Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion and Gardens
- Also Known As: George Perkins Marsh Boyhood Home
- Also Known As: Marsh-Billings House
- Address: 54 Elm St
Y/M/D | Person | Association | Description | Composition | Food | Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Y/M/D | Person | Association | Description | Composition | Food | Event |
1805/00/00 | George Perkins Marsh | Home | Marsh Mansion is built in the Federal-style for Charles Marsh. | |||
1869/00/00 | Frederick Billings | Home | Frederick Billings buys Marsh Mansion. | |||
1869/00/00 | William Ralph Emerson | Architect | Boston architect William Ralph Emerson, transforms the property into a fashionable Stick Style mansion. A mansard roof, pointed gable dormers, tall chimneys and a verandah are added and the trim is painted in two or more different colors. | |||
1869/00/00 | Julia Parmly Billings | Home | Frederick Billings buys Marsh Mansion. | |||
1870/00/00 | Robert Morris Copeland | Landscape Architect | Hired by Frederick Billings in 1869, Robert Copeland designs the formal gardens encircling the house, re-configures the front drive and removes the Marsh's white picket fence to created a larger front lawn from former pasture land. | |||
1885/00/00 | Tiffany Studios | Artisans | The Tiffany Glass Company of New York designs several stained glass windows and provide the wallpapers and fabrics for the redecorated interiors. | |||
1885/00/00 | Henry Hudson Holly | Architect | Billings hire Henry Holly to remodel the house in the newly-fashionable Queen Anne style. The mansard roof is removed and much of the ornamental brickwork is added. The 3rd story and service wing are enlarged. | |||
1899/00/00 | Charles A Platt | Landscape Architect | Julia Parmly Billings retains the services of Charles A Platt, who summers nearby in the Cornish Art Colony in Cornish, New Hampshire. Platt adds garden seats and a fountain. He may have designed the terrace gardens that still exist today. | |||
1902/00/00 | Martha Brookes Hutcheson | Landscape Architect | Mrs Billings hires Martha Brooks Hutcheson, one of the first female landscape architects in America, to redesign the approach to the house. | |||
1912/00/00 | Ellen Biddle Shipman | Landscape Architect | Ellen Shipman, who is connected with the Cornish Art Colony, redesigns the formal plantings near the Billings' Mansion. | |||
1954/00/00 | Laurance Rockefeller | Home | When Laurance and Mary Rockefeller take over the property, they hire landscape architect Zenon Schreiber to made extensive additions to the property, including a waterfall garden and rock gardens. | |||
1954/00/00 | Mary French Rockefeller | Home | Mary French Rockefeller inherits the family estate. Although Mary and Laurance have the rooms updated for modern living, replace many wallpapers, paints and upholsteries, the house remains an excellent example of the Queen Anne style. | |||
1954/00/00 | Zenon Schreiber | Landscape Architect | When Laurance and Mary Rockefeller take over the property, they hire landscape architect Zenon Schreiber to made extensive additions to the property, including a waterfall garden and rock gardens. |
Particulars for Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion and Gardens: | |
---|---|
Sight Category | Building |
Area of Significance | Community Planning and Development |
Level of Significance | National |
Criteria | Person |
Owner | Private |
Architectural Style | Queen Anne Style |
Historic Use | Secondary structure |
Historic Use | Single dwelling |
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.