Rhinebeck, New York: Historical Hub for American Royalty for Three Centuries

By Liz Ernst                                                                                                                                                                       
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Rhinebeck, New York: Historical Hub for American Royalty for                                           Three Centuries

RHINEBECK, New York, July 31, 2010 – The idyllic town of Rhinebeck, New York, about 90 miles north of Manhattan, has been a best-kept secret of American royalty since the days of George Washington.

On Saturday, Rhinebeck’s secret was out as tourists flooded in to join the local population of less than 8,000 as they hosted modern American royalty; former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton managed to successfully pull off the wedding of their only child Chelsea Clinton to long-time beau, investment banker Marc Mezvinsky. The wedding was held at the Astor Courts estate overlooking the east bank of the Hudson River.

Astor Courts is a historic Beaux Arts building, among the last buildings designed by the famous American architect Stanford White, and built for John Jacob Astor IV and his wife, Ava, between 1902 and 1904. It is a testament to America’s gilded age mansions and among Rhinebeck’s many historic architectural treasures.

As recently as last week, odds makers were wondering if tiny Rhinebeck, New York was the true venue for the 400 to 500 expected guests of the nuptials, as the small village seemed anything but presidential to outsiders trying to get a glimpse of the Clinton’s publicity-shy daughter.

But to those who know Rhinebeck, this bucolic village which boasts 437 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and nestled within the elegant Dutchess County landscape has indeed seen its share of American royalty over the past 322 years.

George Washington visited Rhinebeck in 1796, and in 1804 Aaron Burr set up his gubernatorial campaign headquarters in a Rhinebeck tavern. In 1844, Alexander Jackson built the Henry Delamater House at 44 Montgomery Street, among American residential architecture’s most important early examples of the Gothic Revival style.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt owned a home near Rhinebeck and contributed to Rhinebeck’s building history directly in the later years of the Great Depression.

Although the Clintons were welcomed warmly in customary Rhinebeck style, the former first family did not take their hospitality lightly. Each inconvenienced resident received a complimentary bottle of wine, thanking them for their troubles. Fittingly called “Tribute,” the white vintage 2009 Seyval Blanc came
from the Hudson Valley Clinton Vineyards.

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