Architecture Estate Homes

[ThroughandThrough]

I've decided to create a thread which provides space for members to publish information on estate homes including their history, architects, construction techniques, owners, etc.

I will periodically update this thread with a new home.

Crespi-Hicks Estate

General Information

• 5555 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX
• b. 1938-1941
• 25 acres
• 42,500 total square feet
• Main house, two guest houses, pool house
• 12 bedrooms, 14 baths
• Maurice Fatio, architect
• $135M

History

Built by Pio and Florence Crespi.

Pio and wife Florence Crespi immigrated from Italy to Waco, TX for cotton trade. Later, the couple moved to Dallas for business purposes. Pio, a count, traveled extensively throughout Europe, New York and Palm Beach and commissioned Swiss architect Maurice Fatio to design their new home.

Maurice Fatio

Architect Maurice Fatio was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1897. He studied renowned architect Karl Moser and obtained his degree from Zurich Polytechnic. Fatio then moved to New York where he started a partnership and quickly became entwined amongst social circles including the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Wideners. Some of his clients included Harold Vanderbilt, William Vanderbilt and the Duchess of Marlborough.

Maurice is known for his well-proportioned façades and attention to detail.

Notable Works

• Buenos Recuerdos, Palm Beach, FL
• Eastover, Manalapan, FL
• Il Palmetto, Palm Beach, FL
• Casa della Porta, Palm Beach, FL
• Villa Oheka, Palm Beach, FL
• Casa Eleda, Palm Beach, FL
• Villa Venezia, Palm Beach, FL
• Casa Alva, Palm Beach, FL

Architecture

In 1939, Fatio selected a handful of international artisans to carve the wood and stone, glaze and varnish surfaces, and to paint. The façade is constructed of Indiana limestone and was shipped via the Cotton Belt, which was replaced by the Dallas North Tollway in the 1960s.

Originally double the size, Pio decided to scale down the home, concerned it would be too large.

Due to Fatio's mastering of proportions, upon seeing for the first time, many architects thought the ceilings to be 11 or 12 feet, rather than the actual 14 foot ceilings.

Each Spring, the Crespi's would spend six months in Southampton, Newport and other European cities including their year-round, fully-staffed villa in Milan. Because of their travels, one of Dallas' first residential elevators was incorporated into the estate in order to more easily move their steamer trunks upstairs.

Historic European craftsmanship:

• Antique crystal chandelier, staircase, Greystone Mansion, Beverly Hills
• Painting "The Elder" installed in the walls, staircase, Louis Lagrenee, Paris, 1725-1805
• Oak and parcel ebonized parquet floor, family breakfast room, France, 1820
• Carved lion's head mantlepiece, library, Italy, 1825
• Picture tiles, kitchen, The Netherlands, 18th c.
• Painted/giltwood chimneypiece, dining room, 18th c.
• Marble fireplace mantlepiece, master bedroom, France, 18th c.
• Gilded bronze hexagonal lantern, staircase, 19th c.
• Carved walnut/burl from a private Palazzo in Bologna, Italy, 19th c.
• Brocatelle marble mantlepiece, men's dressing room, France, 19th c.
• Delft manganese tiles, kitchen, The Netherlands, 10th c.

“One would have to go to 17th century Belgium or 18th century France to find comparable craftsmanship.”

– Bill Booziotis, FAIA, Masters of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, former Dallas Chapter AIA president

"This is the most important home of its era built anywhere in the country.”

-Dr. Richard Brettell, three degrees, Yale University, Master of Arts in architecture and a Ph.D. in art history, former director of the Dallas Museum of Art. Dr. Brettell has visited the great estate homes in the United States and abroad.

Notable Guests

Over the years, the Crespi's hosted many of the world's most celebrated persons, many who stayed in the guest house. Some of the Crespi's guests included:

• Duke and Dutchess of Windsor
• President Ronald Reagan
• Coco Chanel
• Jimmy Stewart, actor
• Maria Callas, internationally renowned Greek soprano opera singer
• Louis Jourdan, French actor
• Milton Berle, actor/comedian

Restoration

In 1996, billionaire couple Tom and Cinda Hicks purchased the Crespi estate and began a nearly $100 million, decade-long renovation.

After the renovation commenced, the estate went on the market for $135M, making it America's then most expensive residential property.

Additional Information

http://www.dallasarchitectureblog.com/2013/02/the-architectural-legend-of-dallas/
http://significanthomes.com/home/finest-estate-home-in-america/

 

[ThroughandThrough]

Muse Estate

General Information

• 4800 Preston Road, Highland Park, TX
• b. 2001
• 7.7 acres
• 24,932 square feet (main home)
• Main house, pool house, conservatory, garage
• 6 bedrooms, 9 baths
• Built to last 450 years
• Quinlan & Francis Terry, architects
• $38M

History

Built by John Muse, chairman of HM Capital Partners, on the same lot as former Texas governor Bill Clements’ house.

