]

A cottage is a workers home behind the Main house that usually worked the farm on the land and stayed in that house

[@kimengland-mcguirk5566]

True, however there were many more modest dwellings especially the ones originally built by Bruce Price. It wasn’t until homes could be purchased (originally they were leased and only to members of the club.

[@kimengland-mcguirk5566]

@@soreloser18my father, then myself, grew up in a carriage house in Tuxedo Park. It had a modest 13 rooms-but seemed huge to me. The dwelling was owned originally by Eloise Breese who lived up the hill a ways in what would later be owned by the Mattes family. After Eloise, the carriage house (or my home as I think of it) was owned by Frederick de Peyster Foster before finally being sold to my grandfather who was a butler for the Mortimer Family. The wife of Fredrick de Peyster, Julia Talbot, changed her will close to her date of death and left her estate and millions to her butler and head house maid-it caused an uproar at the time. There ended up being a settlement. Julia’s chauffeur, Clarence Dickinson, was also willed some money and he resided in the carriage house that was adjacent to ours. Today the homes are valued at close to a million each with taxes close to 30,000 annually. Who knew the domains of servants would end up so pricey?

[@williamsmith5549]

Another great exploration, Ken, thanks as always! I have alot of fun perusing Zillow listings for real estate in this community, where there are still a number of glorious old mansions up for sale at any time. Were I to come into a gigantic fortune, there is NO WAY I would waste my time out on the overcrowded, overdeveloped, and over commercialized vulgarity of the Hamptons. Tuxedo Park is EVERYTHING!

[@rbsmith3365]

Hamptons a wealthy copycats but not safe if hurricanes hit there.

[@Mncrr]

Were I to come to a fortune I sure as hell wouldn’t live in a democrat sh.thole

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

What an incredible place! There’s no end to how much wealth a few people had before The Great Depression.

[@danielulz1640]

Much like today.

[@paco7992]

​@@danielulz1640dangerously true. Seems mankind never learns.

[@kimengland-mcguirk5566]

And probably more importantly, before income tax. There were a surprising number of fires during the 1930s. I recall visiting some large homes where blankets hung in doorways blocking off most of the house allowing the residents to live in just 5 rooms.

[@jimbo1637]

If you ever have a chance to visit Tuxedo Park, you absolutely should. There are dozens of the old mansions still standing it feels like nowhere else in the US!

[@ehorner61]

Can you just drive in? The gates look intimidating 😊

[@jimbo1637]

@@ehorner61 I don't think so. I was in the car of a friend who lives there so they let us right in, but I'm fairly certain it's residents and their guests only.

[@cruztraveler]

This video is about as close as you can get to visiting Tuxedo Park. no public entry unless you are granted access at the police controlled gate by a current resident.

[@kimengland-mcguirk5566]

You need permission from an owner, however after that it’s not too difficult. I think people are more intimidated. Also the roads are very narrow and it’s easy to lose your way. Unless you go in fall or winter many of the homes are difficult to see. There’s a good number of more modest dwellings today- former carriage homes and guest lodges, gardeners sheds and estate managers dwellings that have been updated. It truly is a timeless place however. The ancient glacier rocks and topography make one feel like you’re in between dimensions or something.

[@patbowman6723]

I used to live in Green-Wood Lake, the town next door to Tuxedo. I made many deliveries in the park and the houses were simply beautiful. One house had a barn attached and each of the horse's stalls were made into cute dining areas. There were and still is a few movie stars but the town didn't talk much about them, they are just ordinary people. Woopie used to live there but she has since moved. The school kids were so happy when she came into the old pharmacy which had an old fashioned snack bar and stationary store because she was very generous and paid for their snacks and sodas. It's a gated community so you can't go in and that's a shame. Beautiful mansions and gorgeous grounds near the top of hills. There were plenty of deer and animals and ponds, looked like a post card.

[@rbsmith3365]

Whoopi Goldberg lives there.

[@patbowman6723]

She used to live there, she moved because she had a fear of flying and she needed to be in LA a lot of the time and it was too much time being in the bus.@@rbsmith3365

[@chrisk920]

@@patbowman6723 I heard the property values went up 20% after it was announced that she moved out. LOL!

[@JosephStJames2000]

What a great review! As a Californian, I've long been fascinated with Tuxedo Park. We simply don't have an equivalent.

[@jodyrewa688]

I had never heard of Tuxedo Park before the recent video on the Poor Estate. I looked up the area, thank you for the wonderful overview!

[@rbsmith3365]

I do. Whoopi Goldberg lived there.

[@DLeadVox]

I loved this one! I'm behind a little. Gonna watch several today in an effort to get current. Love your work Ken! ❤❤❤

[@janedee6488]

Love the Stevens mansion for its open concept floor plan

[@mr.x8259]

What a gorgeous Tudor! It breaks my heart to see so many historic homes lost to the sands of time. I donate hundreds of dollars a year to museums and preservation societies.

