The celebrated mansions of the Hudson Valley and Upstate New York are bold statements in stone, brick, and gilded detailing. Along the riverbanks and tucked into the hills, industrial barons and social titans crafted estates as audacious as their fortunes. Kykuit, a Rockefeller masterpiece perched high above the Hudson, flaunted Colonial Revival architecture with a private Picasso collection. Not far off is the Vanderbilt Mansion, where Beaux-Arts extravagance screams “Old Money.” Olana, built by Hudson River School painter Frederic Church, twists the traditional playbook, blending Persian and Moorish architecture into something dreamlike — an East-meets-West mirage in Victorian brick. These estates are sprawling displays of power and creativity that capture the Gilded Age’s unapologetic flair.
15. Clermont Manor
Clermont Manor is a place where American history swaggers through the rooms. Built in 1740 by Robert Livingston, this riverside estate is a living museum of colonial ambition. During the American Revolution, British troops tried to erase it from existence, burning the house to the ground in 1777. The Livingstons doubled-down and rebuilt Clermont as a defiant statement of American independence. Matriarch Margaret Beekman Livingston oversaw the reconstruction. The white exterior color gives the mansion a distinct, stately appearance, setting it apart from other estates along the river. Clermont still stands looking over the Hudson like it owns the view.
14. Wilderstein
Wilderstein is Victorian excess at its theatrical best, wrapped in Shingle Style flair and topped off with a turret. Built in 1852 as an Italianate villa, it went full-blown Victorian in the 1880s, when Thomas Suckley hired architect Arnout Cannon to turn the family retreat into a showpiece. What they ended up with was a wild take on Queen Anne sensibility: wraparound porches, multi-colored shingles, and stained-glass windows that drench the interiors in moody hues. The manor’s last resident, Margaret “Daisy” Suckley, was the true keeper of its legacy. A distant cousin and confidante to FDR, Daisy held down the fort until 1991, preserving her family’s quirks and treasures.
13. Arden
Built in 1909 by railroad magnate Edward Henry Harriman, Arden was designed as an American castle. Stanford White’s firm, McKim, Mead & White, delivered on Harriman’s vision with an imposing stone facade, tall chimneys, and arched windows that give Arden the look of a medieval stronghold. The interiors pull no punches with oak-paneled walls, tapestries, and intricate stone fireplaces. This is where Harriman entertained the titans of his time, from financiers to presidents, all under gilded ceilings and gazing out over the endless stretch of wilderness he controlled. Arden’s grounds are more forest than garden and sprawl across 40,000 acres.
12. Boscobel House
Boscobel was commissioned in 1804 by States Dyckman, who was fresh off a stint as a loyalist spy in Britain during the Revolutionary War. When Dyckman returned stateside, his head was full of British architectural frills, including Palladian windows and marble mantels, which he installed in his riverside mansion overlooking the Hudson. Boscobel’s charms were in the details: delicate woodwork, hand-carved by the finest artisans of the time, grand columns, and a stunning view. By the mid-20th century a dilapidated Boscobel faced the wrecking ball, but a dedicated band of preservationists salvaged pieces and rebuilt the mansion 15 miles north in Garrison.
11. Edgewater
Edgewater, perched along the Hudson in Barrytown, is a stately exercise in Georgian elegance. Built in 1824 by John Ross Delafield, this Federal-style mansion wears simplicity like a badge of honor, with its symmetrical lines, straightforward brick facade, and a six-column portico. In the mid-20th century, it became home to writer Gore Vidal, who hosted literary giants like Anaïs Nin and Truman Capote. Edgewater also served as Vidal’s campaign headquarters when he ran as a Democratic candidate for Congress in the 1960 election. The interiors of the mansion are refined yet cozy, with wide plank floors and wainscoting. Beyond the house the manicured grounds slope right down to the water.
10. George Eastman Estate
The George Eastman Estate in Rochester, NY, was built between 1902 and 1905 by Eastman himself, the man who practically invented modern photography. Eastman hired architect J. Foster Warner to create a 35,000-square-foot Colonial Revival Palace, complete with a grand conservatory, multiple living rooms, a library, and a music room. The interior boasted mahogany woodwork, crystal chandeliers, and intricate plaster ceilings. The house sits on 10.5 acres of manicured gardens designed by landscape architect Alling DeForest with Italianate terraces, sweeping lawns, and flowerbeds. Now part of the George Eastman Museum, the estate is a tribute to Eastman’s picture-perfect sensibility.
9. Montgomery Place
Built in 1805 by Janet Livingston Montgomery Place began as a Federal-style retreat, all clean lines and unassuming symmetry — think “good taste” with a splash of New World ambition. But the real story started in the 1840s, when architect Alexander Jackson Davis got his hands on it, dressing it up with Greek Revival flourishes that turned the riverside estate into a bona fide mansion with wood-paneled walls, stately moldings and floor-to-ceiling windows. Acres of orchards, meadows, and gardens cascade down to the river with a kind of wild elegance. Montgomery Place feels perfectly balanced with a timeless grandeur.
