W. B. Thompson Mansion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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W. B. Thompson Mansion
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East elevation, 2009
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Yonkers, New York |
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| Area | 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) |
| Built | 1912 |
| Architect | Carrere & Hastings |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001277 |
| Added to NRHP | October 29, 1982 |
The W. B. Thompson Mansion, also known as Alder Manor, is a beautiful old house in Yonkers, New York. It's located on North Broadway, which is part of U.S. Route 9. This mansion was built in the early 1900s. It was designed by famous architects Carrère and Hastings in a style called Renaissance Revival. Because of its history and design, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
A rich mining expert and financier named William Boyce Thompson built this mansion as his weekend home. Many large estates used to line the river in Yonkers, but the Thompson Mansion is one of the few that are still standing today. The Thompson family lived here until the mid-1900s. After that, it was given to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. It then became Mary Elizabeth Seton High School, which was the first Catholic school in Yonkers.
After being a high school for ten years, it became a junior college. Later, it merged with Iona College. Eventually, the campus closed. While other buildings on the property were used for new purposes, the mansion itself was left empty. It was even looted, meaning things were stolen from it. Then, Tara Circle, an Irish American cultural group, bought it from the city. To help pay for its restoration, Tara Circle hosts events there. They also rent it out for weddings and for filming movies like Mona Lisa Smile and A Beautiful Mind.
Contents
Exploring the Mansion and Its Gardens
The W. B. Thompson Mansion is in the northwest part of Yonkers. It sits on high ground, about 300 feet above the Hudson River. The river is about a thousand feet to the west. The mansion is on the west side of North Broadway. It's set back about 600 feet from the road, on a small hill. A curving driveway leads up to the house. This driveway is lined with shrubs and small trees. It ends in a paved area with a stone railing.
Across North Broadway, you'll find the South Westchester Executive Park. This park has taller, modern buildings. To the north of the mansion is the Lenoir Nature Preserve. This is a 39-acre park run by Westchester County. St. John's Riverside Hospital is located to the south. A walking path called the Old Croton Aqueduct trailway runs through the woods nearby. This path is a National Historic Landmark. It goes down the steep slopes towards the river. Near the river, there are modern high-rise apartment buildings. These are close to the Greystone station, which is on Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line.
Beautiful Outdoor Spaces
The area around the house has amazing landscaping. To the south, there are terraces and sculpture gardens. To the north, there's a walled garden inspired by classical designs. This garden even has real Roman artifacts! At the west end of this garden, you can find a copy of the Theatre of Dionysus from Athens.
Outside the Mansion: A Closer Look
The main part of the mansion is a 2½-story building made of limestone. It has seven sections, or "bays," and a full basement. The main roof is a tiled hipped roof. You'll see chimneys and dormer windows sticking out of the roof. These dormers have one-over-one double-hung windows. A small, two-bay wing sticks out from the south side. On the north side, there's a two-story service wing. This service wing also has two smaller wings.
A brick terrace goes around the building. This terrace continues the stone railing from the front area. There are covered walkways, called loggias, at the north and south ends. The north side of the house even includes the front of a real 16th-century Italian church! Most windows on the main part of the house are multi-pane casement windows. The service wing has six-over-six double-hung windows.
In the middle of the west (back) side, there's a fancy garden entrance. On the first floor, three French doors are set back in a Palladian arcade. Above them, there's a decorative band and a central arch. This arch is surrounded by oval windows and supported by columns and flat decorative columns called pilasters.
Inside the Mansion: Grand Rooms
At the main entrance, a fancy broken archway sits above the curved main door. This archway is supported by columns that are attached to the wall. The glass and wrought iron doors open into a vestibule. This entrance area has marble floors and terra cotta bas-reliefs, which are carvings that stick out from the surface. The marble floors continue into the main entrance hall. The ceiling here was designed by Thomas Hastings. Most other floors in the house are made of wooden parquet, except for the tiled kitchen floor. Some doors still have their original Gorham doorknobs. Many of the original artworks and finishes are also still there.
