Beechwood (Astor mansion)

Beechwood is a Gilded Age estate located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island.

Beechwood
General information
Town or cityNewport, Rhode Island
CountryUnited States
Coordinates41.4634°N 71.3051°W / 41.4634; -71.3051
Construction started1851
Cost$2,000,000 (renovations)
Client
  • Daniel Parrish (original owner)
  • William Jr.
  • Caroline Astor
Technical details
Size16,400 square feet (1,520 m2)
Design and construction
Architect

History

Beechwood was built in 1851 for New York merchant Daniel Parrish by architects Andrew Jackson Downing and Calvert Vaux. In 1855 it was destroyed by fire. In 1857, it was rebuilt by Andrew Jackson Downing for Daniel Parrish. In 1880, it was purchased by William Backhouse Astor, Jr. for $190,941.50. He had married Caroline Webster Schermerhorn in 1853, who would later be known as "the Mrs. Astor".[1]

Between 1888-1890, Mrs. Astor hired architect Richard Morris Hunt to do many renovations, including the addition of a ballroom to fit the famous "Four Hundred". Beechwood became the show place for many of Mrs. Astor's dinner parties.[2] Beechwood also boasts a library, dining room and a music room with wallpaper imported from Paris. When Mrs. Astor died in 1908, Beechwood was left to her son John Jacob Astor IV, who married his second wife Madeleine in its ballroom in 1911.[3]

After John's death on the Titanic in 1912, it passed to his son Vincent, by his first wife Ava. Vincent later rented out the home to Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Young, a New York financier.[4] In 1940, Countess Allene T. de Kotzebue purchased Beechwood from Vincent Astor.[5] Between 1940 and 1980 it was owned in succession by: James Cameron Clark, Gurnee Dyer, William W. Carey, John Page-Blair and Richard Merrill.[6]

Beechwood Theatre Company

In 1981 it was purchased by Paul M. Madden, from Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, who was a recent graduate of The National Film and Television School of England. He undertook extensive renovation, including a new main entrance onto Bellevue Avenue.

Together with the University of Rhode Island History and Drama Departments, he started the Beechwood Theatre Company, which conducted live theatrical tours to over a million mansion visitors.[1] In 1981, Paul Madden re-opened the renovated mansion with 20 costumed actors who were trained to remain in-character as they played all the roles of a Victorian mansion, including butlers, footmen, maids and doormen.[7] The tour featured actors portraying the daily lives of those who inhabited, ran, and cared for the estate. While run as a tourist attraction, the estate was marketed as Astors' Beechwood Mansion.[8]

During off-season months (February to May), servants of the Astor family provided tours of the estate as if they were still living in 1891. Visitors were considered to be "applicants" for a summer job on Mrs. Astor's staff, and "applied" for any job they wished. Positions included: gardener, footman, butler, chef, housemaid, and many others. During the summer months while the Astor family was living in the mansion, Astor family members gave tours to guests. Everyone living and working in the mansion acted as though it was 1891 and acted in character throughout the tour.[9]

The tour included two sides of the house: first, the family's side where the Astors lived, and second, the servants' side, which included kitchens and servants' quarters, as well as an area for the children to live. Children of the family lived with the servants until the age of 17, when they were considered adults and fully prepared for social functions. Children of the family were quickly wed at the age of 18, or as soon as possible after reaching 18.

In the 1980s, Paul Madden hosted many of Newport's best social events at Beechwood, including a recreation of Mrs. Astor's "400 Ball" with Honorary Chairman Mary Jaqueline Astor,[10] a dinner dance for Vice President and Mrs. George Bush on August 14, 1981, a dinner in honor of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent for the British America's Cup Team, and a dinner dance for the Duke of Marlborough for the English Speaking Union. The British America's Cup Challenge Ball in 1983 was held in honor of HRH Prince Andrew; and was the most lavish event of that America's Cup with a dinner served for one thousand guests and entertainment that included The Regimental Band of Her Majesty's Irish Guards and Peter Duchin's Band[11]

Beechwood Art Museum

In January 2010 the Beechwood Theatre Company was reorganized under the umbrella of the 501(c)(3) non-profit Beechwood Foundation as the Marley Bridges Theatre Company,[12] and the property was sold for $10.5 million to Oracle Corporation founder Larry Ellison.[13] Ellison, who was in Newport during the summer of 2009 for training with his BMW/Oracle Racing, is linked to a deed filed at City Hall that documents the $10.5 million sale of the 39-room estate.[14] Over the next three years, Ellison purchased the properties to the north and south of Beechwood.[15]

As of 2012, Ellison plans to convert the mansion's first floor into Beechwood Art Museum, displaying his collection of 18th and 19th century art.[16] In December 2017, Beechwood was issued a permanent certificate of occupancy. In February 2019, it was reported that Ellison purchased the Seacliff home at 562 Bellevue Avenue (for $11 million), "thus giving him ownership of all four properties between Rosecliff and Marble House" which reunited the original 9-acre estate that Astor created in 1881.[15][17]

Beechwood was featured in a season two episode of Ghost Hunters in which the TAPS team investigated claims of paranormal activity.[18][19]

References
  1. "The Astor's Beechwood" BY Susan Rocheleau 1982
  2. "MRS. WILLIAM ASTOR ENTERTAINS.; Reception at Beechwood, Newport, for Her Granddaughter, Miss Van Alen" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 August 1896. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  3. Times, Special to The New York (3 July 1914). "TAKES ASTOR ESTATE.; Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt, Jr., Leases Beechwood, Newport, for Summer". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  4. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (8 August 1937). "ROBERT R. YOUNGS HOSTS IN NEWPORT; New Yorkers Give One of Most Elaborate Parties of This Season at Beechwood" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (27 September 1941). "PAUL DE KOTZEBUES HOSTS AT NEWPORT; Count and Countess Entertain at Beechwood -- Mrs. John R. Bradley Week-End Guest" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  6. Schonberg, Harold C. (3 July 1978). "Opera: Newport Festival Opens". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  7. The Providence Journal May 29, 1981
  8. Silverman, Jeff (26 November 2000). "A Gilded Age Holiday". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2009-04-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. People Magazine July 26, 1982
  11. People Magazine August 1, 1983
  12. "The Marley Bridges Theatre Company". Newport Murder Mystery. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  13. "Astors Beechwood mansion in Newport may be sold for $10.5 million". The Providence Journal. 2010-01-01. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  14. "Deed links Oracle founder to Astors' Beechwood sale". The Providence Journal. 2010-01-07. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  15. Flynn, Sean (February 12, 2019). "Tech tycoon Larry Ellison buys another Newport estate". Providence Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  16. "Beechwood's owner has museum plan". Newport Daily News. 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  17. Leskin, Paige (June 1, 2019). "Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison has an incredible real estate portfolio — take a look at his properties in Silicon Valley, Japan, Hawaii, and more". Business Insider. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  18. "Ghost Hunters (TV series)". SciFi Channel. Season 2. Episode 208. 2005-09-14.
  19. Hawes, Jason; Wilson, Grant; Friedman, Michael Jan (2007). "The Haunted Mansion May 2005". Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from The Atlantic Paranormal Society. New York: Pocket Books. pp. 184–188. ISBN 978-1-4165-4113-4. LCCN 2007016062.
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