An Abandoned Country Estate in Yonkers
TO CONTACT ALDER MANOR ABOUT FILMING, PHOTO SHOOTS, WEDDINGS, OR ANY OTHER RENTAL PURPOSE, EMAIL joan@theplantmanor.com. PLEASE BE SURE TO SAY YOU GOT THE CONTACT FROM SCOUTING NY!
It sits on a hill just outside of New York City, completely empty and, for years, decaying and nearly forgotten…
This is Alder Manor, and it’s without question one of the most amazing places I’ve ever had the pleasure of scouting. Built in 1912 by William Boyce Thompson, an extremely successful copper magnate, his plan was for a 72-room country estate for entertaining (he lived in New York City at the time) on 22 acres of hilltop land in then rural Yonkers.
After both he and his wife died, the mansion was traded between owners who had no use for it and eventually wound up abandoned. Thankfully, it’s been purchased in recent years, and its restoration is slowly taking shape.
When you first enter, you find yourself in the enormous Main Hall, with the huge grand staircase off to one side. This is about when you start to wonder how such a place could ever be abandoned.
Reverse of the main hall. We’re going to start by heading down that hallway…
Which leads to the incredible library:
Standing in the reverse corner, with a great stone fireplace and working chandeliers. I especially love how the books go over the doorway.
From a distance, the room looks like it’s in excellent condition. It’s only when you get a little closer that you realize how much restoration is needed. Wood is rotting, the paint is fading and chipped…This gives you a better idea (still, a great candidate for restoration):
Next door to the library is the Ballroom, with rich reds and blues complementing the mahogany woodwork:
A painting over the fireplace is still in excellent shape:
Across the hall is the dining room, as a short hallway behind where I was standing leads to the Kitchen:
Heading now upstairs…
Brings you to the second floor landing, featuring an organ…
…which connects to pipes way up on the third floor.
My favorite room in Alder Manor is just down the hall from the pipe organ: an indoor pool. On the second floor. Built in 1912.
It’d be so great to see this restored to working order. The faded lime green paint, the black and white tiling on the pool…Apparently, there used to be antique Tiffany glass here, until someone found out and stole it.
As you’re walking through the mansion, there are tons of artistic details to be found everywhere, like this bit of a ceiling painting:
Scenic door painting:
Found on another door:
This was the design on the wall abutting the stairs:
There are also a few missing details…
Besides the pool, the second and third floors are essentially endless amounts of bedrooms…
Some have been fixed up.
At the end of the second floor is a conservatory and small balcony:
The gardens behind the manor are absolutely beautiful despite their decay:
A gazebo in perfect condition, along with a pool:
A beheaded eagle greets you when you enter through this gate:
A wall with various reliefs:
A Greek theater, where plays and other entertainments were once performed:
Another pool:
A reader writes:
“I worked at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research from 1955-1978 when the Institute moved to the Cornell University campus. It’s still there and is housed in a beautiful building constructed by Cornell. I visited Alder Manor several times over the years, including two weddings. Its beauty is self evident from the photos. Col. Thompson (an honorary title) loved his gardens so much that he decided to build and endow a plant research institution to learn how plants “work”. It was finished in 1923 and dedicated in 1924.
“Shortly after the Sisters of Mercy took over the estate, a piece of pottery was discovered in a cabinet. It turned out to be extremely valuable. As I understand it, it was Etruscan and was sold for “more money than was paid for the estate”. At least that’s the story I was told.
“W.B. Thompson was quite a man. The Colonel title was bestowed upon him when he led a mission to Russia after WW I. He actually gave some money to feed Russians in poverty and became known as the ‘Red of Wall Street.'”
If you’re interested in using Alder Manor for an event, film shoot, or pretty much anything, send me an email to nycscout@gmail.com.
-SCOUT
PS – For anyone counting, there was a front hall, library, ballroom, dining room, kitchen, and conservatory. In addition, there were empty rooms on the ground floor that could have easily served as the billiard room, lounge, and study.
PPS – Across the street from the manor in FAR worse shape is the abandoned Boyce Research Institute. I took some pictures which I’ll post in a future entry.
This manor was built by a direct relative of mine and just discovered the website…WOW!!!! I am so amazed at the photos and the history enclosed in this wonderful old house. Now I know why the love of such architectual wonder is in my blood. Thank you for sharing and I can hardly wait to see the complete restoration of this manor that to me is a family heirloom.
