The Rockefellers An Enduring Legacy

90 / OCTOBER 2012 / WWW.WESTCHESTERMAGAZINE.COM alfway through a three-hour tour The views from were astound- of the Kykuit mansion, the for- ing—possibly the best in Westchester. The mer home to four generations Hudson sparkled like a thousand stars lit up of Rockefellers, it became appar- in the night sky. Surrounding towns, includ- ent that I was going to need to ing Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, looked as useH the bathroom—a large mug of iced coffee if civilization had yet to move in, the tree- purchased at a Tarrytown café was to blame. tops hiding any sign of human life. I felt like My guide, Corinne, a woman of perhaps 94, a time-traveler whisked back to a bygone era. Look around eagerly led me to a marble bathroom enclosed This must have been the view that had in- by velvet ropes, telling me this may have been spired John D. to purchase land you. How where John D. Rockefeller had spent a great in Westchester in 1893. City, where deal of his time. When, after several high- the majority of the resided, much of decibel explanations, she gathered the nature was just 31 miles away and a horse-drawn car- of my request, I was ushered away from the riage could make the journey to the estate in the land, tour by two elderly women carrying walkie- less than two hours. It was the perfect family talkies, taken down a long flight of wooden retreat, a temporary escape from city life. stairs, through a cavernous servant’s kitchen, As we entered the giant stone mansion, I the views, past the subterranean art gallery—complete turned and took one final look at Westchester with works by Picasso and Warhol—and, fi- and its surrounding environs. I couldn’t help and even nally, down a dimly lit hallway that smelled of but wonder what had happened in the 120 wood varnish. years since the Rockefellers had arrived in the art can One of the women, identified by a plastic Pocantico Hills. Their name was synonymous name tag as “Rose,” dressed in neatly pressed with money and power, but was there more to be traced khakis and a polo shirt, stood guard at the their legacy? What kind of mark had they left bathroom door, her walkie-talkie crackling on Westchester? Who were the major players? back to one with instructions from an unknown male How is their presence felt today? voice, while the other disappeared up the Surprisingly, most of my questions would stairs. I had the feeling that Rose suspected be answered by a single photograph taken 75 family? Here, I might attempt to lift a memento from the years earlier at the Tarrytown train station. bathroom as a keepsake—perhaps the ster- how the ling-silver pull-chain from the toilet or one n May 25, 1937, a group of men (five of the gilded faucet handles from the marble brothers accompanied by their fa- Rockefellers sink. But no, I was not planning to pocket O ther) gathered on the north platform a piece of Rockefeller history. In truth, the of the Tarrytown train station. Each man wore forever grandeur and opulence of the mansion had a three-piece suit and polished black leather exhausted my senses and I was grateful for a shoes, most adding a neatly folded pocket made their quiet moment of reflection. square and tall felt homburg. Their neckties I thought back to the beginning of the were nearly identical, each knotted in a simple mark on tour. After passing though a security check- yet elegant half-Windsor. The day was unusual- point manned by three uniformed guards, ly hot for May, well into the 80s, but the group the bus began the mile-long uphill trek to the seemed unfazed by the burden of their formal Westchester. mansion’s front gate. The rolling lawns that attire. Before the next train pulled into the sta- preceded it were unlike any I had ever seen— tion, an enterprising photographer bunched not a blade of grass seemed overgrown or out the men together for a last minute photo. of place; the mow pattern reminded me of the On the left is John Jr., the father, smiling parallel light and dark rows commonly found and bespectacled, his arms loosely crossed. To in the outfields of major league ballparks. his left are sons David, on summer break from Noticing my interest in the lawn, Corinne ea- graduate school at Harvard, staring plaintively gerly launched into a story about a man who, down the tracks; Nelson, the future governor By Nathan Laliberte a few years back, had attempted to walk on of New York and eventual vice president under the grass without permission. “He was quickly , gazing sternly into the distance; subdued,” she said. Winthrop, a Yale graduate and future gover- As we reached the front gate, a man nor of Arkansas, peering impishly over his dressed in blue gardeners’ overalls emerged brother’s shoulders; Laurance, a prominent from the ground. Corinne explained that the philanthropist and venture capitalist lost in property had been constructed with a sophis- his own thoughts; and John III, the oldest of ticated set of subterranean passageways with the brothers, flashing a broad grin as if posing pipes that ran water to the many fountains for a Macy’s catalog. Sadly, he would die, 41 on the property—the largest being a 30-foot years later, in a horrific car wreck just half a replica of Giambologna’s Oceanus Fountain mile from where this photo was taken. that was built on the edge of a cliff overlook- If you had been a bystander to this scene, ing the Hudson. you might guess this rowdy bunch was headed

