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Wave Hill is a estate in the Hudson Hill section of Riverdale in
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Wave Hill currently consists of public horticultural gardens and a cultural center, all situated on the slopes overlooking the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
, with expansive views across the river to the
New Jersey Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...
. The estate includes two houses and a
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
. The oldest part of the main house, Wave Hill House, dates back to 1843; Glyndor House dates from 1927 and contains a multi-room art gallery. Perkins Visitor Center, which was originally a garage, contains a gift shop and an information desk. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, numerous highly notable people resided in Wave Hill, either because they owned it, leased it, or stayed there as guests. In 1960, the estate was given to the
City of New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, and Wave Hill is now a cultural center as well as a garden. In addition to visual arts exhibits, paid-ticket concert series take place on some Sunday afternoons in Armor Hall. Wave Hill is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
and is a
New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
.


History

The original Wave Hill House was a gray
fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...
mansion built in 1843 by lawyer William Lewis Morris.Herman, Michele, "Wave Hill" in It was owned from 1866 to 1903 by publisher William Henry Appleton, who enlarged the house in between 1866 and 1869 and again in 1890, and added greenhouses and gardens to the grounds. During these years, the house was visited by
Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...
, who helped
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
bring
evolution by natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charl ...
to the public's attention.
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's family rented Wave Hill during the summers of 1870 and 1871, and
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...
leased it from 1901 to 1903. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying 19 photographs''
/ref> The house was purchased in 1903 by
George Walbridge Perkins George Walbridge Perkins I (January 31, 1862 – June 18, 1920) was an American politician and businessman. He was a leader of the Progressive Movement, especially Theodore Roosevelt's presidential candidacy for the Progressive Party in ...
, a partner of
J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
, along with adjacent property, including Glyndor, a house built by the Harriman family in 1888, which later burned down and was rebuilt in 1927. In 1910, Perkins added an underground building for recreation which included a bowling alley. Perkins performed extensive landscaping on the site and leased Wave Hill House to an eminent
ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish ( Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish ( Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of O ...
, Bashford Dean of the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...
, who built a stone addition to the building as a private museum, Armor Hall. Other famous residents of the estate included the conductor
Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
(1942–1945) and chief members of the British Delegation to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
(1950–1956). In 1960, at the suggestion of
Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...
, the Perkins-Freeman family deeded Wave Hill to the City of New York. In 1983, the estate was added to the roster of the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
. Before 1987, the estate was known as Perkins Garden. During that year Parks Commissioner Henry Stern renamed it Wave Hill. In 2005, Wave Hill was among 406
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the
Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...
. On an annual basis, about 65,000 people visit Wave Hill, making it one of the most popular sites in Riverdale.


Gardens

Wave Hill's formal gardens feature a variety of plants, usually based on type. Garden areas include: * The T. H. Everett Alpine House, named for Thomas H. Everett, who advocated for the preservation and restoration of Wave Hill as a New York City Landmark and who was mentor to its founding Director of Horticulture,
Marco Polo Stufano Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...
* Herb and Dry Gardens * Aquatic &
Monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae '' sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one ...
Garden *
Bee hives A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
in the woodland area * The Herbert & Hyonja Abrons Woodland, of native second-growth forest, with a woodland path that stretches around the perimeter of the property * The
Marco Polo Stufano Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...
Conservatory—including a cactus room, a tropical room, and a palm room * The
Perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...
Flower Garden * Pergola and vistas of the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
and the
New Jersey Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...
* Special Collections, including the Shade Border, Elliptical Garden and
Conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...
Slope * Wild Garden Additionally, Wave Hill's gardens is a hotspot for birding in New York City, with 127 species to date — including ruby-throated hummingbirds, great blue herons, and bald eagles. It also abuts Riverdale Park


Programs

Wave Hill offers a variety of programming around horticulture, the arts, and education.


Shop

The Shop contains gifts from local artists as well as nature-themed and handmade items. The Shop is located in the Perkins Visitors Center.


Gallery

File:Cactus house at Wave Hill 2014.JPG, The cactus and succulent collection File:Woodland path Wave Hill 1.jpg, Part of the Abrons Woodland path File:View at Wave Hill.JPG, A view with carnivorous plants in the foreground File:Glyndor House, August 2019.jpg, Glyndor House File:WaveHill-Pergola.jpg, alt=Wave Hill's Pergola, Wave Hill's Pergola overlooking the Hudson River File:WaveHill-Spring-Chionodoxa.jpg, alt=Wave Hill's Woodlands in the spring., Wave Hill's Woodlands in the spring, with chionodoxa blooming.


See also

*
List of botanical gardens and arboretums in the United States This list is intended to include all significant botanical gardens and arboretums in the United States.List of New York City Designated Landmarks in the Bronx *
National Register of Historic Places listings in the Bronx List of Registered Historic Places in Bronx County, New York (Borough of The Bronx): This is intended to be a complete list of the 76 properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Bronx County, New York. The ...


References


Further reading

*


External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in New York Arboreta in New York (state) Art museums and galleries in the Bronx Botanical gardens in New York City Historic house museums in New York City Houses in the Bronx Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx Museums in the Bronx National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx New York City Designated Landmarks in the Bronx Parks in the Bronx Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Riverdale, Bronx