Quinlan & Francis Terry

Born in 1937 in London, architect Quinlan Terry predominately studied Palladian architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. In the 1980s, Terry was appointed by Margaret Thatcher to renovated the interiors of 10 Downing Street. Terry has both held predominant positions and won numerous awards including:

• Awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), New Year Honours list, 2015
  
• Driehaus Architecture Prize, 2005
  
• Best Modern Classical House, British Georgian Group, 2003
  
• Arthur Ross Award, 2002
• Royal Fine Arts Commission member, 1996-98

Quinlan's son, Francis, was born in 1969. Francis was an art scholar at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire and later studied architecture at Cambridge University. He helps his father and his clients visualize projects with his watercolor paintings. Like his father, Francis has been achieved numerous awards:

• Worshipful Company of Architects prize for Architectural Drawing, 2002
  
• Silver medal, Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, 1997
  
• Silver medal, Winsor and Newton Young Artist Award, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, 1997

Architecture

Staying true to Palladian architecture, the home is built in the most classical of ways. The home is visible on nearly all sides, the front partially hidden by a wall and the rear fully disclosed to both a lake and park. For this reason, the home was designed to essentially have two equally majestic façades, center by an ionic column pediment grouping.

From ideal proportions to the perfect symmetry, limestone façade to the motor court, this home is classical in every sense.

Additional Information

http://www.qftarchitects.com/projects/houses-overseas/

 

[SDNR]

I know not everybody here likes these new classical buildings but when they are done well they are impressive.

Although I appreciate Quinlan Terry's architecture, I find English Classicism to be quite stark, I have a preference for French Classicism (like the Crespi-Hicks Estate above) which has always been popular in the USA (Beaux Arts architecture)

I like this house in Los Angeles

 

[ThroughandThrough]

The Breakers

General Information

• 44 Ochre Point Ave, Newport, RI
  
• b. 1893-1895
• 13 acres (one of which is the home's foundation)
• 138,300 total square feet
• Main house, carriage house, stable
• 15 bedrooms, 20 baths
• Richard Morris Hunt, architect
• $11 million (~$296,411,744 inflation adjusted)

History

Built by railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt II.

Cornelius Vanderbilt II, grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), purchased the land from American tobacco producer, Pierre Lorillard IV, in 1885. Because the wood-framed mansion previously located on the property was destroyed by fire, Cornelius decided to rebuilt the mansion with more grandeur. He insisted the home be built nearly completely out of masonry.

The Breakers was one of two homes for the Vanderbilts. Their other home, demolished for Bergdorf Goodman, was located at 57th and 58th in New York City. The Vanderbilts resided in Newport six months a year.

Richard Morris Hunt

Born in 1827 in Vermont, Richard Morris Hunt was, at the time, regarded as New York's best architect. Richard was the first American to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the world's most prestigious architecture school.

Notable works:

• Petit Chateau, New York City
• Astor Mansion, New York City
• Carnegie Hall, New York City
• New York Tribune Building, New York City
• Metropolitan Museum, entrance, New York City
• Liberty Enlightening the World, pedestal, New York City
• Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC
• Marble House, Newport, RI

Architecture

Hunt built The Breakers in an Italian Renaissance style, with noticeable similarities to 16th-century palaces in Genoa. Indiana limestone and brick were selected as the predominant façade materials. Roman arches, arcades, balustrades, quoins, pilasters, doric and ionic columns adorn the façade. Sculpture Karl Bitter carved the elaborate relief work, some displaying Vanderbilt's last initial, "V."

The exterior is beautifully complemented by a red terra-cotta roof and stately chimneys.

“The fine stonework, metal, marble, and carving reflects Richard Morris Hunt’s European training.”
- John Tschirch, architectural historian, Director of Academic Programs at the Preservation Society.

Restoration

Due to a leaking roof and cracks in the walls of the home, a year-long restoration was carefully performed. Both the roof and the chimneys were rebuilt during the restoration, including the installation of 25,000 new terra-cotta tiles. The exterior was cleaned and the skylights were also replaced.

Additional Information

http://www.historic-structures.com/ri/newport/the_breakers.php
https://www.antiquesjournal.com/Pages04/Monthly_pages/july06/newport.html

 

[SDNR]

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte
Constructed from 1658 to 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, Marquis de Belle Île, Viscount of Melun and Vaux. Fouquet was France's finance minister and was the richest man of his era.