WWW.WESTCHESTERMAGAZINE.COM / OCTOBER 2012 / 91 (Clockwise from below): Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, created by and ; Kykuit, the Hudson- side estate that housed four generations of Rockefellers; John D. Rockefeller, Jr., comissioned a replica of Giambologna’s fountain to elevate the Hudson to the level of the Nile, Euphrates, and Ganges.

to New York for a lavish dinner party at The Plaza. But, in fact, these patriarch of the Rockefeller fortune, playing a central role in efforts six men, the famous Rockefeller boys, have come to collect the body to preserve the wealth for future Rockefeller generations and con- of the world’s richest man, John D. Rockefeller, the former president tinue the family’s global philanthropic efforts. Speaking of the train of Standard Oil, founder of the family fortune, and the nation’s first station photo, David recalled in his 2003 memoirs, “Looking at the billionaire, who had died at his estate in Ormand Beach, Florida, at picture today, I find it remarkable how well it captured our relation- the age of 97, two days earlier. This moment, sealed in time by a ships with one another, where we were in life, and, perhaps, where single photograph, marked the beginning of the second phase of a we were all going.” legacy that would, in the 75 years that followed, imbue a profound Perhaps David’s most significant contribution to Westchester was and indelible effect on the place we call home. also the most controversial. In 2001, he, along with his daughter, Peggy Dulany, made plans to open the Stone Barns Center for Food ake a look at David. He’s the chap standing next to his father and Agriculture. The 80-acre farm in Pocantico Hills, a hamlet in with his fist tightly clenched. At 21, he’s also the youngest the town of Mount Pleasant, donated by David to the Stone Barns T of the brothers. If he looks like he is doing his best to force Restoration Corporation, was designed to be wholly self-sustaining, a smile, it’s probably for good reason. After all, he is flanked by his with a for-profit restaurant and café serving to offset the costs of a father, who was notorious for presiding over the family with an iron nonprofit organic farm and agriculture education center. As part of fist, and his domineering brother Nelson, who largely ignored him an effort to finance the tremendous cost of the project—which had during their childhood years. A shy boy, David has just started to soared to nearly $30 million by late 2002—the final component of emerge from his shell after completing a year of graduate econom- David’s proposal called for building a 75-room hotel and a number ics work at Harvard. At the end of the summer, he will set sail for of luxurious private houses on a 94-acre parcel of land within the London to conclude his graduate degree at the London School of Rockefeller Estate. Economics. This caused an uproar within the closely knit and notoriously Upon his return from London, he enrolled at the University private Rockefeller clan. In a 2002 New York Times article, an anony- of Chicago (founded 47 years earlier by his grandfather, John D. mous family member was quoted as saying, “The hotel is absolutely Rockefeller) to complete a PhD in economics and, after a tour of ser- unacceptable. We are already up in arms, but quietly. I feel like this vice in the army, began a long career in banking that would conclude [the Rockefeller Estate] is the of Westchester and that with a 12-year tenure as chairman and CEO of the Chase Manhattan none of it should be developed.” Writer Ben Cheever weighed in too: Bank, N.A., and The Chase Manhattan Corporation in New York “This land is public, or has been treated as public for decades. It isn’t City. David would be blessed with excellent health, outlive all of his our backyard. It is Westchester’s backyard, New York State’s back- siblings (the last to die was Laurance in 2004), and become the sole yard. It is America’s backyard.”

