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Dedicated to an era long gone featuring architectural photographs of houses, hotels, apartment and office buildings, civic institutions and more...many of which are no longer standing.
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Architects...
- Albert Kahn (2)
- Albro and Lindeberg (9)
- Bruce Price (3)
- C.P.H. Gilbert (11)
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Cities...
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Function...
The Departed...
- Demolished (127)
27 comments:
Blaairsden ~ always one of the Best ! Thank you Jim Lewis and Zach !
It cant be said too often enough..............Simply stunning in every way possible from the location to the overall design composition, the regal interiors, perfect floor plans, majestic scale, wonderful proportions, jaw droppingly steep garden steps, the formal entry court, etc, etc.......just magnificent and at $4.9M a steal. Hopefully it finds the right buyer.
In England, the drive would already be on to preserve this house for the public good as a national treasure. We are not that sort of country.
The last time Blairsden was for sale, there was a sincere but failed attempt by a non-profit group to buy the estate. And this time, here it sits---no one coming forth with plans for adaptive re-use, no attempt at public park---nothing, in one of the richest counties in the United States, where raising money should be easier. Sad. Very sad
I'm having a hard time picturing the person who could afford it and would want to live there.
(The location isn't ideal, and the development near the entrance is unfortunate -- as in "there goes the neighborhood.")
And I don't know enough about the surrounding community to have any sense of whether high-end condos might work.
A mention of Blairsden, its late patron/owner and his organization is included on my blog post:
http://tdclassicist.blogspot.com/2012/01/landmark-manhattan-townhouses-for-sale.html
Like Ancient, I cannot imagine it as a private house any longer--in any era there are a finite number of palace builders, and Peapack/Gladstone isn't where they're congregating these days. But the school at the stables aside, the property is still lovely, the house and gardens among the most important of their era, and it does defy imagination that there is not some to be found for public enrichment
Links:
http://www.historicalsocietyofsomersethills.org/blairsden.php
(Lots of old pictures and extensive information.)
http://blog.t3consortium.com/blairsden-the-peapack-new-jersey-estate-and-its-history/
(An eccentric collection of tales about the house. The second video mentions that the trespassing fines now run into the hundreds of dollars.)
h/t TDC
P.S. Zach -- You will want to snag some of the old pictures in case they disappear.
Disagree. $4.9M is practically a fire sale for a home like this. One couldnt purchase the land for that price.
The area of Somerset Hills, is one of Jersey's most affluent areas, horse country I believe and includes the adjacent towns of Bernardsville, Basking Ridge, Bedminster and I think Malcolm Forbes called the area home amongst many others. The school also is at a lower elevation and cannot be seen driving up Blair Rd.
If an Ira Rennert or a Steven Schonfeld to name just 2 can build and maintain palatial fiefdoms then certainly a buyer is out there suitable for this home. The problem is finding one who would be interested in only restoration and not incompatible renovation or improvements.
archibuff --
I'm unpersuaded. I know several people just in Bernardsville who could easily afford this house. They wouldn't live there at any price -- they would find it terribly embarrassing. The world has changed too much.
As Dilettante said, the number of people who want to live in houses this ostentatious is vanishingly small, and it's further reduced by the location. (It's not the Hamptons, it's not LA, it's not Palm Beach, etc.) People who live in houses like this today do so because they want to show off their wealth. Well, who are you going to show off to in Peapack-Gladstone? The deer?
Unfortunately, the best case scenario is probably some private health care facility.
Archibuff, I mentioned earlier that given the phenomenal wealth in the area, and the land conservation-friendly nature of Somerset county, that it was terribly surprising that the group that tried to buy it a few years ago couldn't raise the money. But, I stand firm with Ancient---that mythical buyer you believe exists hasn't surfaced yet.
Repeat after me: Hamptons, London, Palm Beach...
Well Ancient I dont know where they get that mindset from, but I view it totally differently.
I wouldnt be embarasssed for a second, instead I would view it as a challenge to complete the restoration work that the former owner started. It would be maintaining a nationally significant and historical landmark and that would not embarass me in the least. I might even consider opening it for special events to share the place.
What it would give me is time to restore the home while I find a suitable organization or commercial enterprise that could take on the property and make it a successful enterprise, but in the meantime I would know I did my part for preservation. IT would make an ideal think tank, conference center, hotel, spa, event venue, etc, etc, but I would still own it, care for it and again embarassment would never cross my mind. Embarassment in my mind would be if I sat by and saw it bulldozed one day. Hopefully the locals will not let that happen.
DED, that mythical buyer is me!!
Oh by the way....Do have $4.9M to lend?
