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Archive for the ‘Architecture’ Category

July 26th, 2010 - 11:59 am § in Architecture

Lynnewood Hall, a Regal Ruin

Lynnewood Hall, a century-old stunner of a building just outside Philadelphia, silently, almost invisibly, languishes 200 feet beyond a two-lane blacktop road like a crumbling little Versailles. The graceful fountain that welcomed hundreds of well-heeled visitors, President Franklin Roosevelt among [...]

October 25th, 2009 - 6:00 am § in Architecture, Social History

Featured Book: Newport Villas by Michael C. Kathrens*

It’s no secret that I find the “cottages” of Gilded Age Newport absolutely fascinating. While I have yet to visit the “Queen of Summer Resorts,” Kathrens brings a glimpse of this summer colony in his recent release, Newport Villas: The Revival Styles, 1885-1935. Between[...]

May 20th, 2009 - 4:45 pm § in Architecture, London, Society

Mansions of Mayfair

According to E. Beresford Chancellor, if “we sought for one particular feature distinguishing London from the other capitals of Europe, apart from its immense proportions, it would probably be found in the number of its large houses–many of which are indeed private palaces.” Mayfai[...]

April 20th, 2009 - 6:00 am § in Architecture

The American Country House

As cities began to expand after the Civil War, the crowded quarters boded ill for health, and the suburbs began to lure city dwellers with promises of fresh air and the pleasures of country living. One commuter of 1883 wrote:” I live in a good neighborhood, close to a country station, ten mile[...]

January 17th, 2009 - 1:41 pm § in Architecture, Interior Design, Washington D.C.

Inside the White House

January 1 marked the 208th anniversary of the formal opening of the White House, at Washington, as the official home of the President of the United States. Having taken possession of the newly-built “President’s House” in November of 1800, President John Adams threw an official [...]

January 13th, 2009 - 6:00 am § in Architecture, Food, Professions, Washington D.C.

The Care and Feeding of the First Family

As “First Family,” the President, his wife and children, and any other dependents, had their needs and cares were catered to by a bevy of secretaries, secret service agents, and most important of all, domestic servants! According to Helen Taft, “the management of the White House is[...]

May 5th, 2008 - 7:00 pm § in Architecture, Literature, Women

The Mount: Home of Edith Wharton

Without fail, after the sunshine and bustle of summer months spent in exclusive summer resorts dotting the New England coast, New York Society repaired to their country homes in Connecticut or more likely, the Berkshires, in autumn. Following this social calendar also, was the future chronicler of t[...]





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