Place of the Week: Frederick Edwin Church's Magnificent "Olana"

Frederick Edwin Church, American’s premiere landscape painter of the mid-Nineteenth-Century long had a vision of the perfect home for his family. A follower of Thomas Cole of the Hudson River School style of painting, Church’s vision was realized at the majestic Hudson River Valley where he purchased a large parcel of land. There, in 1860, Church, his wife and two children commissioned a home called “Cosy Cottage.” Sadly, their two children died of diphtheria in 1865. In 1867, Church purchased eighteen acres of the land on the hill overlooking their property. Soon after, Church, his wife Isabel and their new infant son traveled the world. On this trip, Church became enamored with the architecture of the Middle East. Upon their return, Church began sketching his vision of an opulent mansion to be built upon the hill. After working with other architects, Church decided that Calvert Vaux should be the one to design his home. Church wished the mansion to be designed in a style that represented, “Persian adapted to the Occident.”

The result of that is the amazing Olana—named for a fortress and treasure house in ancient Persia.

As his family continued to grow, Church himself decorated their new home, stenciling the walls, painstakingly choosing the colors and filling the house with antiques and unusual furnishings collected throughout their travels. The early 1890’s saw additions to the mansion. By 1891, the house was complete, and remains almost unchanged.

Classifying the house as any one particular style is difficult. Church’s vision of “Persian adapted to the Occident” was certainly realized. A blend of popular Victorian styles, Moorish details and Persian overtones, the house is a magnificent creation of brick, stone and tile. Perhaps even more amazing are the views of the sweeping and colorful Hudson River Valley, the Catskill Mountains and Taconic Hills.

Today, the house remains a state historic site. If you find yourself in upstate New York, a visit to Olana is a must. With its 250 acre grounds, unrivaled views, glorious mansion, and the stunning collection of Church’s paintings, Olana is a glimpse at a more beautiful time.





Images Courtesy of The Olana State Historic Site.

Flashback: Building of the Week: Balmoral Castle, Scotland

This post first appeared on December 1, 2010.  I thought that trotting it out again would be germane to our theme today.

The Old Castle at Balmoral, 1853
The Royal Collection

The private summer residence of the Royal Family, the estate at Balmoral covers an area of over sixty-four thousand acres in the Royal Deeside in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The estate originally belonged to King Robert II who kept a hunting lodge on the property. In 1390, Sir William Drummond built the original castle on the site. The land would change hands three more times before the Nineteenth Century. In the 1840’s, the estate was owned by the Second Earl of Fife who leased the house and lands to wealthy patrons in search of a peaceful place to hunt and rejuvenate themselves. In 1848, the castle and lands were leased to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who both fell in love with the beauty of the grounds and the elegant, but comfortable, castle. The queen and her husband petitioned for ownership of the property and achieved their goal in 1852.

The New Castle at Balmoral, 1856
The Royal Collection

In 1853, the corner stone for a new castle at Balmoral was set into the ground. Beneath the stone, Queen Victoria ordered that a letter in her own hand and coins of the realm (encased in glass) be set beneath the stone. While Victoria and Albert loved the original castle, they realized that it was too small and too old to comfortably house their growing family and rapidly enlarging staff. Prince Albert worked closely with the architects and designers of the new castle to ensure that it not only met their immediate needs, but also blended with the design of the original structure as well as the pristine landscape.

Balmoral, 1860
The Royal Collection

Balmoral has since remained in the Royal Family and, like Sandringham House, is privately owned as opposed to being a state residence. The estate has been the favorite spot of many a royal. Queen Elizabeth II and her family are particularly fond of the spot and spend as much time as they can there.

Over time, the size of the estate has grown incredibly. In 1878, Queen Victoria rescued a one thousand acre stretch of forest by purchasing it before it could be destroyed by timber merchants. The forest, known as Ballochbuie, was officially added to the estate at Balmoral. Later, an additional two thousand acres were added as a safe haven for red deer.

Queen Elizabeth II and her Children
at Balmoral, 1952

Balmoral is still a working estate, and while the staff has been considerably reduced lately, the Royal Family employs up to fifty full-time staffers throughout the year. Nearly one hundred thousand people visit Balmoral each year—wishing to tour the land and see its natural beauty first-hand. The tourist trade is quite a boon to the surrounding areas—producing upwards of four thousand jobs for local workers each year.

The site of many a historic occasion, Balmoral has seen its share of Royal triumph and tragedy. There, the coronation activities of King George IV were carried out. Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain was born there. Most recently, it was at Balmoral where the Royal Family received word that Diana, Princess of Wales, had been killed in an automobile accident.

