Miramar (mansion)

Miramar
General information
Type	Private residence
Architectural style	French neoclassical
Location	Aquidneck Island, Newport, Rhode Island, USA
Address	646 Bellevue Avenue
Coordinates	41°27′30″N 71°18′17″W / 41.458285°N 71.304767°W / 41.458285; -71.304767Coordinates: 41°27′30″N 71°18′17″W / 41.458285°N 71.304767°W / 41.458285; -71.304767
Construction started	1911
Completed	1915
Inaugurated	August 20, 1915
Technical details
Floor count	3
Floor area	30,000 ft² ( 2.787 m²)
Design and construction
Client	George & Eleanor Widener
Architect	Horace Trumbauer
Other designers	Jacques Gréber (gardens)

Miramar is a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m²) French neoclassical-style mansion on 7.8 acres (32,000 m²) bordering Bellevue Avenue on Aquidneck Island at Newport, Rhode Island. Overlooking Rhode Island Sound, it was intended as a summer home for the George D. Widener family of Philadelphia. It was designed by Horace Trumbauer, who had earlier designed the nearby Edward Julius Berwind property, The Elms; the gardens were created by Jacques Gréber.

The building and landscaping was still in the design stage when George Widener and his son Harry lost their lives aboard the RMS Titanic when the ocean liner sank on April 15, 1912 after hitting an iceberg.^[1] His widow, Eleanor Elkins Widener, who was rescued in a lifeboat from the Titanic, completed the project and construction was undertaken during 1913 and 1914 and opened to friends with a large reception on August 20, 1915.^[2]

The 27-bedroom, 14-bath mansion has a 28' × 66' Grand Salon/ballroom on the first floor which opens onto a 4,000-square-foot (370 m²) oceanfront terrace. Among its other features, the mansion has a 10,000-bottle wine cellar with a 20-ft (6 m) stone basin for icing up to 200 bottles of champagne at once.^[3] The property features includes a 6,000-square-foot (560 m²) carriage house and gardens with a bronze fountain designed by French sculptor Henri-Léon Gréber, son of the landscape designer.

Miramar was used by Andrew Panteleakis as a private residence with business offices from 1971 through 2006. Panteleakis, who purchased the property for $118,000, sold it in November 2006 for $17.15 million.

References

1. ^ Boston Globe - October 1, 2006
2. ^ New York Times - August 21, 1915 article titled "Mrs. G. D. Widener Opens New Villa"
3. ^ Bloomberg News - November 10, 2006

External links

• Details and photos of Miramar
• The home sits at 646 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI