Sunnyside

Built in 1835, for Washington Irving (1783-1859), America's first international bestselling author. Oliver Wendell Holmes said that the comparatively small and eclectic Sunnyside was, "next to Mount Vernon, the best known and most cherished of all the dwellings in our land." While it was being built, Irving lived at the Astor Mansion in Hellgate. Sunnyside remained in the Irving family until 1945 when it was purchased by John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874-1960) who restored it and opened it to the public two years later. Today, the house is operated by Historic Hudson Valley.