"Los Kissinger en su casa de Nueva York" is an article torn from a magazine The Devoted Classicist found while going through an unlabeled file recently. Although the article is unmarked, there is no mistaking that it is from Hola! magazine. It probably dates from the 90s, when I first discovered the popular periodical from Spain and used it for Show & Tell readings to cheer up a very ill friend. The magazine's format is simple, but tried-and-true, with at-home interviews accompanied by as many as a dozen snapshot-like portraits with a wide angle lens that also manages to get in plenty of the decor. Nancy and Henry Kissinger (seated). Nancy Kissinger is a member of the Board of Directors of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, located in a handsome, landmark, 1927 Federal Revival townhouse designed by McKim, Mead & White; it was donated by Margaret Rockefeller Strong de Larrain, Marquesa de Cuevas, in 1965. The article marks the ocassion of Mrs. Kissinger being that year's chairperson of the fund-raising gala that honors the Gold Medal award winners that have been recognized for their contributions to the betterment of relations between the United States and Spain. (Dr. Henry Kissinger was one of the honorees in 2005, and recently-in-the-news newlywed H.E. The Duchess of Alba in 2008). But before the photos of the Kissingers' apartment, some background on the famous building, River House. One of the most prestigious apartment buildings in Manhattan is the 26 story River House located at 435 East 52nd Street. And it is among the most exclusive buildings, with the co-operative By-Laws reportedly prohibiting the building's name or address in real estate sale listings. The courtyard entrance of River House. Located on the bank of the East River, its relatively secluded location (Greta Garbo lived across the street) on a dead-end street with entrance through a private courtyard allowing limousines to pull up to the door is a considerable selling point. A vintage view of the Reception Hall of River House. Past the doorman and the Foyer is a long gallery Reception Hall that overlooks the Fountain Court (as seen in the first image) and the East River beyond. Mirrored panels of verre eglomise waterway scenes by Jan Juta, 1895-1990, are featured in the space decorated by Ernesta Beaux. (For more on these two talents, and a better look at one of these murals, see the Aestheticus Rex blog). Marble Art Deco versions of classical fluted pilasters flank the murals and give visual support to the cornice decorated by alternating moons and stars. The original scheme had creme cast plaster gulls on a pinkish-brown ceiling above the Beaux-designed rugs in tones of brown, lemon yellow, henna and gray to compliment Directoire Revival and Empire/Beidermeier Revival furnishings. Watercolor renderings of the river landing from the original sales prospectus. A river landing was another original feature, but it lasted only until the FDR Drive was constructed in 1934. The River Club, limited to 400 men and women from New York and 200 from other states, is an original amenity that still exists with an indoor swimming pool, two indoor championship tennis courts, ballroom, oyster bar, dining room, and 26 suites for out-of-town members and guests. In addition to the separate 52nd Street entrance, there was previously an entrance from the river landing, and there is an elevator entrance from the River House lobby. The Lounge at the Indoor Swimming Pool of the River Club. A vintage view of an indoor tennis court at the River Club. The entire building, including the River Club, was designed by William Lawrence Bottomley, the principal of the architectural firm Bottomley, Wagner, & White, and built 1929-32. River views, privacy, and natural ventilation were all carefully considered for each of the 64 simplex (one story), duplex (two story), and triplex (three story) apartments, varying from 8 to 17 rooms. A typical floor plan of River House. A very unusual feature is the interlocking plans of the "E" and "F" duplex apartments which have the public rooms of the apartment on the lower floor on one side of the wind and the private rooms on the opposite side above, allowing for variations in exposure. Also, the ceiling heights vary, higher in the entertaining levels and lower in the bedroom levels. Floor Plans for the tower apartments and the "E" and "F" duplexes. Tower apartments with exposures on all four sides start on the 17th floor. The top of the building was originally a triplex with private terraces, but it was later divided to two apartments, a duplex and a simplex above. (That duplex was famously owned by Susan and John Gutfreund in the 1980s, with a number of so-called "bad neighbor" incidents reported in the tabloids including the hoisting of a 22 foot Christmas tree up the outside of the building via a wrench mounted on their upstairs neighbor's terrace). View from a penthouse terrace at River House. Those living outside the big urban areas often find the concept of a co-operative building difficult to understand. In the briefest of terms, a purchase involves shares in ownership and the right to occupy a specific apartment. It also means that a potential buyer has to be approved by the Board, and rejection requires no explanation. In a well-publicized lawsuit, Gloria Vanderbilt sued, claiming that she was not even allowed an interview. Others who reportedly were turned away were Richard Nixon and Diane Keaton. Henry Kissinger has lived in River House for decades and is always mentioned whenever there is a list of residents, so The Devoted Classicist is not compromising any confidences here. It is a guess that this is an "E" duplex by interpreting the photos, but it is only a guess, and nothing is known about the decorator. Considering the owners' wealth, education and exposure, the Living Room is remarkably unfinished. Perhaps when it is filled with people, the flaws are less noticeable. The scraggly potted orchids, and bunches of dried hydrangeas, inexpensive decoration, would indicate that at-home entertaining is infrequent. The presence of at least four crystal ashtrays might contradict that, however. Despite the over-use of green, this writer would have considered window treatments that were the same color as the walls, letting the Bessarabian rug be the major colorful pattern, and added throw pillows. Also, the room would be improved if art could play a bigger role. The lacquered and inlaid pieces do add a richness, however. The original 6-over-6 double hung windows have been replaced with single pane tilt-turn sash that unfortunately give big expanses of darkness at night. This writer, influenced by former employer Sister Parish, favors black candles, too, but does not display them without first burning the wicks briefly. A manila clasp envelope on the left cabinet, presumed to be a late nineteenth century Boulle revival pair, appears in a previous shot. Although the two-panel screen mounted on the wall above the canape is not objectionable, a stronger piece of art would help distract from the "legginess" of the furniture. Just guessing, it looks like there is seating for at least 21 in this room, which is good; a Living Room should seat, at the very least, the same number as the Dining Room. Again, it is not that the furnishings themselves are objectionable; it is just an uncomfortable arrangement. It is hoped that this rare, un-styled look into a celebrity interior was appreciated from a socio-anthropological and decorative point of view. Do the readers have any suggestions for the Kissingers for a little home improvement? The color vintage photos of River House are from THE WORK OF WILLIAM LAWRENCE BOTTOMLEY IN RICHMOND by William B. O'Neal and Christopher Weeks, University Press of Virginia, and the black & white photos are from THE ARCHITECTURE OF WILLIAM LAWRENCE BOTTOMLEY by Susan Hume Frazer, Acanthus Press, available here. The photos of the Kissingers in their River House apartment are from HOLA! magazine, available here.
Like many things in life—wine, cheese, a particularly cozy sweater—your design skills only get better with age. Whether you’ve relocated and redecorated more times than you can count or rely on your favorite websites, magazines, and Instagram accounts to keep you inspired for the moment you can truly carve out a space of your own, you’re bound to discover new tricks, ideas, and brands as you grow up and hone in on your aesthetic.
A house like an archetype. As a prelude to the castle "Schönberg" (12th century) at the Wehrgraben - site of a former guard house. The h...
Today I’m going to begin the first of what will be an ongoing, long and possibly unfinished project– to make an easy-to-read version of the late 1700s book The London Adviser and Guide by John Trusler. I think the extended title says it all: THE London Adviser and Guide: Containing every Instruction and Information Useful and Necessary … Continue reading "How to Lease a Home in 18th Century London"
Does a Victorian house lend itself to the precepts of Marie Kondo?The answer might surprise you.
