Author Archives: Castles of the Realm

The listing for this 25-room townhouse at 7 East 67th Street describes it as “classical and chic,” and for once, that’s not so far off from the truth. The gorgeous 19th-century home is in a landmark district and retains its original 1900 Beaux Arts facade, which was designed by the architecture firm Clinton and Russell … Continue reading »

SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Demolition work has started at a historic mansion once owned by tobacco heiress and socialite Doris Duke. AP FILE PHOTO In this Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015 file photo, a portion of the sprawling main mansion of the Duke Farms estate that tobacco heiress Doris Duke once called home is seen in … Continue reading »

Where We Live: Pittock Mansion Pittock Mansion’s current exhibit documents The Oregonian newspapers early days Ken Boddie and KOIN 6 News Staff Published: March 13, 2016, 5:59 am Updated: March 13, 2016, 11:54 am Related Coverage PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — High above downtown, in Portland’s west hills, sits Pittock Mansion, the 23-room house that was … Continue reading »

Property magnate Nicholas van Hoogstraten’s own country pile looks in need of some TLC as it stands unfinished – 31 years after work began. The mansion has been branded the Ghost House of Sussex after locals complained construction had long since ground to a halt on the £40million folly. Since Hamilton Palace, near Uckfield in … Continue reading »

During Winnipeg’s great boom years leading up to the First World War, the city boasted it had nearly as many millionaires as Toronto. Men such as George Galt, Chester Stovel and James Ashdown built fine new homes for themselves during this period, but none was larger or more opulent than Alexander Davidson’s 10 Ruskin Row. … Continue reading »

Published: 03:04 EST, 12 March 2016 | Updated: 08:25 EST, 12 March 2016 A $13 million dollar mansion has been demolished in the most dramatic way imaginable: being set ablaze and burned to the ground. The sprawling 45,000 square-metre property, hemmed in by cliffs and scenic hillsides on New Zealand’s Waiheke Island, was engulfed in … Continue reading »

Fire destroys part of the building of the former Saudi Arabian embassy, March 12, 2016. James Park / Ottawa Citizen Arson is suspected in a massive fire on Aylmer Road early Saturday that destroyed a historic mansion once owned by the grandson of lumber baron J.R. Booth. The fire broke out just after midnight at … Continue reading »

THE Gala Mansion  was the site of legendary parties, sometimes with a full orchestra playing. There are buenas familias galore, many of whose faces one sees in the party pages of magazines and newspapers. The Ordoveza family is a good family of achievers, leaders and philanthropists, but rather than see and be seen at socials, the members, particularly … Continue reading »