[@williamtyre523]

Great overview of the community. I had certainly heard of it, but had not seen images of many of the houses. The reference to Wright was spot on, as the shingle style house you showed just before that reminded me a great deal of Wright's own home in Oak Park. Thanks for another great video.

[@ML-xi2rt]

I could never pick a favorite mansion, I just finished watching this episode and am still catching my breath! EXCELLENT EPISODE !

[@mileshigh1321]

Mortemar was beautiful especially from the outdoor views! Some great rooms too! I assume most of the houses besides this one are still standing!

[@pmm3112]

The Julliard Mansion was awesome looking!👀

[@AnastasiaRomanov-w9x]

I lived near tuxedo park for most of my life, and I had a friend who lived there as well. It really is very beautiful.you can still see the old iron forges in the area.

[@stevefranks1711]

Please do a segment on the Richard Mortimer house, and explain when it was demolished, why, and what is in its place now (if anything). Are any of the landscape elements still in place? Thanks!

[@kimengland-mcguirk5566]

The 54 room Mortemar estate was destroyed by fire, according to the Tuxedo Park Archives

[@CuriousEarthMan]

Very enjoyable, and an often forgotten enclave of well to do Americans of the time! Thank you!

[@brianheffernan8982]

This was an excellent video. How many of these mansions still exist?

[@claudiocavaliere856]

Absolutely fascinating! Congratulations! Fabulous houses!

[@sandrashevel2137]

I love these. The upkeep alone would be so much.

[@LJB103]

Your photo of Pierre Lorillard II is actually Pierre Lorillard V. Architect Bruce Price was the father of Emily Post. Excellent video.

[@ThisHouse]

Hi Louis, glad you enjoyed the video! There is only one (highly unreputable source) online which claims that photo as Pierre Lorillard V. Here is my source: King, Moses. "Notable New Yorkers : A Companion Volume To King's Handbook Of New York City". Bartlett & Company, New York. 1899. p.588.

[@LJB103]

@@ThisHouse When you look at "images" online for Pierre Lorillard, that photo comes up for "V" To me that is not a picture of Pierre Lorillard II who was born in 1764 and died in 1843.

[@ThisHouse]

I’m going to look further into this. It’s possible the publication from 1899 mislabeled the sketch of him, but I have a feeling someone at some point mislabeled him online. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

[@jefffritz2975]

Thank you for mentioning the Price-Post connection.

[@LJB103]

@@ThisHouse Please note that that is a photo of a younger man. Pierre II was already 73/74 when the first photo with people was taken in 1838

[@rosepelzel4244]

Interesting!!

[@decoratingwithjoshaywoods7580]

I’ve never heard of this area before now!!! I’m loving it!!! New subscriber here!!! ❤

[@hewitc]

It's like the Jupiter Island or Jekyll Island Clubs. Private enclaves of established wealth. You can buy a house in Tuxedo Park but being admitted to the Club requires social connections. Like Lyford Cay Club in the Bahamas. Money alone won't get you in.

[@samanthab1923]

Too many to choose from. I guess Juilliard Mansion. Like the lawn & gardens too. I had a friend from school whose older sister went to Mt St Vincent’s in Tuxedo Park. She took the train up everyday from home. 1960’s.

[@starsrhi2335]

GOOD AFTERNOON - good information here. I never knew that much about it. Nevertheless, I am impressed, and may do some digging on my own, for some artistic inspirations for my own work. Thank you again, and have a safe and beautiful day.

[@LSTEdD1]

Just this evening PBS has a segment about the tailor in London who created the tuxedo, called something else in England. There were pictures of King Edward, Winston Churchill and others in their attire from this tailor. The tailor’s company is 7 generations old. The program is called “English Made with Love”.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Fun fact: the house at 3:36 is made of concrete. I saw it in a Dover book about concrete homes. The Fulton-Cutting house: what a horror of a house. I find the place jarring with it's odd, asymmetrical, arrangement of features and angled floorplan. -- I read somewhere that when Tuxedo Park residents didn't have as much money as they used to, maybe because of the Depression or after World War II, and were not able to maintain their New York residences as well as those in Tuxedo Park or maybe gave up the New York homes entirely, a butler in the park made the wry comment that "the season" there was now lasting from January 1st until December 31st. Nothing wrong with making one's Tuxedo Park residence a ful-time residence if one had to choose between two homes. As I said about another house, the gardens could be used for growing one's own food and being more self-sufficient.

[@paco7992]

The people who lived in these houses would have never stooped so low as to touch the dirt. All had hands soft as babies' bottoms.

[@freedacathcart1795]

My grandfather owned a mansion in Tuxedo Park, Sunnyside. He loved to garden. People who didn't know who he was thought he was the gardener instead of the owner.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

@@paco7992 I figure it was a mix of people: that some people in Tuxedo Park were hardworking entrepreneurs who had worked their way up while others were born into comfortable lives. Too I never said the residents would farm the property themselves; even someone in reduced circumstances in Tuxedo Park could probably afford to have someone do that work.

[@jilltagmorris]

This was super interesting

[@HermicraftAddict]

Tuxedo Park was used in the book Night Film. Its cool seeing it in pictures.

[@gandfgandf5826]

Just looked up what's for sale now in Tuxedo Park. Number 74 Tower Hill Loop. Take a look. I love it. Big dining room, small kitchen. Perfect. Make a toasted cheese sandwich, and eat it in the grand dining room. Such a beautiful outlook from the house. Near to heaven. Edit:. I just noticed the property tax amount, more that $4000 a month. !!!!!!!!! Say what? Wow. Expensive to live in the land of the free.

[@chrisk920]

That's not including the association fees. It's a gated community. Probably costs you $5,000 a year just to have your driveway plowed. People who have yo pay for the upkeep of these houses are probably living paycheck to paycheck.

[@kimengland-mcguirk5566]

Ken- the Poor mansion was sold to Henry Tilford - Tilford always loved Woodland and told Poor that of he ever needed to sell, he (Tilford) wouid have the money to him in 24 hours. So when Poor had to relinquish one of his residences he took Tilford up on his offer. Interestingly, Tilford’s daughter Catherine married the son of Richard Mortimer, (Stanley Grafton Mortimer) of the famed 54 room mansion “Mortemar”. Together they lived in nearby TP mansion “Keeywadin”. My grandfather was a butler for the Mortimers and I visited there as a child. I lived near the TP racetrack in an old carriage house that used to be owned by Eloise Breese (her brother James owned “The Breeses”), and later was owned by Frederick de Peyster Foster.

[@lisadolan689]

Thank you 🙏 Ken

[@richardroberts-jl9sv]

Fantastic!

[@sopwithsnoopy8779]

The Lorillard mansion here looks like Chastellux, which was built/commissioned by Mrs. Anson McCook Beard, the daughter of James J. Hill of the famous James J. Hill house in St. Paul, MN. I wasn't aware that the Lorillards owned the house at some point, as they were one of the founders of Tuxedo Park and had their own huge fieldstone mansion. I think at one point, Chastellux was turned into a convent, if I am not mistaken. Chastellux was for sale not long ago...if I had only won the lottery! 😊 I believe I have read that modern times, both Cyndi Lauper & Whoopie Goldberg own/have owned homes within Tuxedo Park.

[@anthonypopola5773]

Goldberg lives in Llewelyn Park in West Orange,NJ,it was a private gated community long before Tuxedo

[@sopwithsnoopy8779]

@@anthonypopola5773 good to know! Googleing Tuxedo Park, info says she used to live there, or owned a house there (maybe she didnt live in it? 🤷‍♂️ )

[@BrianJosephMorgan]

Amazing.

[@edcomedian357]

How many of the original mansions are still around?

[@rogermerrill8083]

Thank u! ive been waiting! thank u!

[@hewitc]

Before the Tuxedo men wore Dinner Dress, like a Tuxedo but with long tails in the back. The Tuxedo was a shorter version and not considered proper dinner dress by many people for years after its introduction. I think Downton Abbey had an episode where Sir Robert wore the new "Tuxedo" but old guard Violet didn't approve.

[@chrisk920]

Omg what a gas!!!!!!! Any mention of the slaves that built them some of which were killed due do unsafe working conditions? They probably just threw the dead bodies in the lake and just replaced them with some new units.

[@tronstone7679]

You should do an episode about the walloomsac inn in Bennington Vermont

[@mixrousefamily687]

Are all the mansions still standing? Private residences or museums?

[@ThisHouse]

A good handful of the mansions are still standing, though a lot have been lost to fires, demolished, etc.

[@freedacathcart1795]

No museums. Tuxedo Park isn't open to the public.

[@danielp.52]

Tuxedo Park is a gated community. Wealthy people don't want to be bothered. The closest view you can have besides this video is with Google Map Satellite View.

[@FeedScrn]

Thanks for showing this. I lived close to Tuxedo for years... but never heard of it's vast wealth. Maybe it's because all the mansions are behind tall walls? Dunno.

[@michaelciccone2194]

"dunno"????..... Crossville ALABAMA perhaps???

[@chrisk920]

Yeah, the old money was a bit smarter. The hid their wealth. Now you can see these 10,000 square foot houses built on a half an acre by the beach in Fairfield. They're so tall and out of character with the neighborhood, the new money ruined the area.