92 / OCTOBER 2012 / WWW.WESTCHESTERMAGAZINE.COM The Rockefellers

The squabble eventually was resolved when Dr. Lucy Waletzky, daughter of , donated $4.7 million to the Stone Barns Restoration Corporation, allowing it to gift the 94-acre portion of land that had been allocated for commercial development back to the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, thus ensuring the land would remain untouched. (Dr. Waletzky, who resides in Sleepy Hollow, could not be reached for comment.) Fortunately, the plans for the farm and restaurant went forward and, today, the four-star Blue Hill at Stone Barns is a world-renowned farm-to-table restaurant with James Beard Foundation Award-winner Dan Barber at the helm. Westchesterites and out-of-towners alike enjoy visits to the farm, which boasts more than 1,500 chickens, 100 Berkshire hogs, and 200 varieties of organic crops, and has grown into a full-blown agricultural center dedicated to connecting Wetchester residents to the land again. “David Rockefeller and his daughter Peggy Dulany were committed to creating a place that takes inspiration from the agricultural history of this land but looks to the future of our food system,” said Jill Isenbarger, Stone Barns’s executive director. “Farmers, educators, chefs, and food citizens at Stone Barns Center are working to change the way we eat and farm—not only in Westchester, but across

The next Generation of Rockefellers

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER

ABBY A. JOHN D. NELSON A. LAURENCE S. WIHTHROP DAVID ROCKEFELLER ROCKEFELLER III ROCKEFELLER ROCKEFELLER ROCKEFELLER ROCKEFELLER

Abby Sandra Rockefeller Rodman Rockfeller Laura Rockefeller Winthrop Paul David Rockefeller, Jr. Rockefeller Milton Now Sandra R. Ferry b. 1932 Now Laura R. Chasin Rockefeller b. 1941 b. 1928 b. 1943 d. 2000 b. 1936 b. 1948 Philanthropist and Was chairman of d. 2006 director and former Pocantico Associates, chairman of Rockefeller Marilyn John D. (“Jay”) a private venture Marion Rockefeller Financial and Board Rockefeller Milton Rockefeller IV capital and real estate Now Marion R. Weber Chair of the Rockefeller b. 1931 b. 1937 investment firm. Worked b. 1938 Foundation. Lives in to strengthen business Sleepy Hollow. ties between the United Hope Aldrich States and Latin America. Lucy Rockefeller Lived in Abby Rockefeller Known Rockefeller Now Lucy R. Waletzky Now Hope Aldrich R. and Pocantico Hills. b. 1941 b. 1943 collectively as Spencer Works as a geriatric psychiatrist in Pleasantville. “the cousins,” b. 1938 Gifted land to the Rockefeller Preserve to Steven C. Rockefeller block a hotel. the next b. 1936 Rockefeller A trustee of the generation of Alida Rockefeller Now Neva R. Goodwin Rockefeller Brothers Larry Rockefeller Now Alida R. Messinger b. 1944 Rockefellers Fund and former dean b. 1944 b. 1948 works hard to of Middlebury College. Works with many conservation preserve their Lives in Pound Ridge. groups and was a founding Margaret “Peggy” Dulany Rockefeller member of the Natural b. 1947 family legacy Resources Defense Council. Works with nonprofits that strive to address poverty, and continue Instrumental in preserving the equity, and social justice in emerging countries, b. 1938 / d. 1961 Beaverkill valley area in upstate especially through Synergos, a group she founded. the tradition of New York. Lives in Instrumental in opening Stone Barns Center for Food activism and New York City. and Agriculture. Lives in New York City but spends philanthropy weekends at the family house in Pocantico Hills. in Westchester Now Mary R. Morgan b. 1938 Nelson A. and across the After her twin brother, Michael, was lost due to a boating Rockefeller, Jr. accident while on an expedition in New Guinea, Mary, a b. 1964 country. Here, b. 1967 b. 1949 licensed psychotherapist, specialized her career in working Raised at Kykuit. Served Raised at Kykuit. we check in with “twinless twins.” She started a bereavement group for on the board of Historic Onetime chairman twins whose siblings died on 9/11. She lives in New York City. and was with the family of Historic Hudson Eileen Rockefeller a trustee of SUNY. Held tree, especially Valley. Co-founder and Now Eileen R. Growald posts in Washington, chairman of Legacy b. 1952 those who DC, such as policy Ann Rockefeller Direct, Inc., which helps assistant to the US kept close to Now Ann R. Roberts athletes, entertainers, Senate majority leader, b. 1934 and professional sports their roots in and special assistant to Founded the Fund of the Four Directions, a national Native franchises establish and the deputy director of the Westchester. American foundation based in New York City. In 1998, she manage their legacies White House Office of collaborated with her daughter to write The Rockefeller and social impact. Lives Management and Budget. Family Home: Kykuit. Lives in Manhattan. in New York City.

