The grounds of Marist Preparatory School described by
Brother Francis Xavier in 1942
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November 1942
The Marist Preparatory School property which was acquired
during the past summer is a two hundred acre plot of land,
located in part in the village of West Park and in part in the
town of Esopus, and bounded on the west by route 9-W (also
known as the Albany Post Road), and on the east by the Hudson
River. This piece of land was detached from a much larger
estate of approximately 800 acres which had been assembled
by the late Colonel Oliver Hazard Payne during the early years
of this century. This was later willed by him to his favorite
nephew, Harry Payne Bingham, who donated it outright to the
New York Protestant Episcopal diocese which transformed it into
a convalescent home operated on a charity basis.
Due to the windings of the highway and to the irregular
indentations caused by the river, the lot assumes a shape which
in no wise resembles any definable geometrical figure. It runs
over four thousand feet in a rather broken line along route 9-W
and skirts the Hudson shore three thousand four hundred feet
as the crow flies. The southern limit is roughly 1/4 of a mile and
the northern extremity goes well beyond a mile in its greatest
length.
Since this territory lies within the range of the Shawangunk
mountains, the surface of the property is rather uneven. A
central plateau of comparatively uniform altitude runs from
north to south and takes in a great part of the acreage. On the
east the land slopes very rapidly away from the central height
of land to the shores of the Hudson. On the west the steepness


is less pronounced except at the
northwestern extremity of the estate where
the greatest contrast in levels and the
sharpest declivities are found. The
architects who planned the arrangement of
the buildings very wisely placed all the
dwelling houses on the central plateau,
thus facilitating communication, drainage,
and distribution of water supply.
A complex system of wide, well-built roads
reaches to practically all sections of the
property. These roads vary in width from
twenty-five foot main arteries to ten or twelve foot driveways in
the more remote and less frequented portions of the grounds.
Most of these roads are lined with stately shade trees (mostly
maples and elms) thus forming pleasantly secluded walks.
Without any definite data as yet available, it seems safe to
assume that the mileage of roadways on the estate totals
somewhere between four and five miles. A very complete and
carefully planned system of drainage, both at the surface and
underground, takes care of rain water and prevents costly
erosion. Considering the number of years that the grounds,
have been left without proper care, since 1927, the roads and
the system of drainage are in a surprisingly excellent state of
preservation which is unquestionable evidence of the quality of
the original workmanship.
A previous reference to the location of this property in mountain
country may have created an impression of enormous rocks and
precipitous ledges breaking out at the surface in the most
undesirable places. This was undoubtedly the case at the time
the land was in its natural condition. But long years of terracing,
landscaping, and importing of the highest grade of top soil,
accompanied by scientific fertilizing and loaming, have given


the property -- at least that portion which is not totally wooded
-- a top dressing which hardly, could be surpassed in quality.
Lawns, gardens, and orchards have occupied large tracts of the
grounds in the past and there is no good reason to suppose that
they could not do just as well in the future. As one approaches
the shores of the Hudson, in the steeper and more hilly portions
of the woodland, the typical bluestone and shale common to the
region become as evident as in other sections of eastern New
York.
The intelligent care which was exhibited in the landscaping of
the property was still further manifested in the attention
bestowed on the woods and groves. The evidence of an
expert's, guidance in the choice, the grouping and the training
of the trees and bushes is apparent even to the most casual of
observers. Effectiveness was not obtained by sacrificing the
natural to the artistic. It was rather a case of improving what
was already beautiful and pleasing. While one grove is intended
to present a similarity in foliage, another strives to bring out a
contrast in coloration.
Some clumps of maples bring together as many as eight
variations of this prolific family, and neighboring collections of
evergreens exhibit surprising varieties of conifers. Bushes and
vines, flowering and non-flowering, have been scattered about
with a prodigality which was restrained solely by the rules of
good taste. One need not be a trained botanist to appreciate
the wonders of native and imported plant life which are found in
even the most unexpected parts of the woods.
It is difficult to estimate from mere inspection the amount of
land actually fully wooded and the proportion which is cleared
of trees and brush. A great part of the central plateau is either
open ground or fields with occasional groups of trees and
bushes thrown about to relieve the monotony of interminable
green lawns. Much of the sloping area along the old Post Road


