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Will Rogers was a popular actor in the early days of Hollywood. In the 1920’s he bought land in Santa Monica and his 359 acres included some land that would later become part of Pacific Palisades. In the 1940s his wife, Betty left their 31 room ranch and the land to the California State Parks. Some of the houses are famous because of the architecture while others are famous for being used in movies and tv shows. There are so many different ways that we are spoiled in Southern California but the incredible variety of homes that we can visit is truly something special.
The Banning Museum
The second floor was where James, Mary, and their daughters had their bedrooms. The sons’ bedrooms and a schoolroom were located on the third floor. Five bedrooms for up to ten female servants and two sewing rooms were also located on the third floor. A small theater and playroom were built in the attic for the Hill children and grandchildren. Sitting on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and the city of St. Paul, the 36,500-square-foot, forty-two-room James J. Hill House stands as a monument to the man who built the Great Northern Railway.
Holidays on the Hill Tour
The house is known for its unique design and colorful history. You used to be able to tour the house but now the new owners only make it available to the public during special events. This is the only Neutra designed home that is available for tours.
Early-stage homes
In 1882, James Hill purchased two lots on the far eastern end of Summit Avenue and selected the architecture firm of Peabody, Stearns, and Furber of Boston and St. Louis to design the mansion. He settled on Richardsonian Romanesque as the style of architecture. Named for Henry Hobson Richardson, it was characterized by balanced asymmetry, imposing facades of rough-hewn stone, and rounded arches. The house could be seen from the front on Summit Avenue, and from the back along the river and from downtown St. Paul. Unlike most neighboring homes, the Hills’ house featured finished facades on both its front and back.
Later history
Hill, his wife, Mary, and their children had moved through several homes over the years, mostly in the Lowertown neighborhood of St. Paul. The Hills planned a house with the latest in modern conveniences where they could receive and entertain nationally known civic and religious leaders. Upon completion of the Summit Avenue residence, Hill had the family's old house, which he had constructed in 1878, razed. After the death of Hill's wife in 1921, the house was donated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. It was obtained by the Minnesota Historical Society in 1978 and today is operated as a museum and gallery. Many speculators, who had sold Northern Pacific "short" in the anticipation of a drop in the railroad's price, faced ruin.
Stahl HousePerhaps the most famous example from the Case Study House program, the 1959 Stahl House, by architect Pierre Koenig, boasts spellbinding views of the city from its perch in the ritzy Hollywood Hills. Thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows and daring cantilevering, the modernist dwelling has appeared in numerous TV shows and movies, including Galaxy Quest, Playing by Heart, and Nurse Betty. While the estate is still owned by the original family, the public can schedule a viewing online. When the house was completed in 1891, it was equipped with the most advanced technologies of the day. Built during the transition between gas and electric lighting, the house was designed to include both. For security, windows and doors were wired to an annunciator system that would ring an alarm in the houseman’s room if they were opened unexpectedly.
Preserving History
We think it's one of the greatest outdoor spaces in Southern California, with the architecture eclipsing the collection it houses. An excellent example of American Arts and Crafts style architecture, Gamble House was designed in 1908 by Charles and Henry Greene for David and Mary Gamble (Procter and Gamble). Architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue designed it to in the style of ancient Egypt. In the early 1990s, it was expanded in what renovation architect Norman Pfeiffer called "Modernist/Beaux Arts style." Partly designed by John and Donald B. Parkinson, it was the last great railway station to be built and not the grandest, but it's been in so many films that we all recognize it when we see it.
The Boston firm of Peabody, Stearns, and Furber, which was known for its impressive mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, designed a massive Richardsonian Romanesque style mansion, then very much in fashion. The final cost totaled $931,275.01 including construction, furnishings, and landscaping for the three-acre estate. Grades 4-12 Tuesday and Wednesday starting January 10, 2023 A visit to this grand Gilded Age mansion will challenge students to use critical thinking skills to discover how railroads transformed America at the turn of the 20th century. Admission includes self-guided access to the first floor of the mansion and a 60-minute guided tour of the entire house. The first floor, in addition to the art gallery, music room, hall, and formal dining room previously mentioned, also had a library, a drawing room, and Mr. Hill's home office. The second floor contained Mr. and Mrs. Hill's rooms, two guest rooms, and rooms for their five daughters, Gertrude, Rachel, Clara, Ruth, and Charlotte.
Historic Home Museums in Los Angeles
The house had a hybrid system of gas and electric lighting, with rotary switches on the walls to turn on the electric lights. However, there were no electrical outlets installed, because during that era electricity was only used for lighting. The woodwork in the house is very intricate, with hand-carved woodworking in the central hallway, the formal dining room, and the music room.
INTERVIEW: Holidays on the Hill - KSTP
INTERVIEW: Holidays on the Hill.
Posted: Sun, 03 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The third floor contained rooms for their sons James, Walter, and Louis (who later succeeded his father as president of the Great Northern Railway). It also had a room that served as a gymnasium and school room for the children, as well as quarters for the servants. Subject to certain restrictions; see your Build Construction Agreement for details. He also designed one of my favorite places in LA, the Wayfarers Chapel. The Derby House was built for businessman James Derby, though due to a separation with his wife he would never live here. The textile blocks are supposed to help keep the interior bright.
As new warehouses and railroad tracks crowded the Lowertown residential area, and as Hill's collection of paintings and sculpture overflowed the house, the Hill family thought it was desirable to move. Hill also realized that recent improvements in home technology, such as electric lighting, plumbing, ventilation, and fireproofing, could be incorporated into a new home. Moreover, since Hill was becoming a socially prominent person in the community, a new home would stand as a tribute to his status as the "Empire Builder". Built in 1960 at 7776 Torreyson Drive in West Hollywood (in the hills overlooking Studio City and just off Mulholland Drive), The Chemosphere was designed by architect John Lautner. The Chemosphere House designed by the architect John Lautner for Nouard Gootgeld. The house looks beautiful but from the reviews that I have read, the gardens are truly what people love.
Twenty years later, he bought the bankrupt St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, quickly expanding it to Canada and across the Rocky Mountains before renaming it the Great Northern Railway. Hill was not only involved in transportation but also milling, banking, and agriculture businesses. Family members purchase the mansion from the Hill estate and gift it to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. For over fifty-three years, its spaces are used as offices, classrooms, and housing. Over the years, the mansion hosted a number of important events.
In 1925, family members purchased the mansion from the estate and presented it to the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul. For the next half-century, the structure served as an office building, school, and residence for the church. The home served as the center for the public and private lives of the Hill family for the next 30 years. Children grew up in the house, and four daughters had their weddings in the large drawing room.
The home has 36,000 square feet (3,300 m2) of living area and 44,552 square feet (4,139.0 m2)[3] of total space. Experience Christmas in 1910—both upstairs and downstairs—in the sumptuous Gilded Age mansion of railroad titan James J. Hill.
It is called the research house because it was built with a loan from a patron. A fire destroyed most of the house in 1963 and was rebuilt by Neutra’s son with the Dad’s oversight. This home and park have such a wonderful variety of activities for visitors. You can tour the home (during non-covid times), go horseback riding, hiking, attend movie nights over the summer, and polo games.
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