with churches, houses and businesses in the area of the present historic district. Most of their owners were local businessmen and craftsmen. Later, the influence of large estate-owning families like the Roosevelts and Vanderbilts grew to the point they played a major role in the local economy, and their workers resided in the houses. This culminated in 1927 with the Roosevelt Library's construction. Most homes in the district were built in a modest Greek Revival style, three bays wide rather than the customary five, since the lots were narrow. Later on, in the late 1860s, two houses had mansard roofs added, in keeping with the Second Empire style growing in popularity at the time. In the 20th century, the rise of the estates, the growth the area experienced after Franklin Roosevelt became President and spent his vacations in the area and the rise of the automobile changed the geography of downtown Hyde Park. Main Street was still unpaved in the 1930s; at that time Roosevelt spearheaded the construction of the new post office at the crossroads of what was now Route 9 and Market, where it joined a new firehouse. The center of the town shifted to that junction, northeast of the old downtown. The buildings of what had historically been Hyde Park remained largely untouched, with a few modern additions to the neighborhood in the later decades of the century. See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Dutchess County, New York References External links Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) U.S. Route 9 Hyde Park, New York National Register of Historic Places in Dutchess County, New York Historic districts in Dutchess County, New York