"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania

"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania

"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania

http://issuu.com/acanthus_press/docs/main_line_counry_houses

 "The Italian-Renaissance styled 'Lauranto' stood atop a bluff overlooking Little Darby Creek from 1901 until the early 1980's. Designed by Peabody & Stearns, 'Lauranto' was the home of Drexel grandchild, sportsman Craig Biddle, and his wife, the former Laura Whelan.

    Following the death of their mother in 1883, four-year old Craig Biddle and his brother Livingston were raised as wards of George W. Childs Drexel. Under the terms of Anthony J. Drexel's will, each of the Biddle brothers would receive a million dollars upon reaching age 21. The lavishly decorated 'Lauranto', with 113 acres landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers, was a wedding gift to Craig Biddle from his Drexel guardians, a similar gift being made to Livingston Biddle upon his marriage.

    Lauranto's interiors were furnished largely with European purchases, including antique marble mantelpieces, classic statuary, and Aubusson tapestries from dealers in Rome and Florence. The vaulted, two-story hall, with Palladian arched windows overlooking the valley, occupied the center of the house with reception, dining, library and sitting rooms arrayed on either side.

Craig Biddle - 1918

     A champion polo and tennis player, with a penchant for lavish entertaining and investing in  Broadway musicals. Craig Biddle quickly ran through his inheritance and was compelled to sell 'Lauranto' in 1911 to banker-broker Archibald Barklie. Renamed 'Inver House', the property was sold again in 1936 to Simon Neuman, President of Publicker Industries.

    By the 1970s 'Inver House' was owned by the Roach Brothers real estate firm, which announced plans to adapt the property for use as a retirement community. This scheme came to naught, however, and 10 years later, house and stable had been replaced by a large complex of luxury town houses."

"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania

HE mansion of "Laurento" looms majestically on its hilltop, rising high and stately above the surrounding trees and shrubbery, quite dominating the landscape for many miles around. And a most agreeable landmark, it is, designed in a quiet Italian style by Messrs. Peabody & Sterns, architects, of Boston. It is a large house with spacious fronts, whose length is emphasized by the strong string-course between the first and second stories, and by the low, sloping broad roof with which it is surmounted. It is built of light-brown brick, with terra cotta trimming of a nearly white tone.

"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania 1902

Nothing remains of it now except for the gate and driveway leading nowhere.

On the top of each pillar under the lions, one can see very clearly the inscription "Inver House".

    The situation is superb, standing on the summit of a hill that rises sharply above the road by which it is usually approached, but with an ample plateau on the inner side, toward which the entrance front is faced. On the roadside the base of the hill is enclosed within a low stone wall, that presently will be thickly covered with vines. 

Roadside Watering Trough. Designed by Peabody & Stearns - wall to extreme right constructed under the Supervision of Mr. Brown with suggestions from the Olmsted Brothers. 1901

"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania

    At one point, within a recess, is a water trough for horses; farther on is the entrance, high sandstone piers capped with standing lions and supporting a wrought-iron arch carrying a central lantern: a stately, handsome entrance, as effective as it is simple.

East front from turn in approach drive at which point the house is seen for the first time on approaching. 1901

Looking North West toward approach front of house - all plants on terraces were planted spring 1902 - except privet hedge which was planted  Fall 1901.

"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania 1902

    The road within approaches the house by broad curves, for the elevation is considerable, and a somewhat lengthy detour has been necessary to accomplish an easy ascent. On the left the hillside is thickly overgrown with wild shrubbery; on the right are open fields, with the farmhouse and barn— a massive, rough cast structure—quite down in the hollow. The roadbed is fine, with young trees growing on the outer edge, and at frequent intervals are rustic posts carrying wrought-iron lanterns, square in form, and as ornamental by day as they are useful by night. Farther on, but at some distance below, the road overlooks the vegetable garden. 

The Entrance Front Is a Dignified Composition in the Italian Style

    Then the shrubbery on the left gives way to open land, and the house, which hitherto has been completely hidden, comes into view. A broad field contains a flock of sheep and the planting becomes more formal; great clumps of shrubbery are massed in beautifully kept lawns. The house has no great trees near it, those in its immediate vicinity being young. The kitchen entrance is hidden behind a fine planting of evergreens.

