There are few fantasies more alluring that that of owning an expansive estate, or even a somewhat large home in a beautiful surrounding. Every year, I enter HGTV’s Dream Home Sweepstakes, hoping that I may be the ultimate winner when, in reality, my chance of winning is less than a one in a million. And then my logical mind reminds me that even if I did win, the prize is impractical. Owning a mansion comes with multiple expensive headaches, including maintenance, cleaning, keeping up with taxes, insurance, privacy, and security. If I were so lucky, I’d probably just claim the after-tax cash value.
Nevertheless, visiting the estates of past millionaires (or billionaires) allows the fantasy to live on. Across America, but especially along the East Coast, there are numerous estates now preserved as museums for the public to visit. These include the estates of presidents, tycoons, inventors, and Gilded Age millionaires.
Many of the wealthy who built these mansions had toured Europe, admiring the estates of the nobility, wishing to emulate and recreate such dwellings in the New World, especially in the financial centers and resorts along the East Coast. Below are ten East Coast estates that I’ve toured, that I recommend anyone with a similar fantasy to visit.
The Biltmore – Asheville, North Carolina
The Biltmore Estate, completed by George Vanderbilt II in 1895 and nestled in the Blue Mountains near Asheville, is one of the most prominent examples of Gilded Age mansions in the United States. As you approach the estate, you almost feel as if you’ve landed at a massive chateau in the French countryside. In fact, the estate’s lead architect, Richard Morris Hunt, modeled it on three early 16th century chateaux in the Loire Valley, using characteristics such as steeply pitched roofs, and a grand stair tower.
The construction of the home took six years and over 1,000 workers at a cost of $5 million (equivalent to $180 million today). The 175,000 square foot home includes 250 rooms, including 33 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces. The home is filled with 16th century tapestries, and furnishings and art collected from throughout Europe and Asia. Ironically, Vanderbilt called the Biltmore his “little mountain escape” but the home is far from little.
The beautiful surrounding landscape was designed by famous designer Frederick Law Olmsted who designed masterpieces such as New York’s Central Park. He designed the estate to offer four seasons of beauty. The original estate covered 125,000 acres, but today, it only has 8,000 acres. The grounds include six formal and informal gardens, including a Roman style garden, and rose garden, as well as a conservatory, 20 miles of trails, a horse stable, pond and lagoon, and vast woodlands. Seasonal events are held each year, such as Christmas at Biltmore, when the home is tastefully decked for the holidays.
The Breakers – Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island is known for its many Gilded Age mansions that line its rocky shore overlooking the Atlantic. In the late 19th century, Newport gained prominence as leaders of finance and industry built “summer cottages” to partake in a social life of dinners, sports and parties. Perhaps the most known of these cottages is the Breakers, built as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II. The Italian palazzo designed mansion includes 70 rooms and 27 fireplaces on five floors. When completed in 1895, it was the largest and most opulent house in Newport. Its interior is comprised of marble imported from Italy and Africa, as well as rare woods and mosaics from around the world. The Great Hall stands 50 feet high, inspired by open air courtyards of Italy.
The Flagler Estate, Palm Beach Florida
The Flagler Museum is a tribute to Henry Flagler, an industrialist and partner of John D. Rockefeller in founding the Standard Oil Company. Flagler also was an early developer of Florida, building railroads and hotels up and down the Atlantic coast during the late 19th century, leading to the development of Miami and Palm Beach. The centerpiece of the Flagler Museum is Whitehall, Flagler’s winter home and wedding gift to his wife completed in 1902. The Gilded Age 100,000 square foot mansion sits on the shore of the Intracoastal, offering views to West Palm Beach and the numerous yachts that line its shore. The mansion has 75 rooms, and is designed in the Beaux Arts architectural style, which was very popular at the time. Upon its completion, the New York Herald declared that Whitehall was “more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world.” Flagler’s private railcar No. 91 is exhibited in the adjacent Kenan Pavilion. The railcar was built in 1886 for Flagler’s personal use, and it has been refurbished to its original appearance.
George Eastman Museum – Rochester, New York
The Eastman Museum is in Rochester, New York, where the Eastman Kodak Company is headquartered. The museum includes the estate of George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography and motion picture film. Eastman lived in the 35,000 square foot, 50 room Colonial Revival mansion from 1905 until his death in 1932. The home has been restored and contains more than 85 percent of its original furnishings. At the time of its construction, the home was considered to be the latest in modernity, with an electric generator, internal telephone system with 21 stations, built-in vacuum cleaning system, central clock network, an elevator, and a great Aeolian pipe organ. The estate also includes several beautiful formal gardens with a variety of themes.
The adjacent museum has a mission to collect, preserve, and present the history of photography and film. Opened in 1949, it is the world’s oldest museum dedicated to photography, and has one of the oldest film archives. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs and negatives, 28,000 motion picture films and more than 16,000 objects of photographic and cinematographic technology.
Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens – Washington, D.C.