8. Lyndhurst Mansion
Lyndhurst is like a fortress for the fabulously wealthy, a Gothic Revival castle looming over the Hudson with an intensity that’s hard to ignore. Originally designed by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1838, this mansion went through its own metamorphosis when railroad tycoon Jay Gould purchased it in 1880. Gould brought grandeur, enhancing the Gothic flourishes with lavish interiors, towering stained-glass windows, and a grandiose gallery. The architecture here is as theatrical as it is historical, with crenellated towers and dark, vaulted rooms that could easily host a Dracula remake.
7. Locust Grove
Locust Grove is the brainchild of Samuel Morse, the artist-turned-inventor who brought us the telegraph. Perched above the Hudson River, the mansion is a peculiar marriage of scientific ambition and old-world charm. Morse bought the property in 1847 and set out to turn it into a visionary retreat, commissioning architect Alexander Jackson Davis to design the house. What they created is a blend of Italianate grandeur with Gothic Revival flourishes: arched windows, elaborate wood trim, and a wide verandah. Morse filled the place with art, telescopes, and gadgets, blurring the line between stately home and science lab. Inside, Locust Grove is all high ceilings and intricate moldings, with rooms framed by wainscoting and heavy woodwork. The estate sprawls across 200 acres of garden paths, wild meadows, and woodland, carefully curated but not overdone.
6. Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate
Perched high above the Hudson, this palatial estate was home to four generations of Rockefellers and feels more like a museum of wealth than a home. Completed in 1913 under the direction of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Kykuit is an architectural fusion of Colonial Revival elegance and classical restraint, brought to life by the architectural firm Delano & Aldrich. The interiors feature an art collection including works by Picasso, Calder, and Warhol. Manicured gardens unfold in terraces creating an atmosphere that is both serene and extravagant. The estate’s sprawling grounds house underground galleries and a nine-hole golf course.
5. Springwood, the Roosevelt Estate
Springwood, birthplace of Franklin D. Roosevelt, captures a distinctly American vibe. This 1826 Federal-style mansion, transformed by the Roosevelts into a Colonial Revival gem, was where FDR drafted policies and hosted dignitaries. Situated in Hyde Park, the estate showcases understated beauty with its grand portico and river-facing views. Inside there are no ostentatious displays, but family relics, personal photographs, and a library filled with Roosevelt’s books.
4. Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park’s Vanderbilt Mansion is a Beaux-Arts masterpiece with a dash of French chateau influence, built by McKim, Mead & White in 1899. Commissioned by Frederick Vanderbilt, the 54-room mansion stretches out over 211 acres with interiors that flaunt imported marble, mahogany paneling, and elaborate moldings. The landscaped grounds stretch to the Hudson, and Vanderbilt’s greenhouse once held exotic orchids and palms. Every room, from the Gilded Age dining hall to the library, reflects a family who collected opulence like fine art.
3. Beechwood
Originally constructed in the 18th century and expanded in the 19th by architect Calvert Vaux, Beechwood Estate flaunts its Gothic Revival roots with towering gables, pointed arches, and dramatic bay windows that frame views of the river. In its heyday, Beechwood was the setting for high society’s finest gatherings. Socialites and financiers would glide through the rooms, taking in the intricate moldings, mahogany paneling, and marble fireplaces that seemed sourced from the pages of a European castle catalog. Outside, the estate sprawls across rolling lawns dotted with beech trees. Beechwood’s charm is in the details: gothic finials, hand-carved balustrades, and a porch that gazes out over the manicured grounds.
2. Mills Mansion (Staatsburgh)
Originally a modest estate, Staatsburgh was transformed by Ogden and Ruth Livingston Mills in the 1890s into a Beaux-Arts marvel that sprawls across 65 rooms.. Architect Stanford White designed a French chateau that could go head-to-head with any European palace. Inside, there’s silk-lined walls, coffered ceilings, and chandeliers that could easily pass as works of art. The grand entrance hall stretches endlessly, lined with portraits of the Mills family, who reigned as Hudson Valley royalty. Out on the terrace, guests were once treated to views of perfectly manicured gardens and the Hudson River.
1. Olana
Olana is a masterpiece of artistry and architecture that defies categorization. More personal vision than home, it was conceived by painter Frederic Edwin Church, one of the Hudson River School’s brightest stars, who spent years designing it after traveling through Europe and the Middle East. The result is a fusion of Persian, Moorish, and Victorian elements that feels as much like a painting as a building. Perched above the Hudson in all its quirky, exotic glory, Olana captures the imagination with its polychrome brickwork, horseshoe arches, and wildly imaginative detailing that’s neither completely Eastern nor Western. Intricately carved wood interiors open up with glass windows that splash light through rooms like stained-glass confetti. Olana is the Hudson Valley’s crown jewel, a place that defies tradition and stands as the artist’s greatest work.