Your photos and information is fabulous both on this property and with regard to 5 Beckman Street. I am totally in love with beautiful architecture, especially when a once abandoned gem is saved. Thank you for your information. To my knowledge, I am not a relation of the original owner, although my family came from the NY/NJ area. 🙂
I LOVE your blog. These locations are amazing. Would you consider posting floor plans to go along with your photos? They’d help tie everything together for me. Great stuff!
I love you insight into the house, plus the photos. Please in future take photos of the kitchen as well. You have no pics of the kitchen in this wonderful house.
Thank you
I saw alder manor on four weddings and I recognized it because I’ve been there they dot recognize its in Yonkers on the show!!! I wana see the inside
My husband and I were married here. At Aldor Manor in Octber of 89.180 guests and I walked down the marble staircase. My 10 bridesmaids and I got ready on the second floor!it was a perfect place for our wedding and we have the most beautiful pictures and memories of our day. We took photos with our bridal party in the Grecian gardens. I am saddened to see that the Manor has been abandoned and hope you are successful in your mission to restore this beautiful estate.
LOL Yea Right!
Why the questioning comment Ryan? You don’t believe her? Why?
Uhhhh ryan it says it right on the top of the article. “Alder Manor is available for everything, from film shoots to WEDDINGS.” Try to read a little bit before you call someone a liar.
I will be 70 years old this year. I had the priviledge to live in this beautiful place. My sister and I, along with two other friends from Caracas, were sent up there to study High School. Those years are very dear to us in our memories.I thank our parents for giving us such a gift. Peacefulness, joy, beauty, great works of art around us, excelent food, attention, study, kindness, friends from different parts of the world, large extentions of land, apple trees, lot of places to walk, the woods, the next door house of Mr. André Azemar. Will never forget you! Great years! If I could do it, I would not hesitate. I will buy it to give others the priviledge we had.
María Mercedes Márquez from Caracas, Venezuela.
Dear Maria Mercedes,
I too graduated from Elizabeth Seton School (1962), and then I became a Sister of Charity. You must have been in the class of 1960. Thank you for your kind words about your high school years.
Do you remember the names of any of your teachers?
We are having a Seton Reunion on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, in Tarrytown, NY, for all alumnae. Also, if you have contact information for any of your friends who went to Seton, I would appreciate it.
Blessings and best wishes to you and your family!
Sincerely,
Sister Regina Bechtle, SC
… Dear Sister Regina.
Thank you for your note. I do remember sister Veronica Myriam. I think she was the head sister by that time.
Please be well and happy. Have a long and healthy life and may you be of great help to others.
With you, sincerely,
María Mercedes
i would be very interested in renting or leasing this property. can you give me some information on the price per month?
The band called Crystal Castles have a music video of their song Suffocation. They used this Manor to shoot it.
This place is amazing; I wanna live there!!
I was just reading a stack of resumes for an opening we have in Georgia and the applicant noted she graduated from Elizabeth Seton. I immediately googled the school and am saddened to learn it is closed. I graduated in 1966. Coming from a small town in upstate, Elizabeth Seton opened my eyes to so many things. There were the times we played hookie to see a matinee on Broadway. And then there were the mixers on Friday nights to the local boys colleges. My daughter is aghast that we were bused to meet boys!! I love telling my daughter of some of the antics I pulled while away at school.
Wow… I am so happy this place is in NY!! I hope to work there…. it is my new favorite place!
Thanks!!!
Sad to hear this estate was abandoned. It was a great college campus (Elizabeth Seton College ) years ago and I also admired the grounds esp the Manor and the Greek Gardens!!
Really hope it went into good hands, really a shame to see such a special place go to waste!
I graduated from Seton in ’87. This was the only school that took me with my horrible grades. I did go on to a 4yr school, and graduated. I remember taking photos of greek gardens, and swimming in that pool with Venus!!! ah yes 🙂
It is a beautiful place. After Elizabeth Seton College closed, Iona College bought it and tried to establish a satellite campus in Yonkers. Didn’t work. They sold the school buildings to Yonkers and it is now a public school. I was at the manor just after it was bought by a different group for an open house and met a security guard that had worked there for years. He was heartbroken over what Iona did to it. Apparently, when they left, they took everything that wasn’t nailed down, down to brass doorknobs.
