Castles, mansions and manor homes open for tours or available for special events.

Castle on the Hudson 400 Benedict Avenue,  Tarrytown  10591 Phone:  914-524-6366 www.castleonthehudson.com This authentic turn-of-the-century Norman-style castle graces the highest point in Westchester County.  It's construction was begun in 1897 by General Howard Carroll, who with the help of architect Henry F. Kilburn, designed the castle in a style like that of Norman fortifications on the Scottish border.  The design somewhat resembles Castle Linsmore in Ireland.  The castle was originally named "Carrolcliffe" and when completed, consisted of 45 rooms. It took over 100 craftsmen several years to complete the caslte, which was built in two stages.  The second stage was finished in 1910.  Howard Carroll died in New York City on December 30, 1916.  Members of his family occupied the castle until 1940.  In 1941, Emerson and Ruth Axe bought The Castle for $45,000.  During World War II, the castle tower was used as a sighting and listening post. Present use:  The Castle on the Hudson is now an upscale inn/hotel and special event facility.  Equus, the property's a la carte restaurant, is open to the public for lunch and dinner daily. Get Directions

Glenview Mansion at the Hudson River Museum 511 Warburton Avenue,  Yonkers  10701 Phone:  914-963-4550 www.hrm.org/mansion Begun in 1876 and completed in 1877 by its turn-of-the-century residents, the John Bond Trevor family, the Glenview overlooks the Hudson River and the Palisades.  Glenview is considered one of the finest examples of an American Eastlake interior open to the public. Trevor hired New York architect Charles Clinton to design Glenview.  The mansion was constructed of locally quarried gray stone with contrasting details in sandstone.  Clinton incorporated several styles then popular in American architecture, including Gothic revival and Renaissance revival.  In its 24-room plan, Glenview was the epitome of a truly fashionable residence.  The family lived here in the spring, summer and fall, though they avoided the worst summer heat by vacationing in Maine or in the Catskills.  In winter, they moved to their New York City town house for the social season.  After Mr. Trevor died in 1890, Mrs. Trevor continued to live at Glenview until her death in 1922.  The city of Yonkers purchased the Trevor estate in order to preserve the house and keep the grounds intact as a park.  The Hudson River Museum, first known as the Yonkers Museum of Science and Arts, has occupied the Mansion since late 1924. Present use: Museum tours include access to the mansion. Get Directions

Kykuit, The Rockefeller Estate Bedford Road,  Sleepy Hollow  10591 Phone:  914-631-9491 www.hudsonvalley.org Kykuit commands a breathtaking view of the Hudson River and occupies a landscape of extensive stone terraces, formal gardens, and glorious fountains.  The Classical Revival mansion was completed in 1913 for John D. Rockefeller by architects Delano and Aldrich, and has been home to four generations of Rockefeller family members.  Landscape architect William Welles Bosworth designed terraces and gardens with fountains, pavilions and classical sculpture.  More than 70 works of modern sculpture were added during the 1960's and 1970's. The 65-room mansion is situated strategically amid nearly 100 acres of formal gardens, near the village of Sleepy Hollow.  For a century, it was a private paradise for the Rockefeller family.  The Italian Villa gardens feature fountains, grottos and a grand swimming pool with a pebbled mosaic floor.  There is a teahouse furnished with Roman reproductions and a Temple of Venus.  The stone coach barn features the family's carriages and automobiles. Present use:  Public tours of Kykuit are available with paid admission, April through October, daily except Tuesday.  Tours, managed by Historic Hudson Valley, begin at nearby Philipsburg Manor. Get Directions

Leland College at the College of New Rochelle 29 Castle Place,  New Rochelle  10805 Phone:  914-632-5300 www.cnr.edu The main college campus is comprised of 20 major buildings including Leland Castle, a Victorian stone National Historic Site built in the early 1900's.  "Castleview" was designed by New York architect William Thomas Beers and built during the years 1855-1859 of locally quarried gray granite for Simeon Leland, a wealthy hotel entrepreneur from New York City.  The English Gothic country residence was built to suit a family with substantial means and a taste for the picturesque eclectic style. The frequently visited and widely admired home was used by the Leland family at first at summer, and then later, as a year round residence until 1880.  After a series of short-term uses as a hunting club, hotel and boarding school, the residence was purchased by the Ursuline Sisters and is still used by them as part of the campus of the College of New Rochelle. Present use:  Leland Castle houses the college's administrative offices and the Castle Gallery, an art gallery featuring fine and decorative arts, which is open to the public. Get Directions

Lyndhurst 635 South Broadway,  Tarrytown  10591 Phone:  914-631-4481 www.lyndhurst.org Lyndhurst was first conceived in the minds of architects A.J. Davis and William Paulding who constructed the country villa in 1838.  The romantic Gothic Revival immediately drew attention to the building.  Fascination with the property continued for decades and, as ideas of wealth and status changed with the growing nation, so did the estate, reflecting the tastes and interests of wealthy New York. In 1864-65 Davis doubled the size of the mansion for the second owner, New York merchant George Merritt, who renamed it "Lyndenhurst" after the Linden trees that were planted on the estate.  Railroad magnate Jay Gould purchased the estate as a summer home in 1880.  Mr. Gould used Lyndhurst as an escape from the pressures of his business life.  When his health was impaired by tuberculosis, Lyndhurst served as a country retreat until his death.  Jay Gould's daughter, Helen, was given charge of the property upon her father's death.  After her death in 1938, her sister, Anna, Dutchess of Talleyrand-Perigord, returned from France and maintained Lyndhurst until her death. In 1961, the 67-acre estate was passed to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  The grounds at Lyndhurst survive as an outstanding example of 19th century landscape design.  Elements include sweeping lawns accented with shrubs and specimen trees, the curving entrance drive revealing "surprise" views, the angular repitition of the Gothic roofline in the evergreens and the nation's first stell-framed conservatory.  The rose garden and fernery are later addition.  It is fully furnished and contains collections of 19th and 20th century decorative arts. Present use:  Public tours of the interior are available (with paid admission) mid-April through October.  Special events can be held on the grounds (tented), or in the Carriage House on property.  For catering information contact Fabulous Foods at 914-524-7900 or visit www.fabfoods.net/lyndhurst Get Directions

