All in History

Showplaces of the Greatest Showman; The Real Homes of PT Barnum

Showplaces of the Greatest Showman; The Real Homes of PT Barnum

Conrad Hanson
Architecture History, Architecture, History

Watching The Greatest Showman recently, I was amused to see Woodlea (the former home of Margaret Vanderbilt Shepard, now the Sleepy Hollow Country Club) used as the home lived in by the snooty parents of PT Barnum’s wife, while interiors of the Duke Mansion on Fifth Avenue stood in for rooms in Barnum’s own mansion.  While both were undeniably fabulous settings, neither was correct period-wise.It started me thinking about Iranistan, the exotically fantastic mansion that Barnum had built in real life.  While searching for images of it online, I discovered PT Barnum had built no less than four splendid mansions in Bridgeport Connecticut over the course of his life.

A Gilded Age History of Newport's Harrison Avenue and Halidon Hill neighborhood

A Gilded Age History of Newport's Harrison Avenue and Halidon Hill neighborhood

Conrad Hanson
Architecture History, Architecture, History

I never thought much about the Harrison Avenue area around Halidon Hill as being a hotspot during Newport’s Gilded Age, aside from a few stellar holdovers like Bonniecrest and Harbor Court. Over time the began area popping up more and more often during research in association with various gilded age luminaries including Whitneys and Vanderbilts who summered there. Delving a little deeper I found while it may not have achieved the same degree of popularity as Bellevue Avenue or Ochre Point, this enclave overlooking the harbor had its own cachet, populated by a mixture of Old New York Society names with enough “Nobs” and “Swells” thrown in to keep it chic. 

Newport's "Age of Innocence" Neighborhood

Newport's "Age of Innocence" Neighborhood

Conrad Hanson
Architecture, Architecture History, History, Travel

When imagining the scenes set in Newport from Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, it is all too easy to picture the characters swanning in and out of Marble House, Rosecliff, The Elms, or other mansions of their ilk.  Yet the Newport from the 1870s and 1880s that she wrote of in her book looked quite different in reality. Fortunately, there is a neighborhood in Newport that still retains some of that "Age of Innocence" character.....

Beyond the Breakers: The Newport Homes of Alice and Cornelius Vanderbilt’s Children

Beyond the Breakers: The Newport Homes of Alice and Cornelius Vanderbilt’s Children

Conrad Hanson
History, Architecture History

The Newport Cottages of Vanderbilt siblings Cornelius, William K, Frederick and Florence Twombly play a large role in shaping people’s perception of life there in the Gilded Age (and rightly so). To understand just how wide and pervasive the influence of the family was at the resort as the next generation became adults (when it wouldn’t have possible to spit in Newport and not hit a Vanderbilt) it is helpful to look beyond the “Big Four “ at some of the other homes associated with the family. This post will look specifically at those of the five children of Cornelius and Alice Vanderbilt

Gatehouses of the Hudson River Historic District

Gatehouses of the Hudson River Historic District

Conrad Hanson
History, Architecture History, Architecture, Travel

From simple tenant farmhouses to romantic storybook cottages to architect-designed fantasies, gatehouses are a defining element of the Hudson River Historic District.   Marking the entrances to a number of grand estates that form the core of the district, they give the passerby a tantalizing clue as to what lies out of sight down the long tree-lined drives they guard.  

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