"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania

The Porte Cochere Is Built of Terra Cotta and Is Directly Before the Main Entrance

    A stately porte cochere, built wholly of terra cotta, is erected before the main doorway. It has four great piers, with round arches on the side, and two columns to support the entablature on the front, whence a ravishing view can be had of the magnificent lawn that stretches away from the house, and of the hilltops in the far distance.

"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania 1901

"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania

    In design this house is thoroughly distinguished. The plan may be roughly described as cruciform; that is to say, a great central body to which are applied wings, right and left. of pilasters, support the simply molded archway. The reason for the thickening of the wall is now apparent, for it gives greater depth to the arch, and transforms what might have been a purely ornamental feature into a monumental one. In the spandrils are two carved disks, which, with the monumental stairway at the base of the arch, complete the structural features of this fine centerpiece. Within, the archway has a double treatment of door and window, the doorway being in the exact center, below a broad horizontal cornice, while the window rises in majestic proportions above it, wholly filling the enclosed space.

"Laurento", the Terrace Front and Its Arch of Triumph

    The steps at the base of the arch descend upon a spacious terrace, which is built out upon the hillside, with a broader flight of central steps to the slope below. On each side of the Mobility is given to the center by slight projections: at the ends on the entrance front, in the center on the terrace front. The detailing is extraordinarily fine, very well conceived, and applied with admirable judiciousness. The large windows are sufficiently spaced, those of the first story having more elaborate frames than those of the second. The cornice at the top is high and flat, with pierced openings over the windows, and then the projecting eaves to the low roof, whose simple outline is broken only by the chimneys and the three dormers on the entrance front.

Terrace Front of "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., at Wayne, Pennsylvania

    There is more pronounced enrichment and more variety in the terrace front. On that side the center is projected far forward beyond the wings. In the center is a triumphal arch, rising high to the crowning cornice which its keystone just touches. Roman Ionic columns, with an accompanying pair center of the house are loggias which connect with the wings, each with its own steps, descending at right angles to the central flight to the great lower terrace. 

Flower garden during construction. 1901

Flower Garden and North Pergola. 1902

    The loggias are built of terra cotta, with piers and columns, and, furnished with rugs, tables, and chairs, are most delightful lounging places. The outlooks over the countryside from any of these parts are of rare beauty; immediately below is the deep valley and the road, which the house seems almost to overhang; beyond are fields of rich grass, trees and woods, hills and valleys, a lovely country outlook, perhaps nowhere so enjoyable, or so beautiful, as from the doorway beneath Mr. Biddle's arch of triumph.

"The Main Corridor Looking Toward the Billiard-room

    The entrance door leads to a small vestibule, wholly paneled in wood painted white. Its glazed doors admit to a space of similar dimensions and treated in an identical manner. This is without inner doors, but open on to the broad corridor that runs across the house from right and left. Curtains of red damask on three sides convert the center of the corridor into a sort of antechamber beyond which is the great central hall. Quite from the outer door the spacious splendor of this apartment has been visible, for the whole of the center of the house is brilliantly illuminated by the flood of light admitted by the vast window under the arch of the terrace front.

The Main Hall Is Flanked with Aisles, in One of Which Is the Fireplace with a Mantel of Carved Stone

    The hall is of regal proportions, rising to the full height of the second story. Ionic columns, on either side, divide it into three bays. It is thus basilical in plan, with aisles on each outer edge, while the central space is supported by the columns and pilastered piers in the corners. 

