Excellence Award Spotlight: Untermyer Gardens
Untermyer Gardens has received a 2025 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from the Preservation League of NYS. “The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy has worked long and hard to revive this long-ruined landscape, and it is gratifying to witness the astronomical growth in visitation,” said Untermyer President Stephen F. Byrns. “Recognition by the Preservation League is the cherry on the cake, for which we are most grateful.”
The Untermyer Gardens Entrance Tower after restoration. photo credit: Annie Schlecter
The restoration of Untermyer Park and Gardens by the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy began in 2011 with a single gardener and an annual visitation of about 5,000 people. In 2025, Untermyer now employs 11 gardeners and welcomes approximately 350,000 visitors annually. Located on 43 acres in Yonkers, it is one of the few important public gardens nationally that is free of charge to the public. The Conservancy works in a public-private partnership with the City of Yonkers, which owns the garden.
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano stated, “Untermyer Gardens is a jewel of Yonkers, and this recognition by the Preservation League of New York State is a testament to the tireless efforts of the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy, our Parks Department, and the many volunteers who have brought this historic site back to life. We are proud to see one of our city’s greatest cultural and architectural treasures honored at the state level, and we remain committed to preserving its legacy for future generations.”
Untermyer Gardens was called the most spectacular garden in America in the 1920s. Designed by Welles Bosworth in 1916, architect of the Rockefeller house and garden at Kykuit, the garden was world famous and open to the public on a weekly basis, including one day in 1939 when 30,000 people visited. After Samuel Untermyer's death in 1940, the garden went under public ownership and began a slow and severe decline.
Most of the architectural elements of the Indo-Persian Walled Garden have now been restored, including the canals, entry tower, amphitheater, Temple of the Sky with its Medusa mosaic and the mosaic-encrusted Persian Pool. These magnificent mosaics were replaced in an exact match, as the originals were severely deteriorated or missing. Custom made Roman brick and cut limestone were fabricated to replace damaged historic material at the entry tower. The Temple of the Sky was structurally rehabilitated, given new waterproofing and large stone replacements.
Also restored are the monumental Vista with its reset limestone treads, Ornamental Vegetable Garden with its restored pergola, Rock and Stream Garden and Temple of Love complex with a new Haddonstone temple replacing the original which was beyond repair. New construction includes a greenhouse and service building.
The garden is a marvel of fountains, with no fewer than six water features now operational, and more to come. Delicate wrought iron at the Temple of Love dome has been restored and powder coated. Many accessibility improvements have been made, and utilities have been upgraded throughout the garden.
Just as important as the architectural restoration is the horticultural restoration. The plantings are brilliantly handled in a way that can be maintained by 11 gardeners – as opposed to the 60 employed in the 1920s.
The North Pool garden after restoration. photo credit: John Jacono
The Conservancy has worked closely with the Yonkers Public Schools in a highly regarded intern program where high schoolers work in the vegetable gardens and elsewhere during spring, summer, and fall. In addition, there are now nearly daily class visits from Yonkers kids of all ages to learn about the garden, mythology, architecture, and history
The Untermyer team includes: Stephen F. Byrns, President; Timothy Tilghman, Head Gardener; Drew Schuyler, Assistant Head Gardener; Cathy Michelsen, Development Officer; Steve Sansone, Commissioner, Yonkers Parks and Recreation; Peter Boodell, Board Chair; Ann Carmel, Board Chair Emeritus. Restoration work has been completed in part by Miotto Mosaic Art Studio, Glencar Water Gardens, Dominick Forcello Inc., and Maultz Construction.
Public funding for Untermyer comes from New York State, the City of Yonkers, and Westchester County.