The drawing room has walnut wood panels. It features special molding with carved birds, flowers, and hanging decorations called swags around the fireplace. Above the fireplace, there's a rare English-style trompe-l'œil ceiling. This means it's painted to look like something real, but it's just an illusion! The music room has an Italian-style coffered ceiling, which means it has sunken panels. This ceiling goes well with its imported 15th-century Italian stone fireplace. The dining room has French-style coffering. Both the dining room and the library have oak wood panels and white marble mantelpieces with carved designs inspired by classical art.
The main stairwell goes up three stories. The main staircase has a carved iron and wood railing. The walls have pilasters, decorative bands, and railings. These create low rows of columns on each floor. At the very top, organ pipes from a Welte Philharmonic Organ are arranged to look like a window frame.
What looks like wood panels along the walls of the upper floors are actually hidden closets! The master bedroom has another imported European fireplace. Other bedrooms also have classically inspired carved fireplaces. At the north end of the second floor, there's a tiled indoor pool. It has a beautiful stained glass window that looks out onto the garden. The den in the basement has been changed a lot, but it still has an Asian design and a Chinese decorative wood carving leading to it.
History of Alder Manor
William Boyce Thompson first found success in the mining business in his home state of Montana. In 1895, he moved to New York. He continued to invest in mining on Wall Street and earned even more money. About ten years later, he started buying the 22 acres of land where he built his mansion. He originally named it Alder Manor, after Alder Gulch, his hometown. He planned for it to be a weekend home.
Thompson hired the famous architects Carrère and Hastings to design the house. He loved plants and gardens, so he personally oversaw the planning and planting of the landscapes around the house. He had a big say in how it looked. The Thompson Mansion is similar to the Frick Mansion in New York City, which the same architects were building at the same time. However, the Thompson Mansion has special touches that show Thompson's own style. These include the colored marble in some columns, imported fireplaces, and classical details in the gardens.
Thompson lived in the house until he passed away in 1930. He left a lot of money in a trust for his wife and daughter. They could only get the money if they continued to live at Alder Manor. Gertrude Thompson, his wife, lived there for another 20 years. After she died in 1950, she gave the mansion to the Archdiocese of New York. They decided to use it as a Catholic high school. The Sisters of Charity ran it as Mary Elizabeth Seton High School, which was the first Catholic high school in Yonkers. In 1960, they made it into a junior college.
During that time, some changes were made to the mansion. A chapel and a fire escape were added carefully, so they wouldn't ruin the original design. Inside, however, some rooms were changed a lot to become bedrooms and offices. For example, the basement den, where Thompson used to show his gem collection, was greatly changed. Its Chinese-themed decor was mostly removed, and only the woodwork remains today. The college also built a dorm to the west. This building blocked the beautiful view of the Hudson River that the mansion once had.
In 1989, Elizabeth Seton College joined with Iona College. For a while, Iona used both campuses because they needed more space. Six years after the merger, in 1995, Iona closed the Yonkers campus. The property started to be divided and sold. Developers were interested because it was one of the few large, mostly undeveloped pieces of land in Yonkers with river views. The city bought 14 acres, including the mansion and other buildings. The city used the other buildings as an elementary school. A developer bought the rest of the land to the south and built a center for assisted living.
The mansion itself remained empty and unused. It started to look neglected, and people broke in to steal things. Items like the brass nameplate at the main entrance, a chandelier, and a Tiffany glass window were stolen. The city then asked for ideas from groups interested in the property.
Two years later, in 1997, the city accepted a plan from Tara Circle. This Irish American cultural group had been looking for a permanent home for ten years. On June 16 of that year, they held their first event there, a Bloomsday celebration. The mansion cost Tara Circle $1.2 million to buy. It was estimated that fully restoring it would cost another $2 million.
Throughout the 2000s, Tara Circle used the building in a limited way because of its condition. They offer classes in Irish music and culture. They have also hosted concerts, including one by Ronan Tynan. They earn more money by renting the mansion for weddings, banquets, and filming movies. It was first used for filming in 2001 for the movie A Beautiful Mind. In the film, Russell Crowe, playing mathematician John Nash, drops mail off there. The mansion was also used for scenes in The Royal Tenenbaums and Mona Lisa Smile.
Images for kids
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East elevation, 2009