Actually, they did not “take” everything… Iona sold everything they could pry off the walls, totally raping the beautiful building. The building was not as abandoned as people seem to think. The Sisters of Charity first had a high school here, and they turned the high school into a junior college. Iona took it over for a couple of years and sold everything they could get there hands on, including the light fixtures off the walls, and then left. Yonkers took it over, used the academic building for a school, and sold the rest of the property to Tara Circle. They slowly worked on it over the years, but a lot of the damage was caused by Iona. While the Sisters of Charity were still there, they rented out the mansion and did the catering; it was a lovely, elegant venue. Tara Circle frequently rented it out for photo shoots, movies, commercials. I understand Tara Circle has just agreed to sell the property, but do not know to whom.
We lived on the former estate near this one probably Untermiers. It was called millionaires row. I taught swimming in the second floor pool, but I did not see it in these pictures. The Sisters of Charity had it and when sister showed me the pool, she said that I was not to look up at the ceiling, there were naked angels up there.
If I was rich, I would totally buy this place and live in it just as it is, only fix what’s needed… I really hope it’s still standing/in good condition when I get married (I’m only 18 now…) cause I would so have my wedding there. I love beautiful old decaying mansions!! So cool, thanks for sharing!!
I absolutely adore these beautiful old manors and love to see them restored to their original glory. Nothing compares to the materials and craftsmanship that went into the construction of the gilded age mansions.
I graduated from Elizabeth Seton in 1969. I lived in the dorm however, there were approximately 25 girls who lived in Alder Manor. We had many good times in the pool, which was gorgeous, and lots of time in the library downstairs. I had my wedding pictures taken there and have been back several times for reunions. I cannot believe that no one has purchased this beautiful manor. For a short period of time, Elizabeth Seton used the estate “next door” as a dorm as well. (Lenoir Estate) Many wonderful memories! The girls who lived in Lenoir had a dog named Henry Hudson….very appropriate!
I attended Elizabeth Seton between 1964 and graduated with an AAS in 1966.
I lived in the dorm and had the best time of my life. I was president of the Social Life Club and booked those buses to take us to Fairfield and Fordham Universities and booked the band ” The Bleach Boys” to play at mixers in New Rochelle, the Bronx and City Island.
Why did you even leave this comment? You spent more time bragging about yourself than anything relevant to the manor.
Why be such a jackass? You don’t get to use the term, “uncalled for” unless you understand what it means. Shut the hell up and stop crapping all over people. This kind of thing is why people say those things about you.
I thought all of the post was very relevant. What she said is what school should be about as well as what you learn from books.
I love your comment… It sounds like you had a wonderful time there, and was very popular. Good for you. I wish I had memories like that. Only haters will hate what you wrote. Pay them no mind. Thank you for sharing your priceless memories. God Bless You.
Many thanks for your article/pictures of Alder Manor. Hopefully it will attract the attention of some interested in restoration (a la the
beautiful Untermyer Estate on North Broadway). I cannot believe the audacity of Iona College….
I grew up on Warburton Avenue — took walking trips with my family to the Untermyer Estate and marveled over the formerly lovely grounds –swimming pool, etc. I hope to take the tour of the estate when I come east to NY in October…
Best, Toni Kiraly
Do you have a mailing address so I could send a donation?
Yes, there is a link you can click on near the bottom of the pictures that allows you to donate :). this mansion is absolutely amazing isnt it. my favorite was the library. i could spend countless hours in there reading and admiring my surroundings. So many things are taken for granted these days -.- It’s imperative that everyone takes a second to step back, take a breath and just take in what is around you :). Anyway, Yes there is a link to donate 🙂
I went to school there in the mid 80’s , there is so much you are forgetting (, for example the elevator )if your looking for more details email me a phone # & I will call-did you know the school originally was built over an asylum?
I graduated from Elizabeth Seton High School and really did appreciate the property. There was a dog cemetery on the grounds and also beyond the hockey field a “open summer house” where we would go sneak a cigarette break. I remember the time Sr. Anne Rosaire caught us during retreat.
Good memories. Hope there will be a 50th reunion 2014 of the class of 64.
How ’bout it girls?
Pat, you’re in luck! A Seton Reunion luncheon for all alumnae is being planned for Sept. 29, 2012, in Tarrytown.
