March, 1906 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 169 
The Residence of D. P. Kingsley, Esq. 
Riverdale, 
PON stepping from the train to the little 
stone station at Riverdale, which is placed 
on the shores of the Hudson River, a wind- 
ing roadway, well shaded by many beautiful 
trees, lands one on top of the bluff, from 
: which the entrance to Mr. Kingsley’s estate 
is peached. The entrance is bounded by an ornamental iron 
gateway, which is supported on massive brick posts sur- 
mounted with dressed stone caps, and which are placed at 
either side of the opening to the estate. 
Upon entering the grounds a pleasant view greets the eye, 
with its attractive garden, its sun-dial, its grassed walks, its 
growing and blooming plants and its pergolas. 
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with a short flight of stone steps one finds himself on the sec- 
ond grassed terrace, which is made possible by the massive 
stone wall surmounted with its massive balustrade, beyond 
which is the Hudson River and yonder the Palisades. 
To the left of the entrance there is a covered porch, which 
has a roof supported on Colonial columns. A double row 
of these columns extends in a line from this piazza to a dis- 
tance of two hundred feet, forming a pergola, on which are 
twined many growing vines. At the end of this pergola is 
a brick wall, in the face of which is pierced a wall fountain, 
forming an ornamental feature 
The grounds and gardens of the entire estate have been 
very carefully laid out by Mr. Charles W. Leavett, the well 
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The Lower Grassed Terrace in Front of the House Overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades 
The roadway, which is carefully graded and graveled, 
leads from the gateway to the right, skirting along the 
garden, till one is landed beneath the porte-cochere in front 
of the house; this driveway passes around a circle and 
then on to the stable. 
This estate is not a large one as country estates go, but it 
comprises three acres of land, each bit of which has been so 
well developed that no part is wasted. 
The piazza is placed on the west side of the house, thereby 
isolating it from the intrusion of any one who might ap- 
proach the front door, and, at the same time, presenting it 
with a position which affords beautiful vistas of land and 
water. From this piazza the grassed terrace is reached, and 
known landscape architect. The site chosen for the house 
is a happy one, for it is well studded with many beautiful 
trees of various kinds, which lend themselves to a successful 
treatment of the grounds as a whole; nature having done 
much in the creation of the site, and Mr. Leavett in the 
beautifying of what nature had placed into his hands. 
The house is built on the elongated plan, with a large 
central wing, with two smaller ones attached to either end 
of the house. It is designed and built throughout the interior 
and exterior in the Colonial style. The foundation walls are 
built of stone up to the water-table, above which the build- 
ing is of frame construction; the exterior walls being covered 
with shingles, which are stained, while the trimmings are 
