This Shangri-La-style “safe house” in New York’s Hudson Valley, which has steel-reinforced walls, 4-inch-thick
concrete floors, secret exits and a helipad for quick getaways, has hosted Middle Eastern royals, African
leaders and elite security forces.
Architect Paul Rudolph, whose most famous project is the Yale Art and Architecture Building, designed the house
in 1986 for members of the Bancroft family, which owned publishing company Dow Jones & Co. for most of the 20th
century. The house is built using 18th-century cedar salvaged from the original homestead.
“It’s a secluded sanctuary and fortress for someone high profile,” said Richard Healy of Corcoran Country Living,
who listed it with colleague Marie-Claire Gladstone. “It’s a safe house, but it’s also a fun house—it’s the
ultimate indoor/outdoor entertainment center, and it’s like having your own private resort.”
The seller, security expert and reality-TV star Dave Vitalli, who bought the estate in 1999, said that the house
“is perfect for all seasons. Drink your morning coffee or have a cocktail with friends in a cabana, throw a
beach party or play beach volleyball in the summer, go hiking, horseback riding, skiing or ice skating, and
visit the area’s wineries and organic farms.”