has likewise been opened and landscaped. The total acreage
devoted to open fields or lawns probably comes close to one
hundred acres. The greater part of this was at one time kept up
as regularly cut lawns and even today it would not require too
great an expense of time and labor to bring back much of this
to the trim condition of former days. From the front of the
Mansion, looking towards the river, one sees a terraced slope
two thousand feet long which still conjures imaginings of a
green carpet extending to the water's edge. It is claimed that
during the lifetime of Colonel Payne sixty acres of the estate
were maintained as close cropped lawns.
Passing from the foregoing summary inspection of the ground,
to a brief examination of the buildings, it is advisable to
consider these as subdivided into two groups: those built of
white limestone, native or imported, and those constructed of
blue limestone quarried on the estate.
The gatehouse, a classical two-story
structure of somewhat sober Italian
Renaissance style, logically deserves first
consideration due to its location at the
main entrance of the grounds, the
vehicular gateway facing route 9-W. A
curving ten-foot wall, also of white limestone, which leads up to
a massive grilled iron portal, recessed one hundred fifty feet
from the line of the highway, bears out still further the
suggestion of a Florentine villa of the fifteenth century.
One thousand feet further into the
property, having negotiated the climb
which winds to the level of the central
plateau, one comes upon a French chateau,
with towered keep, dormer windows, and
many-gabled red-tiled roof, a replica of
seigniorial residences in the land of
Provence. This was the gardener's cottage. Living quarters were


on the second and third floors. The spaciousness of the
rambling ground floor was subdivided into large, white-tiled
halls which housed the indoor activities of the florists and
gardeners. At the rear of this cottage, and directly connecting
with it, with its long axis laid out in an easterly direction, is the
greenhouse. This was once a proud, glass-domed structure of
great beauty. but the challenge of so much unprotected glass
was too irresistible for the youth of the neighborhood. Ruins, all
the more ghastly because of the evident past grandeur, are all
that is left of the splendor of better days. The east end of this
terminates in a white limestone two-story tool shed, which
balances to a degree the cottage at the opposite end.
December 1942
Two hundred feet further, the main road
runs into a T-Shaped intersection, with the
upper bar of the T running north and
south. A two-minute walk towards the
south brings one to the principal building
on the property, the Mansion. The first
impression is of of vastness and solidity.
Closer inspection causes a definite sense of deception. The
entrance lacks the pretentiousness which might be expected
from the general proportions of the building. But the fact really
is that this is simply a side entrance, an opening for the
purposes of every day usage, a mere door for the convenience
of the general public.
The front of the mansion is to the east
overlooking the Hudson River. A beautiful
colonnade of fifteen-foot white limestone
columns supports an artistically decorated
roof of the same material which shelters a
marble porch running the length of the
building. Seven French windows, set in archways seven feet by
fifteen, lead from this porch into what was once the grand


reception room of the former owners. This is now a beautiful
chapel, which is characterized by a marked liturgical simplicity.
The high vaulted Dutch gold ceiling, the sculptured marble
archways, the hand carved oak pilasters which separate the
sections of paneling, the antique red-tiled floor with its
offsetting multicolored marble border are just a few noteworthy
features of a room which is every way remarkable.
As might be expected, the other rooms on this floor are in
keeping with the reception room. The library is conspicuous for
its mahogany beamed ceiling and its wall trimming which
frames rich brown leather panels. The mahogany hand-carved
insets over the doors and windows as well as the massive
ceiling cornice, arrest the attention in the dining room which is
completely finished Circassion walnut. A brightly colored ceiling
ornamented with well-preserved gold filigree work calls for
special notice in the breakfast room. And the view of the
Hudson river which one gets from the lounging room is both
unusual and surprising. No description these rooms would do
justice to the subject without some mention of the artistic
fireplaces, each of a unique design executed in special color of
marble.
The ascent to the second floor, the private room floor, is by
means of a white Carrara marble stairway. The ceiling of each
bedroom is worked out in ornamental plaster, the walls are silk
lined, the woodwork is solid oak finished in white enamel, each
floor is parquetted in a design all its own. Here again there are
Tiffany styled marble fireplaces which offer a variety of colors
and method of execution. Spacious bathrooms with walls and
floors of marble connect with most of the bedrooms.
The house is laid out as a hollow square arranged around a
central patio, the hallways being along the inner walls of the
building. Three of the wings open directly into the interior court
through plate glass doors which are protected by a grille of
wrought iron. These doors lead to recessed porches whose roofs
are supported by columns of white limestone. The court is sixty