Go to the Sisters of Charity website: http://www.scny.org –
on the tab “Contact Us”, go to “Ask a Question” – and say that you want to contact Sr. Regina Bechtle (me) about the Seton H.S. Reunion. I’ll send you info.
I attended Elizabeth Seton College from 1969 – 1971. My mother chose it because it was an all girls Catholic school. Little did she know, our first weekend the Manhattan College Track Team came up to play touch football next door at Lenoir. Jokingly I referred to its location as Hudson on one side and moat on the other.
My sophomore year eight of us girls lived on the top floor along with the President of the college. Remember the girls would go down and raid the nun’s walk-in refrigerator at night. Remember one weekend day we snuck the Manhattan boys upstairs just for the challenge but they had to climb down the drain pipes to get out – memories…
Janet G.
lol… Smiling. 🙂 Loving your memories. thanks for sharing them. GB
I am absolutely in love with every posting that is on this site. You have an incredible eye for hidden gems and I wish you good success in all your endeavors. please keep scouting and making my day that much more invigorating. PS. thanks for 5 Beekman I actually had the privilege of shooting there and it was a game changer for me. Thanks
John Daniel
Hey Guys I really would like to shoot at Alder Manor whats the best way to go about getting permission?
Isn’t this the manor in Resident Evil?
That is exactly what I thought. The hallway with the four windows and the garden especially jumped out at me from the movie scenes
Looks like “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” manor. The Daniel Craig version. But I only saw that once when it first came out, so I could be wrong…
Is this manor up for sale? if so what is the number of the management company?
This looks like the estate in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is it the same one?
Oops! Well I agree with Drooby.
This place is amazing! It looks like it was modeled heavily after The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. A lot of the features are nearly exactly like the Biltmore–the indoor pool, the pipe organ with pipes continuing to the next floor, the garden in the back and its walls with relief, the architecture and layout of the library, and the grand marble staircase. I’d be interested to know if Thompson did, in fact, design the manor with inspiration from the Biltmore. I wish I lived in New York so I could get married here!!
I loved every thing. I think the library is the most beautiful. The others were amazing, too.
Wow… this place is so beautiful and I would love to go in one day (I live super duper close by) and tour it. Definitely such a romantic, sweet place to get married and obviously a hotspot for movies. I’m sure they’ll retouch it up nice with still leaving it’s ambiance. 🙂
We just discovered the old pictures at our YA YA weekend away with the girls. You see…..four of us graduated from Elizabeth Seton Junior College in 1973 and were curious what had happened to it so we googled it and came up with your article and pictures. It brought back great memories. Our bedroom was the master bedroom at the top of the stairs next to the pool that we so enjoyed! The nuns lived on one wing of the house and the rest were dorm rooms on the third and I think fourth floor. Four of us shared the master bedroom. We had heard that the all girls school had closed. I had since sceen it on the big screen when I recognized it in the movie Crockodile Dundee! The basement was the library! Thanks for making our weekend with the Seton girls memorable!
That’s an amazing place… Really, very nice … This a huge place, and the fact that it’s old makes it look much better!
Can you say, a hobo’s paradise?
Lemme make you a deal, I will live there, and then it wont be abandoned anymore, and I will have a circus there every wednesday and everyone will be invited for tea. There will be Balls every Friday night, and I will have outdoor and indoor concerts with the greatest bands of all time and today. 🙂
Problem Solved.
If you give the manor to me i will take care of it and give it life again. I’m just a college student but there is no one else that will work harder for that place.
If I’m not mistaken, this is the same mansion used for Eyes Wide Shut, correct?
What an amazing mansion. Its too bad it was abandoned for so long. I really wish I could afford a house like this.
Mansion used for Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past! Lol
American Horror Story Season 3
I feel like I would get murdered hard by a ghost in there.
how much is this house worth??????!!!!!!!!
How much does a certain property worth. Enterit into Google and give the address.
Is this the house from the new Dark Shadows?
