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PrintThe Du Ponts: Houses and Gardens in the Brandywine
A new book by Maggie Lidz shows not only the fabulous homes the family built, but also how they lived. These excerpts are but a hint.
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Copy of the Frascati Gate Installed by Frank Crowninshield in the Colonnade Garden, 1935 | The Colonnade Garden, ca. 1928 |
Eleutherian Mills
1802, renovated 1853, 1923-25
Residence of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont
THE HOUSE HAS THE COHESIVE STORYLINE of a survivor: development, maturity, degradation, rescue, and resurrection. The garden’s story is more common: development, maturity, destruction. What makes Eleutherian Mills a bit of a conundrum is that the house—an 1802 structure rebuilt several times in the 19th century, restored in the 1920s, and now a museum—was never more than a mildly interesting piece of architecture, albeit with sentimental value. On the other hand, the garden was considered one of the most successful romantic conceits of the 20th century. Its loss is lamentable.
Page 3: 808 Broom Street
