Hudson River Valley Estates

For the turn-of-the-century captains of Wall Street the majestic Hudson Valley provided an ideal getaway from the chaos of New York City. Just an hour or two from town, the valley offered tranquillity, natural beauty, and plenty of elbowroom for their sprawling country estates. America's Castlestakes you on an exclusive tour of the finest of these grand mansions. Get a rare look at financier John Jay Gould's Gothic castle Lyndhurst, with its turrets, gables and two-story tall stained glass windows. Meet Gould's archrival Frederick Vanderbilt, whose 50,000 square foot mansion was the area's most lavish. And get unprecedented access to Kykuit, the stunning estate of John D. Rockefeller, then the wealthiest man in the world.