Does not look abandoned to me
I lived and worked for NYNEX(Verizon) in the 90’s and had many jobs at the Manor. I grew up in Brooklyn and never had the opportunity to see a piece of property retain its beauty after so much maltreatment and neglect. I am glad to have been able to have seen it first hand from a blue collar perspective. The Nuns always treated me nice since I never damaged the building running all those lines for photo shoots, weddings and tenants (and I don’t mean the hobos). Thank you for giving me insight on the history. Now I understand how this property could ended up this way but, make no mistake; whomever owns it now paid a handsome price and estimated time and money very to renovate slowly. There are parts of the building that were practically condemned and will have to be rebuilt from scratch. The owners will never sell anytime soon. The Manor is prime real estate and the structure only needed some TLC. I see nothing wrong with this labor of love paying off for someone with such good foresight. Maybe I can get enough scratch together to retake my vows with my wife on our 20th anniversary.
The family donated Alder to the Sisters of Charity. It became a junior college in the early 60s. While it was in the hands of the Sisters, it was in beautiful condition. It did not become dilapidated until Iona took it over and ripped everything they could sell off the walls, including paneling. Iona operated it as their junior college and had classes there for just a couple of years. When I walked into the mansion shortly after Iona took it over, I was shocked at what was missing. My exact words: “Oh my God. Iona raped the mansion.” I had been there for many parties catered by the sisters, so was familiar with what it had been.
The City of Yonkers purchased it, used the classroom building for an elementary school. The City sold the Mansion to Tara Circle, who started the slow renovation process. The mansion has frequently been used for photo shoots, movies, tv shows, and commercials. The organization says they find it too difficult to maintain and are trying to sell it.
The mansion and pertinent outbuildings have been locally landmarked.
I would love to hear from the person who is related to William Boyce Thompson. Please contact the Yonkers Historical Society at yhsociety@gmail.com. Thanks!
I was one of the High School American girls to attend………..what a magnificent place. Swam in that pool many times.
It was so very beautiful when I went there………..Graduated in 1957……….I remember when Alder Manor was so very beautiful. I had many fun times. I did return to see it and was appalled to see the condition of the Manor.
It was a jewel and with hope and money it can return to the Majestic place it once was.
My memories are cherished. I am still in touch with many of my classmates.
I was not sure but I heard that Iona did this ……how very sad.
To rent it for shoots or for an event, you would have to contact Tara Circle. I do not know how much is charged to use the place. Either write or call:
1061 N Broadway Yonkers, NY 10701
(914) 964-8272
@ drooby & kk –the movie girl with the dragon tattoo was filmed in sweden, norway & switzerland
While watching Four Weddings,I recognized my High School,Elizabeth Seton School.I attended from 1951 to graduate in 1955,We were the first group of students in the school and it was a beautiful place. The first floor and basement was left with all the furnishings of the mansion.The classrooms were on the second floor which had been the bedrooms. I had a lot of fun swimming in the pool.The boarders lived on the 3rd floor and the nuns had their own wing.I was sad to see that the school had closed.I have been living in Florida for many years and was unaware that it had closed.
I lived in this beautiful building while a student at the junior college in 1968/69. The majority of the building was a dorm and the Nuns had a wing for their living quarters.. I did not appreciate the incredible beauty of this building and campus while I was there but thanks for the memories and the beautiful pics…I visited and traspassed in 94 or 95 and it was a mess…not taken care of at all so I guess the building is in better repair now.
I went to Elizabeth Seton College in the early 80’s. The Manor, as we called it was used for special occasions, award dinners and such. The college was now co ed and although no longer a Catholic college many of the sisters still taught and lived there. The pool was full and we students were titillated by the rumors that the nuns would swim in the pool. It was a beautiful and special place.
I attended Elizabeth Seton School from 1950 to 1954. I was a sophomore when we moved from the Mount Saint Vincent campus to the estate. It was lovely. My first homeroom was the second floor room closest to the swimming pool. It is sad to see it in such a state.
Beautiful, ambient, sumptuous photographs. Kudos to you on your talents as a photographer. It’s great to read of other people’s experiences at Alder Manor & learn of its extensive history as another one in Yonkers’ succession of grand estates. There’s an obscure supernatural thriller that was filmed there that no one seems to have ever heard of. Although most of the story takes place in Ireland, the mansion used for it is, indeed, Alder Manor. That film is director Michael Almereyda’s 1998 release, The Eternal: Kiss of the Mummy. The story involves the 2,000-year-old remains of a bog person who inexplicably comes back to life to possess one of her descendents. It stars actors Christopher Walken, Jared Harris, Alison Elliott, and Lois Smith, among others. Its working title had originally been Trance, so, be mindful of what you might find in your search engines. Once again, great pics for this article. Best wishes to you from the Old Dominion.