The Main Hall Looking Toward the Vestibule. It Is a Splendid White Apartment, Two Stories High

    Above the entablature are arches enclosing balustrades, and which surround a corridor carried around three sides of the hall at the upper story. Oriental rugs are laid on the marble floor. At the great window arch are curtains of green damask lined with white silk; at the entrance is a green curtain, and at the four doors on the sides, which lead to the other apartments, are the door and window curtains. The woodwork is mahogany, the mantel, with a facing of green marble, being of the same wood and very richly carved. The hardwood floor has a large Oriental rug, and the furniture is covered with red velvet. The white ceiling and cornice are elaborately molded and detailed. The bookcases which surround most of the lower part of the walls are of mahogany, carved and molded; they are enclosed within leaded glass doors of beautiful design. The room is lighted by side brackets. Immediately adjoining is Mr. Biddle's den, a small room in green, with green walls and green curtains over lace curtains at the single window.

    The billiard-room is at the end of the corridor, and completely fills this farthest end of the house. It is treated throughout in warm brown. The floor is formed of large dull-red bricks, on which are many small Oriental rugs. It is paneled in wood to the frieze, which is of carved leather depicting hunting scenes. The ceiling has wooden beams, corresponding with the rest of the woodwork, the panels being filled with leather, of the same beautiful warm-brown hue which characterizes the whole room. The curtains, both for tapestry curtains of blue and yellow tones. On the left, within the aisle, is a handsomely carved fireplace and mantel of white stone; on the opposite wall, in the aisle, is a superb piece of tapestry. In the center is a green marble table with white marble feet: it supports a richly carved vase. In the corners by the entrance are marble statues.

    The rooms on either side may be reached from the central hall, but it will perhaps be more convenient to visit them from the main corridor. Like the hall and vestibules this is floored with white marble, spread with rich Oriental rugs. On the right it leads to the billiard-room, situated at the extreme end of the house; and on the left it connects with the servants' quarters. It is so broad, and high, and spacious—as are all the apartments on this floor—that it has a true monumental character. Its chief decoration is a series of busts of Roman emperors, of which six are in the right hall, while two stand in the farther corners of the left extension. These sculptures are nobly placed, and add immensely to the monumental effect of the corridor.

The Library Is Finished in Mahogany with Walls of Red Brocade

    The first room on the right is the library; it is also directly entered from the great hall. The walls are covered with red striped damask, the same rich material being used also for the doors and the windows, are of brown leather with green and gold bands. The spacious mantel is of wood and is a part of the wainscot. The facings are of red brick similar to the floor; immediately above, in the center, is a large deer's head. The windows have white lace curtains within the leather curtains. At either end is a low platform with a builtin seat. The furniture is covered with light-brown leather. The great height of the ceiling adds immensely to the effect of this beautiful room.

The Reception-room, with Paneled Wails of French Gray, Is Louis XVI in Style

    The reception-room is opposite the library and faces the entrance front of the house. It is designed and furnished in the Louis XVI style and is a delightfully cool and charming apartment. The paneled walls are in French gray. There is a built-in mirror over the fireplace, which has facings of mottled-red marble. The curtains are of pink damask over white. The chairs are of French gray covered with tapestry, and the other furniture includes many fine old pieces of great beauty.

    On the left hand side of the entrance doorway are two rooms, both entered from the main corridor. That on the front of the house is the breakfast-room, treated wholly in yellow, with warm-yellow walls, and curtains of the same brilliant color. 

An Immense Slab of Green Marble Encloses the Fireplace of the Dining-room

The Dining-room Is Paneled in Dark Oak, Above Which Is a Frieze of Old Tapestry

DINING-ROOM
"Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania

    The dining-room is opposite, and is one of the most sumptuous apartments in the house. The walls are paneled in dark oak to the broad tapestry frieze, a fine old piece of unusual beauty. The ceiling is cream color with decorated beams forming small square panels. The woodwork of the doors is enriched with carving, and there are elaborately carved tympanums in the arched doorways on the side. The fireplace is encased within a huge slab of mottled-green marble, to which a shelf of the same rich material is applied. The sideboard, on the opposite side of the room, is built in, and is designed in harmony with the decorative woodwork of the doors and mantel. The hardwood floor is covered with a green rug, and the curtains are of green velvet with gold braid bands. The oak furniture is very elaborately carved. The room is lighted by gilt sidelights applied to the panels of the walls.

The Massing of Foliage Plants and Trees Is Admirable

    One end of the house, the nearest end as it is approached by the entrance driveway, is wholly given up to the service. The planting here, as has been stated, consists of evergreens, arranged in picturesque masses. 

