Documentary About Federal Reserve's Architect Premieres In Briarcliff

Carol Reif

05/31/2016 6:00 a.m.

Beechwood, the Briarcliff Manor estate of financier Frank A. Vanderlip, was used to film scenes from the new documentary, "Money Man: Frank Vanderlip and the Birth of the Federal Reserve." Photo Credit: *Briarcliff Manor - Scarborough Historical Society*

Frank A. Vanderlip, one of the architects of the American banking system, lived in Briarcliff Manor with his wife, Narcissa, and their six children. Photo Credit: *Wikipedia*

The Clear View School started out as the Scarborough Day School, a private facility for the children of Frank and Narcissa Vanderlip and the children of their friends and neighbors in Briarcliff Manor. Photo Credit: *Wikipedia*

Vicki Mack produced and directed "Money Man: Frank Vanderlip and the Birth of the Federal Reserve," a documentary that will make its East Coast debut in Briarcliff Manor in June. Photo Credit: *Provided*

BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y. -- Frank A. Vanderlip, a Briarcliff Manor financier who rose from a hardscrabble childhood to become the architect of the country’s central bank, is the subject of a documentary making its East Coast debut here next month.

“Money Man: Frank Vanderlip and the Birth of the Federal Reserve” will be shown at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, at The Clear View School in Scarborough.

Produced by Vicki Mack and Don Christy, the film follows Vanderlip’s life from the time he was young boy, whose family’s Illinois farm was repossessed by the banks, to his appointment as the assistant secretary of the Treasury at the turn of the 20th century.

Mack, an author from Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif., also directs the film.

When not overseeing the banking system, Vanderlip was bolstering education.

He and his wife, Narcissa, were friends of Maria Montessori, an Italian doctor and educator who pioneered the learning system that bears her name.

The Vanderlips reportedly had a hand in creating the first Montessori school in the U.S.

The couple lived at Beechwood, a mansion off Scarbrough Road in Briarcliff. The family remained at the estate until the late 1970s. The property has since been converted to a condo complex, but the mansion remains.

Many of the film's scenes were shot at Beechwood.

The Vanderlips went on to found Scarborough Day School, a private school, for their six offspring and the children of friends and neighbors.

That school is now The Clear View School, a school for children with emotional and mental disabilities. It is located at 480 Albany Post Road.

“Money Man” will be shown in the school’s theater and followed by a reception in Beechwood’s ballroom.

Tickets for the event are $45.

To attend, participants must RSVP by Friday, June 3, organizers said.

The event is being sponsored by the Briarcliff Manor - Scarborough Historical Society, The Jug Tavern of Sparta, Beechwood at Scarborough, and The Clear View School.

To make a reservation, or for more information, call Audrey C. Warn at (914)-941-4653, or email her at development@clearviewschool.org.

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