W ith spectacular views of the Hudson River as well as the Catskill and Shawangunk Mountains, the Hudson River valley has much to offer both residents and visitors. By the turn of the 20th century, many wealthy families, including the Vanderbilts, had built palatial houses along the Hudson, between New York City and Albany. The Hudson River held special significance for the Vanderbilts. In the early 1800s, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt laid the foundation for the Vanderbilt fortune when he began a ferry service between Staten Island and Manhattan. Later, the family's New York Central Railroad ran along the Hudson. In 1895, Frederick Vanderbilt, grandson of the Commodore, built his country estate overlooking the river in Hyde Park, New York. With more than 600 acres of landscaped property and a palatial Beaux-Arts mansion, the Hyde Park estate came to symbolize the enormous wealth accumulated by a privileged few during the Gilded Age. Today, the Vanderbilts' Hyde Park home is preserved as Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site.
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