One of the best places to visit in the north end of Central Park is the Conservatory Garden. Its flowers, trees and fountains are beautiful at any time of year.

But, as you enter from Fifth Avenue, don’t miss one of the truly unique features of the Conservatory Garden —the Vanderbilt Gates.

Forged in Paris, these gates are among  the few remnants of the mansion built  by Cornelius Vanderbilt–the fabulously wealthy New York City native who was worth  $100 million when he died (over 2 billion today).

The mansion, thought by some to be the finest in New York City,  had four floors, 130 rooms, and took up an entire city block between 57th and 58th Streets, where Bergdorf Goodman stands today. In 1926, less than fifty years after it was built, Cornelius Vanderbilt’s wife, Alice Vanderbilt, sold the mansion for 7 million dollars and it was demolished within a week.

The gates were preserved and later donated to the city by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.   The Conservatory Garden opened in 1937 and the gates were installed two years later in 1939. 

Take a tour with us and learn more about the Conservatory Garden, the Vanderbilt Gates, and the north end of Central Park.