Vanderbilt Mansions

Behind the Scenes Servants Tour at Vanderbilt Mansion

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The Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site is offering a unique opportunity on weekends through the end of October. On the “Servants to Stewards Tour” participants will be assigned the role of a servant and learn about the running of the Vanderbilt household as you tour the home from behind the scenes, meet your supervisor, catch a glimpse of your living quarters and get a list of your daily duties.

While no manual labor is actually involved, this tour requires climbing 74 steps. Comfortable shoes and a willingness to participate are essential. The tours are available Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM through October 30th.

Standard tour fees apply. Participants must be over the age of ten. This program is not handicap accessible. Reservations required – call 845-229-7770 daily from 9:00 to 4:00 to inquire and reserve.

Photo: The Butler’s Pantry at Vanderbilt Mansion.

New Deal Youth Exhibit in Woodstock

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A new exhibition opened Saturday at the Woodstock School of Art (2470 Route 212, Woodstock) entitled &#8220A New Deal for Youth: Eleanor Roosevelt, Val-Kill Industries and the Woodstock Resident Work Center&#8221.

The exhibit offers a rare chance to see furniture, pewter, and weavings from the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites’ collection of Val-Kill Industries pieces- photographs and historical documents from the Woodstock School of Art’s and Woodstock Historical Society’s collections- and video recollections of living descendants of some of the young people who worked at the Craft Center.

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will remain on view through November 5th. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday, 9am-3pm.

200 Years of Landscape History at Hyde Park

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Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites will be offering historic landscape and garden tours, free, on the third Sunday of the month offered by the National Park Service and their partner, the Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association.

On July 17, August 21, September 18 and October 16, participants can meet at 1:00 pm at the Vanderbilt Mansion visitor parking area for the “200 Years of Landscape History” tour led by an NPS Ranger. The tour concludes at the Formal Gardens where visitors may join FWVGA volunteers between 1:00 pm and 3:30 pm for an additional 30-minute tour.

Interpreter-guides will discuss the history of the gardens, Vanderbilt ownership and the on-going work by the Vanderbilt Garden Association which was formed in 1984 to rehabilitate and maintain the garden plantings.

Park in the Vanderbilt Mansion visitor parking lot and follow the gravel path on the south side of the mansion. Tours will be cancelled if it rains. Please call 845-229-7770 or 845-229-6432 for status if the weather is questionable.