WWW.WESTCHESTERMAGAZINE.COM / OCTOBER 2012 / 93 The Rockefellers the nation. Thanks to the Rockefeller vision, we are educating a new authoritative and confident manner, and considers himself the un- generation of farmers and eaters to care about the land that provides official leader of his four brothers. In David’s memoirs, he recalled our food, today and for the future.” (somewhat contemptuously) Nelson’s attitude at the train station: Today, at 97, David lives both in New York City and at Hudson “Nelson, also characteristically, has managed to situate himself at Pines, his 166-acre estate in Pocantico Hills, where he breeds and the exact center of the picture and stares authoritatively at the cam- sells elite Simmental cattle to domestic ranchers. He can often be era.” He also writes: “Even though Nelson admired both grandfa- found dining at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where he sits at a special thers, he thought it significant that he had been born on grandfather table that overlooks the farm’s rolling pastures. David has lived con- Rockefeller’s birthday. He let one infer from this coincidence that he tentedly in Westchester for nearly a century. “The more I visit friends was the true Rockefeller standard bearer.” on Long Island and Connecticut, the happier I am that the family Having graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth seven years settled in Westchester,” he wrote in his memoirs. earlier, Nelson went on to become the US vice president from 1974 to 1977 and the governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. y second journey into the Rockefeller legacy took me to Besides residing in a palatial townhouse on West 54th Street, the Rockefeller State Park Preserve in Pleasantville, with Nelson also lived in Kykuit (pronounced kye-cut) from 1963 to 1979. M my mother as my guide. Each weekend, she escapes her Completed in 1913, Kykuit, which is the Dutch word for “lookout,” cramped New York City apartment and flees to the miles of bucolic rises four stories and is equipped with a large stone tunnel under hiking trails that make up a large majority of the Preserve. It’s a the house. (The tunnel was built for trucks making deliveries to the place where cellphone service is virtually non-existent and life seems subterranean servant’s kitchen.) John D. Rockefeller had bought the

(Left to right): Chagall windows in the Union Church honor John D. Rockefeller, Jr; the Rockefeller initial 400-acre parcel to satisfy a nagging desire for a quiet place to State Preserve was established by John D. Rockefeller, Sr., as an escape from New York City. escape city life, which would include furthering his love for the game to fade to a time when things were simpler. There are icy brooks, of golf; the rolling lawns of the Kykuit property feature a beautifully perfectly soothing to tired feet, and shady sitting areas designed manicured 12-hole golf course, designed by golf architect William specifically for bird watching. (With 180 species of birds, the park re- Dunn, which the family still uses today. John D. reportedly had de- cently received an “Important Bird Area” designation by the National veloped such a passion for the game that he would have snow cleared Audubon Society.) A 22-acre lake, aptly named “Swan Lake,” is often from the course during Westchester’s frigid winter months. Today, inhabited by painters quietly sitting with their easels and brushes; roughly 1,400 acres of the original land has been deeded by various There is a fern garden maintained by local volunteers, and a gravel family members to aid in the expansion of the Rockefeller State Park path taking hikers across 13 bridges as they walk parallel to Gory Preserve, which receives nearly 30,000 visitors annually. Brook. It is reported that Martha Stewart, who lives close by, is of- Perhaps the most astounding section of Kykuit is the cavern- ten spotted on the path piloting her horse and carriage. “I love it up ous subterranean art gallery. The space had previously been used here,” my mother declared. as a bowling alley by the Rockefeller children, but, when Nelson This type of sanctuary, especially in southern New York, is be- moved in, he transformed the wooden lanes into a mini Museum of coming more and more of a rarity. John D. Rockefeller had bought Modern Art—the Rockefellers had been instrumental in founding the land over the course of seven years (1893-1900)—eventually MoMA in 1929—with works by Picasso, Chagall, Calder, and others. expanding the Pocantico Hills estate to more than 3,000 acres. Over There are even two original portraits of Nelson and his second wife, the years, much of the land has been deeded back to the State of Margaretta “Happy” Rockefeller (who today lives on a small estate in New York as part of the family’s extensive efforts to preserve the Pocantico Hills), done by Andy Warhol. natural beauty of Westchester. Kykuit’s landscape is an odd amalgamation of varying tastes expressed by the four generations of Rockefellers who resided at o David’s left is his brother Nelson, the shortest of the broth- the mansion. Envisioned by renowned landscape architect William ers but also the most charismatic (take notice of his double- Welles Bosworth, the property features a beautiful rose garden, two T breasted pinstripe suit with that silver watch chain dangling Japanese tea houses, and several ornate marble fountains and re- loosely across his mid section). He has a raspy voice, speaks in an flecting pools. In his later years, Nelson purchased large modern

