Washington Irving’s Sunnyside

3 West Sunnyside Lane

Irvington, NY  10533

(914) 591-8763

Washington Irving’s Sunnyside

Admission: Please see their website

Open: Please check the website for seasonality

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48720-d3680157-Reviews-Sunnyside-Tarrytown_New_York.html?m=19905

The front of Sunnyside in the Fall of 2024

Washington Irving’s home, Sunnyside is open during the warmer months of the year, closing at the end of October. The house looks like a enchanted cottage with almost a fairy like appearance right on the banks of the Hudson River with the most spectacular views of the river valley and the Tappan Zee Bridge in the distance.

Sunnyside during the Fall of 2024

The house was designed by architect George Harvey and reflects the Dutch Colonial Revival, Scottish Gothic and Tudor Revival influences with wisteria growing up and around it and a jagged crow stepped gable.

The front of Sunnyside in the Fall of 2024

When walking through the home, you will see the study where Washington Irving conducted the business of the house and did his writing. To the other side of the house, you will see the living room and small dining room where the family used to entertain.

Washington Irving’s Study

The Dining Room set for a formal lunch

The Dining Room in the Fall of 2024

The formal meal at the afternoon

The hallway between the Dining Room and the Living Room

The Living Room where the family gathered and entertained visitors

The Living Room of Sunnyside

The upstairs contains small bedrooms where Washington Irving, his brother, Ebeneezer and his five nieces lived on and off when they were living at the house. Washington’s brother’s business had failed and the family came to live with him. Two of the nieces never married and ran the home for their uncle.

The Guest bedroom at Sunnyside

The Guest Bedroom

The Children’s Bedroom that catered to the little guests

The house is nicely furnished in the most modern decor of its time but is not an elaborate house. It is a home and not a weekend mansion and this ten acre estate was a once a  working farm. In the back of the house, there is an ice house and a barn show where the people who worked on the estate kept the house running.

Ebenezer’s daughter’s room

Ebenezer’s Room in Sunnyside; Ebenezer was Washington Irving’s Older Brother

Washington Irving’s bedroom

Washington Irving’s bedroom

The view of the river is one of the most spectacular in the Hudson River Valley as its at the widest part of the Hudson River. You can see the cliffs of New Jersey on the other side with views of Nyack and the Tappan Zee Bridge in the background.

The grounds of Sunnyside

The grounds of Sunnyside

During the Fall season there are all sorts of activities going on at the estate and the tours are a very interesting look at life at that time. The Kitchen staff ran the home for social calls and main family meals as well as all the things it took to run the household.

The Sunnyside Kitchen

The kitchen and pantry area

The stove in the kitchen

The delicious items that were prepared in the Country kitchen

The sink area of the kitchen

The Cooks Kitchen

The Pantry

The Linen Room

The Sewing Room for the family

The History of Sunnyside:

The estate was once the home of Wolfert Acker called Wolfert’s Roost and was part of the Manor of Philipsburg and this home was once a simple two room stone tenant farmhouse built around 1690.

The patio view from the back of the house

The property came into the hands of the Van Tassel family, who were married into the Eckert family and owned it until 1802. That year, 150 acres were deeded to the family of Benson Ferris, one time clerk of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, whose wife, Maria Acker, was a descendant of Wolfert Acker’s.

The grounds of Sunnyside

In 1832, Washington Irving visited his nephew, Oscar Irving, who lived near the old stone farmhouse and was looking for a home at the time. He purchased the property on June 7, 1835 and would add to the property.

The view of the house of the Hudson River

Irving wrote a story, “Wolfert’s Roost”, about Acker and the site. In a letter to his brother Peter, he described it as “a beautiful spot, capable of being made a little paradise…I have had an architect up there and shall build upon the old mansion this summer. My idea is to make a little nookery somewhat in the Dutch style, quaint but unpretending. It will be of stone.” He asked his neighbor to help him remodel the house and landscape the grounds in Romantic style adding a brook and waterfall.

The grounds of Sunnyside

The house became a major spot of people visiting the area to meet the author. In 1842, he was appointed to be the Ambassador of Spain and left the estate in the care of his brother and four daughters. He returned in 1846 and added to the home the ‘Spanish Tower” in 1847. This added four more bedrooms to the home.

The Smokehouse

The Ice House at Sunnyside

The Ice House

The Fruit Cellar

Irving died in the house in 1859 of a heart attack at age 76.

The house was purchased from Louis Irving by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and was restored for historic preservation. It was opened to the public in 1947.

The grounds has a very nice gift shop

In 2025, I visited Sunnyside during the holidays to see what Christmas would have been like in the pre-Civil War era. These were not the elaborate times of the Victorian era but still the life of an Upper Middle Class families who celebrated the spirit of the holiday.

I visited the estate for a special Victorian event with refreshments, creating crafts and a special open tour of the home decorated for the Christmas holidays.

The property decorated during the holidays

The holiday events at the estate

The meeting room was decorated for the holidays for refreshments and good conversation

The refreshments at the Open House included cookies, candies, Hot Cider Wassil and Hot Chocolate and Tea

Sunnyside at Christmas time

The Sunnyside front door at the holidays

The beautiful view of the estate overlooking the Hudson River

When you enter the house, the first room to the left is the office of Washington Irving. There was a bed in the room for last night work and the room decorated for the holidays.

Washington Irving’s office during the holidays

The fireplace in the author’s office

Nothing says entertaining than the dining room with a holiday lunch set with family china and all the delicacies of the time.

The Dining Room set for a holiday lunch

The Dining Room table set for Christmas lunch

The Christmas desserts showcasing the Christmas pudding

The pantry set for Afternoon Tea

The Living Room decorated for the holidays with a Table tree, fashionable for the times.

The Table tree in the Living Room

The hallway and stairs decorated for the holidays

The French inspired bedroom

The Children’s room of a visiting niece

Washington Irving’s bedroom

The niece’s bedroom of those that lived with him

My last part of the tour led to the behind the scenes of how the household runs with the kitchen, washrooms and sewing room.

The Christmas dinner being prepared for the family

The delicious foods prepared for the family meals including cookies, pies and a favorite treat, doughnuts

The kitchen stove where all the family meals were cooked

The house kitchen is decorated for the holidays

The staff holiday dinner was less elaborate but still very festive

The patio off the kitchen overlooking the Hudson River

After the tour was over, I joined other guests making crafts such as Christmas crackers, creating ornaments and making pumices, the oranges studded with clovers.

The festive barn where crafts were created

Me making my pumice for the holidays

Visiting Sunnyside during the holidays is a special trip to the past to join the Irving family in their celebration. Not as elaborate as some of the Victorian mansions of the Hudson River Valley but a look at a family whose celebration was similar to our own. Their traditions are the basis of our own of food, family and fun.