Kykuit, The Rockefeller Estate - The Exterior Pictures

We headed to Sleepy Hollow, NY today to visit the Kykuit, the estate of four generations of Rockefellers.  The last Rockefeller to own the estate was John D. Rockefeller, the Governor of New York.  When he died he willed it to the National Trust along with funds for maintenance.  Our Guide told us that this came as a huge surprise to the rest of the family at that time. 

"Kykuit" is Dutch for "lookout."   It is situated on the highest point in the hamlet of Pocantico Hills, overlooking the Hudson River.  It is located near Sleepy Hollow, NY.

Don't let the front of the house fool you. It doesn't look as enormous as it is. The mansion is long and narrow because of the way the hill is shaped where it sits.

 Closer look at the roof of the mansion.  It is so intricate!

 An Eagle rests on top of the Mansion with the 

Rockefeller crest in his talons.

 The Fountain of Ocenus overlooking the Hudson River. 

 It is across an expanse of lawn from the mansion.

The Fountain of Oceanus is a exact replica of the Renaissance Fountain designed by Giovanni Bologna for the Pietti Palace at the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy.  Our guide told us that the fountain was just restored and cleaned as it was turning black.  Just yesterday it was covered so we were the first tourists to see it in its new condition.  Unfortunately, though the water was not streaming over the large bowl yet.  It was still filling when we arrived.

 There are two gates like this in front of the 

mansion - one to the left of the grounds and one to the right.

 The flame coming from this pot was actually made by Tiffany. 

 The Front Door

 Wisteria climbs the house on both sides. 

 I loved the planters built into the porch!

 View to one side of the porch into the gardens

 View from the window on the front porch

 Not the sort of chandliers most people have on their porches!

I'm standing in the side yard of the Mansion as we wandered the grounds and the various flower beds.  We are going to have a separate page on the grounds as they are pretty spectacular.

We took the Grand Tour and would highly recommend it. It is the tour that you see everything! We had the best guide ever. He was so knowledgeable about the history of the family and the grounds. You could ask him anything and he knew the answer. He also didn't object to us taking pictures as long as we didn't use a flash and that made me really happy since sometimes you just can't take pictures inside these beautiful homes.

 The Rose Garden lies behind the bushes.

The back of the mansion.  We are standing 

in one of the terraced gardens below.