Wednesday, June 27, 2012

'Castlewood'

 'Castlewood', the Mrs. Josephine Bruguiere estate designed by Edward Payson Whitman c. 1905 in Newport, Rhode Island.  Bruguiere, the daughter of Peder Sather, founder of the Sather Banking Co. in San Francisco, moved to Newport with her son Louis around the time they built 'Castlewood'.  In 1915 the two were aboard the SS Arabic on their way from Europe to Cedarhurst, Long Island when the ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine.  Louis survived but his mother did not.  The previous year the Bruguieres lost the house to foreclosure and 'Castlewood' was purchased by Arnold W. Essex.  The residence has since been demolished.






Photos from American Homes and Gardens, 1908.

4 comments:

The Down East Dilettante said...

Brugiere went on to marry the very wealthy widow Mrs. James Laurens Van Alen, and went to live with her at Wakehurst in Newport

Such odd, odd, odd composition to this house---but nicely detailed

archibuff said...

A mini Hampton Court Palace in Newport? Granted a touch boxy. I presume the desire to build this quickly led to the decision to use terra-cotta instead of cut stone. The result are columns with way too many joints visually marring the vertical fluting, but as with the previous post on Armsea Hall, why quibble. Those interior spaces are as richly detailed as one could hope to find in a Newport mansion. Sad that it did not survive the housing expansion at the army base.

Anonymous said...

NAVY base

The Ancient said...

A few links --

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F5071EFB355512738DDDAC0994DE405B898CF1D3

(Real estate and personal property taxes in Newport, 1909.)
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http://books.google.com/books?id=-7pRAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA51&lpg=RA1-PA51&dq=%22Louis+Bruguiere%22+and+%22Josephine%22&source=bl&ots=_SWMsoXA8_&sig=foxt02-GM9d-lG-AqdS7kH6kzEs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ozHrT5PCKcm_2QW-4bnRAQ&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22Louis%20Bruguiere%22%20and%20%22Josephine%22&f=true

(Josephine didn't pay her Newport grocery bill in 1907 -- which had unfortunate consequences. See rightmost column.)
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http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F40D1EF83D5517738DDDA10A94DE405B888CF1D3

(Revenge of the tradesmen.)
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http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FB0914FE3D5C13738DDDAD0894D0405B848DF1D3

(Estate purchased at auction for $20,000.)
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http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F30817FB3F5C15738DDDAF0894D8415B848DF1D3

("Mr. Essex is a man of large means who does not care for society.")
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http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F30817FA3A5C13738DDDA80A94D0405B858DF1D3

(The sinking of The White Star liner Arabic.)
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http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1915-08-21/ed-1/seq-1/

(Louis blames it all on a terror-stricken French maid.)
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http://books.google.com/books?id=VPhNj_9yOt0C&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=Josephine+Bruguiere&source=bl&ots=KkaYAJwgbH&sig=GiyWijirrjEyYhlBg1X33cMsTSc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bCjrT6XuErGO2QXQmMGzDg&ved=0CFUQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Josephine%20Bruguiere&f=false

(From Lost Newport.)
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http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F50F13F6355A15738DDDA90B94D8415B858DF1D3

(Josephine's "lost will.")
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http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18514404

(Louis stays in Newport, and prospers, as survivors often do.)