|
TOWN
OF LENOX, BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS
|
THE
GUILDED AGE |
BELLEFONTAINE |
|
Bellefontaine,
Lenox, Massachussetts
Bellefontaine was built in 1897 during the "Guilded Age"
by Giraud Foster as a retreat for his family. The mansion is a
copy of Louis XVI's Petit Trianon and was the most ornate and
lavish of the summer cottages, yet the most constant in theme
of design, appointments, decoration, and landscaping. Drawing
on a European heritage dating back at least to his grandfather,
a man of considerable means who came to this country from Scotland
in his own ship, Giraud Foster -- possibly of all the cottagers
-- most perfectly fit the classic mold of lord of the manor.
Built in 1897 of local brick and marble from the quarries of nearby
Lee, Bellefontaine was in all other respects an authentic period
piece, and Giraud Foster lived in it with graceful authenticity.
As befits the true lord of the manor, Foster was visible and active
in the community, known to its citizens and knowing them, serving
as president of local clubs, senior warden of neighboring Trinity
Church, and a manager of the Lenox Library. Until his death in
1945, although he admitted to residences elsewhere, Bellefontaine
was the home of his heart.
Bellefontaine
was sold at auction in 1946. The statuaries that remained after
the auction (rumor has it) were plowed under as pagan symbols
by the religious order that purchased it in 1947. A fire gutted
the main building two years later, and today only the library
remains from the grand design.
Given
the popularity and acclaim of Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Enid and
Mel Zuckerman decided to open another health resort on the East
Coast. This time, the search for the right location took a long
time until the Zuckermans saw the Bellefontaine Mansion
in Lenox, Massachusetts, in the heart of the Berkshires of Western
Massachusetts.
Built
in 1897, Bellefontaine had been a private home, seminary and then
a boarding school, but when the Zuckermans saw it, it was empty
and gutted by fire. Applying their philosophy of creating harmony
with the surroundings, the Zuckermans decided to restore the mansion
while adding New-England-style buildings in keeping with the local
area, a classic vacation destination that was once home to Nathaniel
Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Edith Wharton and Norman Rockwell.
Canyon
Ranchs architects worked with the local historic preservation
board to be sure that their restoration of the Mansions
exterior and gardens was fully authentic, using materials and
techniques consistent with the turn of the last century. In addition,
they meticulously restored the beautiful Library, the only room
that had not been destroyed by fire, to its original dignity.
By
opening day October 1, 1989 Bellefontaine Mansion
had recaptured its former glory. The Integrative Health Center,
a state-of-the-art Spa and new guest accommodations were in the
plans from the start. Today the health resort provides an unsurpassed
vacation experience in an atmosphere steeped in New England grace
and hospitality.
|
SHADOWBROOK |
|
Merchant,
banker, manufacturer, inventor, investor, and philanthropist Anson
Phelps Stokes commissioned Shadow Brook castle in 1891. The architect
was H. Neill Wilson, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. At a cost of
one million dollars, four hundred men labored for two years to
build it. At the time of its completion in 1893, it was America's
largest house, and remained so for two years until Biltmore was
completed in Asheville, N.C., in 1895. The foundation, first floor,
and most of the stonework were made of locally quarried marble.
The tower was made of marble entirely. The 728 acre estate included
a working farm, and a mansion previously on the site was remodeled
as a carriage barn.
Mr.
Stokes lost a leg five years later in a riding accident, and lost
also his liking of a house with over three acres of floorspace.
After an attempt to make Shadow Brook castle into an inn failed,
it passed through several hands, ending up under the ownership
of the wealthiest man in the world at that time, Andrew Carnegie.
Mr. Carnegie had been looking for a suitable summer home in the
United States to compliment his Scottish castles and numerous
other homes, and immediately proceeded to remodel Shadow Brook
castle to the tune of over a million dollars. President Grover
Cleveland was one of many notables that enjoyed the estate as
guests of Mr. Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie died at Shadow Brook castle
in 1919.
Andrew
Carnegie's widow gave Shadow Brook to the Jesuit Society of Jesus
in 1922. In March of 1956, the castle burned, killing four members
of the community, but was rebuilt. The new building does not approach
the quality of the old one.
|
VENTFORD
HALL |
|
Ventfort
Hall, built by George and Sarah Morgan as their summer home, is
an imposing Jacobean Revival mansion that typifies the Gilded Age
in Lenox. Sarah, the sister of J. Pierpont Morgan, purchased the
property in 1891, and hired Rotch & Tilden, prominent Boston
architects, to design the house.
The
town of Lenox was the center of the social season in the Berkshires
during the Gilded Age, the period between the Civil War and the
First World War. Drawn to the Berkshires by artists and writers
such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Catherine Sedgwick,
Fanny Kemble and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who had settled here
early in the 19th century, as well as the beautiful countryside
and scenic views of mountains and lakes, many prominent financiers
and industrialists constructed luxurious and imposing summer homes
in Lenox and the surrounding area. In fact, Ventfort Hall was
one of about seventy-five Berkshire Cottages built in Lenox and
Stockbridge during this period.
Rotch
& Tilden had designed four other Berkshire cottages in Lenox
and they were well known for their many city residences as well
as public and religious buildings. They also designed many summer
houses in Bar Harbor, Maine. Arthur Rotch played a pivotal role
in the development of architectural training at both M. I. T.
and Harvard, and is also known for the Rotch Traveling Scholarship,
founded through the American Institute of Architects to provide
European training for American architectural students. Ventfort
Hall was completed in 1893.
Now
on 11.7 acres, Ventfort Hall was originally the centerpiece of
a large landscaped garden of 26 acres. The mansion, constructed
of brick with brownstone trim, has an impressive porte cochère
covering the entrance while the rear of the house, which once
had a long view to the south of the Stockbridge Bowl and Monument
Mountain, has a wood veranda along its entire length.
Described
at the time of its completion as one of the most beautiful
places in Lenox, the house had 28 rooms, including
15 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms and 17 fireplaces. Typical of
the period, the interior features a soaring three-story great
hall and staircase with wood paneling detailing. Other rooms include
an elegant salon, paneled library, a dining room, a billiard room
and bowling alley. It was designed with all the latest modern
amenities, numerous ingeniously ventilated bathrooms, combined
gas and electric light fixtures, an elevator, burglar alarms and
central heating. The property contained several outbuildings,
including two gatehouses, a carriage house/stable and six greenhouses.
After
the deaths of both Sarah and George Morgan, the house was rented
for several years to a young widow, Margaret Vanderbilt, whose
husband, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, had died on the Lusitania.
In
1925, W. Roscoe and Mary Minturn Bonsal purchased the house after
seven years as tenants. Bonsal, a prominent figure in the expansion
of railroads throughout the southeast, built the first cross-state
railroad in Florida and served as president and treasurer of the
North & South Carolina Railway and the South Carolina Western
Railway.
After
the Bonsals sold Ventfort hall in 1945, the house had a series
of owners and was used as a dormitory for Tanglewood students,
a summer hotel, the Fokine Ballet Summer Camp and housing for
a religious community.
In
the mid-1980s the property was sold to a nursing home developer
who wanted to demolish the building. In response to this threat,
a local preservation group, The Ventfort Hall Association (VHA),
was formed in 1994. On June 13, 1997, with the help of many private
donations and loans, and with a five-year loan from the National
Trust for Historic Preservation, VHA purchased the property.
|
|
|
|
Return
to [Berkshire County Home Page] |
©
Copyrighted from 1995 to present for the benefit of the Massachusetts
GenWeb Project. |
|