[@johnvonundzu2170]

Excellent vid on Tuxedo Park! Small note: you're quite logically pronouncing Jacobean - but traditionally, it's much, much more Jaco-Beun than Jacobian.

[@jenpink4298]

I would like the one designed after the French château😂

[@ropeburnsrussell]

That's some zip code!

[@mikenixon2401]

Leathered walls?! Wow. I'd love that but can you imaging the expense today? Another good report, Ken. You have improve by offering more historiic context. The next time I wear a tuxedo, I'll have a great conversation piece.

[@chrisk920]

Or the next time you wear leather.............

[@angelmarcano6747]

All of them, there's nothing around with that kind of style anymore.

[@luciaconn6788]

W/ radar and the Manhattan project Loomis helped win WW2

[@danielp.52]

What is to see in Tuxedo Park today if we want to tour the place?

[@chrisk920]

Trees and a 90 minute commute to get to work. No thanks.

[@danielp.52]

For those who are curious like me, I discovered later it is a gated community, so you cannot enter unless you live there or are invited in.

[@enrico7342]

Do any of the original families still own any of the mansions there?

[@ernesttoth-r3x]

When was the StGeorge home built and is it still like the video

[@RickyMarchione]

I recall visiting someone that supposedly lived in the old Colgate pomolive mansion in tuxedo. Is there any truth to that. Thanks.

[@blahmooblah789]

Who the heck puts a Heat Pump right in front of their beautiful mansion? 7:46

[@ryanstryker9891]

I feel bad for whoever installed that because working on stone is no fun. I’ve put heat pumps on castles with 4 foot thick walls. Took all day to drill two holes.

[@BlvckMedicine]

Ever considered any of the Coca Cola mansions here in Atlanta? They have a beautiful history as well 😊

[@serenitypeaceandcomfort3669]

I wonder why these millionaires chose this region for their homes. It seems so random. They're far from major cities.

[@christophersmith1155]

METRO NORTH TRAIN STATION IS RIGHT THERE AND WILL TAKE YOU TO GRAND CENTRAL IN MIDTOWN.

[@jessigreer]

It’s right outside NYC, quick ride in depending on traffic

[@Kyfordman1989]

Is tuxedo Park still a thriving community with all the historic homes are like every other historical homes seems like it was bulldozed

[@jessigreer]

It’s mostly intact

[@echocheck]

Good video but the word Jacobean is pronounced Jacko-Bee-in.

[@brianstanziale3595]

I have family that lives there.. Whoopie Goldberg and Cindy Lauper do too..

[@Quadrille763]

Loomis lab

[@chrisk920]

There's always the dirt made behind someone's millions. Profiteer of death. Same with the Dupont's with Dynamite and the Sacklers today being dope peddlers. You should see their 20 acre Greenwich direct oceanfront spread. Caused misery for millions of people.

[@realmccoy18]

you can't go on streetview on Google Maps in Tuxedo Park...wonder how much they had to pay for that.

[@chrisk920]

You have to pay NOT to have your street on google maps?

[@bethbartlett5692]

The British pronouncation: La-bore-a-tory My Exec VP was from Britain and he actually adapted our pronunciation of Laboratory, we worked in the Toxicology Laboratory business. But he still pronounced Banana "Ba-non-na" ... lol, I adored the man even if he was a Brit. ... being the good Irish woman I am. Slainte'! 🍸 💚 🇮🇪 ☘️

[@HistoricGentleman]

Not to be a pain, but it is pronounced as jack a bee an, not Jakoobun

[@rbsmith3365]

I know about this place but, why didn’t you show us in today color pictures? Whoopi Goldberg lives there, but, I don’t know how far to drive to NYC?

[@chrisk920]

It's only 40 miles to NYC, so in prime rush hour, that should only take you about 2 and half hours there and the same back. You can have the nanny's raise your kids.

[@thomasdowling6594]

The train takes roughly an hour to Manhattan, driving would take less unless during rush hour which is probably closer to hour and a half

[@asylumlover]

WHAT YOU DON'T TELL US IS HOW MANY OF THESE MANSIONS ARE STILL STANDING????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@chrisk920]

Yes, owned by the robber barons of today, owners of the same banks that exploited Americans over 100 years ago. Nice to see a piece of history that is alive and well today!

[@thomasdowling6594]

No longer standing: Mortemar Juilliard estate Villa Blanca Tuck's Eden Kent Cottage was replaced, as was the original Clubhouse in 1927

[@rogermerrill8083]

if i had money i would live here in an old gilded age house

[@claudiocavaliere856]

Absolutely fascinating! Congratulations! Fabulous houses!