# Carrollcliffe

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrollcliffe
> Source revision: 1350383614
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{{Use American English|date=September 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{infobox building
| name            = Carrollcliffe
| image           = File:Tarrytown NY Castle Hotel.jpg
| location        = 400 Benedict Avenue, [Tarrytown, New York](/source/Tarrytown%2C_New_York)
| coordinates     = {{coord|41.0671|-73.8490|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map     = New York
| completion_date = {{Start date and age|1897}},<br/>{{Start date and age|1910}}
}}
'''Carrollcliffe''' (also formerly known as '''Castle Hotel & Spa''', '''The Castle at Tarrytown''', and '''Axe Castle''') is a historic [castle-like](/source/Castle) building located in [Tarrytown, New York](/source/Tarrytown%2C_New_York). Overlooking the [Hudson River](/source/Hudson_River) valley, it is about {{convert|20|mi|km}} north of the [George Washington Bridge](/source/George_Washington_Bridge). Its hilltop location and the height of its stone towers make it a dominant feature of the area [skyline](/source/skyline). Built in two stages, in 1897 and 1910, it was constructed to resemble a European castle.<ref name="Tarrytown1997">{{cite book|author=|title=Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow|url=|year=1997|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7524-0881-1|pages=}}</ref> In 1981, the village  of Tarrytown designated the building a historic landmark.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=February 8, 2018 |title=Westchester County Gives Film The Royal Treatment, Part 1 |url=https://www.visitwestchesterny.com/blog/post/westchester-county-gives-film-the-royal-treatment-part-1/ |access-date=February 9, 2026 |website=Visit Westchester NY |language=}}</ref> It is part of [Westchester County](/source/Westchester_County%2C_New_York)'s historical [Millionaires' Row](/source/Broadway_(Manhattan)).<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Sexton |first=Julia |date=January 18, 2013 |title=Westchester’s Gilded Age Estates: Eating, Drinking and Playing Like an Aristocrat |url=https://westchestermagazine.com/life-style/westchesters-gilded-age-estates-eating-drinking-and-playing-like-an-aristocrat/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251018072930/https://westchestermagazine.com/life-style/westchesters-gilded-age-estates-eating-drinking-and-playing-like-an-aristocrat/ |archive-date=October 18, 2025 |access-date=January 15, 2026 |work=Westchester Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunwell |first=Frances F. |title=The Hudson: America's River [Chapter 10: Millionaires' Row] |date=2008 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231509961}}</ref> The immediate area where Carrollcliffe is located is locally referred to as the Tarrytown Crest.

== History ==
Named Carrollcliffe, it was built as the residence of General [Howard Carroll](/source/Howard_Carroll_(newspaperman)), with the intention that it should reflect the [Norman castle architecture](/source/Norman_architecture) of Ireland,<ref name="Rovito2006">{{cite book|author=Lisa Marie Rovito|title=Frommer's Great Escapes From NYC Without Wheels|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9zCr40ge9_0C&pg=PA55|date=14 August 2006|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-04454-4|pages=55–}}</ref> where his father, Howard Carroll Sr., was originally from.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Irish Colonels: Howard Carroll, 105th New York Infantry |url=https://irishamericancivilwar.com/2011/05/15/irish-colonels-howard-carroll-105th-new-york-infantry/ |access-date=February 8, 2026 |website=Irish in the American Civil War |language=en-US}}</ref> It is based on a design by the architect [Henry Franklin Kilburn](/source/Henry_Franklin_Kilburn). The finished castle boasted 45 rooms<ref name=":1" /> and [crenellated](/source/Crenellation) towers.

'''Howard Carroll''' (1854-1916) was the son of Major General Howard Carroll of the [Union army](/source/Union_army), who was killed at the Civil War [Battle of Antietam](/source/Battle_of_Antietam).<ref name=":3" /> After completing his education, split between schools in [Albany, New York](/source/Albany%2C_New_York), and in Europe, Carroll Jr. became the Washington correspondent at, and a special writer for, ''The New York Times''<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=A General’s Residence in Greenburgh: The story of Carrollcliffe |url=https://www.greenburghny.com/DocumentCenter/View/7207/A-Generals-Residence-in-Greenburgh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820194738/https://www.greenburghny.com/DocumentCenter/View/7207/A-Generals-Residence-in-Greenburgh |archive-date=August 20, 2025 |website=Town of Greenburgh NY}}</ref> as well as a successful playwright.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Steiner |first=Henry |title=The Place Names of Historic Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown |publisher=Heritage Books |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-7884-0961-5 |pages=33}}</ref> Having enlisted in the [New York State Militia](/source/New_York_Guard), he earned the rank of [brigadier general](/source/Brigadier_general_(United_States)). A well-connected individual, he was married to a daughter of [John H. Starin](/source/John_H._Starin), a former Congressman and prominent entrepreneur.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lot - (NEW YORK.) Papers of New York developer and author Howard Carroll. |url=https://www.swanngalleries.com/auction-lot/new-york.-papers-of-new-york-developer-and-auth_17E4773810 |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=www.swanngalleries.com}}</ref> He was involved in Starin's businesses, becoming an owner of a paving company and an amusement park.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Papers of New York developer and author Howard Carroll |url=https://www.swanngalleries.com/auction-lot/new-york.-papers-of-new-york-developer-and-auth_17E4773810 |access-date=February 7, 2026 |website=Swann Galleries}}</ref> [J. P. Morgan](/source/J._P._Morgan) and [Andrew Carnegie](/source/Andrew_Carnegie) were frequent guests at Carrollcliffe.<ref name=":2" /> After his death in 1916, the rest of the Carroll family continued to live at Carrollcliffe until 1940.<ref name=":2" />

