Fonthill Castle was built in 1852 as the country estate of Shakespearean actor
Edwin Forrest and his wife, the actress
Catherine Norton Sinclair. According to Lawrence Barrett, the plans were formed by Mrs. Forrest and approved by her husband. Steven E. Smith noted that in laying the cornerstone, Forrest set into it a few coins and a volume of Shakespeare. The castle was located on the slopes above the Hudson River as the
Hudson River Railroad planned to lay its tracks along the river. The name Fonthill was derived from
William Beckford's Gothic
Fonthill Abbey in England. Forrest later sold the property to the
Sisters of Charity of New York who relocated the
Academy of Mount Saint Vincent from
McGowan's Pass when the City of New York was developing Central Park. The castle has served as a convent, chapel, museum, chaplain's residence, and the college library. It later came to house the admissions office of the College of Mount Saint Vincent. Fonthill is a
Gothic Revival style building consisting of a cluster of six
octagonal towers at varying heights, built of hammered grey stone. Five of the towers radiate from a three-story central tower. A sketch of Fonthill's octagons among the papers of
Alexander Jackson Davis suggests that he had some part in its design, although it has also been attributed to Thomas C. Smith. In 1942, the castle became the Elizabeth Seton Library and, in 1969, the college admissions office. ==Administration Building==