Located near Washington D.C.’s beautiful and expansive Rock Creek Park is Hillwood, the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post. Post was a well-known businesswoman, socialite, philanthropist and collector, and the daughter of C.W. Post who owned the General Foods Corporation. For much of her life, she was the wealthiest woman in America. She also served as the second ambassador to the Soviet Union in the 1930’s. Hillwood was built in the Georgian Colonial style in the 1920’s and has 36 rooms. Visitors can view over 17,000 treasures that Post collected from throughout the world, including 18th and 19th century French art, numerous tapestries, Russian art and religious objects, and her prized collection of Faberge eggs from the House of Romanov. The home also includes a collection of orchids in the breakfast nook. The surrounding 25 acres include multiple gardens including a Japanese garden, a formal garden, a rose garden, a Russian Dacha, and a Lunar Lawn framed with azaleas, camellias, dogwoods, and magnolias. The spring season is an excellent time to visit the estate when the flowers are in bloom.
Monticello – Charlottesville, Virginia
Just south of Charlottesville, Virginia is Monticello, the stately mansion and estate of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence. The estate spans 5,000 acres, and the original plantation was used to grow tobacco and other crops. The unique Neo-classical home was designed by Jefferson and sits atop a hill with spectacular views. The home’s centerpiece is the octagonal dome. The interior of the home houses several of Jefferson’s inventions including the Great Clock, a copying machine, and revolving bookstand. It is the only private home in America to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The restoration of the home and grounds, and museum programs provide an account of the lives of both the slaves and free families. Monticello has burial grounds of Jefferson himself, his relatives, along with enslaved people.
Mount Vernon Estate – Alexandria, Virginia
Mount Vernon, the home of America’s Founding Father and first president, is one of the most iconic 18th century homes in the US. The original, small home on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River south of Washington D.C. was built in 1734 by George Washington’s father. George Washington began running it in 1754 and enlarged the home and plantation over a 45-year period to what is today a 21 room Palladian style home featuring a red roof with a central cupola. The first two floors are open to the public and include period architecture and furnishings. The home’s rear side has a colonnaded two story porch overlooking the Potomac. An interesting design detail is that the exterior is made of wood siding that was beveled and sand-cast to emulate a stone finish. The adjacent Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center includes authentic artifacts and seven galleries with interactive exhibits of the George Washington story.
The 500 acre grounds include vegetable and fruit gardens, a 16 sided barn, a smokehouse, blacksmith shop, working fields and more. Workers dressed in colonial style clothing demonstrate 18th century work on the plantation. In addition, the grounds include a memorial to the enslaved, a slave burial ground, and the tomb of both George and Martha Washington. Tours within the mansion are guided only while the grounds are open to self guided tours.
Nemours Estate – Wilmington, Delaware
The Nemours Estate outside Wilmington, Delaware, has been called America’s “Versailles in the Brandywine Valley” due to its opulent setting with the largest French gardens in North America. The estate was created by industrialist Alfred du Pont and was completed in 1910. The 200 acre estate, named after a town in France, includes a 77 room French neoclassical style mansion that Alfred du Pont built for his second wife. The interior of the home includes 18th century French furniture, antiques, artwork and tapestries. A Chauffeur’s garage includes a collection of vintage automobiles. The extensive ornate gardens are landscaped with plantings, fountains, pools, a maze garden, carillon tower, and statuary.
Vanderbilt National Historic Site – Hyde Park, New York
High above the Hudson River in Hyde Park, New York is the Vanderbilt Historic Site. The site includes a 54-room mansion built by Frederick Vanderbilt, grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt who created the family’s wealth through railroads and shipping. The estate also has over 200 acres of grounds, formal Italian gardens, woodlands, and a visitor center. The home, completed in 1899, was considered a vacation home, and designed in the Beaux-Arts style. The estate is a prominent example of Gilded Age wealth, where lavish homes were built by some of the wealthiest ‘new elite’ who tried to emulate European nobility by recreating extravagant homes, often intending to one-up each other.
Vizcaya – Miami, Florida
Located in Miami’s formerly bohemian, but today chic and eclectic neighborhood of Coconut Grove, is the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. The magnificent estate facing Biscayne Bay was built as a winter retreat in 1916 by James Deering, an industrialist from Chicago. The 70-room home is designed in a Mediterranean Renaissance style and includes colonnaded outdoor corridors facing an interior courtyard. It was conceived as an 18th century Italian villa. The home is filled with European furnishings, antiques and paintings, fresco ceilings, along with a central courtyard filled with tropical plants. The David A. Klein Orchidarium features a wide variety of orchids. The adjacent ten-acre gardens comprise formal gardens similar to Versailles, as well as tropical gardens filled with palms, orchids and mangroves. The rear of the home faces Biscayne Bay. A wide formal Venetian style promenade leads to the Yacht landing where many of Deering’s guests arrived by boat. While walking along the grounds, you’re likely to be greeted by colorful sunbathing iguanas.
