Castle Hillis a 56,881 sq ft (5,284.4 m2) mansion inIpswich, Massachusetts,which was completed in 1928 as a summer home for Mr. and Mrs. Richard Teller Crane, Jr. It is also the name of the 165-acre (67 ha)drumlinsurrounded by sea andsalt marshthat the home was built atop. Both are part of the 2,100-acre (850 ha) Crane Estate, located on Argilla Road. Theestateincludes the historicmansion,21 outbuildings, andlandscapesoverlooking Ipswich Bay on the seacoast offRoute 1,north ofBoston.Its name derives from apromontoryinIpswich, Suffolk, England,from which many earlyMassachusetts Bay Colonysettlers immigrated.
Castle Hill | |
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| Nearest city | Ipswich, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°41′6.52″N70°46′45.14″W/ 42.6851444°N 70.7792056°W |
| Area | Home 56,881 square feet (5,284.4 m2) Estate 165 acres (67 ha)[1] |
| Built | 1926–1928 |
| Architect | House:David Adler Gardens:Olmsted Brothers |
| Architectural style | Stuart |
| NRHP referenceNo. | 77000183 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 2, 1977[2] |
| Designated NHL | August 6, 1998[3] |
The estate is a relatively intact work from theCountry Place Eraof the turn of the 20th century, when wealthy families built extensive country estates. The Crane Estate includes architectural and landscape designs from at least seven firms or individuals of national reputation, including theOlmsted BrothersandShepley, Rutan and Coolidge,and it is extensively documented.[1]In recognition of its state of preservation and design, it was designated aNational Historic Landmarkin 1998. The property is now owned byThe Trustees of Reservationsand is open to the public.
History
editThe property's history dates back as far as December 29, 1634, when a group of Ipswich townselectmenunanimously voted "That the Neck of Land wheareuppon the great Hill standeth, which is known by the name of the Castle Hill, lyeinge on the other side of this River towards the Sea, shall remayne unto the common use of the Towne forever."
In June 1637, John Winthrop, Jr., the town's founder and son of GovernorJohn Winthrop,threatened to leave Ipswich, and Castle Hill wasdeededto him as an enticement to stay. In 1644, he deeded Castle Hill to Samuel Symonds, Deputy Governor, who in turn deeded it to hisson-in-law,Daniel Epps, in 1660. By 1745, it belonged to the Brown family.
After John Burnham Brown died, the property was purchased by Richard Teller Crane, Jr., on January 10, 1910. Crane was the son of wealthy industrialistRichard Teller Crane,who had founded theCrane Co.ofChicagoin 1855.
The Crane Estate was declared aNational Historic Landmarkin 1998.[1][3]
Design
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Crane hired the famousOlmsted Brothers,sons ofFrederick Law Olmsted(creator of New York'sCentral Park,Brooklyn'sProspect Park,Boston'sEmerald Necklaceand others), to design the landscaping. By 1912, they had fashioned a series of ornate terraced gardens, and had begun work[4]on a magnificent grassmall,160 feet (49 m) wide and lined with evergreens cascading from the top of the hill straight down to the water nearly half a mile away. Classical-style statuary flank at regular intervals this "Grande Allée", the design of which was taken over in 1913 and finished in 1915 byArthur Asahel Shurcliff[5][1]after Crane dismissed the Olmsted Brothers.[4]An opulent "casino" was built at its midpoint, replete with saltwater swimming pool, bathhouse, guest cabanas and a sizable indoor ballroom. Two main gardens, the "Italian Garden" and the "Rose Garden," once contained ornate plantings, landscaped walkways andItalianatefountains.
Atop Castle Hill, Crane built anItalian Renaissance-stylevilla,withstuccowalls and red tiled roof. Designed byShepley, Rutan and Coolidgeof Boston, theedificewas set upon the highest promontory overlooking theAtlantic Ocean.Although local rumors postulate that Mrs. Crane’s displeasure with the villa led to its eventual destruction, recent evidence has proven otherwise. The villa’s stucco construction simply couldn’t handle the harsh wind, rain, and snow of New England, especially due to its exposed location on the top of the hill. It was razed in 1924 to make way for a new, stronger home.
"Upon the summit Mr. Crane has erected his splendid summer home, with a beautiful sunken garden, rose garden, lawns and terraces, commanding a marvelous view of land and sea, ofAgamenticusandBoar's Headand the low-lyingIsles of Shoalson the distant horizon,Bar Islandand the long bar with its many lines of white breakers, sand dunes and the level beach near at hand. Mr. Crane has purchased as well, Wigwam Hill and the great tract of picturesque dunes, the old Castle Neck, with the exception of the small tract owned by the United States, on which the light house was built in 1837. He has acquired also the Sagamore Hill farm. "(Thomas Franklin Waters, Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Vol. 2, 1917.)
