Updated with news photos from my Christmas 2017 visit to Kip's Castle. Click on the photo gallery below! I recently took some time to visit a local landmark - Kip’s Castle in Verona, New Jersey. The former home of textile industrialist Frederic Ellsworth Kip and his family, Kip's Castle is a sprawling stone mansion at the very top… Continue reading Kip’s Castle – My Visit to a New Jersey Mansion
Tag: mansion
Hudson River School Day
Thomas Cole and Frederick Edwin Church, the two most prominent Hudson River School painters, both had homes and studios in the Catskill area of New York. One summer day, I went up there to visit the two houses, which are now museums open to the public for tours. This was my experience.
Gargoyle of the Day: Turnblad Mansion, Minneapolis, USA
I belong to a wonderful group on Facebook called Mansions of the Gilded Age. Last month, I asked some of my fellow group members whether they knew of any gargoyles on Gilded Age homes. They came back with quite a few great examples, including the Turnblad Mansion in Minneapolis. Commissioned by Swedish-born newspaper publisher Swan Turnblad… Continue reading Gargoyle of the Day: Turnblad Mansion, Minneapolis, USA
Gargoyle of the Day: Casa della Vittoria, Turin, Italy
This dragon grotesque and his twin live on the Casa della Vittoria in Turin, Italy. The building is also sometimes called Casa dei Draghi, presumably because of decorations like this one. ("Drago" is the Italian work for "dragon".) I'm having trouble finding out more about the building, on account of the fact that my Italian is currently a bit rusty,… Continue reading Gargoyle of the Day: Casa della Vittoria, Turin, Italy
Gargoyle of the Day: Tullgarns Slott (Palace), Södermanland, Sweden
Tullgarns Slott (Tullgarn Palace, in English) is an elegant summer palace of Swedish monarchy, built in the 1720s. Tullgarn is a mixture of several architectural styles and has beautiful wrought iron work, including these unusual-yet-functional gargoyles. The cream and peace Neo-Classical palace exterior (image below) hardly looks like someplace where one might find gargoyles, but here they are! I love… Continue reading Gargoyle of the Day: Tullgarns Slott (Palace), Södermanland, Sweden
Gargoyle of the Day: Casa de las Conchas, Salamanca, Spain
This little winged fellow looks like he's absolutely thrilled with his view from the roofline of the Casa de las Conchas in Salamanca, Spain. This late-fifteenth and early sixteenth-century building is named for its numerous shell-shaped decorations (concha is the Spanish word for shell) - symbols of the Spanish chivalric Order of Santiago de Compostela… Continue reading Gargoyle of the Day: Casa de las Conchas, Salamanca, Spain
Gargoyle and Grotesques: Biltmore Estate, North Carolina
An introduction to the grotesques at Biltmore Estate, a huge private home in Ashville, North Carolina, USA.
Gargoyle of the Day: Casa de Las Gárgolas, Santiago, Chile
I was scrolling through a set of gargoyle photos in order to find today's gargoyle, and I was a little surprised to find a category entitled "Gargoyles of Chile". This curious creature is from the Casa de Las Gárgolas (House of Gargoyles) in Santiago. I didn't find much about this location except for this Spanish-language… Continue reading Gargoyle of the Day: Casa de Las Gárgolas, Santiago, Chile
Where in the world is this place? Not where you might think.
The house pictured above might look like an English manor house or a French chateau, but it is actually a country estate near where I live in the United States. I went to visit this turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts mansion one day this past week. The home is now privately-owned and no longer decorated according to… Continue reading Where in the world is this place? Not where you might think.