Whitemarsh was built between 1916 and 1921 by investment banker Edward T. Stotesbury and his wife Eva. It had 147 rooms, 45 bathrooms, and - get this - 100,000 square feet of floor space (larger than the White House) spread over its six stories (three above ground, and three below). It took 40 indoor staff and 70 gardeners working full time just to keep things running smoothly. You can read the Wikipedia article if you want more mind-boggling details, but here's some pictures to stimulate your imagination - click to enlarge, of course:
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| Front with portico and porte-cochere, reached after a mile-long driveway |
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| The rear terrace and formal gardens |
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| First floor plan |
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| Second floor plan |
More pics and links, and a couple of videos, after the jump.
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| The ballroom, 64 feet long |
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| A corner of the drawing room |
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| Mrs. Stotesbury's bedroom |
But wait, there's more. Not content with this miniature Versailles, the Stotesburys also had a summer place called Wingwood House in fashionable Bar Harbor, Maine, as well as a little winter retreat, El Mirasol, in Palm Beach:
Well, the Stotesburys sure knew how to live. Edward died in 1938, and Eva in 1946. And then the executors of their estate found they had three white elephants on their hands - nobody in the postwar world, before the historic preservation movement cranked up in the late 1960's, wanted to fool with these relics of another time. So all three mansions were eventually demolished, the contents auctioned off, and now very little remains of the grandeur that the Stotesburys built. Sic transit gloria mundi.
Further reading and photos of Whitemarsh Hall here, and of Wingwood House here; and of the yacht and private railroad car and art collection here.
I know - I never heard of the guy before now, either. Which just goes to show, you better enjoy what you have while you have it.
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8 comments:
So sad really. I hate to hear of such wonderful places being torn down to make room for the cookie cutter tract homes that carpet suburbia these days.
I knew this place well. After the copper roof was stolen, the place disintegrated and I will admit to having lifted a few moldings. It's "cousin" Lynewood Hall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynnewood_Hall
is nearby and I have been in and out of it a few times over the years. It still stands, though abused by a fundamentalist seminary for a while. Trumbauer was a fine architect.
Dave - yes, quite sad that a grand work of art should be wiped off the map like that.
Davis - I'm sure even the ruins must have been impressive. I did come across Lynnewood Hall too the other day, I may post something about that sometime or other - another magnificent house gone to waste.
I CANNOT believe that such a treasure should have been gotten rid of!!! That's practically a crime as this is part of America's national heritage!
Blame our economic and tax system that rewards companies that demolish such things to make a few bucks!
England has the National Trust, which operates and maintains a great many historic homes, and also English Heritage, which likewise has preserved a great many fine old houses. I'm not sure there's anything comparable over here, apart from a few always-underfunded local preservation boards. Pity.
Love looking over the floor plans of these places. I guess the kitchen was in the basement like so many others had.
I suppose so. In the [butler's] pantry area at the left of the first floor, I see two X's that I think may represent dumbwaiters coming up from the kitchen below.
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