Stanford White was murdered in 1906, so had no direct influence on the Esopus project. However, he was a favorite of Oliver Payne. The records of White's correspondence in the Avery Library contain several hundred short notes to Payne. White joined the partnership of McKim, Mead & White in 1880, and the firm became the most prominent firm in the USA, catering to the leaders of the Gilded Age until well after 1910.

It is not clear who did the renovation designs for the Stevens mansion at 57th and Fifth Avenue which Payne gave to William and Flora Whitney. We know that Payne moved into his own townhouse at 852 Fifth Avenue in 1903. While Curtis Channing Blake indicates Carrère & Hastings did work for Payne in New York City, we have no other record of this work. Stanford White specialized in the interior design of projects, while McKim concentrated on externals. It is know that White designed the staterooms and Payne's private rooms on the yacht Aphrodite built in 1898. Payne gave White great freedom of design and also of decoration. My best guess is that McKim, Mead & White designed Payne's townhouse at 852 Fifth Avenue, and White worked closely with Payne on the interior design and decoration. By 1902 McKim, Mead & White were awarded the design of the house Oliver Payne wanted to give Payne and Helen Whitney as a wedding gift. The construction began in 1904 and lasted five or six years. I don't know why Payne turned away from McKim, Mead & White and employed Carrère & Hastings for the Esopus estate; perhaps he did not have the same confidence in McKim and Mead; perhaps Carrère & Hastings' reputation had grown substantially by 1909.

Among important works attributed to Stanford White is the Washington Arch at the bottom of Fifth Avenue, the second Madison Square Garden, and the Boston Public Library.