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Billings & Rockefeller |
www.hhoc.org/fftp |
Wealthy New Yorkers during the 19th century built elegant estates around the Fort Tryon area,
the most notable being the house of Cornelius K.G. Billings.
A wealthy horseman from Chicago, Billings reportedly spent more than $2 million building his
Tryon Hill mansion from 1901 to 1905. In 1909 Billings erected a stele at the
apex of the park at Linden Terrace, memorializing the Continental Army's defense of the site in 1776.
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Rockefeller acquires the Billings Site
In 1917, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960) bought the Billings mansion and began developing the property,
employing the Olmsted Brothers architectural firm. To help him realize his vision for the site, Rockefeller even
purchased land on the New Jersey side of the Hudson - now known as the Palisades State Park - to preserve Fort Tryon's
stunning views.
Although the original Billings mansion burned to the ground in 1925, a small frame stucco gatehouse
from the original property remains - located just west of Margaret Corbin Cirble. Rockefeller donated the land to the City
in 1931, and it was designated parkland the same year.
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Friends of Fort Tryon Park, Inc.
741 Fort Washington Avenue
New York, New York 10040
(212) 795-1388 |
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Friends@FortTryonPark.net |
www.hhoc.org/fftp |
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