Briarcliff Manor - Briarcliff Manor

Briarcliff Manor is a village in Westchester County, in New York's Hudson Valley.

Understand

Briarcliff Manor highway map

Briarcliff Manor is shared between the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining and lies within the ZIP code of 10510. In 1890, Walter W. Law bought 232 acres (0.94 km²) when he retired from W. & J. Sloan; he called this land Briarcliff Farm. He later owned 5,000 acres (20 km2) and developed the village. It is said that "Manor" was added to the village's name after Law's friend, Andrew Carnegie, jokingly referred to Law as the "Laird of Briarcliff Manor" and the name stuck.

Get in

By plane

By car

  • Briarcliff Manor is easily accessible from the northeastern United States via interstate highways such as the New England Thruway/New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) and the New York State Thruway system. The I-87 portion of the Thruway connecting Albany and New York City crosses the Hudson River at Tarrytown on the Tappan Zee Bridge, as does I-287, which connects with I-95 to the east. The Saw Mill River Parkway, which runs along the village's eastern flank, connects with the Taconic State Parkway to the north (to Albany and the I-90 east-west portion of the Thruway system) and the Henry Hudson Parkway into New York City.
  • From the south, take the NY-9A/​NY-100 N exit from the Taconic State Parkway, then head two miles north on NY-9A. Turn left at the light onto North State Road, then left in one block onto Pleasantville Road. You've reached the heart of Briarcliff Manor.
  • From the north, take the 9A split from Route 9 just north of Ossining and follow 9A south to North State Road. From the Taconic Parkway, take the Pleasantville Road exit, turn right onto Pleasantville Road and follow the road into town.

By train

Briarcliff Manor is well-served by the Metro-North Railroad. The village is conveniently located near three Metro-North stations – Scarborough, Ossining, and Pleasantville stations. All three stations provide regular, direct service to Grand Central Terminal in New York City, as well as local service to other Metro-North commuter stations.

  • 1 Scarborough station and 2 Ossining station are located on the Metro-North's Hudson Line. Express service between either station and Grand Central Terminal is about 50 minutes, although Ossining station provides more midday express service. Local service to Grand Central takes just over an hour. A one-way ticket to Grand Central costs $11.25 off-peak and $14.75 peak. On-board train fares are subject to a stiff surcharge, so buy your tickets online or from the vending machines in the station overpass. Full weekday and weekend Hudson Line schedules are available online.
  • 3 Pleasantville station is located on the Metro-North's Harlem Line, and is especially close to Briarcliff Manor's Mount Pleasant portion. Express service between Pleasantville station and Grand Central Terminal is about an hour. A one-way ticket to Grand Central also costs $11.25 off-peak and $14.75 peak. On-board train fares are subject to a stiff surcharge, so buy your tickets online or from the vending machines on the platform. Full weekday and weekend Harlem Line schedules are available online.

By bus

Downtown Briarcliff Manor bus stops are identifiable by wooden shelters

By boat

Get around

41°8′32″N 73°50′29″W
Map of Briarcliff Manor

Getting around Briarcliff Manor and Westchester entirely depends on where you are staying and what you want to see. If you plan on spending most of your time within the village, most downtown sights are within walking distance of each other.

By car

Most residents and visitors get around by car. Traffic is light and traffic jams are rare. Finding parking is usually not a problem.

By bus

See

Stone and half-timbered two-story building
The Tudor Revival Manor House

Architecture

Briarcliff Manor is an architectural haven, from historic buildings to churches and temples, Briarcliff Manor has plenty to see and marvel at.

