mansion

Last week The Classicist told you about a historic Hudson River estate being restored to its former glory. That posh property is being thoroughly enjoyed by its new owners, but there's another architectural gem of equally impressive provenance now available with the added bonus of oceanfront acreage – The Timbers in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Set high above the ocean on a picturesque stretch of beach, the majestic eight-acre compound comprises one of the grandest historic oceanfront estates in New England that's still in private hands. The mansion was built in 1917 and designed by celebrated architect John Russell Pope, who created the Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The estate recently underwent a meticulous and historically accurate $10 million restoration, reflecting Pope's original vision. It's now been listed for sale by Christie's Great Estates affiliate Seaboard Properties for $19.5 million.

The opulent 10,500-sq.-ft. main residence was styled after a grand English Tudor manor and features baronial touches such as 15 elegant fireplaces, a magnificent grand staircase and a bell tower. In addition to panoramic ocean views it boasts wide-plank oak floors, wrought-iron chandeliers, archways, and light-filled, generously scaled rooms. The spectacular living room features 35-foot-high cathedral ceilings, exposed English oak beams, and a beautifully crafted wraparound balcony with a carved wooden balustrade. Large French doors on the east side of the living room open to a large covered veranda which features glorious views of the beach and the sounds of the surf as it rolls ashore. At the far end of the veranda, an octagonal dining area features an outdoor woodburning fireplace, wrought-iron chandelier, vaulted ceilings, and archways overlooking the ocean.

Marienruh, a historic fieldstone colonial revival country estate built for heiress Alice Astor, the daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and sister of Vincent Astor, and her Russian aristocrat husband Prince Serge Obolensky in 1926 is being restored to its former glory by its new owners. The gracious mansion, situated on 100 scenic acres given to Alice by her brother overlooking the Hudson River in Rhinebeck, New York, was constructed for the glamorous couple by renowned architect Mott B. Schmidt. It had been on the market for $8.5 million up until last summer when unnamed buyers purchased the property, which had been in institutional use for some time, and set about renovating it – a pleasing reversal in an age where many fine old mansions are being put to less dignified uses, often destroying their souls in the process.

After Alice Astor's death the mansion was used over the years as a Christian youth camp, a home for unwed mothers, a drug rehab center and an events space. Over the decades the house was stripped of nearly all its original details, including fireplace mantels, lighting fixtures, hardware and even the copper gutters. The restoration work is being done extremely carefully, overseen by New York architect-designer Robert Couturier. A few upgrades are of course necessary, and new greenhouses are being installed. One of the wings will now house an elegant two-story tall library. As architectural historian Mark Alan Hewitt notes in The Architecture of Mott B. Schmidt (Rizzoli, 1991), Marienruh's block-with-dependencies design was inspired by two influential 18th century American mansions: Montpelier (1751) in Laurel, Maryland, and the the Hammond-Harwood House (1773-4) in Annapolis, MD.

Marienruh is next to photographer Annie Leibovitz's 220-acre spread which had been listed for sale at $11 million as part of her debt restructuring imbroglio. David Bowie and his wife Iman have reportedly considered buying it; other celebrities with property in the area include Liam Neeson, Gwyneth Paltrow, financier George Soros, hotelier Andre Balazs, and Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner. Leibovitz's property including some stone barns was once part of Alice's father John Jacob Astor IV's 3,500-acre estate Ferncliff; another remnant of that once glorious demesne is the beautiful Astor Courts, designed by Stanford White as a playhouse for Ferncliff with an indoor pool and tennis court, which was was an Estate of the Day last fall with an asking price of $12 million.

The greatest, most architecturally and historically significant estates in the Southern United States are depicted in all their glory in Laurie Ossman's new book Great Houses of the South (Rizzoli, $55). Beyond mere regional curiosity, Ossman declares that "The great house of the South stands at the center of the architectural iconography of America." 39 distinctive estates, reflecting the times, values and tastes of their builders, from the Colonial Era up to World War II and running the full gamut of Southern Style, are lavishly photographed and evocatively described.

The book is divided into four chronological sections: Part 1: 1700–1800, Part 2: 1800–1820, Part 3: 1820–1861, and Part 4: 1865–1940, providing a "sweeping narrative of tradition and change as seen through a rich array of grand residences", ranging from Shirley, a James River Plantation firmly tied to its English roots, to the Gilded Age splendor of Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, and the eclectic traditionalism of 20th century masterworks such as Longue Vue in New Orleans and Miami's famed Vizcaya, built by agricultural industrialist James Deering in 1916. All of the featured homes are open to the public for viewing.

Ossman decided the houses featured should be open to the public to emphasize "the issue of historic preservation as a social phenomenon as well as a matter of individual choice," she notes. That doesn't mean they're all museums; several featured houses are privately owned and operated by descendants of the builder or other historically significant occupants, and are thus "celebrating their own heritage as well as that of the community." Ossman writes that "whenever a group of people choose to restore or recreate an historic house for the public, they are reifying values that they believe in."