94 / OCTOBER 2012 / WWW.WESTCHESTERMAGAZINE.COM sculptures done by the renowned artists of the time (, and maintain historic properties along the Hudson. Today, HHV , and were favorites) and had them maintains a number of important Westchester sites, includ- delivered by helicopter to carefully selected spots on the property. ing ’s Sunnyside in Irvington, the 300-year Currently, there are more than 70 works surrounding the mansion. old also in Sleepy Hollow, the Van Cortlandt John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the only son of John D. Rockefeller, con- Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, the Union Church in Pocantico Hills, tributed his own artistic sensibilities by installing the large replica and the HHV headquarters and library at 639 Bedford Road in of Giambologna’s fountain. Junior had commissioned the fountain Pocantico Hills. in 1913 as a way to associate the with the three great Additionally, Junior was instrumental in the founding of the rivers that had supported human civilization: The Nile, Euphrates, Pocantico Hills School, which is housed in an elegant two-story and Ganges. brick building constructed in 1931. Over the years, many of the Nelson’s single largest gift to Westchester Rockefeller children have attended, and today came in 1979, the year of his death. In an effort the family is instrumental in creating pro- to avoid the land being sold to outside inter- grams for students designed to instill conser- ests, Nelson gifted his portion of the estate— vationism. “Historically, they have had a tre- which included Kykuit and a stone coach barn mendous influence on our school,” said Adam that today is home to the Pocantico Center of Brown, who is the supervisor of curriculum the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a philanthropic and technology at the Pocantico Hills School. organization that Nelson had presided over for “Their influence is everywhere, and in terms many years—to the National Trust for Historic of our school, we have special relationships Preservation. Today, public tours of the mansion, with organizations tied to the family, such as coach barn, and gardens are operated by Historic the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), which Hudson Valley. has created a year-round gardening program Nelson died on January 26, 1979 in his where we use the greenhouses on the property Manhattan townhouse while “entertaining” his of RBF as well as raise beds they have built 25-year-old mistress, Megan Marshack. The fam- with timed irrigation systems.” Brown, who is ily, who had no interest in publicizing the scan- a resident of Pleasantville, went on to say that dal, had his body cremated and made sure that the greenhouse on the RBF property serves as an autopsy was not performed. a living classroom for the students. “There are table and chairs and easels, surrounded by ev- tanding on the far left is John D. erything that the kids are growing. In fourth Rockefeller, Jr., known simply as “Junior.” grade, colonial America is very much part of S Despite his broad smile and relatively ca- the social studies curriculum, so we do a co- sual appearance, is it conceivable that, at this lonial unit where they study medicinal herbs, moment, he is highly distraught. After all, the aromatic herbs, and culinary herbs. They grow casket carrying his father is steaming toward the them and actually create herbal vinegars, and station—in a private rail car, of course. Junior’s healing salves, and sachets that all have histor- relationship with his father, though strained at ical meaning. Back at the school, the food that times, was always one of mutual respect. He was is harvested even shows up at the cafeteria! We considered the heir apparent to the Rockefeller cook soups and make salads and provide pro- fortune, which in 1937 was estimated at well duce to our family consumer science classes, over a billion dollars. Over the course of his life- which may be doing a culinary unit. It’s really a time, it was estimated that Junior donated more special relationship that we cherish.” than $535 million to philanthropic causes. Junior died of pneumonia on May 11, 1960 After graduating from Princeton in 1897 with at his estate in Tucson, Arizona. As they had a Bachelor of Arts degree, Junior moved back to done twenty-three years earlier, after the New York City, joined his father at Standard Oil, Portraits of and his second death of John D., the brothers gathered at the and developed a fondness for Westchester. Most wife, Margaretta “Happy” Rockefeller, by Andy train station to receive the body. Junior’s body weekends, he took the entire family—wife Abby Warhol was cremated and the ashes were interred in Aldrich Rockefeller, eldest daughter Abby (com- the family cemetery in Tarrytown. To honor monly referred to as Babs), and the five boys—up to Pocantico Hills, their father’s memory, the brothers commissioned artist Marc where they lived first at Abeyton Lodge (a beautiful stone mansion Chagall to create a stained-glass window based on the parable of that was located on the Rockefeller property until it was demolished the Good Samaritan to be installed in Union Church. Today, the shortly after World War II) and then at Kykuit. church is home to nine Chagall windows and a rose window by After a long career at Standard Oil, Junior focused the remainder ; the rose window—the last work completed before of his life on furthering the family’s philanthropic and conservation- the artist’s death in 1954—had been spearheaded by Nelson to ist ventures. In 1934, he donated 700 acres of land overlooking the honor the life of his mother, , who had Hudson to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, ensuring the been good friends with Matisse. view from Westchester (and Kykuit) would never be marred by rock Union’s Pastor, Paul DeHoff, says that the windows and the quarrying or commercial development. In all, Junior donated rough- Rockefeller’s involvement have played an integral role in the con- ly $17 million to the preservation of the Palisades. tinued prosperity of the church. “But on the other hand, people Junior also founded Sleepy Hollow Restorations in 1951, which are people. We have good music, charming setting, and the win- was renamed (HHV) in 1987. It was es- dows. Windows even by Matisse and Chagall do not a church make. tablished as a non-profit organization that would acquire, restore, (Continued on page 191)

