The three America’s Most beautiful mansions according to Forbes magazine.
Mansions are opulent, enormous, beautiful and the dreamed place to live in. Their histories are rife with social drama and off course, they pique our curiosity. In real estate “mansion” is defined as a single family residence of more than 8,000 square feet. Although some dictionaries like The Merriam-Webster Dictionary states it is “a large and imposing residence”, whereas the Oxford Dictionary defines mansion as “A large, impressive house.” Either way, the definition you take, mansion refers to a large house and according to what we have seen on the movies or photos, these sizeable dwellings are the mixture between beauty, elegance, and residential architecture.
On the other hand, the American business magazine, Forbes, published bi-weekly, features original articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. The magazine is well known for its lists and rankings, including its lists of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400) and rankings of world’s top companies (the Forbes Global 2000). Another well-known list by the magazine is The World’s Billionaires list. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, law and lifestyle. Published in around fifteen languages, the magazine has also some editions or articles related to real estate and mansions.
The Forbes Life magazine has talked to experts, architects, realtors, authors and preservation and restoration specialists in order to provide a list about the most beautiful mansions in America. Before reading the list, get rid of the idea that America’s mansions are just replicas of their European counterparts. In fact, the architect specialized in Gilded Age Gary Lawrance claims that “[These homes] were the culmination of European style and American technology.”
The Lyndhurst mansion or the Jay Gould estate in Tarrytown, New York, is one-of-a-kind. It is a gothic revival country house with 67-acre park beside the Hudson River. Notable for its Rhineland castle-like details, such as four-story tower, sometimes used as an observatory, provides views of the entire estate and on clear days, of Manhattan. Stained glass, sharply arched windows, vaulted ceilings and ornate furnishings play to the mansion’s grand-yet-mysterious appearance and since 1966 the house was designated National Historic Landmark. The house was designed in 1938 by Alexander Jackson Davis and then the New York City mayor William Paulding Jr owned the house. Fortunately, un 1961 Anna Gould, donated it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and thanks that it is open to the public.
Another East Coast masterpiece comes in the form of 39,000-square-feet in Newport, Rhode Island. Built for Frederick William Vanderbilt, the Rough Point mansion serves as a pristine example of Newport’s famed Gilded Age. This house that is now a museum, is an English manorial style home. It construction lasted five years, it started in 1887 and was completed in 1892. The mansion is strategically situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and it can be said that it is different from most of Newport’s other mansions. Cottages such as The Breakers and Rosecliff have been uninhabited by socialites for nearly sixty years and when toured appear austere and museum-like. Rough Point was home to a living socialite well into the nineties; the house maintains a clever mixture of grandeur and hominess that others lack.
“In my mind, no house in Newport has a better location,” says Jeanine Kober of the Newport Restoration Foundation. “Pound for pound, its natural beauty is just more dramatic than others.” And, the great collections of its owner, Doris Duke who died in 1993., didn’t leave the house. “Everything’s still there from the Renoir to the life-size sterling Tiffany swan centerpiece, to the 1980′s Merlin phone system,” adds Kober.
In New York City, there is another world-class mansion, this one built for Frank Woolworth of the Woolworth’s retail chain. It is the Woolworth Estate, designed by C.H.P. Gilbert, an architect famous for his mansions, the neo-French Renaissance residence was completed in 1916. It features all the gilding, plaster work, hand-carved millwork, and precious stone that you might expect to find in a mansion. The main residence, known as Winfield Hall, the large garage, the main entrance arch, the two greenhouses and the tea house offer various landscapes for everyone there. According to Forbes “Each level of the seven-story mansion offers delightful details that speak to Woolworth’s massive wealth. Its front drawing room alone spans 35 feet and features an ornate carved fireplace, a grand staircase and mosaic-tile floors. A skylight fashioned from stained glass, a solarium, and a formal dining room that seats fifty guests are among its other opulent features. The mansion, on the market for $90 million, is unusual because its renovation stayed true to traditional pre-war style, according to realtor Kathleen Coumou.”
