Rhode Island, and California. Before her death, Ruth Livingston Mills began acquiring lands surrounding the estate. After her death in 1920, Ogden Mills continued to purchase the surrounding property, enlarging the acreage of the property to total over , the size of the mansion grounds at the time that it was given to the state of New York. In 1929, the property was passed on to their son, Ogden Livingston Mills and upon his death in 1937, on to his sister Gladys Mills Phipps. In 1938, Gladys Mills Phipps donated the house and of land to the state of New York as a memorial to her parents. As a State Historic Site, the estate is operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. In 1988, the Friends of Mills Mansion were organized to support the preservation and educational work at the site. Design The outside of the mansion features a massive portico, balustrades, pilasters, and floral festoons. The central part of the mansion is layered into a basement, three floors, and an attic. In the north and south wings, there is a subbasement, a basement, and two floors. Ceilings in the older part of the building dating prior to the enlargement (the first floor of the central part) are about high, whereas the ceilings of the later construction (first floor of the north and south wings) can be about high. The interior of the building is decorated in French styles of the 17th and 18th century. However, some architectural elements of the previous home have been preserved in the process. Preservation The Mills Mansion poses several challenges to preservation: On the outside, a gray sprayed concrete finish which was added later as a preservation measure needs to be removed and replaced with a more suitable surface treatment. At the same time, the decorative cornice and many decorative elements need to be either restored or replaced. On the inside of the building, wall paint and furnishing fabrics are in need of replacement, marble and wooden surfaces need to be cleaned and the objects of the mansion's collection need to be conserved. See also List of Gilded Age mansions List of New York State Historic Sites References Notes Further reading Dwyer, Mark Middletown (ed.) (2001) Great Houses of the Hudson River, Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Company, in association with Historic Hudson Valley. . External links Staatsburgh