Beechwood (Astor mansion) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Beechwood |
|
|---|---|
_crop.jpg)
The front of Beechwood in 2008
|
|
| Alternative names | Daniel Parish House |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Town or city | Newport, Rhode Island |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°27′48″N 71°18′18″W / 41.4634°N 71.3051°W |
| Completed | 1853, rebuilt in 1856 |
| Client | Daniel Parish |
| Owner | Larry Ellison (since 2010) |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 16,400 square feet (1,520 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect |
|
Beechwood is a famous old mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. It's known for being owned by the wealthy Astor family during a time called the Gilded Age. This grand house is located on Bellevue Avenue, a street famous for its beautiful historic homes. The first version of Beechwood was built between 1852 and 1853. It was designed in the Italianate style by architects Andrew Jackson Downing and Calvert Vaux. After a fire in 1855, the house was rebuilt. Later, in 1881, the mansion was updated by architect Richard Morris Hunt after William Backhouse Astor, Jr. bought it.
Contents
The Story of Beechwood Mansion
Beechwood was first built as a fancy summer home for Daniel Parish, a successful clothing merchant from New York. He asked Andrew Jackson Downing and Calvert Vaux to design his new house. Sadly, Downing passed away in a steamboat accident in 1852 before he could visit the building site. Calvert Vaux finished the house in 1853. After a fire damaged the house in 1855, Vaux oversaw its rebuilding in 1856, making some changes to the original plans.
The Astor Family's Time at Beechwood
In 1880, William Backhouse Astor Jr. bought Beechwood. His wife, Caroline Webster Schermerhorn, became known as "the Mrs. Astor" because she was so important in New York society. Between 1888 and 1890, Mrs. Astor hired architect Richard Morris Hunt to make many changes to the mansion. One of the biggest additions was a large ballroom. This ballroom was big enough to host her famous parties for "Four Hundred" — a list of the most important people in society. The house also had a library, a dining room, and a music room with special wallpaper from Paris. Beechwood became the perfect place for Mrs. Astor's grand dinner parties.
When Mrs. Astor passed away in 1908, Beechwood went to her son, John Jacob Astor IV. He even married his second wife, Madeleine, in the mansion's ballroom in 1911. After John Jacob Astor IV died on the Titanic in 1912, the house was passed to his son, Vincent Astor. Vincent later rented the home to Robert R. Young, a financier from New York.
Over the next few decades, Beechwood had several different owners. In 1940, Allene Tew and her husband, Count Pavel de Kotzebue, bought the mansion from Vincent Astor. After them, the house was owned by James Cameron Clark, Gurnee Dyer, William W. Carey, John Page-Blair, and Richard Merrill.
Paul Madden's Ownership and the Theatre Company
In 1981, Paul M. Madden bought Beechwood. He was a recent graduate of a film and television school. He worked hard to fix up the mansion, even adding a new main entrance.
Paul Madden had a unique idea: he started the "Beechwood Theatre Company" with the University of Rhode Island. This company offered live theatrical tours of the mansion. Over a million visitors enjoyed these tours! When the house reopened in 1981, 20 actors dressed in costumes played the roles of a Victorian household. They stayed in character as butlers, maids, and other staff members. The tours showed visitors what daily life was like for the people who lived and worked in the mansion. During this time, the estate was known as "Astors' Beechwood Mansion."
During the off-season, from February to May, the actors pretended to be "servants" of the Astor family. They gave tours as if it were 1891. Visitors were treated like they were "applying" for summer jobs on Mrs. Astor's staff. They could "apply" for any job they wanted, like gardener, butler, or housemaid. In the summer, when the pretend "Astor family" was living in the mansion, the actors played the roles of Astor family members and gave tours to guests. Everyone working at the mansion acted as if it were 1891 throughout the tours.
The tours showed two parts of the house. First, there was the family's side where the Astors lived. Second, there was the servants' side, which included kitchens and servants' rooms. There was even a special area for the children to live. The Astor children lived with the servants until they were 17. At that age, they were considered adults and ready for social events. Children of the family were often married around the age of 18.
Paul Madden also hosted many important social events at Beechwood during the 1980s. These events included a recreation of Mrs. Astor's "400 Ball." There was also a dinner dance for Vice President and Mrs. George Bush in August 1981. Other events included a dinner for Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and a dinner dance for the Duke of Marlborough.
In 1983, the British America's Cup Challenge Ball was held at Beechwood to honor Prince Andrew. It was a very grand event with dinner for a thousand guests. The entertainment included the Regimental Band of Her Majesty's Irish Guards and Peter Duchin's band.
Larry Ellison's Ownership Today
In January 2010, the Beechwood estate was sold for $10.5 million to Larry Ellison, who helped start Oracle Corporation. Larry Ellison was in Newport in 2009 for training with his racing team. He reportedly spent over $100 million restoring the mansion and other buildings on the estate. He wanted to bring them back to how they looked in 1881, when Richard Morris Hunt had renovated them.
As of 2012, Larry Ellison planned to turn the mansion's first floor into the "Beechwood Art Museum." He wanted to display his collection of 18th and 19th-century art there. In December 2017, Beechwood received a permanent certificate of occupancy, meaning it was officially ready for use. In February 2019, it was reported that Ellison bought another home nearby, called Seacliff, for $11 million. This purchase meant he owned all four properties between Rosecliff and Marble House, bringing together the original 9-acre estate that William B. Astor Jr. had created in 1881.
See also
In Spanish: Beechwood (mansión Astor) para niños