Ossman also clarifies what she means by the term "Great House." For the purposes of the book, a Great House is "one in which the owner had the economic and intellectual means to construct his home as a vehicle of self-representation," she writes. "The featured houses were selected to represent ideas and concepts that can be applied to an understanding of other houses of the period, especially - but not exclusively - in the South." Not every magnificent mansion is included, of course, and several deserving of the appellation were passed over for more important examples. Of course, wealth played an important part. "The goal of building and decorating a 'great house' (an option available to the wealthiest 5 percent of the population, at most) was almost always to create an architectural expression of personal refinement," Ossman notes. See the gallery for images.

England's great tradition of country houses spans 700 years, but reached its magnificent apex in the 19th century, Michael Hall demonstrates in his beautiful new book Lasting Elegance: English Country Houses 1830 - 1900 from Monacelli. The houses, designed by the most eminent architects of the age, were bigger, more elaborate, and more lavishly furnished than ever before, Hall notes. The English country house became a byword throughout Europe and in America for luxury, technological innovation, and convenience. Hall's opulently illustrated survey draws on the vast archive of the great British magazine Country Life to present the fullest visual record yet published of the Victorian-era country house in England and Wales. The photographs contained in the book are in many cases the only record of great houses in their heyday, such as Orchardleigh in Somerset, Hewell Grange in Worcestershire, Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire, and Stokesay Court in Shropshire - featured in the 2007 award-winning film Atonement - all sold in the 20th century and their contents dispersed.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts veteran Barry Sternlicht is looking for real estate to surge in Greenwich, Connecticut. The wealthy New York City suburb got spanked over the past year as the city's financial industry gurus saw their bonuses jobs disappear and flooded the market with ostentatious homes on the market at a time when buyers were few and far between. A year later, Sternlicht thinks this town is ready to stage a comeback.

Sternlicht just raised the asking price on his 5.8 acre estate in Greenwich to $5.95 million, even though the local market is about to finish its worst year in the past 30. Jean Ruggiero, Sternlicht's real estate broker, said he pushed up the asking price because "we felt like we were giving it away." People showed some interest in the home, and the fact that other sellers were cutting prices didn't mean that Sternlicht had to follow. "Just because people are lowering their price doesn't mean it's right, because he's not a desperate seller, "Ruggiero said of Sternlicht.

The new number is 8.3 percent higher than the $5.495 million Sternlicht previously asked, even though prices for single-family homes in Greenwhich dropped 40 percent year-to-date.

Originally, the home was put on the market at $8.25 million in June 2008, and it was cut three times from September 2008 to April 2009. It boasts a tennis and shuffleboard court, pool and guest house ... and is of course gated.

Even at $5.95 million, Sternlicht will come out ahead. He bought the place in November 1994 for a mere $2.93 million.

Today's estate of the day is a New Canaan, Ct. home on 6.43 acres that was built for entertaining. It is the ultimate family compound with a guest cottage, swimming pool, a pond stocked with trout and a one-of-a-kind sports pavilion.

The main house, which was built in 1983, is 9,244 square feet with five fireplaces, interior stone walls, rustic wood beams, seven bedrooms, 6 full baths and 2 half baths. The kitchen was remodeled in 2005 and has alder-wood cabinetry, French antique limestone floors and a hand-carved limestone sink. There's a two-story family room with a cathedral ceiling, wide-plank white oak floors and a wall of Tischler windows, setting the ease and comfort for family gatherings. The two-story foyer has a circular staircase and there are two adjacent living rooms, one with a window wall and the other with sliding glass doors leading to a deck, each overlooking the glorious pond and swimming pool setting. The main-level master bedroom suite has a corner fireplace, a wall of French doors opening to a deck, and luxurious his and her whirlpool baths. Additional features include a library with separate office and bath, game room and exercise room.

The 10,600 square feet three-level sports pavilion is the ultimate entertainment facility. Winner of a prestigious award for excellence in design and construction in 2005, the pavilion offers a French country kitchen and dining area that seats 30, all overlooking a NBA-level half basketball court with regulation scoreboard. There's also a stage replete with dark maroon velvet curtain and Broadway-level lighting and sound system. The dance studio has a ballet bar and mirrored walls. The fairy-tale setting continues downstairs with a state-of-the-art golf simulator room where you can choose to play one of 50 different courses around the world, including St. Andrews and Pebble Beach. There's also a movie theater with over-sized leather seats for 25; a bowling alley, and a game room that features billiards, pinball and a milk shake bar. The three levels of the "sports barn" are linked via an elevator and a circular log stairway hand-made in Colorado. There's a TV lounge setting on all three levels, and on the third level, there are three bedrooms and three baths.

The property has a trout pond with two waterfalls and a heated pool complete with a pool spa. The pool house features a sauna, two changing rooms, two showers and a bathroom. There's also a cabana with a state-of-the-art kitchen, bar, stone fireplace, Viking grill, wood-beam ceiling and seating for 25. The garage, which is within the sports pavilion, includes a catering kitchen with an extra-large refrigerator and sink. There is also a charming guest cottage with a living room, fireplace, kitchenette, bedroom and full bath.

The house is listed at $12,500,000.

For more information, contact the listing agent, Barbara Cleary of Barbara Cleary's Realty Guild at (203) 966-7772.