Impressive Architecture Kevin Durst Impressive Architecture Kevin Durst

250’ Altitude & No Mosquitos - Sea Cliff, NY

Sea Cliff is not the usual look-alike homes Long Island town that dominate parts of Nassau County. Instead, the village has Victorian buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places with clapboard, shingle, turrets, wood trim and carvings. Many were build as summer homes in the the late nineteenth century resort town and they have been called one of the best collections of late Victorian homes in New York’s Nassau County. The town is intimate, at one square mile, most residents are able to walk to restaurants, beach, stores and 16 town parks without getting in the car.

Read More

Inspired By Versaille’s Garden Retreat - Marble House, Newport, RI

William K. Vanderbilt chose architect Richard Morris Hunt to design the 39th birthday present he wanted to give to his wife, Alva. It would be call Marble House and was to be built on Newport’s fashionable Bellevue Avenue. Richard Morris Hunt was the first American educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Read More

The Largest Private Ballroom in Newport - Rosecliff

Rosecliff was commissioned by Nevada silver heiress Theresa “Tessie” Fair Oelrichs and her husband, Hermann, and was built between 1898 and 1902. Flamboyant architect, Sanford White of McKim, Mead & White, designed the house modeled after the Grand Trianon, the garden retreat at Versailles. The mansion is clad in white terracotta adorned with flowers and musical instruments. Jules Allard and Sons of Paris were commissioned to do the interior decoration.

Read More
Impressive Architecture, House Museum Kevin Durst Impressive Architecture, House Museum Kevin Durst

An Island With A Heart - Boldt Castle

George C. Boldt, a millionaire associated with the Waldorf Astoria and the Bellevue-Stratford Hotels in New York City, built this 120-room castle to display his love for his wife, Louise, on picturesque Hart Island, which he re-named Heart Island. Not a single detail or expense was spared in creating the grand castle with tunnels, Italian gardens, playhouse and powerhouse. Construction was ordered to start in 1900 on Heart Island in the Saint Lawrence River, and part of the Thousand Islands.

Read More