  • 1 All Saints' Episcopal Church. An English Gothic church built by Richard Upjohn in 1854, with a Stick Style rectory dated to 1883 and an Arts and Crafts-style Old Parish Hall built in 1904. The church is on the National Register of Historic Places. 
  • 2 Ashridge. A Greek Revival mansion built around 1825. 
  • 3 Beechwood. A neoclassical Federal mansion, with a more ornate Colonial Revival addition by R. H. Robertson. The building has two large porticoed entryways, a two-story octagonal library, numerous porches, verandas, and over 100 interior rooms. Beechwood was the filming location for Savages, a 1972 Merchant Ivory film and the 1970 film House of Dark Shadows. 
  • 4 Briarcliff Congregational Church. An English Parish-style church with Gothic Tiffany windows and a Norman-style tower. 
  • 5 Briarcliff Manor Public Library. A Tudor Revival library, built by Walter Law in the style of his Briarcliff Lodge in 1906 as a train station. It became a library in 1959,and an expansion was completed in 2009. 
  • 6 The Chilmark Estate. A Tudor Revival stone and stucco mansion viewable from the road, built in 1896 and home of V. Everit Macy and remaining a private residence today. 
  • 7 The Clear View School. A Neoclassical-style school building completed early in 1917 as the Scarborough School. The building has a grand porticoed entry and French windows. Also on the property is a 1960s Modernist schoolhouse and an 80-acre parkland designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. 
  • 8 Dysart House. A Tudor Revival house, built by Walter Law in 1897 as a precursor to his more-famous Tudor Revival structures, the Briarcliff Lodge and Briarcliff railroad station (now a public library). Law built Dysart House as a guest house for those who arrived by the nearby train station. In 1902, the house became the Tewksbury School, and in 1913, it became Mrs. Frances Scharff Marshall's Day and Boarding School. It remains a private residence. 
A three-story beige Renaissance Revival mansion
Woodlea, part of Sleepy Hollow Country Club
  • 9 Juniper Ledge. An Arts and Crafts-style bungalow on the National Register of Historic Places and built in 1910; a fine example of its school of architecture and former home of suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt. 
  • 10 Manor House. A Tudor Revival building built in 1925 by Oscar Vatet for Rev. Dr. Rufus P. Johnston (pastor of John D. Rockefeller's Fifth Avenue Baptist Church). The building later became home to Dr. Arthur O'Connor; then to Cognitronics, and later to Frank B. Hall, Inc. It is an empty and unused part of Briarcliff Corporate Campus. 
  • 11 Sleepy Hollow Country Club. A Renaissance Revival mansion, formerly the private residence Woodlea, and now the club house and banquet halls of the country club. The building has Beaux-Arts and Georgian Revival features, and was designed by Stanford White and built during the early 1890s. Charles B. Macdonald designed its golf course. 
  • 12 St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. A Gothic Revival church built in 1851, the church has narrow lancelet windows created by Bolton Priory, one of America’s first stained glass manufacturers, and is the only complete set of Bolton windows in existence. 
  • 13 Vanderlip-Street house (Julian Street Jr. residence). A Modernist house designed by Wallace Harrison for Frank A. Vanderlip (who built it for his daughter and son-in-law) was one of the first contemporary-style homes in Westchester. Julian Street, Jr. residence (Q28834135) on Wikidata Julian Street Jr. residence on Wikipedia 

Do

Parks and preserves

Scarborough Park
  • 14 Law Memorial Park, just south of the village center, is a delightful park, with pools, playing fields and tennis courts, and a pond with benches, walkways, and period lighting. The village library is adjacent to the park.
  • 15 Pocantico Park, Briarcliff's largest park, with a large number and variety of wildlife, has marked hiking trails.
  • 16 Scarborough Park, a patch of green just off Route 9 in Briarcliff Manor that borders the Hudson and offers gorgeous river views across to the Palisades. A quiet place to relax, unwind and feed the geese or go fishing.

Golf courses

  • The private Sleepy Hollow County Club offers a 27-hole golf course.
  • The private Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff boasts a $1-million waterfall on the course.

Cycling

  • The North County Trailway, built on the rail bed of the former New York and Putnam Railroad, extends for 22.1 miles through Westchester county and passes through Briarcliff.
  • The Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park is a popular bicycling and running path. Its trail follows the Old Croton Aqueduct from Croton to New York City. Access from the village is from Scarborough Road north of the Scarborough Fire Station.

Other

  • The Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society runs public events including tours of homes and churches, bus tours, Hudson River cruises on historic boats, dances, antique-car exhibits, day trips to historic points of interest, art exhibits and events with authors and elected officials.
  • The Briarcliff Manor Chamber of Commerce runs "1st Thursday... Night Lights", a themed event on the first Thursday of every month from June to September for walking, shopping, and dining around the village from 4-8PM.
  • The Pleasantville Farmer's Market, the largest farmer's market in Westchester, is held in bordering village Pleasantville every Saturday.
  • Rockwood Hall, a former estate, is a park on the bank of the Hudson River. The park has an extensive network of good jogging trails.

