Читать книгу History of Westchester County, New York, Volume 3 - Группа авторов - Страница 66

The well-known founder of Lawrence Park, Bronxville, New York, is the subject of this sketch. He purchased about one hundred acres of the old Prescott estate, ten years ago, and transformed it into one of the most beautiful and attractive suburban parks near New York city. The grounds are well fitted by nature for the purpose for which they are now used, being considered the highest and most picturesque point of land in all this section of the country. The park is a natural forest of great trees and has been laid out in irregular lots, with roads winding in and out instead of being on regular lines and blocks as is usually the plan in laying out suburban residence districts. These lots are sold under certain restrictions, and they have been taken largely by the artistic and literary class of citizens, and Lawrence Park has become quite celebrated for its colony of noted people who have purchased cottages there.

In 1897 Mr. Lawrence erected the Gramatan Inn on the top of Sunset hill near the Bronxville station. It contains one hundred and twenty-five rooms, has wide porches and verandas, making it a most beautiful place in summer and winter for visitors and guests. It is a fine Colonial structure, with all modern improvements, including electric lights and bells, and steam heat, and from its verandas one has a fine view, extending from the Hudson river to the Sound. In the winter these porches are enclosed with glass, forming sun parlors, and the Inn is open all the year round. One of its most desirable features is its close proximity to the city, being only a twenty-six minutes' run on the New York & Harlem Railroad from the Grand Central station, Forty-second street, New York, so that the busy man, who is obliged to remain in the city during the day, can here find cool, bracing country air, where he can enjoy the society of his family and friends in the evening. In the construction of the hotel no convenience has been omitted that would add to the happiness and comfort of the guests.

Mr. Lawrence is a native of New York city, where he was reared and educated, is a cultured and pleasant gentleman and thorough business man. He has not developed Lawrence Park as a money-making scheme, as is usually the case in suburban park affairs, but his methods have been quite original and new, and therefore successful.