WWW.WESTCHESTERMAGAZINE.COM / OCTOBER 2012 / 95 The Rockefellers (Continued from page 95)

They lift us and help us transport us to other beauty.”

aurance is second from the right, wedged in between brothers Winthrop L and John III. He was named in honor of his grandmother, Laura Spelman Rockefeller. He was less flamboyant than Nelson and had more confidence than David. He had graduat- ed from Princeton five years earlier and went on to Harvard Law School for two years be- fore deciding to focus his attentions on ven- ture capital. At the end of his career, it was es- timated that he had earned a net profit of $59 million during the 29 years he ran his New York-based investment firm, , Inc. Laurance was known not only as a shrewd businessman but also as a world-renowned Magazine. Complete list of articles can be found conservationist, even following in his father’s at nathanlaliberte.com. footsteps as the president of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. In 1999, he donated 920 acres of land, today known as in Sleepy Hollow, to the Rockefeller State Preserve. Laurance died at his home in New York City on July 11, 2004.

he Union Church’s pastor, Paul DeHoff, says that the Rockefellers’ involvement T have played an integral role in the continued prosperity of the church. “Union Church is a special place because of its asso- ciation with the Rockefeller family and their exceptional status. The Rockefellers are very genuine, kind people. They were raised with a sense of responsibility. The family has always been involved, very present, enabling, and supportive.” Wrote David in his memoirs: “The Rockefeller philanthropic tradition was simple and unadorned. We have been greatly blessed as a family, and it was our obligation to give something back to society.” Today several members of the family still reside in Westchester, including many of the brothers’ children and grandchildren. And while they are active in several philanthropic organizations throughout the county, the organizations set forth by the previous gen- erations of Rockefellers run, as originally de- signed, autonomously. “The biggest problem with people who are generous enough to give their land is that they don’t provide any mon- ey to maintain them into the future,” says Susanne Pandich, manager of public programs at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Pocantico Center. “In contrast, the Rockefellers have provided for these organizations so they canW continue to be an asset to the community well into the future.”

Nathan Laliberte is a freelance journalist. He cov- ers a wide array of topics including science, crime, and history. This is his fourth story for Westchester

WWW.WESTCHESTERMAGAZINE.COM / OCTOBER 2012 / 191