Welcome to North American Country Estates Blog
While there are hundreds if not thousands of country houses, chateaux, castles, schloss, villas, zamek, etc. all over Europe that were built using classical architectural and landscaping elements, the tradition never took off in the US or Canada in the same way. While thousands of beautiful, classically-designed homes and landscapes have been built in North America in the last century, the vast majority were built in suburban land use forms such as subdivided lots and are, in fact, located in traditional suburban environments or close to urban centers. However, this blog is dedicated to that rare exception, the true North American country house.
What distinguishes these properties? First, they are true country estates, not part of a suburban subdivision or a luxury subdivision. While residential developments such as Newport, RI, Greenwich, CT, Montecito, CA or Buckhead in Atlanta contain truly magnificent homes and landscapes, they are not true, standalone country estates in the European tradition. They may not have been formally subdivided but the end result is the same.
Second, these homes have unity of design. This means that the design follows a singular classical or European theme (e.g., Georgian, Neo-classical, Norman). Some famous country homes have one design theme for the front facade of the house and another (usually cheaper to construct) theme for the back. Hearst Castle is a prime example. While the front facade of the house utilizes a distinctive mission theme, the rest of the house (undoubtedly to save money) would be indistinguishable from any number of cheap, masonry-built office buildings found in downtown LA so it lacks unity of design. Mr. Hearst was more interested in impressing his visitors as they drove up to the castle and probably wouldn’t let them wander around to the back.
Third, these houses remain residential structures in form (if not function). They have not been converted into a non-residential use like a college administration building or a hotel. While some houses, such as Monticello, have been converted into a “house museum” they still retain the form of a residential structure.
Fourth, They have not been subsumed by the suburbs over the decades. They are located in rural or small town settings and comprise an estate of many acres. Not all have formally designed gardens but all exude a rural, park-like feel. Many former country estates in the American northeast are now engulfed by suburban development. Westbury House (AKA Old Westbury Gardens) is a prime example. An outstanding achievement in design and landscaping on what was at one time a rural estate, it is now completely surrounded by suburban development. The Biltmore Estate is in a similar situation, almost completely surrounded by metropolitan Asheville.
Fifth, these homes and their surroundings incorporate good design and construction values. No cheap Tudor revival knockoffs, rock veneers, asphalt instead of landscaping or any other construction technique that won’t stand the test of time or is offensive to the eye.
Finally, these houses are mostly intact and not in disrepair. Their owners have recognized the unique and irreplaceable value that these homes represent and have continued to invest in their upkeep and preservation. For this reason, these homes are usually, but not always, owned by wealthy families or foundations that can afford the cost.
Given these criteria, the number of authentic, European-style country estate homes in the US and Canada is quite limited. Possibly fewer than a hundred exist today rather than the thousands that exist across the Atlantic. This fact is largely due to a couple of factors. First, the late start that elite families and individuals had in North America. By the time these families or individuals had amassed enough capital to afford a country estate, the industrial revolution was well underway. The industrial revolution being an urban phenomenon, meant that these estates tended to be close to industrial cities and were mostly used as weekend getaways for the industrialists of the day. In subsequent decades, these “country estates” became “suburban estates” as cities expanded, especially after World War 2. In Europe, by comparison, most country estates were originally pre-industrial agricultural estates far off in the countryside. Control of agricultural land, and thereby the supply of food, was the ticket to great wealth in those days. Hence, these country estates continue to be located primarily in rural areas.
Also, land use regulations in most European countries constrain the urban and suburban building envelope which means suburban development is not nearly as extensive as it is in North America so country estates built in the 1700s are still situated in rural areas. In contrast, in North America (especially the United States) there is intense pressure to put land to its highest and best use and to tax it as such. This usually means sub-dividing and developing raw land if there is any economic incentive to do so. In areas where large country estates have survived, such as in Virginia, it is often due to the implementation of conservation easements that preserve raw land and reduce its assessed value.
If you enjoy classical residential architecture and beautiful gardens, please subscribe. Stories and photographs of country estates from across North America will be added every week or so discussing the history of these houses, who built them, who owns them now, and their significance to the social history of the region in which they are sited. Some of the homes are quite new. While the development of lavish country estates is typically associated with the so-called gilded age that ended with the Great Depression, the last couple of decades has seen a resurgence in interest and construction in classically-inspired country estates. Say what you will about income inequality in the U.S., it has resulted in enough capital concentrated in a few hands such that some truly remarkable residential structures have been built in recent years. This site does not delve into the morality of how these huge fortunes originated or whether it’s good or bad for society as a whole. There are plenty of blogs that get into that subject. From a purely architectural and aesthetic perspective, a few fortunate individuals or families have created something unique that has stood (or will stand) the test of time. Sometimes, these individuals or families or their heirs, unable or unwilling to pay for the upkeep, leave their lavish estates to the public for all to enjoy. And that’s the point of this blog. Hopefully, the achievements of these fortunate few and their architects and landscape designers will inspire you to look at your own quarter-acre suburban house in a new light. Only the very elite can afford to create something like what is presented in this blog. But we can all be inspired to raise our own game when it comes to our own humbler homes.
Please leave comments if you have a personal connection to these homes or find them inspiring in some way and be sure to subscribe for notifications on new stories.
North American Country Estates 