As previously stated, the Italian Renaissance Villa was demolished in 1924 due to structural issues, and a new mansion took its place four years later. Designed by architectDavid Adlerof Chicago, the new fifty-nine-room mansion included a mainfacadein the 17th-centuryStuartstyle, alibrarywithGrinling Gibbonscarvings imported from an English country manor (Cassiobury House),parquetwood flooring, and paneled interior rooms from an 18th-centurytownhouseat 75 Dean Street inLondon.[6]Adler's sisterFrances Elkinscollaborated with him on the interior of the Great House.[7]The rear aspect of the house, with its octagonal towers and inset roundels, was modeled onHam House.Completed in 1928, this splendid mansion still stands, and the Olmsted Brothers' landscaping also remains largely unchanged. A pair of immense seatedgriffinstatues by renowned sculptorPaul Manshipgrace the entrance to the northterraceoverlooking the sea. These were a gift from employees of Crane Co. to Richard Crane in 1928, upon completion of his new home.
Trust
editAfter the death of Richard Crane in 1931 on his 58th birthday,[8]the estate passed to his wife, Florence. In 1945, the Crane family donated much oftheir private beach and dunestoThe Trustees of Reservations,a private,non-profitlandconservationandhistoric preservationorganization, with 112 properties throughout theCommonwealth of Massachusetts.When Florence Crane died in 1949, the rest of the property, including the mansion, was given to The Trustees, who maintain the property to this day and offertoursof the historic mansion seasonally.
The property was used as aforumfor outdoorconcertsin the late 1950s and early 1960s, featuring suchjazzlegends asLouis Armstrong,Ella Fitzgerald,andDave Brubeck,and as part of a Castle Hill Art Center and music camp run by theNew England Conservatory.Laid out just above the casino and pool, the stage faced the "Great House" so that audiences could sit on the lawn of the Grande Allée, facing the ocean. The Trustees continue to offer a number of public programs throughout the year, including outdoorpicnicconcerts on the Allée, andChristmasevents. All part of the Crane Estate, Castle Hill's once-private beaches are now open to thepublicasCrane Beach.
Since 1996, The Trustees have hosted outdoor picnic concerts each week in the summer. The groups that play at the concerts tend to be from a wide variety of musical genres.[9]
In popular culture
editThe 1987 movieThe Witches of Eastwickprominently features the grounds and mansion at Castle Hill, the site filmed onlocationas home of theeccentricmillionaire Daryl Van Horne, played byJack Nicholson.
The 1987 movieFlowers in the Atticalso features Castle Hill. It is the main location at which nearly all scenes were filmed.
The 1994 movieThe Next Karate Kidalso features Castle Hill as the Buddhist monastery Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) takes Julie Pierce (Hilary Swank) to after she is suspended from school for 2 weeks.
The 2009 movieGhosts of Girlfriends Pastwas predominantly filmed inside and outside the mansion.[10]Several fake windows, statues, and columns were added to the building, in addition to a circular driveway added to the front. Thesefiberglassadditions have now been removed, along with the circular driveway.
In the 2014 movieThe Equalizer,the Crane Estate serves as a Russian oligarch'sMoscow, Russiamansion in one of the final scenes.[11]
Phil Keoghan opened the first episode and introduced the video background segments of the contestants ofThe Amazing Race 17from the grass mall.
The Crane Estate was featured in several scenes of the 2019 movieLittle Women.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcdElsbeth T. Magnarelli and Carolyn Pitts (February 26, 1998)."National Historic Landmark Nomination: Castle Hill"(pdf).National Park Service.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)andAccompanying 44 photos, exterior and interior, undated(32 KB) - ^"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.January 23, 2007.
- ^ab"Castle Hill".National Historic Landmark summary listing.National Park Service. Archived fromthe originalon October 9, 2012.RetrievedAugust 6,2008.
- ^ab"Crane Estate - Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site".National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.RetrievedAugust 18,2023– via nps.gov.
Though the Olmsted Brothers started work on the Grande Allée, they were dismissed by Crane and work was handed over to Arthur Shurcliff. From 1913 to 1915, Shurcliff worked on the half-mile long formal mall leading from the Crane Mansion to the Atlantic Ocean.
- ^"Castle Hill".The Cultural Landscape Foundation.RetrievedAugust 18,2023– via tclf.org.
Between 1913 and 1915 Arthur Shurcliff designed the Grand Allée, a half-mile long formal mall leading from the mansion to the Atlantic Ocean.
- ^Harris, John (2007).Moving rooms: [the trade in architectural salvages].New Haven [u.a.]: Yale Univ. Press. p. 212.ISBN9780300124200.RetrievedOctober 30,2014.
- ^Powell, Scott (2023).Frances Elkins: Visionary American Designer.Rizzoli.ISBN978-0-8478-6546-8.
- ^"R.T. CRANE JR. DIES ON 58TH BIRTHDAY".New York Times Archives.November 8, 1931.RetrievedJanuary 8,2023.
R.T. CRANE JR. DIES ON 58TH BIRTHDAY; President of Chicago Company and Noted Philanthropist Is Victim of Heart Disease.
- ^"History of Concerts at Castle Hill Concert Series"(PDF).The Trustees of Reservations.RetrievedApril 27,2017.
- ^"Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)"– via www.imdb.com.
- ^Washington, Denzel; Csokas, Marton; Moretz, Chloë Grace; Harbour, David (September 26, 2014),The Equalizer,retrievedApril 24,2017
- ^"'Little Women' was filmed entirely in Massachusetts. Here are the historic, picturesque locations from the movie ".
External links
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