Surrounded by a park-like atmosphere that overlooks the Hudson, the Lyndhurst Mansion is one of the most stunning estates in the Hudson River Valley. Designed in the late 1930s by Alexander Jackson Davis and William Paulding, the unusual Gothic Revival design shocked the architectural community. Its asymmetrical facade, castle-like turrets and dark interior led early critics to dub the mansion Paulding's Folly.
   Second owner George Merritt doubled the size of the mansion and renamed it Lyndenhurst after the estate's Linden trees. Merritt employed landscape designer Ferdinand Mangold to create an English naturalistic style setting, including rolling lawns, specimen trees and a long curving entrance drive that offers a surprise view of the mansion.
   The Lyndhurst's third owner, railroad tycoon Jay Gould, took over the Tarrytown estate in 1880 hoping to escape the pressures of running a string of businesses which included the Union Pacific Railroad, the New York Elevated Railway and the Western Union Telegraph. Struggling with tuberculosis, Gold died in 1892, leaving the estate to his daughter Helen. Following Helen's death, sister Anna, French Duchess of Sagan, donated the mansion to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1961.
   The Lyndhurst is open for tours throughout the year, varying its schedule of days and time. Estate buildings are spread among the immaculate grounds and include a Lord and Burnham steel-framed greenhouse complex and the oldest regulation bowling alley in the country. Guests are also invited to bring their walking shoes and enjoy the sights along the Hudson River Walking Trail.

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