Looking down on flower (Italian) garden from a second story window of house. 1901

View of Long Terrace and Flower Garden. 1902

The Formal Garden of "Laurento" with Its Central Fountain and Encircling Flower Beds

    At the farther end is a small formal garden, the chief ornament of which is a marble fountain, placed exactly in the center, and formed of a charming group of children playing in a small marble basin. Concentric beds of circular segments are planted around the fountain, until the corners are filled out in squares. The planting is chiefly annuals, arranged in brilliant masses of color. The whole is enclosed within a hedge. At the farther extremity beyond the fountain the land dips suddenly, but the ravine is partly screened by the garden hedge. Beyond are hills, with trees and woods, a beautiful outlook over the many beautiful spots within and without the estate grounds.

Looking South East from Italian garden towards the Stable. All plants seen in photo except the trees in background were planted either Fall 1901 or Spring 1902.

Path south of the esplanade and looking east toward stable. All planting put in Spring 1902.

The Stable and Clock Tower - East front.

The Stable and Clock Tower - East front.

Welcome to Inveraray

INVER HOUSE GREEN PLAID

    Follow THIS LINK to see an aerial view from 1948 showing the estate standing.

September 19, 1908

Mr. Oelrichs said I never saw anything or anybody that came from Philadelphia that was any good and I can back up my words if you will step outside. Biddle was reported to have had his face smacked by Harry Oelrichs.


    "Harry Oelrichs was one of the most intimate friends of James Gordon Bennett," writes Edward Vizetelly in a London weekly. "Between them they introduced polo into America, and were familiar figures, side by side, in Broadway years ago, particularly after dark." SOURCE

"Shorelands" the Seaside Villa of Henry Seligman, Esq., Elberon, New Jersey

SEASIDE property which is bounded on one end by the principal driveway of its town, and on the other by the Atlantic Ocean, and contains within it vegetable and flower gardens, lawns and tennis courts, a lodge, stable and bathing pavilion, while the mansion itself is amply secluded within spacious stretches of grass, possesses some elements of novelty and many properties that lend themselves to delightful and charming treatment. Such at least are the salient features which Mr. Seligman's house, designed by Mr. C. P. H. Gilbert, architect, of New York, at Elberon immediately offers to the visitor. 

A Pair of Doric Columns Marks the Entrance to the Grounds

The roads limits of the place are defined by chains, fastened to posts of interesting design, with two lofty columns at the driveway, surmounted by globe-lights. 

The Lodge Is a Pleasant two-story Structure

To the left is the lodge, a pleasant two-story, flat-roofed structure with wings of one story. The space between it and the entrance driveway is filled by a lovely garden of the gayest-blooming flowers. 

Only the Central Court-like Recess Makes Known the Stable

On the right is the stable, a structure whose identity is at once proclaimed by its central covered court, but which, being designed in harmony with the other buildings on the property, has, save for this feature, little of the outward characteristics of such buildings. Both structures, as well as the house, are of wood, painted white, with blinds of Indian red. The grounds are beautifully hedged here, and within them is the vegetable garden, arranged in blocks and groups, and having a true ornamental character of its own. The land beyond stretches away in ample lawns to the house, which, while by no means situated at the furthest extremity of the property, is located at a considerable distance from the outer highway.

The House Is of Wood Painted White, with Shutters of Indian Red, and Is Abundantly Porched on All Sides

A splendid curve brings the carriage directly before the entrance portico. The house is H-shaped, with a central body and wings at either end, projected on the entrance front. Across the middle is a covered porch, with a projected center, and which at each end is connected with the terraces that are carried all around the house. These terraces, on the entrance front, have their own separate steps. At the base of one are carved sphynxes of marble; at the base of the other are upright lions supporting shields. The house is two stories in height, with an attic so boldly developed as to have the real architectural character of a third story. Directly in the center is a roof garden, surmounted with a pergola, supported on the front by elaborately carved gaines. The windows are everywhere rectangular in design, with simple frames; those on the ends of the wings are doubled; those elsewhere are single. At each end of each wing, on the entrance front, is a doorway, instead of a window, which admits to a side porch contained within the outer lines of the house.  Both entrance porch and terraces are enclosed within paneled railing boxes, which are repeated above the porch, where they enclose a terrace at the level of the second floor. The brick base of the building is hidden behind a low-growing hedge, while further relief is found in an abundance of bay trees and pots and jars of foliage and flowering plants and gaily planted boxes standing on the terrace steps and above the porch. One can not look for trees so close to the shore, and relief from the sun is obtained by awnings attached to the porch. 

