Miramar is a French Neoclassical-style mansion on bordering Bellevue Avenue on

Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island ( ), officially known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. Overlooking

Rhode Island Sound Rhode Island Sound is a sound off the coast of the U.S. state of Rhode Island at the mouth of Narragansett Bay. It begins east of Block Island Sound, continues to the east to Buzzards Bay, and opens south into the Atlantic Ocean between Block Is ...

, it was intended as a summer home for the George D. Widener family of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

History

Miramar was designed by

Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of t ...

, who had earlier designed the nearby Edward Julius Berwind property, The Elms. The gardens were created by

Jacques Gréber Jacques-Henri-Auguste Gréber (10 September 1882 – 5 June 1962) was a French architect specializing in landscape architecture and urban design. He was a strong proponent of the Beaux-Arts style and a contributor to the City Beautiful movement ...

. The building and landscaping were still being designed when George Widener and his son Harry died aboard the . His widow,

Eleanor Elkins Widener Eleanor Elkins Widener (September 21, 1861 - July 13, 1937) née Eleanore Elkins, also known as Eleanor Elkins Widener Rice was an American heiress, socialite, philanthropist, and adventuress. She was the daughter of wealthy businessman Will ...

, survived the sinking; construction continued in 1913 and 1914 and Eleanor Widener hosted a large reception there on August 20, 1915. The 27-bedroom, 14-bath mansion has a grand salon and ballroom, 27 feet by 63 feet, on the first floor, which opens onto a oceanfront terrace. It also features a 10,000-bottle

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...

with a 20-ft (6 m) stone basin for icing up to 200 bottles of champagne at once. The design of Miramar was copied from the Boullée/ Lacroix

east wing The East Wing of the White House is a two-story structure that serves as office space for the First Lady of the United States, first lady and her staff, including the White House Social Secretary, White House social secretary, White House Graphics ...

of the

Élysée Palace The Élysée Palace (, ) is the official residence of the President of France, President of the French Republic in Paris. Completed in 1722, it was built for Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, a nobleman and army officer who had been appointed g ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Carlhian designed the interiors; the furnishings were purchased from

Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen (14 October 1869 – 25 May 1939), known as Sir Joseph Duveen, Baronet, between 1927 and 1933, was a British art dealer who was considered one of the most influential art dealers of all time. Life and career Jo ...

. The property features includes a

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

and gardens with a bronze fountain designed by French sculptor Henri-Léon Gréber, father of the landscape designer.

Owners

In 1956, Miramar was sold by the estate of Eleanor Widener's second husband, Alexander H. Rice Jr, for , and in 2006 it was sold again, for $17.5 million. The estate was bought by

Stephen A. Schwarzman Stephen Allen Schwarzman (born February 14, 1947) is an American businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he established in 1985 with Peter G. Peterson. Schwarzman was chairman of President Do ...

in 2021 for $27 million.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miramar (Mansion) Houses completed in 1915 Widener family Houses in Newport, Rhode Island Gilded Age mansions