You enter the grounds by the main gate on U.S. 9, just north of the village of Hyde Park. You leave the site by the north drive and gate on U.S. 9, near St. James Church. The exit drive affords fine views of the Hudson River and the mountains to the west. The grounds are open every day from 9 a.m. until dark. You are welcome to spend as much time as you wish viewing them. The mansion is open every day during the summer, June 15 through Labor Day. It is closed Mondays at other seasons, and on Christmas Day. Visiting hours are from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The nominal admission charge to the mansion does not apply to children under 12, nor to groups of elementary and high school children, regardless of age, and accompanying adults who assume responsibility for their safety and orderly conduct. A self-guided tour system enables you to begin your tour of the mansion immediately upon arrival. Special guide service for groups may be arranged in advance through the superintendent. There are no accommodations for picnicking or dining at the site. These services are available in the village of Hyde Park and at Norrie State Park, 4 miles north. Overnight accommodations are available in the village. The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, administered jointly with this site, is 2 miles south of the village of Hyde Park on U.S. 9. It is open at the same times as Vanderbilt Mansion. _The National Historic Site_ [Illustration: _View from west lawn across the Hudson._] When Frederick W. Vanderbilt died in 1938, the Hyde Park estate was bequeathed to Mrs. James Van Alen, a niece of Mrs. Vanderbilt. Two years later, Mrs. Van Alen gave the estate to the Federal Government, and on December 18, 1940, it was designated a National Historic Site. Since that time it has been administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. A superintendent, whose address is Hyde Park, N.Y., is in immediate charge. His offices are in the pavilion. _Suggested Readings_ Andrews, Wayne, _The Vanderbilt Legend: The Story of the Vanderbilt Family, 1794-1940_. Harcourt, Brace and Co., New York, 1941. Croffut, W. A., _The Vanderbilts and the Story of Their Fortune_. Belford Clarke and Co., Chicago, 1886. Lane, Wheaton J., _Commodore Vanderbilt: An Epic of the Steam Age_. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1942. Langstaff, John Brett, _Doctor Bard of Hyde Park: The Famous Physician of Revolutionary Times, The Man Who Saved Washington’s Life_. E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc., New York, 1942. Holbrook, Stewart, _Age of the Moguls_. Doubleday and Co., Garden City, N.Y., 1953. U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1973 O-517-151 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES