THE "COPPER HOUSE" - Residence of Niels Poulson, Esq., Bay Ridge, N. Y.

The glint of the copper clad house looking north can be seen in this Shore Road postcard. At the right is the elaborate entrance to the William F. Kenny estate. 

    

    A prominent feature of this issue is an article descriptive of what has lately been called in New York and vicinity the "copper" house. The name was given to it during the time it was in process of erection and is the compliment which the public pays to something unusual in building construction and ornamentation. The exterior embellishment of copper, however, is not the only striking feature about the building. The frame work, the manner in which the floors have been laid, the fire-proof construction and the method of heating, as well as other features, command attention. Our illustrations and description are sufficiently complete to give the reader a very clear idea of the appearance of the house, as well as a conception of the construction in all its various details. Carpentry and Building 1891

The entire exterior surface is covered with copper, the fact which gives the structure its name, the "copper house". Many of the panels are ornamented with designs of a unique character. Conspicuous features of ornamentation are four circular panels representing America, Europe, Asia and Africa, which are copied from the celebrated Albert Memorial. Each of these panels is 3 feet in diameter, there being two upon the front and two upon the side of the house.

   Niels Poulson made his reputation as one of Brooklyn's leading businessmen in the early part of the 20th century. As head of the Hecla Iron Works, he was responsible for the ornamental flourishes of such New York landmarks as Grand Central Station and the original Penn Station. At its height, the works would employ one thousand workers.  Poulson created an evening school for training ironworkers and is credited with raising the standard of iron construction in America. This public-spirited Scandinavian left a fortune, which today still funds scholarships and Danish cultural exhibitions. Source

Residence of Niels Poulson, Esq., Near Fort Hamilton, Long Island, N. Y.
James M. Farnsworth, Architect.

   Poulson designed and built his family's home on Shore Road and the corner of 88th Street in Bay Ridge in 1890. It was famous as the "Copper House". It is believed to have been the first steel-framed private house in America, and was sheathed entirely in copper. The house garnered enormous publicity for its novelty and for the excellence of its construction, but none of that helped it from being demolished in 1930. Poulson died in 1911 at the age of sixty-eight in his Brooklyn home. His company hung on until just after World War I, by which time the great age of ornamental iron had come and gone. An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn

    

December, 1891

   THE HOUSE which we illustrate in our plate supplement and upon the following pages embodies features of construction and ornamentation which cannot fail to prove highly interesting not only to builders and architects, but to various craftsmen as well. What has been done in connection with this building might almost be said to mark a new era in both construction and ornamentation. The ornamentation is at least a departure from common practice, for while something of a similar nature in the way of decorative effects may have been attempted before, the expense been so great as to prove discouraging. In this case it is claimed the cost has been kept at a reasonable figure. We sum it all up when we say copper, brick and cement have been so happily combined as to produce a warm, dry and attractive dwelling, and one that commands the attention of all who visit it. The methods employed the ideas of the owner in an effort secure fire-proof construction and to make use of galvano-plastic metal in a way to produce striking effects. The work as it stands represents the result of long and careful study on the part of the owner, and in its execution many novel methods hare been employed.

Residence of Niels Poulson, Esq., Near Fort Hamilton, Long Island, N. Y.
James M. Farnsworth, Architect.

   The house, which in the home of Niles Poulson of the architectural iron firm of Poulson& Eger of this city, stands upon the bluffs near Fort Hamilton, Long Island and commands a beautiful view of the Narrows, Staten Island, Fort Wadsworth and Hamilton and a broad expanse of water. The picture in the supplement plate represents the house as it appears from the street, which separates it from the edge of the bluffs. The drawings of the structure were prepared by Architect James M. Farnsworth of No. 5 Beekman Street, New York City, and were carried into effect under the personal supervision of that gentleman and the owner.

Residence of Niels Poulson, Esq., Near Fort Hamilton, Long Island, N. Y.
James M. Farnsworth, Architect.

Residence of Niels Poulson, Esq., Near Fort Hamilton, Long Island, N. Y.
James M. Farnsworth, Architect.

   The floor plans, which are shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the illustrations, indicate in a very clear and comprehensive manner the size and location of the various rooms upon the first and second floors of the dwelling. It will be seen that the main hall, octagonal in general shape, is entered through a vestibule from a broad veranda extending across the front and partially on two sides of the house. Opening from the main hall are the library, some 17 feet square, the parlor or drawing room, 21 feet square, and the dining room, which is 15 x 31 feet in size. The openings are covered by rich heavy portteres, and above each is a semicircular piece of wrought-iron work of graceful design. The stairway is at the left as one enters the hall and extends to the third story. A portion of the dining room is partitioned off into a breakfast room by folding doors carrying wrought-iron panels of beautiful design, made by Winslow Bros, of Chicago. At the extreme end of the house is the kitchen, from which the dining room is reached through the servants' hall and pantry. Beyond the dining room is a conservatory made of cast-iron rafters and supports, and covered with 3/8-inch glass. At one side and to the left of the conservatory is a hothouse. 

Fig.4.-Interior View of Conservatory.

    These are more clearly indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, which represent a side elevation of the house and an interior view of the conservatory. Upon the second floor of the dwelling are three sleeping rooms, billiard room, sewing room, bathroom and two servants' rooms. Opening out of the principal chamber is a bathroom and dressing room. The rooms of the house are finished with plaster applied directly to the brick walls, and then covered with paper of artistic shade and design.

The first impression given one upon entering the hall is the liberal use of metal and the peculiar formation of the floor and ceiling. The floor is finished with delicately tinted tile, so arranged as to constitute an elaborate design of striking effect.  The decorated cast iron ribs, arched across the ceiling, the bronze treated columns between the openings into the various apartments, the rich and elaborately decorated mantel, the wrought iron work in the semicircular archways, and the iron railing about the circular opening on the second floor, are a combination to produce an effect which is peculiarly striking.

Fig. 6-View in Main Hall, Showing Ceiling and Ornamental Railing About the Circular Opening at Second Story.

IRON   AND  COPPER   IN   HOUSE  CONSTRUCTION   AND  DECORATION - MAIN   HALL, SHOWING METAL CEILING AND WAINSCOTING.

"The Copper House"—Fig.7—Mantel and Grate in Main Hall, with View of Dining Room at the Right.

   One of the first things to impress the visitor upon entering the main hall, views of which are shown in Figs. 6 and 7, is the liberal use of metal work and the peculiar formation of the floor and ceiling. The floor finish is of delicately tinted tile so arranged as to constitute an elaborate design of striking effect. The decorated cast-iron ribs, arched across the ceiling, the bronze treated columns between the openings into the different rooms, the rich and elaborately decorated mantel, the wrought-iron work over the portteres, and the iron railing about the circular opening on the second floor, combine to produce an effect which is peculiarly striking. The ceiling of the main hall, as well as that of all the other rooms in the house, is of novel construction, and is of great interest to the building trades. It involves the use of ordinary flat bar iron and cement, and represents the ideas of the owner of the building as to what constitutes absolutely fire-proof construction. The plan pursued is such that the ceiling of one room is the basis of the floor of the apartment above. 

The "Copper' House.—Fig. 10.—Plan of Bar Iron Frame for Floor and Ceiling Construction.—Scale, 1/2 Inch to the Foot.

   The ceiling is made by placing upon the four brick walls of which a room is composed an octagonal frame made of angle iron. From each corner of the octagon are sprung two arches or ribs of flat bar iron, and where the bars cross each other they are clamped together with U-shaped bolts, all as shown in Fig. 10 of the illustrations. This arrangement leaves a small octagonal space in the center of the ceiling formed by the intersection of the bars already referred to. This space is covered by shorter bars, which are arched across from corner to corner of the central octagon, as indicated in Fig. 10. These are also clamped to the main bars by U-shaped bolts, thus forming a complete dome of wrought iron. The construction is such that any pressure from above only tends to make the construction more secure, the strain on the bars being taken up by the octagonal frame. After the latter has been put in place the four corner spaces and the triangular spaces between the bars are filled by domed panels of plaster of paris and cement, 1 inch thick. These panels were formed by means of an india rubber bag inflated with air and stretched on a frame a trifle larger than the size of the panel desired. This was then pressed from the underside up against the iron ribs, permitting the air of the cushion to form a perfect dome to the opening in which it was placed. Plaster of paris was then poured over this cushion and allowed to set. The bag or cushion was then used in the same way in connection with the other spaces until the ceiling was complete, giving a groined arched ceiling of strong and attractive construction, as seen in the case of the dining room. Fig. 8. 

Fig. 8.—View of Plain Ceiling in Dining Room. The library is handsomely fitted up with paneled seat and bookcases built in.

Fig. 11.—Section through Floor and Ceiling at A B, Fig. 14.—Scale, 1/2 Inch to the Foot.

After the under side of the ceiling was finished, what may be termed ribs of cement were built up on top of the flat iron bars, as shown in section in Fig. 11. These cement ribs were made by placing two boards parallel and filling in between them with cement and concrete. Before the cement,however, was put in, round wooden blocks slightly tapering were placed at intervals between the boards, so that when the cement was set, the boards removed and the round blocks taken out, there was left a series of openings in the cement ribs. These openings, or portholes, as they are called, are made use of in connection with the heating and ventilation of the house, and will be referred to later on. After the ribs were built , heavy wire was stretched over them from all sides of the room. These wires were designed to support a layer of wire cloth, upon which in turn was placed a layer of cement or concrete, 3 or 4 inches thick. Fig. 11 represents a cross section through the flooring and ceiling of a room, taken at A B of Fig. 14, the plaster of paris panels, concrete ribs and openings through them all being clearly indicated. 

Figs. 12 and 13.—Sections through C D and E F of Fig. 14.—Scale, 1/2 Inch to the Foot.

Figs. 12 and 13 represent sections through the floor and ceiling, being taken at C D and E F, respectively, of Fig. 14. H, instead of the cement floor, as used in this case, it should be desirable to employ wood, the sleepers could be embedded  in the cement, as indicated in Fig. 11, and the flooring nailed to them in the ordinary manner.

Fig.   14. —Showing Manner of Constructing Floor.—Scale, 3-16 Inch to the Foot.

   Fig. 14 shows the manner in which the wire is stretched across the concrete ribs, the position of the wire cloth for supporting the cement and a wooden flooring placed upon sleepers embedded in the cement. The little arrows indicate the direction of the hot air beneath the floor after it leaves the furnace pipe. 

"The Copper House"-Fig. 5.-Decorated Ceiling in Parlor. 

   In some of the rooms of the house the ceiling is of an ornamental character, as, for example, that in the parlor, illustrated by Fig. 5. This is produced by placing on the under side of the flat iron bars forming the wrought-iron dome, moldings made or plaster of paris or papier mache, which are fastened by suitable hooks and cement. On these moldings rest the ornamental arched panels, which are made in plaster over an air cushion on which has been placed a gelatine cast of the ornamentation desired. After the panels are put in position the construction is the same as that employed in connection with the plain ceiling. The center of the ceiling of the various rooms in the house has a thickness to the level of the floor of the rooms above of 5 or 6 inches, while at the sides the thickness runs up to 18 and 20 inches.

Another very interesting feature in connection with this house is the method employed for the heating and ventilation, already alluded to. In the basement is a hot-air furnace provided with a coil, so that both hot air and steam can be used in warming the rooms. The air is taken in from the outside of the building and distributed to the floor of the various rooms by the ordinary method. The peculiar construction of the floor, with the portholes in each rib of concrete and cement, allows the hot air to pass from the furnace pipe through the various spaces formed by the plaster of paris panels, and thus circulate under the entire floor before entering the room through the register placed in the floor or side wall.

Fig. 15

The result is to make the cement floor a huge radiator, thus keeping the apartment at a comfortable temperature at all times. In the main rooms on all the floors are open grates or fireplaces of rich and artistic design, finished in electro bronze, brass, silver and nickel, and provided with blowers which may be folded up in such a way as to occupy very small space at the top of the grate opening. A view of the fireplace, with its wrought andirons, in the main hall, is shown in Fig. 7. These ventilating fire places are so made that fresh air is brought in from the outside of the house to a point behind the grate and then carried around the fire box and the three vertical cast-iron flues which convey to the chimney flue the products of combustion. Fig. 15 represents a plan and elevation of one of the fireplaces employed, while Fig. 16 is a vertical cross section, the arrows indicating the direction of the air currents. At intervals above the fire are perforated plates, which extend across the air flue in such a way as to retard the flow and cause the air to become highly heated before it enters the room through openings just over the mantel. Fig. 16 also gives an idea of the construction of the blower used and the manner in which it folds up out of the way. The house may be further heated by steam by the indirect plan. In the basement is a Gold's heater, consisting of a series of radiators surrounding a fire pot. These are contained in a brick chamber, in the upper portion of which are also suspended a number of radiators. The cold air is taken in from the outside of the house, circulates about the radiators, which are filled with hot water, and is distributed to the various rooms of the house in the usual manner. This serves to keep the house comfortable in mild weather. In case of very cold weather, when it is still desired to maintain a warm temperature in the house, the fire in the furnace is increased and steam generated in the coil already mentioned. The steam is carried to radiating coils placed in recesses just below some of the windows, the spaces being indicated in the sectional elevation, Fig. 9. In this way it is possible, as we are informed, to readily raise the temperature in the house as may be desired.

Fig. 16

Externally the house is very attractive and involves features of construction which are also novel. The entire exterior surface is covered with copper, the fact which gives the structure its name, the "copper house." Many of the panels are ornamented with designs of a unique character. Conspicuous features of ornamentation are four circular panels representing America, Europe, Asia and Africa, which are copied from the celebrated Albert Memorial. Each of these panels is 3 feet in diameter, there being two upon the front and two upon the side of the house. Three of these panels are quite clearly indicated in the picture forming our supplement plate. The entire copper work was done by what is known as the galvano-plastic process, which permits of the execution of the most intricate designs. Some idea of the results obtained by this method may be gathered from an inspection of the supplement plate and also of Fig. 9, which shows sectional elevations. The design to be obtained is first produced in wax by a very simple method, and the mold thus formed is placed in a battery. The frieze extending entirely around the house, between the first and second stories, was made in this way in lengths of some 12 feet, and fastened to the angle-iron frame by means of flanges and rivets.

Fig. 9

It may be interesting in this connection to describe the manner in which the exterior walls of the house are constructed. In the first place, the foundation was prepared in the usual manner, and topped with a stone belt course extending entirely around the house. Upon this was erected a wrought-iron skeleton, made of tee and angle irons placed some 4 or 5 feet apart. At proper intervals from the belt course to the main cornice were placed 4x4 angle irons, which were secured to the upright framing. At each sill and lintel course was placed a horizontal angle iron, extending entirely around the building, and above the window sill was another for receiving the floor construction, all as indicated in the sectional elevation, Fig. 9. The angle irons were covered with pilasters made of deposited copper, embellished with designs of an attractive character. The pilasters were first riveted to the angle irons in such a way as to leave at each edge a flange, to which were riveted the copper panels carrying ornamental designs in bas relief. 

Fig. 9

Two of these panels are represented in the lower portion of Fig. 9. After the copper panels were put in position the entire copper work was backed up with an 8-inch brick wall, extending from the foundation to the roof. The latter is covered with red tile, and the tower, which is covered with the same material, terminates in a copper finial. The roof of the veranda, extending across a portion of the front and side, is supported by cast-iron columns, while the balcony, partially encircling the tower, is made of cast iron, and heavily plated with copper so as to withstand the action of the weather.

Apart from the method of constructing the skeleton of this building, it is one of the most interesting in America and has acquired a world-wide reputation through the accounts of it, incomplete and generally inaccurate, that have been published in the technical journals of many countries. As yet, a complete and reliable description of the building has not been published. About all that we know about it is that the outer walls are of eight-inch brickwork, sheathed on the outside with sheets of copper whose surface is diapered, stippled or decorated with wavy lines in such slight relief as to merely give a texture to the surface. These sheathing-sheets are produced by a galvanoplastic process, the copper being deposited upon the mould in an ordinary bath of large size. In the same way all the decorative panels, window and door finish and cornices have been prepared. The copper-work is all riveted together, not brazed, proper allowance being made for expansion and contraction. Upon the inside, the outer walls are plastered directly upon the brickwork, so that there is no air-space of any kind in the substance of the wall. This course was adopted with some misgivings, as it appeared uncertain how such a wall would behave in the matter of condensation of atmospheric moisture within the house and the transmission of heat and cold. Careful observation during two years has demonstrated that there is no ill-effect from condensation and that the temperature of the house, at all seasons, is remarkably equable. With such absolutely solid and impervious walls the housekeeper in this house is relieved from waging constant war upon vermin, big and little, and Mr. Poulson feels entirely satisfied that he has achieved a domestic as well as a constructive success.

   Niels Poulson was born at Horsens, Denmark, February 27, 1843. He was educated at the Technical Institute at Copenhagen, Denmark, and immediately after graduation from this institution entered upon a business career. Before definitely determining upon the sphere in which he would actively pursue his labors he decided that the United States offered him a wider field than his native country for gaining the just reward of honest endeavor. At an early age therefore he came to this country and was soon industriously engaged in his chosen profession.

   For two years he was a draftsman in the office of the supervising architect at Washington, but feeling that commercial life was better suited to him than the government service he resigned and for the next seven years he was connected with the Architectural Iron Works, of Brooklyn, N. Y., as head draftsman. Still he was not satisfied nor contented in the position of an employee, even though his remuneration was high and his employers greatly pleased with his work. In 1876, therefore, he determined to start in business for himself and persuading Mr. Eger to join him, he founded the firm of Poulson and Eger. Under Mr. Poulson's able management the business of the firm inside of a few years had grown to such an enormous extent that it was decided to change the firm to a corporation, and in 1897 Poulson and Eger was incorporated under the name of Hecla Iron Works, Mr. Poulson becoming president and director. Since that time Mr. Poulson's every effort has been directed toward building up and advancing the interests of his company, and the increasingly favorable annual reports of the business transacted bespeak eloquently of the wonderful success he has attained.

   Mr. Poulson has a beautiful residence in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn and has always exhibited a praiseworthy public spirit in promoting the welfare of his community. He is a member of the Bay Ridge Citizens Association, the Brooklyn League, the Brooklyn Club and the Crescent Athletic Club; he belongs to the Manufacturers' Association; and is also secretary of the Architectural Iron Manufacturers' Association. THE AMERICANA: A Universal Reference Library COMPRISING THE  ARTS  AND SCIENCES, LITERATURE, HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, GEOGRAPHY, COMMERCE, ETC., OF THE WORLD, 1911

 Poulson died in 1911 at the age of sixty-eight in his Brooklyn home. His company hung on until just after World War I, by which time the great age of ornamental iron had come and gone. The expansive gardens and house of William F. Kenny can be seen at the bottom.

The "copper" house garnered enormous publicity for its novelty and for the excellence of its construction, but none of that helped it from being demolished in 1930.

   
   Built in 1936, this mid-rise elevator building is 6 stories tall and contains 138 apartments.

THE COLONNADES, located in a highly exclusive, residential section, overlooking New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean, presents the finest in a new and distinctive treatment of Roman-Grecian architecture. Suites from two to eight rooms with one to three baths are available with every apartment facing streets.

The Colonnades assures permanent light, air and shore view, due to the fact that the building is surrounded on all sides by street frontage and overlooks the spacious Garden-Court. The scene, viewed from the apartments, presents a picture of unlimited expanse of ocean merging with sky. 

8801 Shore Road Bay Ridge, N. Y.

  

    Named for an active volcano in Iceland, Hecla Iron Works supplied ornamental work for the exteriors and interiors of many designated New York City Landmarks.

Constructed in 1896-97, the Hecla Iron Works building was built to serve as the company's headquarters and showroom, in addition to being a school to train metalworkers and a design studio. 

During the 1880's, Hecla pioneered the use of various technologies, most notably the Bower-Barff process, which was used to treat the iron. In contrast to most cast-iron facades, which were painted to resemble stone and prevent corrosion, the panels were exposed to super-heated steam that converts rust to magnetite, creating an unusual black, velvety surface that is unaffected by moisture.

In 1913, Hecla merged with the Winslow Brothers of Chicago, a rival firm. The building itself is an early forerunner of Modernist architecture. The building's façade is a clear predecessor to the modern curtain wall. 

   Poulson left the ownership of the building to the American-Scandinavian Foundation, which sold the building to the Carl H. Schultz Mineral Water Company, a division of the American Beverage Company, in 1928. In 1989, the upper floors of the building were converted to residential space. Once leases expire plans are to convert building into a hotel.
     

Crescent Athletic Club Boathouse - 1907
The swanky Crescent Athletic Club built a clubhouse and fine boathouse on the shore, and the gently curving road and its footpaths became a promenade for nature and people watching.

    IN THE GILDED AGE, the leisured class came here for summer sports and bay breezes at resorts like the Crescent Athletic Club. Prosperous industrialists and businessmen seeking refuge from the summer heat flocked to Bay Ridge and built elaborate summer villas on the bluffs along Shore Road overlooking New York Bay.  For the owners of the grand estates facing the water, the bay offered its beauty and a place for them to moor their yachts and pleasure boats.   

  

In 1891 the Justice Holmes Van Brunt of the New York State Supreme Court home became a lavish clubhouse for the Crescent Athletic Club. The grounds were enlarged and improved in stages through the 1890s. The old Van Brunt homestead, greatly modified, served as a clubhouse. In 1897, a nine hole golf course was added, and in 1898 this was expanded to eighteen holes. The Crescents, wealthy sports lovers with money to spend, had created arguably the most beautiful playing fields ever seen in Brooklyn.

The Crescent Athletic Club opened in 1892. Located at Eighty-Third Street, it hosted the second Davis Cup match, attended by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902.  Crescent Athletic Club - 1924

   William F. Kenny was born in Manhattan in 1868. His childhood best friend was Alfred E. Smith, who would later become the four term Governor of NY, and become the first Catholic to run for president of the United States.

    President of the W. E. Kenny Contracting Company. He was one of the chief contractors for New York Edison, Brooklyn Edison and the Consolidated Gas Company of New York. His fortune was estimated at $30 million, in first quarter 20th century money.

   William Kenny was a proud and generous supporter of Al Smith. He was the owner of the “Tiger Room” where Tammany Hall politicians and friends hung out. When Smith ran for president in 1928, Kenny gave $125,000 to the campaign, the highest single amount given to a candidate at that time.

Kenny bought a prime piece of property on Shore Road and 91st Street and had this palatial Mediterranean style house built around 1910 to 1911. He and his family lived here for a little more than ten years. 

   Kenny had a magnificent Odell pipe organ installed in the grand foyer in 1912. The organ had a mahogany case and the display pipes were gilded in pure gold leaf. In 1917, the organ was upgraded with a new electrical system, and more mahogany casework was added, and more pipes gilded. The organ was also retrofitted with new ivory and ebony keys. The entire upgrade cost almost $11,000, making the pipe organ more expensive than many of Bay Ridge’s other housing.The Kenny’s had seven children; three sons and four daughters. Alice, one of the daughters, married European aristocracy in 1923- the probably impoverished Count Francis Bacon Kuhn de Prorok. That marriage later ended in divorce.

Italian Sunken Garden

The Kenny house on became the Shore Road Hospital, a private hospital servicing the Bay Ridge area. Although it was a full service hospital, it specialized in maternity care. Thousands of Brooklynites were born there during its long run.
E. Belcher Hyde Map Co. Inc., 1929

 The entire hospital complex was torn down for a huge senior apartment complex called Shore Hill Apartments in 1977. 9000 Shore Road.

An earlier Kenny mansion located at Oliver and Shore Road. Used as the Shore Road Academy after Kenny moved up the street until 1946 when property was sold and developed. 

    This large Mediterranean villa was built in 1890 for former three-term mayor of Cleveland, Ohio named Tom L. Johnson. He controlled street car lines in several Midwestern cities. Five years later railroad magnate and noted gourmand “Diamond” Jim Brady purchased this bayside manor on Shore Road for his girlfriend, entertainer Lillian Russell, in the 1890's.  It became Fontbonne Hall, a Catholic high school for girls, in 1937.

The house, 9901 Shore Road, is the only mansion from the Shore Road’s Gilded Age to survive.

   Henry Cruse Murphy, the mayor of Brooklyn when it was its own city, and later a state senator, kept a big estate at Bay Ridge’s northwest corner. As Senator, Murphy drafted the bill which authorized the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, and in 1866 he signed the bill at his mansion. He also founded The Brooklyn Eagle newspaper.

Henry C. Murphy villa, overlooking the Narrows, Bay Ridge.

When Murphy died in 1882, the house passed on to another powerful man who made a great impact on New York, and the world. His name was Eliphalet William Bliss.

Bliss refurbished the mansion and built a horse stable and observatory tower from which one could view the bay. 
1924

This wealthy manufacturer made his fortune by introducing and implementing techniques of mass production to the pressed metal industry.

Photo taken in 1915, reflects changes made after modifications.

   

Original design for Owl’s Head Stables, by Parfitt Brothers

   He spent $75,000 on a lavish and huge stable, designed by the Parfitt Brothers, one of Brooklyn’s finest architectural firms. The huge Romanesque Revival building had an arched entryway, three stories, a clock tower and multiple turrets, and was made of ashlar cut stone.

Observatory Tower. 

1915

Bliss, offered the land, stables, house and observation tower to the city, and through Robert Moses’ initiative in the 1930's it became the 24-acre Owl’s Head Park.

His will stipulated that the estate must be used for parkland, and couldn't be developed.
1934

The original gates of the Bliss estate were found in storage, and returned to the entrance of the park. Though Mr. Bliss’s buildings were torn down his initials remain on the gates.

The Howard E. and Jessie Jones House, nicknamed the Gingerbread House by local residents, is a landmarked stone building with a pseudo-thatched roof on Narrows Avenue and 83rd Street. Built in 1916-17 in the Arts and Crafts style rarely seen in New York City, the house offers a glimpse of the fanciful summer cottages that filled Bay Ridge during those years. 

http://hookedonhouses.net/2013/06/03/a-house-for-hobbits-and-fairytale-characters-in-new-york/

  Architect James Mace Farnsworth began his career around 1872 and worked as a draftsman with Calvert Vaux by 1873. Farnsworth practiced independently from 1883 to 1897, producing numerous designs for commercial and office buildings and warehouses for prominent builder-developer John Pettit.

The firm of Silliman & Farnsworth, architects of the Temple Court Building, practiced from 1876 to 1882. 

  

http://thebeekman.com/

The Kinney Building was completed in 1904, an Italian Renaissance design by Clinton & Russell the penthouse was added in 1925 by Kenny for his friend, Gov. Al Smith, to use as a political clubhouse. 

The Tiger Room was on the top floor of the Kenny Building. In honor of the old Tammany Hall symbol, Kenny had the place filled with tigers: stuffed, bronzed and whatever else his decorator could find.  Photographs of old Tammany Hall bosses lined the walls. A bar and grill, shower, baths, and a barber shop were always available. Regardless of Prohibition, drinks were poured freely and a poker game was usually on tap. A stage ran across one end of the room and Kenny had Broadway performers and all-girl revues up for performances.

In 1926, on the roof of an office building at 23rd Street and Park Avenue South, millionaire contractor Bill Kenny—childhood friend and major backer of Governor Al Smith—built the Tiger Room, a private clubhouse retreat. Named for the “Tammany Tigers,” the lavish penthouse featured a huge fireplace, tiger skins, brass tigers, and tiger paintings. Entertainment was provided by Al Jolson, Will Rogers, and, on one occasion, the entire cast of The Ziegfeld Follies. But politics dominated. “You couldn’t no more get up to that Tiger Room than you could get into heaven, unless you were a damn good contributor,” producer Eddie Dowling once said. The modeling firm IMG, which represents the likes of Heidi Klum and Gisele Bundchen, now has penthouse offices here.

View of Main House, Crescent Athletic Club on Long Island Huntington, New York.
Huntington Crescent Club

The Crescent Athletic Club merged with the another local club and moved to an even larger home - over 500 acres - in Huntington, Long Island in 1931. This put a considerable financial strain on the club, and the Bay Ridge property was sold off in 1936. The final piece was transformed in 1940 and 1941 when Fort Hamilton High was built. 

Crescent Athletic Club House 129 Pierrepont Street Brooklyn Heights

The Crescent Athletic Club was one of the most successful New York sporting clubs of the late 19th/early 20th centuries. Organized in 1884, the club rapidly grew to 1,500 members by 1902, at which time it was decided to build a new clubhouse. Brooklyn architect Frank Freeman was commissioned to design the building, which was completed in 1906. Known today as The Bosworth Building of Saint Ann's School.

 William Winslow House - Frank Llyod Wright’s first independent commission after leaving Louis Sullivan’s architectural firm. He built it when he was just 26.

  William Winslow was raised in Brooklyn and in 1883 at 26 became partner of the Hecla Iron Works. In 1885, when an opportunity arose, he moved to Chicago eventually forming with brother Francis the Winslow Brothers Company of Chicago.

   Winslow executed intricate designs for Louis Sullivan and other designers of the "Chicago School" that emerged at the end of the 19th century, filling the blank slate left by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  An outstanding example of such work is the corner turret grille of Sullivan's Carson, Pierie, Scott and Company Building.

1 South State Street, Chicago, Ill.

METALWORK DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR "LA SELVA", the residence of Mr. Henry Sanderson at Oyster Bay, Long Island

    THE charming examples of metalwork depicted on this page were designed by Messrs. Edward F. Caldwell & Co., especially for "La Selva", the residence of Mr. Henry Sanderson at Oyster Bay, Long Island.

Doorstops.

Hangs to the right of the main door.

Somewhere in the Loggia.

Fire Screen. Was located in Dining Room.

Fireplace Andirons. Probably located in the Living Room. (Fireplace brick pattern matches)

Drapery rod over door, under the main stairs that led to outdoor terrace. 

Door Knocker. Location?

Metal Scones. Somewhere in the main hall/corridor?

One of two fixtures that hung in the Living Room.

The only room I'm can fugue where this might be is the Morning or Breakfast Room based on the dark marble floor?

Follow THIS LINK for more on "La Selva".

"Castlewood " A Vast and Stately Building in the Georgian Style - Newport, Rhode Island

INDOORS and OUT 1906
S. W. R.

   Louis Bruguiere was the son of Josephine Frederikke Sather Bruguiere. It was her money that built "Castlewood".

Dominating the highest point of land at Coddington Point, this white-trimmed brick Neoclassical style villa was visible from all of southern Narragansett Bay. The interior featured high-style French reception rooms in Renaissance and Louis XV taste. AHAG1908 = Photo  

  
   FAR-FAMED Newport, adorned as it is by many sumptuous homes, still offers to new comers plenty of undeveloped land. Back into the Rhode Island peninsula one may go to build and still be within easy automobile reach of all the gayeties of the summer village. And these hitherto undeveloped sites are not lacking in the glorious water views one associates with Newport; they have also a bit of rural charm.   Text - IAO1906

Birds Eye View of Newport circa 1878 - Golt & Hoy
To save money, Josephine chose a site on the outskirts of the city, far from the fashionable districts.
Bellevue Avenue is the first road from the bottom running longitudinally down the center of the map.  Coddington Point  and Sunset Hill are located at the top tight corner. "Fairholme" and the original "Breakers" are at the center bottom.

   Converting a formless pasture into a beautiful estate is an undertaking that has been carried out in two years on the land known as Sunset Hill overlooking the bay of Newport and the hillsides that partially enclose it. A few years ago Mrs. Emeile Bruguiere of California searched for a site upon which to build, and found none to equal this. Here she has reared her palace, for such it must be called, although in Newport all residences whether costing thousands or millions, are called " villas." Friends discouraged her selection of the spot, but her artistic eyes saw possibilities theirs could not; and now that stubble and wild brambles have given place to velvety lawns, ornamental trees and Italian gardens, her perspicacity has been proved.

   The rough pasture was ploughed as soon as it was purchased, and the sod allowed to decay with exposure. Roads were laid out and the entire fourteen or fifteen acres staked out in a systematic way to set the residence off to the best advantage. The lack of large trees, which had been a drawback to the site, was met at once. Beautiful specimens of larch, beech and maple — some with trunks fifteen inches in diameter — were selected in the neighboring country, taken up in winter with large balls of earth about their roots and planted at points which would preserve views for the house and yet provide an elegant setting. Vegetable gardens were started and flowers planted.  IAO1906

"Castlewood " A Vast and Stately Building in the Georgian Style

American Homes and Gardens 1908
Barr Ferree

T IS no new thing to build a palace on a vacant piece of ground—vacant in the sense of possessing no beauties of its own, vacant in its desolation, vacant in the sense of giving, as its most distinguished quality, a profound impression of unsuitableness for decorative treatment and for habitual use. There are many, and, now that they have been carried out, quite justifiable precedents for such procedure. Even in America examples of the complete transformation of site to meet the exigencies of new conditions are by no means rare; but it is not often that a site so unpromising at the outset as that chosen by Mr. Bruguiere for his villa "Castlewood", at Newport, has been selected for the erection of a vast house and all the appurtenances of a large country estate. The word large is, of course, used in a relative sense; for the Bruguiere property includes but fourteen or fifteen acres— not large literally, it is true, but quite spacious measured by the Newport standard. For Newport, while a city of great houses, gives but small space to many of the most sumptuous of them, and a property of fourteen or fifteen acres is, therefore, quite exceptional in point of size.

   This, however, is far from being the chief merit of "Castlewood". That originally the site possessed few natural advantages, save the outlook it afforded over the sea, has already been hinted. The knowledge of its previous condition is now immaterial. Where once were neglected and vacant fields are now spacious lawns, full-grown trees, and smiling gardens, while as the crown of the whole is the spacious and palatial dwelling that, in accordance with the local nomenclature, is designated a "villa". To the historian it may be a matter of some interest to know that the whole of this property is new—very new indeed—though the superb lawns and even the stately trees—brought here expressly for the beautification of the grounds—give no hint of recent origin. Very elaborate, and, it must be admitted, most costly, have been the works carried out here, although the result, even now at the beginning of its new growth, has fully justified every expenditure made.

   The house is, of course, the chief object of interest on the estate, which was created to give it an appropriate setting, and for no other purpose. It is a vast and stately building designed in the Georgian style by Mr. E. P. Whitman, architect, of Boston, and being placed on an eminence, and being quite isolated, having—for Newport—an individuality almost wholly its own. It is a rectangular structure, twice as long as it is wide, and with the longer front overlooking the sea. The dimensions are quite regal—one hundred and ten by fifty-four feet—and the opportunity thus presented to the architect to design a house at once stately and ornate has been availed of in a very handsome manner. The result is so fine that it must be a source of constant satisfaction to the owner and the designer.

   Stately and ornate are qualities not always the complement of the other. This is particularly true of the ornamental qualities of a design, which may be ornate in the most elaborate sense of the word, while the result may be anything but stately. The Georgian, fortunately, is a style that permits few liberties, and it is difficult, unless refinement of detail is neglected, to go astray in it. On the contrary, its own inherent qualities are so fine and good that stateliness may almost be considered as inseparable from it. In any event it affords fine opportunities for the designer who looks to the creation of ornateness and stateliness. And both these qualities are finely and very amply illustrated in Mr. Bruguiere's house.

   Long, strong, firm lines dominate the structure. It is almost a perfect rectangle, a slight extension of the service wing being quite subordinate to the main lines of the house. The bringing forward of the center of the entrance front is a thoroughly legitimate architectural device for breaking up the long lines of a facade, and the addition to the bulk of the house thus made is slight enough and is actually compensated for by the recessing of the center of the water front, where the opening thus created is filled with a stately colonnade.

   Symmetry and sobriety thus characterize this design as fundamentals; it is true one end has a covered porch, the other a one-story addition to the service rooms, as well as an enclosed service yard. These features, however, are subordinate to the real structure of the house itself, and in no way detract from the general symmetry of the design. AHAG1908

 IAO1906 - The house is built of red brick and beautiful glazed terra cotta, nearly white in color, and is some 110 feet long by 54 feet wide. It is Georgian in style, and therein differs from other villas at Newport as it differs from them in its high and commanding isolation. In leaving the town and entering the country by way of Coddington Avenue or from boats on the Bay, it can be seen from afar, the embodiment of architectural dignity. AHAG1908

   The house is built of red brick, with details and trimmings in glazed terra cotta, so nearly white as to practically approximate that color. These materials imposed no difficulty in their use, for they fit quite naturally into the chosen style. Great square pilasters, deeply channeled, and with rich Corinthian capitals, stand at each angle; on the corners of the house, at the angles of the central projection, at the opening of the recess on the water front—pilasters of generous size, quite ample to perform their apparent task of buttressing the walls between them. They support the cornice, which is carried uninterruptedly around the building on them, and which is also of terra cotta, save the space technically known as the frieze, in which the red brick of the lower wall reappears. The whole is crowned by a fine balustrade, very beautifully proportioned to the structure it surmounts, in which brick piers, with terra cotta bases and cornices, alternate with terra cotta balusters.

   These features form the framework of the design, within which are disposed the walls and window openings. The windows in the first floor throughout the house are round arched, spacious windows, admitting ample light within, and strong, well marked features without. They are without side frames, but their sills rest on slightly recessed pieces of walls, built of plain brick; a string course, which is continued across the intervening space, serves as the base for the arch moldings, which extend beyond the main wall, as do the high and somewhat narrow keystones which rise above the crown of the arches. Above each keystone, and midway between the windows of the first and second floor, is a circular terra cotta relief. The windows of the second floor are rectangular, without external frames, but with sills supported on simple consoles. A third story is completely hidden within the cornice and balustrade. AHAG1908

The Entrance Facade
 With Glazed Vestibule and Richly Wrought Marquise. IAO1906

   The entrance front is necessarily the more formal part of the house. In this great dwelling, standing in the midst of its own grounds, there is no need for fencing and enclosures, save for the service yard. The social side of the house— the gayer and more intimate—begins immediately on the left end, with a porch reaching from front to front. Its structure is similar to that of the entrance front—that is to say, channeled Roman Doric columns upholding an entablature which carries a balustrade. The porch is built completely of terra cotta save for the piers of the crowning balustrade, which are of brick. AHAG1908

The Water Front of "Castlewood"
With its Stately Terrace reached from the Living-Room and commanding the Bay. IAO1906

   The water front is, of course, the "facade d'honneur". The treatment of the house wall is exactly identical with that of the other fronts, but the center, as has been stated, is occupied with a magnificent colonnade formed of great Corinthian columns and pilasters, rising the full height of the two stories. These form five bays, with windows in each of the two outer ones, but the central one, being occupied by the fireplace of the living-room within, is closed with brick. AHAG1908

IAO1906 - On the north side, facing the water, extends a terrace. It is accessible by means of graceful steps or from the French windows of the living room. Here the four hundred of Newport will pass to sip afternoon tea or promenade after a dance, and the lounger on antique benches can scan, under sun or moon, the Middle and West Passages of Narragansett Bay, Mt. Hope Bay in the distance, and in front of him the low bulwark of Conanicut Island. AHAG1908

    The whole of this front gives upon a terrace, very spacious in dimensions, very splendid in effect. The center projects into the grounds a considerable distance beyond the house wall, and flights of steps at the center and at the ends lead to the lawns below. Bay trees stand on the steps to the colonnade, and vases of gay blooming plants are disposed on the piers of the enclosing balustrade. Very beautiful it is here, with the shining waters of the bays below and in the distance; and very fine it is too, when my lady gives a tea, or her handsomely gowned guests seek respite here from the gay doings at the ball within. I have already used the word regal in referring to this house, and must do so again, and especially here; for behind and above one is its truly regal and quite superb facade; to the right and left and in front, the ample areas of the terrace; below is the beautiful new green grass; and beyond are the myriad delights, natural and human, that form so potent a part in the charm of Newport. Here, indeed, is a rare exterior, stately, ornate and splendid, a truly fitting background for the gayest sort of festivity and the most princely hospitality. AHAG1908

IAO1906 - The main entrance is on the south side and is protected by a wrought iron marquise of beautiful design hung from the walls by heavy chains. The vestibule is formed of wrought grill work, back of which is heavy plate glass. Both are confined within Doric columns which, surmounted by entablature and balustrade, form the central ornament of the facade.

   Such are the chief items of the exterior, but there still remain some important matters to be noted. The porch of the entrance front is a small rectangular structure applied to the main doorway. It is, in truth, an outer vestibule, its roof supported by Roman Doric channeled columns and its side and front enclosed within elaborate screens of wrought ironwork lined with plate glass. A marquise hangs before the porch, covering the steps and a portion of the driveway and fulfilling the function of a porte cochere. This porch constitutes the single ornamental feature of the entrance front. Mention should, however, be made of the wall enclosing the service yard which is placed to the right; it is divided into rather narrow bays by piers, each of which carries a ball above the crowning cornice. The bays on the front contain oval openings, with heavily blocked frames. AHAG1908

IAO1906 - From the vestibule the visitor enters a space, measuring 25 x 50 feet, known as " the grand hall".   This is the most costly room in the house. Eight Ionic columns of richly veined marble support a boldly panelled and ornamented ceiling. The walls are made of white cement and panelled by means of inlaid bands of verde antique marble. AHAG1908

   But although the terrace is, in a sense, the culmination of the house, there is much within to see of interest before its supreme attractiveness will be learned. AHAG1908

The grand staircase is of white Italian marble up to the base of a richly wrought balustrade in which garlands of roses and leaves, done by deft strokes in iron, intertwine between the architectural scrolls of a typical French design. The stairway is formed somewhat like a flying buttress, arching from floor to wall, so that persons can pass underneath it, and permitting music to be stationed here, hid by palms, during entertainments. IAO1906

A Landing of The Grand Stairway The Walls of White Plaster inlaid with Verde Antique Marble. IAO1906

   The main doorway leads directly into the grand hall without any vestibule save the glazed external porch. This is a superb and palatial apartment, whose superficial area is perhaps twenty-five by fifty feet. The ceiling, which is decorated with great boldness and vigor in relief, is upheld by four pairs of coupled columns of richly veined marble with Ionic capitals. These are arranged somewhat toward each end, leaving a free central space. Pilasters of similar design are applied to the adjoining walls opposite to them. The walls are of white plaster, with panels formed by narrow bands of verde antique marble, while the door frames are of the same rich material as the columns. The stairway is on the right, rising without the columns at that end. It is continued to a broad landing, and then turns to the right and left; the left arm alone rises to the second floor, but a somewhat symmetrical treatment is effected by continuing the right arm to the outer wall on that side. The lower part of the stairway is supported on half arches, giving a free space below, which is available for an orchestra on occasions of entertainment. The stairs are of white Italian marble, and the handrail is a fine example of French wrought iron work. AHAG1908

Adjoining the hall is the living-room, paneled high with quartered oak in the old English style, and with a vaulted ceiling. The dining-room and library are nearly equal in size and are reached by wide doorways free of thresholds, so that when thrown together a perfectly even floor is had for dancing. IAO1906

   The living-room immediately adjoins the hall and occupies the other half of the center of the house. The walls are paneled throughout in quartered oak. The spaces over the door openings are arched, to correspond with the form of the windows, the main doorway, for its greater size, being necessarily surmounted with an elliptical arch. Four great windows in the opposite wall open to the floor and give upon the terrace. In the center is the chimney fireplace, arranged in a structure that projects well into the room. The ceiling has the form of a low elliptical arch, and from it depend two rich bronze chandeliers.

   There are two rooms in the left wing: the library, which faces the entrance front, and the salon, which looks out upon the water. AHAG1908

The Library at "Castlewood". IAO1906
The panel over the mantel is cut away for the insertion of a portrait of Mrs. Bruguiere.

The Library Is Finished in French Walnut, Beautifully Carved and Paneled. AHAG1908

Bookcases, skilfully included in the architectural scheme, extend from floor to ceiling, and there is a stately fireplace giving cheer. IAO1906

   The library is paneled throughout in French walnut, with built-in bookcases. Both the shelves and the paneling form a part of a continuous design, the salient feature of which is the pilasters, erected on a plain dado, and arranged singly or in pairs as emphasis and situation require. All around the room, and still a part of the interior woodwork, is a carved frieze of rich scroll design. The fireplace is of Caen stone, lined with brick. The panel over the mantel is cut away for the insertion of a portrait of Mrs. Bruguiere; a festooned decoration is arranged above and around it. The ceiling is plain white plaster. AHAG1908

IAO1906 -The salon, leading out of living-room and library is designed in the style of Louis XVI. Mirrors form the walls to balance windows, and all of the decorative work is composed of roses modeled in plaster. The beautiful crystal chandelier, picked up abroad, seems to grow out of a mirror cleverly set in the center of the domed ceiling. AHAG1908

The Salon
The Crystal Chandelier hung from a Mirror. IAO1906

   The salon is a beautiful apartment designed in the style of Louis XVI. The arches of the windows form the keynote of the design, for arches of less dimension are continued around the walls. Paneled piers support the frames and arches; the latter, however, are without molded frames, but are surrounded with garlands and bands of roses modeled in plaster. A similar floral treatment is given to the panels of the piers, which carry a cornice supported on small modillions. And everywhere, save where there are windows, are mirrors—mirrors in the arched openings on each side of the doorways; mirrors in similar openings on each side of the fireplace; a large mirror over the mantel shelf, and still smaller ones, rectangular in form, in the spaces between the larger panels. The ceiling is domed, with a mirror in the apex, from which descends a rich and beautiful crystal chandelier. It is a room brimful of light and gaiety, conceived in a very happy way and carried out in a thoroughly successful and charmingly playful manner. AHAG1908

The huge mantel, 16 feet high and 17 wide, of this material dominates the entire room by its contrast of color and carving in high relief. In the central panel are the arms of the family. IAO1906

IAO1906 - The ceiling is double vaulted; and at the junction of the two curves is a garland of fruit done in plaster, behind which are the electric fixtures. AHAG1908

The dining-room is paneled with solid mahogany finished dark but the door trims are of the rich buff marble from Siena. IAO1906

   The dining-room is on the opposite side of the house, and is larger than either the library or salon, but not so large as the two together; some space is needed here for the ample service requirements, which face the entrance front, the dining-room being on the sea front. The walls are paneled in solid mahogany in plain, simple, rectangular panels that rise to about the height of the doors. The door frames are of buff Siena marble and are quite monumental in character; the richness of their material offsetting, in a measure, the sobriety of their design.  At one end is the fireplace, incased within a chimney-piece of Siena marble, a vast and elaborately designed structure that quite dominates the room. The family arms fill the central panel. The ceiling is supported by a double cove. The lower one rises immediately above the summit of the paneling, and against it are finished the crowns of the door frames and the chimney-piece. A band of foliage, behind which are concealed the electric lights which illuminate the room, separates the lower cove from the upper one, which is smaller and merges immediately into the flat surface of the central ceiling. AHAG1908 
  

The Fireplace of a Boudoir
 All of the bedrooms are very large, most of them being connected with private bathrooms. Some have adjoining sitting-rooms and boudoirs as well. The closets on this floor are immense in size, several being large enough to contain a single bed comfortably. IAO1906

   The main hall on the second floor is one hundred feet long and twelve feet wide and has Doric columns and pilasters its entire length, between which is paneling five feet high.

   In the basement are the kitchen, the servants' dining-room, scullery, ice chest room, laundry and drying-room, wine-rooms, gas plant and heating plant. On the third floor, hidden from the grounds by the balustrade on the roof, are the commodious servants' quarters and baths. As a whole,the house is extremely beautiful and convenient, a model for entertaining and a pleasure to look at, largely on account of its lack of "ginger-bread work". IAO1906

Incorporated into the gardens were the remnants of an eighteenth-century battery thought to have been erected by the Comte de Rochambeau.  AHAG1908

Plan de la ville, port, et rade de Newport, avec une partie de Rhode-Island occupée par l'armée française aux ordres de Mr. Le comte de Rochambeau, et de l'escadre française commandée - 1780

    A Louis XV-style paneled room was removed and incorporated into a contemporary French house on Ocean Avenue. Which room or Ocean Avenue house I do not know???

THIS LINK shows the house still standing in 1938.

Josephine Frederikke Sather Bruguiere

Josephine Frederikke Sather Bruguiere was born about 1843 to Pedar Sather and Sarah Thompson of Connecticut. Pedar Sather had been the founder of the first bank in San Francisco and was a very wealthy individual. She married Emile A. Bruguiere, a wealthy Frenchman. They had one son Louis Sather Bruguiere, born on April 6th 1882.

The Bruguiere's New York City Townhouse

    The wealthy couple lived luxuriously in a large townhouse in New York City and rented cottages in Newport. When Emile A. Bruguiere died, he left Josephine a small fortune of $1 million and he left Louis S. another $1 million. 

    Upon inheriting her fortune, Mrs. Bruguiere decided she wanted a cottage in Newport, RI, where she and her son could reside in the summers with the rest of society, so she turned to architect Edward Whitman. Whitman would be working with a somewhat restrained budget of $200,000, with $75,000 of that going toward furniture. To save money, Josephine chose a site on the outskirts of the city, far from the fashionable districts. While construction was underway on her $125,000 chateau, Mrs. Bruguiere and Louis traveled the world collecting furniture, paintings, artwork, tapestries and valuable objects to furnish the home, they ran over their $75,000 furniture budget by $20,000.

   The budget of "Castlewood" had run over by $75,000 making the total cost of the house $200,000 and another $95,000 for furniture. Nevertheless it didn't matter to Josephine, who could not manage her finances very well, and she moved in promptly after it was finished. She opened the house with a lavish ball, costing $50,000. Guests marveled at the beautiful interiors and decorative details. Whitman had designed the interiors and the floor plan of the first floor around entertaining. The first floor housed the main rooms and the upstairs held the bedrooms.

    Within 2 years of moving in Mrs. Bruguiere became deep in arrears with her Newport accounts. She was spending more than her annual income monthly and was constantly renovating her two homes. By 1913 all she had left was less than $150,000 and she was silently selling her husband's art collection and statuary off to raise money to pay the bills. Her bills were astronomical and included, $15,000 on taxes for her New York City residence and $38,000 on "Castlewood"'s taxes, she spent $30,000 on her yearly wardrobe, $25,000 for staff payments and to upkeep both of her home, $7,000 yearly for the yacht she was renting and almost $100,000 on the yearly renovations she did to both of her homes. Her son, trying to help, married the enormously wealthy widow, Margaret "Daisy" Post Van Alen, and tried to use her fortune to help his mother.

   In 1913,"Castlewood" was taken by the bank and they auctioned off it's contents for a total of $100,000. Josephine had attended the auction and had bought a few of her things, such as the tapestry that hung at the top of the staircase and the rug in the salon. Josephine sold her New York City townhouse and sold most of it's furniture for a total of $350,000. Since she also sold a small part of her jewelry collection for some $100,000, Josephine was able to retain her apartment in Paris, but cut her the original staff that had attended her at her three homes from 27 to 6. She moved into a suite of rooms at the Sherry Hotel and continued to live in Newport, renting various homes and their contents for the seasons. Mrs. Bruguiere only did this for 2 more years, because on August 19, 1915, while traveling back from Europe, Josephine and Louis were on the ocean line "The Arabic" when it was torpedoed and sank. The Bruguieres were in their first class suite when it happened. Louis was dressing when he felt it hit, he ran to the closet, grabbed the lifebelts and ran into his mother's room. He strapped it on to Josephine, who was having breakfast in bed, and threw a fur coat on her. He did the same with her french maid and then they rushed to the boat deck. When they reached the boat deck, it had been 4 minutes since Louis had rushed into his mother's room but they were too late, all the boats were gone.

Sinking of the S S Arabic

   Josephine began to go back to retrieve her jewels but Louis made her stay. They were finally thrown from the ship into the water. Josephine's maid was thrown to her grave because as soon as she hit the water she was sucked under. Louis and Josephine stayed together, with Louis carrying his mother on his back, but he lost her when she was sucked under. Louis survived but Josephine was never found. James Seidelman  Her body later washed ashore September 24th in Ireland.

   By the terms of her will, she left "Castlewood" to Louis, but it had been seized the year before.


   Arnold Watson Essex then purchased the house from the Savings Bank of Newport. He was reported to be "a man of large means who does not care for society", making its distant location from the hubbub of Newport ideal . Mrs. John H. Hanan, who occupied the house as late as 1918, was its final private owner. "Castlewood" was subsequently converted into an orphanage, The Mercy Home and School, and demolished by the U.S. Government for World War II public housing for workers of the Newport torpedo and naval ordinance factories.

"Fairholme" and "The Breakers". Where "Ochre Court" now stands was located "Edgewater", the J. Frederick Kenochan "villa". Said to be one of the most elaborately decorated houses on the Cliff Walk. Next to Kenochan is "Cave Cliff". Between would be built "Vinlind".