"Shorelands"   The Wings Form an Open Court at the Entrance Front Where the Solid White of the Housed Is Very Agreeably Relieved by Plants and Flowers

A great double door, completely glazed and with side windows which extend to the floor, admits to the central hall. This is a spacious apartment opening onto the ocean side of the house.

The Spacious Hall Is Paneled in Oak, Above which Is a Plain While Frieze.   At Each End Is an Arcade of Elliptical Arches

 At each end is an arcade formed of low elliptical arches, of which the middle one is much the widest, supported on wood columns. A high wainscot of paneled oak is carried completely around the room; the upper wall is finished with a plain white surface. The ceiling is white and beamed, with large panels. The mantel is under the arcade to the left. It has brick facings within oak columns supporting a frieze, below which is a relief. On the right the entire wall is filled with a series of glazed doors, curtained, separating the hall from the dining room. There are handsome Oriental rugs on the hardwood floor. The curtains at the windows are red damask, and the furniture, for the most part, is covered with red leather and velvet. The stairs to the upper story rise on the entrance front and are carried across the entrance doorway by the platform. The walls of the upper hall are covered with a diapered pattern.

Library Is a Mission Room in Various Tones of Green

On the left of the hall is a passage that leads to the library, situated in the furthest wing of the house and on the entrance front. It is charmingly furnished in the Mission style. The prevailing color is green; the hardwood floor, the rug, the wainscot, the upper walls, the wood of the furniture, the velvet curtains at the windows, the beams and panels of the ceiling, are all in beautifully harmonized shades of green. The chairs are covered with a reddish brown leather; the wainscot supports a shelf, and a handsome copper electric chandelier desends from the center of the ceiling.

The Drawing-room Is Pink and White : the Furniture Includes Some Fine Old Pieces of Great Variety

Behind this room, but not connected with it, being entered by a separate door from the hall, is the drawing room. This is a sumptuous apartment in pink and white, very beautifully developed. The walls have a low wainscot of wood, painted white, and picked out with bands of green. Above they are covered with white watered-silk paper, with the same green bands in the corners and margins, thus forming large panel-like divisions. The cornice is white and richly detailed, and the ceiling is without ornamentation. The wood mantel has facings and hearth of light mottled buff Roman brick. The color of the room is supplied by the rug, the furniture and the curtains. The rug is in two shades of pink. The curtains are of white net with applique borders of pink flowers and green leaves. The furniture is covered with white velvet decorated with a similar pattern in green and pink; a curtain of the same fabric hangs over the entrance doorway. The grand piano, in one corner, has an exquisite cover of light-colored brocade. There are some fine pieces of old furniture in the room, which is lighted by side lights. 

The Dining-room, Designed in the Dutch Style, Is Oak and Blue

The dining-room is on the opposite side of the hall, and overlooks the ocean; it has windows on three sides, two of which directly face the water. It is beautifully designed in the Dutch style. The color scheme is blue and white. The walls are iencasedwith a high paneling in natural oak, which reaches to the tops of the doors: it carries a shelf on which are placed a number of blue and white pieces of pottery, a couple of fine Wedgwood plaques, a Delia Robbia relief, and other ornaments. All these stand in relief against the frieze of plain pale blue. The ceiling is beamed, with panels of light blue. There is a blue and white rug on the hardwood floor, and the oak furniture has covers of blue leather. The mantel, which supports a paneled overmantel, has facings of dark buff Roman brick. The side of the room which adjoins the hall is, as has been stated, completely filled with glazed doors, over which are blue and white curtains. The curtains at the windows are of blue velvet.

