Blithewood

Blithewood Mansion is a prominent and beautiful feature of the Bard College campus and also home to the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. Located on the eastern bank of the Hudson, Blithewood occupies a small hamlet within Dutchess County, across the river from Kingston. In 1835, Robert Donaldson of North Carolina bought the property and named the grounds "Blithewood". Donaldson worked with the architects Alexander Jackson and Andrew Jackson Downing to improve the quality of grounds into a landscaped estate, since prior to the acquisition, the property was mostly woods. The landscape architects designed an octagonal gatehouse and a white pine lined driveway that are all that can be seen today of their work. In 1853, John Bard purchased Blithewood and gave a corner of the estate for the founding of St. Joseph's College (becoming Bard in 1934). In 1899, Captain Andrew C. Zabriskie, a cattle breeder, purchased the estate and developed Blithewood as his summer home, physically similar to how the mansion and garden are seen today. He commissioned Francis Hoppin, an alumnus of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White, to design a Beaux-Arts style manor and garden. As a result, Hoppin designed a grandiose mansion and Italian style garden that reflected the architectural elements of English mansion design, with the technology that was present at the turn of the century. It is also interesting to note that there have been long reported noises and poltergeist activity at the mansion. People think they spot a young girl between the ages of 8 and 12 walking around the house and gardens. The apparition is believed to be the daughter of Captain Andrew Zabriskie, who fell to her death out the window of their Manhattan apartment.  Blithewood Mansion Blithewood gardens View of gardens, Hudson, and Catskills