Reid Castle at Manhattanville College 2900 Purchase Street,  Purchase  10577 Phone:  914-323-5159 www.mville.edu Reid Castle, once called Ophir Hall, is a six story, eighty-four room granite castle with a crenelated towers and balustraded roofline. The Holladay and Reid families built it in several stages and styles between 1864-1912.  It was orginally built for Ben Holladay, of the Holladay Overland Mail and Express Company, sometime after the Civil War.  Ophir Hall was eventually purchased by Whitelaw Reid, publisher of The New York Tribune.  While Mr. Reid was having the castle altered, it caught fire, buring to the stone walls.  The house was rebuilt, on a greater and grander scale with the assistance of the firm of McKim, Mead and White.  It was the first home in Westchester equipped with both telephone and electric wiring. Reid Castle has an interior of marble and carved wood.  There are secret staircases, fixtures of silver and crystal and 13th century stained glass windows taken from Salisbury Cathedral in England.  Ophir Hall almost became the headquarters for the United Nations in 1946, but neighbors protested and local resident John D. Rockefeller, Jr. offered an alternative site in New York City.  Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart bought the mansion in 1949 along with 250 of the original 900 acres.  In 1969, it was renamed Reid Hall.  In 1974, Reid Hall was placed in The National Register of Historic Places. Present use:  Reid Castle now serves cultural and administrative functions for the college.  Visitors are welcome from 9 to 5 every day of the year.  Special events can be held there with permission. Get Directions

Sarah Lawrence College One Mead Way,  Bronxville  10708 Phone:  914-337-0700 Fax:  914-395-2515 Email: slcadmit@slc.edu www.sarahlawrence.edu Of the several impressive buildings that comprise the campus of Sarah Lawrence College, the Westlands building may be the most striking.  Westlands was designed by architects Bates and How of New York, and completed in 1917 as a residence for William Van Duzer Lawrence, a property developer and his wife Sarah Bates Lawrence. Westlands was built in neo-tudor style.  The exterior is red brick with timber trimmings.  The building has a slate tile roof and tall leadlight windows.  While alterations were made in 1946 and again in the 1960's, many of the original fittings have been retained.  Oak wainscoting and exposed wooden beams are visible in the main entrance and halls and the original fireplaces are present in the main entrance and some of the larger rooms.  Portraits of Sarah Bates Lawrence, after whom the college was named, and William Van Duzer can be seen on the landing between the first and second floors. Present use:  Westlands currently houses Sarah Lawrence College administrative offices, including the Office of Admissions, classrooms and dormitory rooms. Get Directions

Wainwright House 60 Stuyvesant Avenue,  Rye  10580 Phone:  914-967-6080 www.wainwright.org John Howard Wainwright and Margaret Wainwright, one of the most influential families in Rye, bought Milton Point in 1864 and summered there with their four sons, who later built houses along Stuyvesant Avenue.  The youngest son was Colonel J. Mayhew Wainwright.  During WWI, Colonel Wainright was headquartered at a 17th century chateau called Raincheval in France.  On the eve before he was to lead his men into battle he promised himself that if he came through the war alive and made it back to Rye he would build a chateau resembling Raincheval on the family land on Milton Point.  He did, and he completed Wainwright House in 1931. Colonel and Mrs. Wainwright had one child, a daughter, Fonrose.  In the 1940's both of her parents passed away.  She then met a minister, Norman Vincent Peale, who when he walked through the door of the Wainwright house, remarked that although it was empty and unused, it was filled with love.  As a result, in 1951 she founded Wainwright House, Inc. with the belief that there should be a place where people could aspire for a greater understanding of the creative force of life. Present use:  Wainwright House is the oldest non-profit, non-sectarian holistic educational center in the United State.  Our mission is to foster spiritual growth and ethical values in ourselves, the community and the world.  It is a sanctuary where each person can find their own path through programs in spiritual development, health and healing, the arts and the social issues of our times. Get Directions

Whitby Castle 330 Boston Post Road,  Rye  10580 Phone:  914-777-2053 In 1853, the Whitby Castle was built for the William Chapman family as a private residence. The construction of this facility contains stones from the original Whitby Abbey in England and thus the family chose "Whitby" as the title of this estate.  The architect was the prominent Alexander Jackson Davis who also designed the Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown. In 1896, the Chapmans sold the house to the Park Family of Rye who then lived there for 25 years.  In 1921, the 40 acres of the original property were combined with the 110 acres of the adjoining Allen Estate and the land and the house then became the Rye Country Club.  It was renamed Rye Woods Club and in 1965 it became the Rye Golf Club.  A newly restored gated Tudor Castle is located on the grounds of the Rye Golf Club.  Whitby offers panoramic views of the 18th hole of the golf course and the Long Island Sound. Present use:  Whitby Castle is a restaurant open to the public as well as a special event facility for social or corporate events.  The restaurant serves lunch and dinner 7 days and brunch on Saturday and Sunday.  For catering information, contact Whitby Castle at 914-777-2053 or visit www.ryegolfclub.com Get Directions