After our tour of Hohenschwangau we had about 2 hours to get to Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein Castle was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty's Castle. This is the view of Neuschwanstein Castle from our drive up to the town. We had a little lunch before we made the trip up to the second castle. We didn't want to make the uphill hike in the cold, so we took a more relaxed approach to getting up the mountain. The horse drawn carts are pretty reasonable at 6 euro each for Kim and I, Jonah was free. It was about a 10 min, or less, ride up to the top. The views of the valley below are beautiful. I imagine during the spring the lush green of the farmland below is breathtaking. We had about 20 or 30 minutes to kill before our tour started so we killed some time by taking pics. The pics just do not do justice of the mountains around the castle. Castle entrance, its a panoramic shot the pic makes it look curved but its is straight across the front. King Ludwig started construction of his castle in 1869. The castle was drawn up by stage designer, Christian Jank. Ludwig was so controlling on the conception of the castle that it is regarded as his own creation rather than that of architect Eduard Reidel. This was one of the largest castle construction sites in the 19th century. The view coming thru the main castle gates. In 1882 the castle basement and first floor was completed. Ludwig had it fully furnished and he moved in to watch over the rest of the construction. Again, no photography is allowed inside the castle, so Google has been so kind as to provide the photos of the inside of the castle. The kings study. 14 rooms, only 1/3rd of the castle, was finished before King Ludwig's mysterious death. Ludwig's living room. Everything in the castle is just as it was when Ludwig was living here. The king and his family had a love affair with Swans. Every room in both castles has some sort of Swan in it. You can see the border surrounding the room under the ceiling joist has swans facing each other. The Kings dining room. He was a very shy king, so I am guessing that is why the dining room table is so small. Down the hall he also had a telephone installed. He could call through two lines, one to his parent castle and the other to the post office. The kings bedroom, the canopy of his bed resembles all the Gothic Church steeples seen throughout Bavaria. The detail of all the hand carved items throughout the entire room are awe inspiring. It took 14 master carvers over four years to complete the canopy alone. The kings room also had running water from the mountain springs, the water would flow out of the beak of this pure silver swan. The Kings dressing room. Remember the king had the plans drawn up by a stage designer, part of the design was a cave (gratto), it was the hallway between the living room and the study. It could be lit with different and also had a running waterfall. The largest room in the castle is the hall of the singers. It was never meant to entertain but to be more of a walk thru monument of the culture of knights and the romanticism of the middle ages. The Throne room was very impressive, the ceiling is painted as the sun and the floor mosaic tiles are designed to showcase the animal kingdom. The mosaic tile floor is very detailed, they have placed clear plexiglass over the floor so you can walk about the lower portion of the throne room with out messing up the floor. The Kings Throne, but since the king died before it was finished a throne was never built. Ludwig saw himself as a mediator between God and the world. As you can see Jesus is above the throne to watch over the King along with the six sacred kings: Saint Louis of France, Saint Stephen of Hungary, Saint Edward the Confessor of England, Saint Wenceslaus of Bohemia, Saint Olaf of Norway and Saint Henry, Holy Roman Emperor. The castle kitchen had hot and cold running water, a fresh fish pond, a pantry, oven, and built in china cabinet. The king was able to live here for 171 glorious days before he mysteriously died. In 1886, the Kings uncle Luitpold, had the King deemed insane with no formal diagnosis from a doctor. Only 3 days after his diagnosis, the King and the doctor assigned to watch over him where found dead in the waist high waters of Lake Starnberg. There is still controversy on if the kings death was murder or accidental drowning even though no water was found in his lungs during the autopsy. Only six weeks after Ludwig's death Luitpold ordered the palace open to paying visitors. I had just enough light left in the day to run to Marienbrucke (Marys bridge) named after King Ludwig II's mother. I took a couple of pics from the suspension bridge. The bridge is actually older than the castle it was wood in 1845 and rebuilt with iron in 1866. From here you can really see the Snow White Disney castle inspiration. Today there are over 1.3 million visitors each year. During the peak touring season it will get about 6000 people per day. In 2008 the total number of visitors topped over 60 million people. Just 2004 alone the revenues logged where over 6.5 million euro or over $8.8 million US! But I have to say I think it was well worth the money we spent. A trip I think that will last in our memories for a lifetime.
Single and two story new homes coming to Carlsbad West neighborhood. See all new homes in Carlsbad for sale and coming soon. Currently under construction. 2.2 miles to the beach. Your local source for all new homes in San Diego North County.
Plan of Pattishall House, Northamptonshire
At Badminton, the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort have preserved the house's historic interiors while creating a comfortable setting for family life.
Cliffside Roost is a stunning masterpiece of modern architecture, perched high atop a rocky cliff overlooking the vast expanse of the ocean. This luxurious villa is a true work of art, seamlessly blending contemporary design with natural elements to create a space that is both breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly functional.
Highdark Hall is a fictional eighteenth-century estate house suitable to be the primary location for an entire Saga of Gothic roleplaying. It features five floors and over 100 rooms, with many poss…
