Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The Mansion that Never Was



Imagine at age 12
becoming the richest girl in America.



Image at age 14
having the guts to sue your mother.



Imagine at age 15
controlling an estate of
27 acres
45 Buildings
9 lakes
18 miles of roads
and
1.5 miles of stone walls.



Imagine being Doris Duke.
Heiress, Horticulturist, Philanthropist, Art Collector.



But something was missing:  A mansion.
The foundation lies abandoned.
The upper floors never built.


The Crumbling Foundation  
of the Mansion that Never Was 

Doris' father, James Buchanan Duke
of Duke University fame,
quit the project,
fired the workers,
and put his focus in Europe
when the US government dissolved his company
due to it being considered a monopoly.



But Doris loved the property
and because of her
 it is left for us to enjoy today.


Inside the Orchid House

You can visit Duke Farms
in Hillsborough, NJ
free of charge
thanks to the Doris Duke Foundation.
It is worth the visit.

All photos taken at Duke Farms.
My gallery is here. 





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13 comments:

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Lovely. I think I like it better with no mansion.

Jill Harrison said...

gorgeous gardens. It looks like a beautiful place to stroll and take photos. Have a wonderful week. I am joining you at Communal Global.

Mersad said...

Amazingly beautiful place, and I love how you've told the story.

Laurie said...

Again, just beautiful!

Kim Cunningham said...

That's a really interesting story! WOW! Such beautiful images to go along!

Tamar SB said...

Oh wow, How cool to learn about that!

Sarah Huizenga said...

Looks like an awesome place. I like it better with the crumbly foundation instead of a mansion.

Lisa Gordon said...

She was indeed an interesting woman, and this looks like a wonderful place to visit.

Molly said...

what an amazing story!

Mollyxxx

MadSnapper said...

a new and amazing story, and a beautiful place that is open to the public is awesome... so they shut down his monopoly and now we have so many..

James said...

I really like the photo with the bridge reflection. Hopefully I'll go there myself someday.

Jade @ Tasting Grace said...

That's quite a story! Lovely photos too!

Anonymous said...

Interesting story so we have the pleasure of such beauty acres and all to look at.