The Billiard Room Is Paneled in Green, with Rough Plastered Walls

The billiard-room is in the same wing on the front of the house. The walls have a wainscot of green stained oak in upright boards; above are panels of rough plaster with  intersecting circles, the whole being crowned with a shelf. There are numerous pictures above, chiefly hunting scenes. The plain cornice corresponds to the wood used below. The ceiling is plain, with three central lights depending from the center over the table. The floor is stained green. The furniture is of oak, covered with green leather. The buff window curtains have bands of green with billiard ornaments on the lambrequins.

The Sunken Garden Lies Below Brick Walls Surmounted with a Handsome Balustrade

"Shorelands": Marble Statues at the Base of the Steps to the Sunken Garden

On the south side of the house is a portico in two stories; a long flight of steps descends from this to the sunken garden which has been built on this side. It is also reached by steps from the entrance and ocean front, and is a true sunken garden, contained within bricked walls, surmounted by a paneled balustrade. Marble statues stand at the base of each of the side steps. There is a fine old well head in the center, and the surrounding space is laid out with panels of grass and borders of flowers. The walls are covered with vines and partly screened with hedges.

While the house sets well back in its surrounding land, it is still a considerable distance from the ocean. The ocean front has a long porch, below which is the tennis court. The buildings are completed with the bathing pavilion, which is designed in harmony with the other structures and which is directly in the center on the extreme ocean edge. It is a gracious two-story structure, with an upper belvedere, or observatory, a fine outlook pleasantly arranged.

"Shorelands" in 1920

"Shorelands" twenty years later. Stable is gone. Note the shoreline recession, beach pavilion is gone.

"Shorelands" in 1947

"Shorelands" in 1953, the house is gone.

"Shorelands" in 1979

Todays view showing a 1993 build. The lodge survives with additions.

Henry Seligman

Seligman was a senior partner in the prestigious investment banking firm of J. & W. Seligman & Company, founded in 1864 by his uncles and his father, Jesse. The Seligmans established themselves as one of the pre-eminent German-Jewish families in the United States and became known as “the American Rothschilds.” Henry Seligman was also influential in financing railroad construction in the American West as well as serving as a director for several major industrial and artistic organizations across the United States.  In his book "Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York", Stephen Birmingham said the Seligmans "virtually invented" international banking in the United States.

Henry and Adelaide(Walter) Seligman purchased property in Elberon, New Jersey, a popular summer retreat for German-Jewish families(The Jewish Newport). C.P.H. Gilbert received the commission, and his “improvements” for their summer house included “a large residence, stables, gardener’s cottage, bathhouses, &C.” The couple also had a townhouse in new York City, also by Gilbert and a villa called “Casa Mia” in Palm Beach, Florida. For their Spanish style Palm Beach house they retained architect Marion Sims Wyeth. 

Addie Seligman was a double Seligman, having married, first, Joseph Seligman's son David, and, upon his death, his first cousin, Henry. All through the twenties her parties, in her houses in Elberon, Palm Beach, and in East Fifty-sixth Street, were celebrated. She had a butler, De Witt who she liked to say "set the standard for a whole generation of German Jewish families. He was stationed at the foot of the stairs, and arriving guests learned to fear his look of icy disapproval.

Henry died in 1933 and Addie in 1936.

Elberon, New Jersey

ELBERON is a continuation of Long Branch on the south, practically belonging to it although not within the corporation limits. The ground was purchased of Benjamin Wooley by Lewis B. Brown (from whose initials and name Elberon was formed) being an area of 100 acres. This plot was laid out with much taste, many improvements being added to a naturally attractive site, the result being one of the most complete  and elegant resorts on the Jersey coast. Among the handsome residences of this place is the Francklyn Cottage, rendered famous as the refuge to which President Garfield was brought, and where he was lulled into his final sleep by the murmur of the sea. General Grant's former summer home is also at Elberon. The ground at Elberon is higher and more rolling than at the resorts directly on the sea and thus gives the place a distinct topographical character. Source