Housing
conferences and workshops here for over 12 years, MSSC has been
fortunate to make Wave Hill its educational reception headquarters.
We would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of
the history and tradition of this gracious facility and its surrounding
neighborhood.
Unless you have seen it for yourself, it’s difficult to imagine
the magnificent splendor of the past world that exists merely minutes
away from the congestion of mid-town Manhattan. Riverdale’s
own Wave Hill retains the charm and beauty of an opulent age that
existed over one hundred and fifty years ago. Built in 1843 on the
site of the 17th century Indian hunting grounds by journalist William
Morris, it was the first house on the ridge overlooking the Hudson
and the Palisades. Publisher William Henry Appleton purchased the
property as a summer home in 1866, and constructed the huge dining
room-gallery where MSSC’s Fall and Spring Conferences are currently
held.
Around
the turn of the century, J.P. Morgan tycoon George W. Perkins took
possession, and merged several properties surrounding Wave Hill
into an eighty-acre estate. Perkins left a lasting legacy for all
of us by being instrumental in preserving the visual beauty of the
Palisades from the pick axes of quarry miners. He also prevailed
upon the Interstate Park Commission to develop Bear Mountain Park.
Well
before the construction of the Henry Hudson Parkway and Bridge in
1936, Riverdale Avenue was a narrow road occupied by the fashionable
carriages and fur-lined winter sleighs. The best shops and only
grocery store were in Yonkers. All the way from the Hudson River
to the Post Road at Van Cortland Park, there were undeveloped woods.
On the water, many boats, especially long tows and two-masted line
streamers, sailed the river.
Wave
Hill has been occupied or visited by Teddy Roosevelt, Arturo Toscanini,
Queen Mother Elizabeth, celebrities, entrepreneurs, and intellectuals.
For all of us at MSSC, Wave Hill has served as a welcome meeting
place for professional growth and exploration.