Let's say you had the 4.9, how much do you think it would cost to run the estate? Also, are the stables still part of the 34 acres, or are they a private residence?
http://www.historicalsocietyofsomersethills.org/Documents/Natirar_FinalMasterPlan_05.pdf
have not seen these photos before; they are stunning pictures of a spectacular house.
The Natirar master plan is interesting. wonder if the park was ever created. rumor has it that Richard Branson had some investment interest in creating the resort spa within the main house. blairsden is quite the mansion. If I could I would live there in a heartbeat.
http://natirar.com/index.php
Incidentally, for those who didn't know, 'Natirar', exotic and eastern sounding though it may be, is actually 'Raritan' backwards. The Ladds also had a villa at Bar Harbor, designed by Guy Lowell. Located on Sonogee Point, its name was 'Eegonos'. One wonders that they didn't rename themselves Etak and Retlaw Ddal. For the Bar Harbor estate: http://thedowneastdilettante.blogspot.com/2009/12/italian-villas-on-maine-coast-eegonos.html
And for 'Blair Eyrie', the Bar Harbor estate that Ledyard Blair of Blairsden inherited from his parents. As in Peapack, the Blairs and the Ladds were near neighbors:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rEpA9-HREng/TWVq-2GGa4I/AAAAAAAADBQ/ba2qnIKW5v4/s640/Q+House.jpg
And the absolutely amazing story of Ledyard Blair piloting a German ocean liner, on which he was a passenger into Bar Harbor, when it was forced to turn around on the even of World War I.
As in Peapack, the Blairs and the Ladds were near neighbors..
This fits nicely with my past suggestion that the late 19th century settlement patterns on Long Island were social and familial -- and only later "aspirational."
Dilettante --
You should write a book.
Great side links unfortunately Natirar got the jump on Blairsden. The spa, rejuvenation center, club, hotel, resort, event venue seems to already be well established at Natirar and that leaves fewer options for Blairsden other than private home or institutional use. I still believe it could easily continue on as a home.
Forgot the link to the NYTimes story---which is truly riveting:
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F5071EFC3F5412738DDDAC0894D0405B848DF1D3
Ancient, yes on both counts.
Archibuff, just keep telling yourself that
Incidentally, Archibuff, it is my understanding that although Blairsden is in better condition than ten years ago, there is still much to be done---even a quick look at the aerial photos reveals a brick wing behind the gazebo, left over from the convent era. Millions more must be spent.
But DED people build homes today for 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, 90, well you get the idea, truck loads of money and here if you even put 10 more you have a showplace far exceeding any mcmansion built lately. I dont dismiss the location, it is one of the best in NJ and within NYC commuting range. For a person who has made millions and who loves architecture and preservation, this is a dream project. People talk preservation all day long and sit back and watch bulldozers knock down the neighborhood landmark and say if only someone did something. There are way too many of those "preservationists" out there.
You need wonderful owners like Gary Mileus with Oheka on LI and Ann Johnson with Carolands in California. Both buildings were severely vandalized and moments away from the bulldozer. Blairsden is not. It can be done. Both places actually make money hosting events, etc. I never say never. It takes someone who puts their money where their mouth and heart is.
TDED, I concur with the comment regarding its condition and the considerable amount of work still yet to be done. Read millions and with it increased taxes as the added benefit for improvements - lovely!
To some degree as well the property has such curiosity factor out there it would be a continual trespassing nightmare. Dozens of sites play up a faux eerie background as to draw considerable unwanted attention I doubt would abate.
When the nuns listed this property a decade ago it was remarked that it needed a new roof and that alone was approaching 7-figures.
In 2002, the Sisters sold the estate to Foundation for Classical Architecture for $4.5 million.
An late 2011 article in The Bernardsville News stated the following:
The listing agent said [the owners] put a great deal of work into the grounds and had progressed to the mansion, particularly the first floor.
John Charles Smith, a Gladstone architect who attended a dinner party there last year, characterized the mansion as being in “pretty good shape.”
With those types of cautious remarks you can be assured that a lot of heavy lifting still is to be done.
As it is gem none the less.
Let's all pitch in and buy it! The place is an absolute steal!! I love Blairsden, and I absolutely love Peapack-Gladstone area.
Does anyone here know why the asking price is so, er..., cheap?
Lorra
SOLD!
Closing date was Sep 24, 2012 for a purported $4.5M. Buyer unknown at this time but the listing agent indicated restoration would continue.
http://newjerseyhills.com/bernardsville_news/news/historic-blairsden-estate-in-peapack-gladstone-sold/article_d92c7a14-0cad-11e2-a878-0019bb2963f4.html
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