This place looks great we are wondering the prices and rental fees of
This venue
I am attending a wedding here in Sept of 2014 What hotel is closest to this site? What a beautiful place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HEY..I SPENT SOME OF THE BEST YEARS OF MY EARLIER LIFE ON THIS CAMPUS..I HAD MADE FRIENDS WITH A GROUP OF THE STUDENTS(YOUNG GIRLS AT THE TIME.THOUGH TIME HAS PASSED SOME 35 TO 40 YEARS.I STILL HAVE VERY FOND MEMORIES OF TIME SPENT.FUNNY THING THOUGH,I WORKED THERE ON A MOVIE SHOOT AND SOMETHING STRUCK A FAMILIAR CHORD…WHILE HAVING BREAKFAST ONE OF THE BACK GROUND WOMEN SAID SHE HAD GONE TO COLLEGE HERE.I ASKED THE SCHOOLS NAME,ELIZABETH SETON ,SHE SAID..A RUSH OF MEMORIES CAME BACK..I TOOK A WALK THAT EVENING BEHIND THE MANSION AND THERE WERE THE DORMS.NEEDLES TO SAY I WENT IN.ABANDONED AS THEY WERE I COULD STILL HERE THE SOUND OF MUSIC AND LAUGHTER AND THAT ALL TO FAMILIAR SMELL OF THE EARLY 70s IF YOU CATCH MY DRIFT..SO HELLO TO GIO,BONNIE,NANCY
PEGGY,AGNES SHARON JOYCE,AND ANYONE I HAVE FAILED TO MENTION YOU ARE ALL STILL PART OF MY MEMORY AND STILL HAVE A PLACE IN MY HEART….BILLY SPERANZA…WJS2552@AOL.COM
I graduated from ESC in 1966 and loved every minute of it. One day a group of us moved many of the statues into the fountains and” boy” did we get into trouble. Good clean fun that wasn’t appreciated by the nuns.
VERY pleased to find this page. Ever since CBS’s “Person of Interest” started airing I’ve been playing “I know that place,” but this location was beyond my ken. I always figured the library scenes were closer to where they might generally shoot (out of efficiency) and never figured they might do a lot of shots in Yonkers; but I guess if they have several scripts waiting, there’s no problem with them shooting scenes from several episodes at once. (I mean, Jim Caviezel’s character is so stoic, it’s not like the actor has to think of the context that much.)
Cattle skulls again, same as on the Meserole theater.
I just recently returned from a Fall trip to the Hudson Valley and spotted Alder Manor as I drove through Yonkers on the way to Tarrytown. I could tell by the quality of the edifice that it must have been designed by a top notch firm. After doing some research, found that it was indeed designed by the well-known Beaux-Arts architectural firm of Carrere & Hastings who also designed the NYC Public Library and the Frick Mansion on 5th Ave (the additions to the Frick were, however, designed by John Russell Pope).
What a surprise it was to find this website re: the Alder Estate. I attended Elizabeth Seton Jr. College back in the early 1970’s. I was a shy girl… NOT Catholic by any means, but i had a father who thought the dear Sisters of Charity would whip me into shape… not so! I lived at Lenoir, which was AMAZING. I was one of the lucky ones back then. Lenoir was at the time, an “experimental dorm.” There were 25 of us ladies… I had friends that had a rock band called the “Communication Workshop” and they used to come and rehearse and perform on the beautiful patio outside, with a sweeping green lawn overlooking the Hudson River. Elizabeth Seton was one of the most healing experiences in my life. The Sisters of Charity helped me beyond words at a time in my life when, for me, very tragic events were happening at home. I have been attempting to find my old school “chums”. One of them, who was very dear to me, just passed away this year. Her name was Elizabeth Connors Bursis and she was living in San Francisco, CA for a long time. I am attempting to locate someone named Nel Sheridan as well as Kathy Cantillon, and anyone else who was living at Lenoir with me. I can be reached at: PamelaRussellPhotos@gmail.com. Thanks. I hope someone puts up funding to keep the Alder Estate up. These beautiful homes are treasures. And shame on Iona!!!! Seriously….!