A single day, August 17, 1661, was Vaux's golden moment. On that evening, with his château still not quite finished, the plaster still fresh and the murals barely dry, the treasurer received the king, the queen mother and the entire court. Four thousand guests, stunned by the barrage of splendors, had come to behold what poet La Fontaine would call Le Songe de Vaux (The Dream of Vaux).

Dazzled, but also incensed, by the showy luxury, people wondered how Fouquet paid for it.
He was soon arrested, convicted of embezzlement and imprisoned for the rest of his life; his furniture, tapestries, statues and paintings were confiscated and sent to Versailles (King Louis XIV's new palace). Work on the château was never finished.

 

[SDNR]

The Breakers

General Information

• 44 Ochre Point Ave, Newport, RI
  
• b. 1893-1895
• 13 acres (one of which is the home's foundation)
• 138,300 total square feet
• Main house, carriage house, stable
• 15 bedrooms, 20 baths
• Richard Morris Hunt, architect
• $11 million (~$296,411,744 inflation adjusted)

History

Built by railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt II.

Cornelius Vanderbilt II, grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), purchased the land from American tobacco producer, Pierre Lorillard IV, in 1885. Because the wood-framed mansion previously located on the property was destroyed by fire, Cornelius decided to rebuilt the mansion with more grandeur. He insisted the home be built nearly completely out of masonry.

The Breakers was one of two homes for the Vanderbilts. Their other home, demolished for Bergdorf Goodman, was located at 57th and 58th in New York City. The Vanderbilts resided in Newport six months a year.

Richard Morris Hunt

Born in 1827 in Vermont, Richard Morris Hunt was, at the time, regarded as New York's best architect. Richard was the first American to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the world's most prestigious architecture school.

Notable works:

• Petit Chateau, New York City
• Astor Mansion, New York City
• Carnegie Hall, New York City
• New York Tribune Building, New York City
• Metropolitan Museum, entrance, New York City
• Liberty Enlightening the World, pedestal, New York City
• Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC
• Marble House, Newport, RI

Architecture

Hunt built The Breakers in an Italian Renaissance style, with noticeable similarities to 16th-century palaces in Genoa. Indiana limestone and brick were selected as the predominant façade materials. Roman arches, arcades, balustrades, quoins, pilasters, doric and ionic columns adorn the façade. Sculpture Karl Bitter carved the elaborate relief work, some displaying Vanderbilt's last initial, "V."

The exterior is beautifully complemented by a red terra-cotta roof and stately chimneys.

“The fine stonework, metal, marble, and carving reflects Richard Morris Hunt’s European training.”
- John Tschirch, architectural historian, Director of Academic Programs at the Preservation Society.

Restoration

Due to a leaking roof and cracks in the walls of the home, a year-long restoration was carefully performed. Both the roof and the chimneys were rebuilt during the restoration, including the installation of 25,000 new terra-cotta tiles. The exterior was cleaned and the skylights were also replaced.

Additional Information

http://www.historic-structures.com/ri/newport/the_breakers.php
https://www.antiquesjournal.com/Pages04/Monthly_pages/july06/newport.html

The Breakers is not the prettiest mansion in Newport, but it is very impressive.

 

[ThroughandThrough]

The Breakers is not the prettiest mansion in Newport, but it is very impressive.

There's a soft spot in my heart for homes constructed during the Gilded Age.

The over-the-top lifestyles, from the homes to the fashion, were amazingly grand.

 

[SDNR]

There's a soft spot in my heart for homes constructed during the Gilded Age.

The over-the-top lifestyles, from the homes to the fashion, were amazingly grand.

Yeah, the American architects of that time were extremely well trained (many studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris which is why so many beautiful townhouses and civic buildings in Manhattan and Chicago have a strong French influence).

Architects of that time like Horace Trumbauer and 'McKim, Mead, and White created some of the US's most beautiful buildings.

In the UK and its dominions that period is referred to as the 'Victorian' and later the 'Edwardian era', Americans call it the 'Gilded Age' (as you said above), and in France they call it 'La Belle Epoque' (the beautiful age)

I really like the Newport mansion called 'The Elms'. It is interesting to compare it and its out buildings with the French Buildings they took their inspiration from.

 

[Centurion]

Great thread! In the UK people have period properties at their hearts. I would almost call is an obsession as there is a willingness to live in partially damp and degrading homes just because they are have "history".

However, if you have deep pocket for restoration and preservation then a period property and estate can be absolutely startling. The fact they they are made out of heavy blocks of stone that could stand for hundreds are years makes them very alluring.