8. The mansion had the largest private greenhouse

Greenhouse at Lyndhurst Mansion.

Davis’ landscape ideas are not the only ones that have touched the landscape of Lyndhurst Mansion. Lord & Burnham, a boiler and greenhouse company, built a large private greenhouse on the estate. Despite Jay Gould’s notorious reputation, he often spent time in the greenhouse tending to his orchid and rose collection.

After Anna Gould took over the home, she sold her father’s orchid collection to raise money for the Red Cross and neglected the greenhouse. Following her death, the National Trust for Historic Preservation aimed to restore the greenhouse to its original glory. On the Gardens and Grounds Tour that is available Friday-Sunday for $18 a person, visitors can tour the greenhouse along with other aspects of the garden.

In it skeletal state, visitors can only wonder what the greenhouse looked like in its glory. As they clean off the rust and fallen bricks in their memory, visitors can imagine the various plants that once thrived in the 14 rooms that maintained optimal growing conditions for the plants within them.