feet by sixty. The center piece of this area is a fountain
surrounded by a large basin. Forming the base of the fountain
and supporting it several feet higher than the basin is a genuine
antique statue of Atlas pictured in his traditional posture with
one knee on the ground.
Heroic sized murals, based on mythological themes, occupy, the
space over the doors in the three recessed porches which lead
from the building to the patio. The contrast in colors created by
the blue background of these paintings is meant to set off the
while limestone columns which might otherwise be lost in the
general whiteness of the building.
So much for the constructions of white
limestone. Lying to the north of the
mansion, and roughly three-tenths of a
mile from it, is a large group of buildings
consisting of a cottage and several service
structures. These are of blue limestone.
The houses arc arranged around a partially
enclosed area, very much in the form of a deep U.
These squat, ivy-covered, grey buildings
with their high sloping roofs of blue slate,
characteristic slender chimney pots, low
windows, octagonal north tower are
decidedly English in every detail of their
architecture. The high stone wall which
closes the open end of the U recalls the
necessity under which each large English
household was placed to protect itself against the surprise
attacks of the gentry who wore Lincoln Green. Stately elms
scattered over the lawns which border the roads within this
group add to the suggestion of an England of yesteryears.


A scant minute's walk from these buildings,
and directly to the east of them, is another
cottage of the blue limestone variety. This
was formerly the residence of the
superintendent of the estate. This is the
oldest house on the estate and is the only
relic of the days when part of this land was
owned by the Astors [ed note should be Pratts], long before the
beginning of this century. In spite of its age it is still in a very
good state of preservation. The former Episcopal owners made
it serve as a sort of dining pavilion for their convalescents. Two
large annexes were added by them in order to accommodate
more people at one sitting. It is a very roomy building and
could take care of a good
Other buildings on the property are: a
large ice house, located at the northern
extremity of the pond which is near the
center of the estate, and strictly speaking
an appendage of the English group; a
fortress-like coalhouse on the shores of the
Hudson, where twelve hundred tons of coal
could be unloaded from barges at one time; a small pumping
station, very close to the northeastern corner of the property,
and along the river's edge, which houses pumps and other
machinery connected with the water supply of the place; finally,
a boat house, practically at the southeast corner of the
grounds. An extra word about this latter building might be in
order.
One of Colonel Payne's hobbies, possibly his only one, was
yachting. During the later years of his life, he became the
owner of the largest, fastest, best appointed steam yacht then
afloat, the "Aphrodite". The operation of this immense boat -- it
was over three hundred feet long -- required an unusually
lengthy docking space, affording a depth of water sufficient for
a craft of that tonnage. So, at the southern extremity of his



estate, directly in the line of vision of his mansion, the Colonel
had a dock built of reinforced masonry which extended far
enough into the channel to guarantee a minimum depth of
twenty-five feet of water at all times. This shell was then filled
with rocks and the surface was leveled off with earth. Today,
this large artificial platform is still intact and affords an ideal
place for fishing, diving, swimming and picnicking. The boat
house is built at the northern extremity of the dock and
encloses a basin, large enough in length, width and depth to
shelter fully quite a large tender or dinghy of a larger boat. This
was exactly the reason for which this structure was erected, to
provide a safe anchorage for the small boat of the "Aphrodite"
when the latter was at its Hudson anchorage. At the opposite
end of the dock is a Pavilion built entirely of cut stone and
roofed over with red tiles.
All the buildings described in this article are steel and concrete
structures and therefore fully fireproof, with the exception of
the superintendent's cottage and the cottage in the English
Village which are rated semi-fireproof.
This essay appeared in the September and December 1942 issues of the Marist
Brothers' publication
Bulletin of Studies
, available in the Marist Brothers' archives in
Esopus
Transcribed and consolidated from the original two-part published in this web in 2002.
Photos added during transcription August 2010.