reporter and photos: Miguel Dominguez
copy: Mansion in May
Designed and constructed between 1897 and 1903, with later alterations, Blairsden was the magnificent country home of the family of C. Ledyard Blair, a New York financier, sportsman and commodore of the New York Yacht Club. Blair was a grandson of self-made multimillionaire, philanthropist and Princeton University trustee and benefactor John Insley Blair, who made his fortune in mining and building much of America's railroad system.
The Architecture
Hailed as a feat of design, engineering and state of the art technology, Blairsden is one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts architecture in the United States, a remarkable fusion of architecture and landscape design. It is a masterpiece of the renowned and influential New York architecture firm of Carrère and Hastings, which also designed the iconic New York Public Library and the Frick mansion, now museum, in New York; the original United States Senate and House office buildings in Washington; as well as commercial buildings, libraries, academic structures, churches, and theaters in America and beyond. The firm was also noted for its country and urban residences for many prominent American families, including the du Ponts, Flaglers, Harrimans, Aldriches and Sloanes.
Just having opened on May 1st and ending on the 31st, Blairsden is the sort of venue that interior designers are always dreaming they could do from top to bottom. A lot of them would consider such privilege the highest point of their careers. Located in at the end of the New Jersey Gladstone train line and within one hour from Penn Station in New York (For information on how to get to Blairsden, please click here), it's one of the best Spring outings one can have this month, for not only seeing the beautifully designed rooms is as much a cultural experience as going to the Metropolitan Museum, but the house has an extensive terraced garden and is surrounded by acres of hilly parkland, turning the visit into a very relaxing day in the country.
As with all Show Houses, always planned to benefit charitable projects and/or organizations, this particular project of the Women's Association of Morristown Medical Center (WAMMC) benefits the expansion of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and a new Pediatric Autism and Child Development Center of the Goryeb Children's Hospital at Morristown Medical Center.
The Architecture
Hailed as a feat of design, engineering and state of the art technology, Blairsden is one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts architecture in the United States, a remarkable fusion of architecture and landscape design. It is a masterpiece of the renowned and influential New York architecture firm of Carrère and Hastings, which also designed the iconic New York Public Library and the Frick mansion, now museum, in New York; the original United States Senate and House office buildings in Washington; as well as commercial buildings, libraries, academic structures, churches, and theaters in America and beyond. The firm was also noted for its country and urban residences for many prominent American families, including the du Ponts, Flaglers, Harrimans, Aldriches and Sloanes.
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| Communicator in Chief at JanMacBrands Jan MacClatchie, Publicity Co Chair of WAMMC Kathy Hobbs, and Head & Hand PR Publicist Katharina Plath were the party in charge of the wonderful press tour |
To know more about the designers involved in Blairsden, please click here.
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| Over the mantelpiece hangs a portrait of C. Ledyard Blair, original owner of the mansion |
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| Memorable record of a wonderful day before taking the bus back to NYC! |
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