Annual events

Santa's Express, an annual tradition for a Santa-suited firefighter to visit Briarcliff Manor families
  • The Memorial Day parade with the Fire and Police Departments, boy and girl scouts, bands, and other groups, who march from around the intersection of Pleasantville and North State Roads to the Tree Streets and back to Law Memorial Park for a brief remembrance ceremony, with areas to watch the parade throughout the village.
  • Also during Memorial Day is the annual Friends 5K Run/2 Mile Walk, run by Friends of Briarcliff Manor Public Library.
  • The Briarcliff Manor Community Bonfire is a winter holiday event at Law Park, hosted by the village and the Briarcliff Friends of the Arts, involving live music (primarily seasonal and holiday songs), refreshments and craft projects for children.
  • The Briarcliff Manor Fire Department hosts Santa's Express, an annual December tradition where a firefighter dressed as St. Nicholas sits on top of a village fire engine and goes throughout every village street, greeting children, giving out food, and posing for photos. The decorated trucks sound their sirens, including imitating Jingle Bells with the trucks' horns.
  • The village Community Day is held every September. Booths, tents, and inflatable play areas are set up for food and games, and there's always a fireworks display at the end. Village employees as well as volunteers run the event.
  • The Briarcliff Manor schools' Performing Arts Department presents annual winter and spring concerts, a fall drama production, a spring musical production, and a spring dance concert.

Buy

Briarcliff has three retail business areas, a general (non-retail) business area, and scattered office buildings and laboratories.

The village's principal retail area, the Central Business District, also known as the Village Center or East End, is located on Briarcliff Manor's main street on Pleasantville Road and continues on North State Road. The area has numerous businesses lining Pleasantville Road, and is home to the village hall and a pocket park, and has brick sidewalks, period street lighting, and free parking. Farther south along the road is the Walter W. Law Memorial Park, and southeast along the road are the three schools of the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. Additional businesses and restaurants lie along North State Road.

The central business district primarily has retailers such as restaurants, cafes, small food markets and specialty shops. The North State Road business district has a supermarket, a bank, a gas station and a mixture of retail stores, and the other retail areas have national and local stores. A mile north on Pleasantville Road brings you to the Chilmark Shopping Center with an A&P grocery store, pharmacy, Radio Shack, and restaurants.

Just a few blocks further north leads to Route 133. Turn left onto 133 for the commercial district of the village of Ossining. After 1 mile west on 133, turn left onto Route 9. Go 1½ miles south on Rt. 9 to reach the historic Scarborough neighborhood of Briarcliff Manor and the Arcadia Shopping Center which includes a CVS, and a Stop & Shop grocery.

A village street lined with shops
Southwest view of Pleasantville Road central business district shops

Eat

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge

Sweets

Sleep

  • 1 Edith Macy Conference Center, 550 Chappaqua Rd, ☏ 1 914-945-8000. Situated among 405 wooded acres on a mountainside. They promote the country setting as a good location to conduct corporate work sessions in a relaxing environment without distractions. 

Go next

Briarcliff Manor is in central Westchester County, bordering river villages like Ossining and Sleepy Hollow.

Briarcliff Manor is 30 miles (48 km) north of Manhattan, which makes it easy for anyone to travel to and from the Big Apple. For those not looking to splurge on a week-long urban adventure, day trips or even a special dinner excursion are simple and absolutely worth it! If you're worried about driving in the busy city, the MetroNorth train is a 45-minute ride along the Hudson River.

Across the Tappan Zee Bridge in Central Valley, this outlet center is a popular shopping haven for New Yorkers and tourists. Stores range from casual to designer, such as Gap, Burberry, Polo, Disney, and many more. A food court and restaurants are also provided.

Also across the Tappan Zee Bridge in West Nyack is a massive 4-level shopping mall. A variety of retail stores for shoppers to explore, as well as an ice skating rink, movie theater, and fun zone for kids.

Activities such as ice skating, miniature golf, concerts, theatrical performances and historical tours are all within driving distance in the county.

Routes through Briarcliff Manor
Somers ← Croton-on-Hudson ← N NY-9A.svgNY-100.svg S → Elmsford → Yonkers
Albany ← Ossining ← N US 9.svg S → Sleepy Hollow → New York City
Croton-on-Hudson ← Ossining ← N Metro-North Hudson icon.png S → Sleepy Hollow → New York City
This city travel guide to Briarcliff Manor is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page .