9. Visitors Can Still Experience Remnants Of The Billings Mansion

Although C.K.G. Billings’ mansion burned to the ground in the 1920s, Rockefeller salvaged the remaining structure and incorporated it into the park design. The massive structure which survived the fire is known as the Billings Arcade – a 50-foot arched structure which was the original driveway that meanders up the hill to the estate. It is part of a 1,600 foot long brick driveway that leads to the mansion through the Billings gatehouse – another surviving fragment renamed as the Fort Tryon Cottage.

Learn more about how a cow helped design this $250,000 driveway.