I graduated from Elizabeth Seton College in 1966, returned to teach from 1977 to 1984. My son attended the Learning Center (NURSEY SCHOOL 1977), and my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversity there in the 80’s. I have many beautiful memories of school, teaching and best of all the children’s Christmas parties for alumi children. Everything was always done with such style. So sorry to hear such a beautiful place was abandoned. I believe the building has landmark status.
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i attended Elizabeth Seton College in 1983, and lived in the dorms just below the manor. We worked in the manor for their extravagant parties, the entire campus is beautifull. I miss my old school and friends
My wife attended in late 60s and we were married there in the late 70s. Ceremony in the gardens, and reception in the mansion. Great memories.
I attended college there in 1989 before Iona took over. It was a beautiful small campus. One of the main reasons why I went there. I enjoyed having classes in the manor and would often attend study groups in the main hall. They was so much to appreciate in the manor and in the gardens. It’s a shame it was stripped of it’s beauty. They actually shot the movie Crocodile Dundee there for one scene. I hope someone will one day restore it. A lot of history there.
this mansion was once left to an order of nuns and part of elizebeth seton college. i went there. it was a great place. also the scene in second crocidile dundee was filmed there, the one where dundee goes to his gf fathers mansion.
i know the lower section of the college became foxfire school of city of yonkers, not sure who has ownership of the mansion.
I served as a tutor at Elizabeth Seton College in the Spring of 1989. Your pictures brought back wonderful memories of that magical, decaying garden. (I later wrote a poem about the garden, which interested parties can read here: http://www.wisdomcriethwithout.com/in-the-neglected-garden-by-dawn-corrigan/).
The historic Alder Manor will get a $3 million renovation by its new owner.
The Plant Manor of New York City outlined its intentions in an application for financial assistance with the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency.
The Plant Manor, headed by Lela Goren, paid $5.5 million for the mansion and it seeks a sales tax exemption of $167,500 and an undetermined real estate tax break.
The YIDA board will vote on the application on Wednesday at their monthly meeting.
The property consists of an architecturally significant manor house of 35,000 square feet built in 1908 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The site also includes a former school building known as Bosch Hall consisting of 51,000 square feet and built in 1962.
The Tara Circle’s website said the sale was concluded May 29; the group acquired Alder Manor in 2004 for $1.2 million.
Twitter: @Ernie_G_journo
Hi! I know your original post is from 2009, but since you are still getting comments on this post, I just wanted to let you know that I took over as event coordinator in 2014. If you get any inquiries about weddings at Alder Manor, please direct them to me. kate@aldermanorweddings.com
Thank you!
I just wanted to clarify that I am the event coordinator for Chefs at Work, exclusive caterer for Alder Manor.
Thanks!
I went to ESC and graduated in 1981, it was called Boyle manor at the time, I remember the cotillions held there, the nuns lived on the 3rd floor, I remember the grand staircase, pool, and the mysterious Greek gardens. I hope someone who appreciate architecture brings it back to its grandeur.
What an amazing building!
When I saw the empty pool on the 2nd floor i was reminded of an episode of Black List. Do you know, was this pool used in the filming of that show?
Black List has done a lot of filming in Yonkers, so I would not be surprised.
I was one of the High School American girls to attend………..what a magnificent place. Swam in that pool many times.
It was so very beautiful when I went there………..Graduated in 1957……….I remember when Alder Manor was so very beautiful. I had many fun times. I did return to see it and was appalled to see the condition of the Manor.
It was a jewel and with hope and money it can return to the Majestic place it once was.
My memories are cherished. I am still in touch with many of my classmates.
Martha Murray’s comment on how Iona raped the mansion– spot on. I went to many events there in the 70s. i had occasion to go into it about 3 months after Iona took possession… and was beyond shocked. I could not believe what had been done. The first thoughts that came to my mind, thought I expressed out loud, were, “My God. This placed has been raped.” I am quite sure the Tiffany windows were sold, not stolen. Iona sold everything and anything anyone wanted to buy. Light fixtures, paneling, you name it. I held an event there a after Tara purchased it, right after Mona Lisa Smiles filmed there. There were wires dangling from the walls; the movie company removed the lights they had put up, so our event chairman purchased wall lights and installed them. And yes, we left them. Tara Circle sold it to a developer not all that long ago. The office/classroom building behind the mansion will be torn down, I understand, and they will be renovating Alder.