tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post5346877558500591171..comments2024-03-27T04:15:22.918-07:00Comments on BIG OLD HOUSES: High Art and Deep PocketsJohn Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05062464473900774511noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-86903393875675927982014-07-09T18:00:50.827-07:002014-07-09T18:00:50.827-07:00Like eating a box of chocolates . . . and so sad w...Like eating a box of chocolates . . . and so sad when it's done . . . Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-5441588354054316632014-06-25T14:27:36.392-07:002014-06-25T14:27:36.392-07:00This has been my favorite house so far! As I read ...This has been my favorite house so far! As I read each week I try to picture living in the house and what I like and don't care for but this one is just perfection to me. Thanks for showing us these palaces! Steff Rudolphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08936583809345823183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-27695703347666358882014-06-24T07:57:46.465-07:002014-06-24T07:57:46.465-07:00The book I was thinking of is actually "Incre...The book I was thinking of is actually "Incredible New York: High Life and Low Life from 1850 to 1950" by Lloyd Morris. Great stuff.Shawn Cullenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18270423231633162242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-60652732901410790082014-06-20T14:53:05.485-07:002014-06-20T14:53:05.485-07:00The interior is a bit predictable and mostly hurt ...The interior is a bit predictable and mostly hurt my teeth to view but its the exterior that really dazzles in my view.<br /><br />Everywhere you look at the exterior, we see exquisite and refined details. The architecture is like some centuries old Cote D'azur palace that grew over the ages, each royal generation adding on to the whole. Overall the exterior is magnificent to the max.Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00061842302314196314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-4381381847290440022014-06-19T16:41:11.792-07:002014-06-19T16:41:11.792-07:00Terrific post! Thank you for sharing the wonders ...Terrific post! Thank you for sharing the wonders of Evergreen House, to which Billy Baldwin devotes a chapter in "Billy Baldwin Remembers" ( Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-60684394224889791712014-06-19T12:38:54.914-07:002014-06-19T12:38:54.914-07:00great tour! it's been decades since i was ther...great tour! it's been decades since i was there; there was a big devil head on the front lawn at the time....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-13553406746820551072014-06-19T12:18:29.509-07:002014-06-19T12:18:29.509-07:00This one is sooo beautiful. Thanks!This one is sooo beautiful. Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-77993962504502883772014-06-19T10:05:08.361-07:002014-06-19T10:05:08.361-07:00I agree heartily with Carrowmac. At one time, befo...I agree heartily with Carrowmac. At one time, before I owned a big old house, several networks had shows pertaining to old piles, i.e "Restore America", "Mansion, Monuments, and Masterpieces", etc. Of course, as soon as I took the plunge and bought a 130 year old house, all of those inspiring shows were yanked. You should seriously submit the idea of your own show,I think you would do quite well on HGTV or A&E.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-65694046326565393662014-06-19T06:34:00.428-07:002014-06-19T06:34:00.428-07:00How dare they bar you from parts of the house? Do ...How dare they bar you from parts of the house? Do you they not know you are???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-53511968254451727342014-06-19T06:04:54.023-07:002014-06-19T06:04:54.023-07:00Holy Cow! What a pile of a house! Usually I like...Holy Cow! What a pile of a house! Usually I like to follow your "tour" in my head, turning right or left as indicated by your scrupulous narrative of the layout of the house. But this one is just too vast so, after a while, I gave up and just came along for the ride. A wonderful tour as ever. I concur with Beth Waltz' highlights of the light fixture in the kitchen and the marquetry bedroom. I even think the dining room is pretty fab with those silk panels but to me, that shade of yellow is a tad jarring. But I think my favorite feature is the idea that there are just so many books that the library can not hold them all, the bedroom floor corridor must be lined with them as well. I don't think I'd ever get to bed in such a house as I'd forever be waylaid by perusing the tomes outside my chamber door.<br />I've often thought you should have your own show on HGTV, John, hosting tours of these monster houses - I suspect you'd have quite a following! Thanks again for introducing me to Evergreen.Carrowmachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01394274776753994971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-89764850983844754752014-06-19T05:52:23.398-07:002014-06-19T05:52:23.398-07:00Fascinating! That Herter Brothers bathroom is one...Fascinating! That Herter Brothers bathroom is one of the firm's few remaining intact interiors. A bit heavy handed with the gold, but very much in the high Aesthetic taste of the 1880s. Clearly, this house had everything you needed: private theatre, athletic facilities, greenhouses, and an art-enfused atmosphere. The '20s must have been a lot of fun in an establishment like this.<br /><br />Those crazy millionaire stories always seem to turn up in old social histories like "Fabulous New York". The Mrs. Astor was rumored, in her last years, to entertain imaginary guests in her dotage. Edith Wharton got a great, chilling short story of that tale: "After Holbein".Shawn Cullenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18270423231633162242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-81187293353445910192014-06-19T05:47:58.444-07:002014-06-19T05:47:58.444-07:00This has been my favorite tour to date! Thank you!...This has been my favorite tour to date! Thank you!Claudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00960668467207517913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6170852285107502075.post-55312838882349090662014-06-19T04:35:24.258-07:002014-06-19T04:35:24.258-07:00There are so many features to admire here: the bea...There are so many features to admire here: the beautifully proportioned entrance canopy; the library, whose books are obviously curated; the kitchen, whose central hanging light fixture is worthy of its own note; the Dutch marquetry bedroom, whose pieces require and have happily received constant care (I own a few, falling to bits).<br /><br />I agree with your assessment that the golden loo is a tad over the top -- but, dear Mr. Foreman, I grumble at your describing a dining room with chrome yellow walls and vermillion silk panels by Bakst as 'uninspiring'.<br />Granted, one would need a gown by Bakst to appear at the table but there's another good reason to have him as an in-house designer!<br /><br />The private theatre is a marvel of scale, as is the concept of hosts and guests performing on its stage. Contrast this with the modern media room in which one plops to drink and feed while viewing whatever. <br /><br />Private theatres, who built them and used them, would be an excellent subject for a coffee table book by John Foreman! <br />Beth Waltzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02720634636307254576noreply@blogger.com