Princes William, Charles and Harry at Balmoral
1996
The Royal Collection

The Duke of Edinburgh, husband to Queen Elizabeth II, plays a large part in overseeing the workings of Balmoral and has taken a keen interest in preserving the trees and wildlife on the estate. As the land continues to be governed by its royal owners, we can be sure that it will continue to be one small stretch of untouched beauty for centuries to come.

Place of the Week: Belgrave Square

Belgrave Square in Central London's City of Westminster remains one of the grandest, most fashionable, elegant, coveted and largest of the city's Nineteenth Century squares. Naturally, Belgrave Square is the crown jewel of the posh area known as Belgravia.

The famed square was designed by the property contractor Thomas Cubitt for the 2nd Earl Grosvenor (later the 1st Marquess of Westminster) in the 1820s. Most of the towering, exquisite houses on the square were occupied by 1840.

So how did Belgrave Square, and consequently, Belgravia, get its name? One of the Duke of Westminster's subsidiary titles, Viscount Belgrave was the inspiration. The village of Belgrave, Cheshire is two miles from the Grosvenor family's main country seat of EatonHall.

The principle visual scheme for the rows of gleaming townhouses consisted primarily of four terraces, each of which was comprised of eleven elegant whitestuccoed houses. The south east terrace is different in that it features twelve houses. Another anomaly is the detached mansions in three of the corners. All of the properties surround a private, sculpture-filled central garden.



The terraces of opulent townhouses were designed by George Basevi. Tothis day, they are considered some of the most luxurious and majestic houses ever built in London on a speculative basis. The largest andmost handsome of the corner mansions, Seaford House, in the east corner, wasdesigned by Philip Hardwick, and the grand house on the west corner was designed by Robert Smirke.

From its founding well into World War II, the Belgrave Square was occupied by the utmost the upper class, the British aristocracy, and leadingcelebrities as well as several embassies. After World War II, many of the houses were converted into offices for charities and institutes, but that has since changed as, since 2004, many of the leases have been offered for sale and have been purchased by wealthy private owners.

The interior layouts of most of the townhouses are similar, however, the decorations are vastly different and reflect almost two centuries of the mostelite interior design.

Since our new online novel, Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square, is set in the Duke of Fallbridge's Belgrave Square house at the fictional number 65, I wanted to give you all a sense of how some of these handsome mansions looked both then and now. Enjoy these historical photographs of the interiors of No. 9 Belgrave Square from London's Country Life Picture Library.

Place of the Week: Frederick Edwin Church's Magnificent "Olana"

Frederick Edwin Church, American’s premiere landscape painter of the mid-Nineteenth-Century long had a vision of the perfect home for his family. A follower of Thomas Cole of the Hudson River School style of painting, Church’s vision was realized at the majestic Hudson River Valley where he purchased a large parcel of land. There, in 1860, Church, his wife and two children commissioned a home called “Cosy Cottage.” Sadly, their two children died of diphtheria in 1865. In 1867, Church purchased eighteen acres of the land on the hill overlooking their property. Soon after, Church, his wife Isabel and their new infant son traveled the world. On this trip, Church became enamored with the architecture of the Middle East. Upon their return, Church began sketching his vision of an opulent mansion to be built upon the hill. After working with other architects, Church decided that Calvert Vaux should be the one to design his home. Church wished the mansion to be designed in a style that represented, “Persian adapted to the Occident.”

The result of that is the amazing Olana—named for a fortress and treasure house in ancient Persia.

As his family continued to grow, Church himself decorated their new home, stenciling the walls, painstakingly choosing the colors and filling the house with antiques and unusual furnishings collected throughout their travels. The early 1890’s saw additions to the mansion. By 1891, the house was complete, and remains almost unchanged.

Classifying the house as any one particular style is difficult. Church’s vision of “Persian adapted to the Occident” was certainly realized. A blend of popular Victorian styles, Moorish details and Persian overtones, the house is a magnificent creation of brick, stone and tile. Perhaps even more amazing are the views of the sweeping and colorful Hudson River Valley, the Catskill Mountains and Taconic Hills.

Today, the house remains a state historic site. If you find yourself in upstate New York, a visit to Olana is a must. With its 250 acre grounds, unrivaled views, glorious mansion, and the stunning collection of Church’s paintings, Olana is a glimpse at a more beautiful time.





Images Courtesy of The Olana State Historic Site.