Beginning in 1941, the building served for decades as the headquarters of the financial firm Axe-Houghton Management<ref name="times">{{cite news|last=Singer|first=Penny|title=The View from Axe Castle: Optimistic|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/08/nyregion/the-view-from-axe-castle-optimistic.html|accessdate=30 November 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 November 1987}}</ref> (acquired by [BNY Mellon](/source/BNY)). In 1992, Swiss private banker Hanspeter Walder and his wife bought the property along with a group of investors. Their stated vision was to convert the castle into a luxury inn while rediscovering and ultimately preserving its original beauty and charm.<ref>{{cite news|work=Connecticut Post|last1=Boros|first1=Phyllis|title=IN BUSINESS; Spend the Night in the Castle of your Dreams?|url=https://www.ctpost.com/}}</ref> Walder was later convicted of [embezzlement](/source/embezzlement) and misapplication of bank funds and sentenced to 97 months in [federal prison](/source/federal_prison) for defrauding clients out of $70 million to pay for renovations and operations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lehmann |first=John |date=2003-01-11 |title=BANKER'S CASTLE CRUMBLES : GETS 8 YEARS IN $70M THEFT TO FUND LUXURY HOTEL |url=https://nypost.com/2003/01/11/bankers-castle-crumbles-gets-8-years-in-70m-theft-to-fund-luxury-hotel/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=70 000 Years of Hard Labor |url=https://www.hossli.com/articles/2005/09/01/70-000-years-of-hard-labor/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=hossli.com}}</ref>

In 2003, Elite Hotels, a limited liability company formed by [C. Dean Metropoulos](/source/C._Dean_Metropoulos), purchased the property, then called The Castle at Tarrytown, for $10.9 million (according to a newspaper article at the time, which described it as "a 31-room inn on 10.1 acres").<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brenner|first1=Elsa|title=IN BUSINESS; Going Price for Castles? In Tarrytown, $10.9 Million|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/25/nyregion/in-business-going-price-for-castles-in-tarrytown-10.9-million.html|accessdate=30 July 2016|work=The New York Times|date=25 May 2003}}</ref> It operated as a hotel<ref name="Leahy2007">{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Leahy|title=If You're Thinking of Living In . . .: All About 115 Great Neighborhoods In & Around New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W2onYcLQja8C&pg=PA351|date=18 December 2007|publisher=Doubleday Religious Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-42107-4|pages=351–}}</ref> and [spa](/source/destination_spa) until November 2024 and has since been vacant.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Muchnick |first=Jeanne |title=This Westchester historic property has closed, again |url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/tarrytown/2025/02/28/tarrytown-ny-historic-castle-hotel-and-spa-closes-again/80258717007/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=The Journal News |language=en-US}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
The building has served as a filming location for several productions.<ref name=":5" /> Early films include the 1917 silent film ''[Richard the Braze](/source/Richard_the_Brazen)''[n](/source/Richard_the_Brazen) and the 1922 film ''[The Headless Horseman](/source/The_Headless_Horseman_(1922_film))'', which utilized its grounds and exterior. More recently, the [Beyoncé](/source/Beyonc%C3%A9) music video "[Irreplaceable](/source/Irreplaceable)" (2006) and scenes for the HBO series ''[Boardwalk Empire](/source/Boardwalk_Empire)'' (2010–2014) were filmed there, specifically in its Oak Room.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=February 28, 2025 |title=This Westchester historic property has closed, again |url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/tarrytown/2025/02/28/tarrytown-ny-historic-castle-hotel-and-spa-closes-again/80258717007/ |access-date= |website=The Journal News |language=en-US}}</ref> 

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web|title=Castle Hotel and Spa: History|url=http://www.castlehotelandspa.com/About/History.aspx|accessdate=30 November 2013}}

Category:Hotels in New York (state)
Category:Tarrytown, New York
Category:Castles in New York (state)
Category:Houses in Westchester County, New York
Category:Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area

{{WestchesterCountyNY-geo-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Carrollcliffe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrollcliffe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrollcliffe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.