Carey Mansion

summer cottages to be built. Since that time, Carey Mansion has been known by many names and has had many varied uses.

History

Seaview Terrace was originally built on Dupont Circle, in Washington, D.C., by liquor millionaire Edson Bradley. The mansion was located on the south side of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., on a lot covering more than half of a city block. The site was made available by demolishing the Gardiner Hubbard mansion, a huge Victorian house. The original incarnation included a Gothic chapel with seating for 150, a large ballroom, an art gallery, and a 500-seat theatre, known as Aladdin's Palace. It is the fifth-largest of Newport's mansions, after The Breakers, Ochre Court, Belcourt Castle, and Rough Point.

In 1923, Mr. Bradley had the parts of this castle dismantled, and shipped to an oceanfront property in Newport, R.I. This work continued for two years where Seaview Terrace was rebuilt, larger and grander than before. When the pieces were moved from Washington DC to Newport RI, it required the use of many railroad cars and trucks. It is believed to be one of the largest homes to be moved in this manner. Rooms imported intact from France were moved from the Bradley's home in Washington, D.C. to Newport, and reassembled with the mansion constructed around them. A pre-existing Elizabethan residence formerly owned by James Kernochan was incorporated into the design. In keeping with its seaside location, the manor house features turrets, stained-glass windows, high arching doorways and shell motifs. When the work was complete, there were 17 rooms on the first floor, 25 on the second, and 12 on the third. Seaview Terrace cost over two million dollars to build. Mrs. Bradley died in August 1929 and her funeral was held in the house's chapel. Edson Bradley spent five more summers at the mansion until he died in 1935.

The Bradleys' daughter, Julia Bradley Shipman, took over the estate and lived there until the late 1930s with her husband Rt. Rev. Herbert Shipman, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New York and a World War I Army chaplain. She vacated the house after the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 caused severe damage to the roof, the tower in particular. The home was used during World War II as Army officers' quarters. Julia neglected the property and failed to pay taxes on it. In 1949 the building was sold for only $8,000, a fate shared with many other Newport summer "cottages".

In the 1950s, it became an exclusive all-girl summer high school and renamed "Burnham by the Sea". It remained open from 1950 to 1974. The house was owned, and summer school run, by Mr. and Mrs. George Waldo Emerson. Mrs. Emerson was also a headmaster for the Mary Burnham School for girls in Northampton, Massachusetts during the academic year. In 1968, the Stoneleigh Prospect Hill and Mary Burnham School merged to become the Stoneleigh-Burnham School.

In the late 1960s, the exterior was used for the exterior shots of the Collinwood Mansion on the soap opera series Dark Shadows. The show still has a cult following. Even with revived use, the mansion's dilapidated condition was a cause of concern. During the summer of 1973 the movie "The Great Gatsby" was filmed next door. All the children at the school, who had a 9pm curfew, spent the evenings listening to the filming of the cars driving up and down the old Oelrichs property, Rosecliff.

The Carey Mansion has never throughout its history had any sort of fencing or wall surrounding the property. There are two main gateposts, but around the rest of the property a decorative hedge is used, rather unsuccessfully, to keep people away, making it the largest of its kind in Newport with such a characteristic.

Current Use

In 1974, Martin Carey of New York purchased the home and renamed it the Carey Mansion. Restoration commenced soon after, with particular attention focused on the crumbling facade. The ivy and vines, which had been permitted to grow untamed since Mrs. Shipman left the house in 1938, had caused severe damage to the facades, which required thousands of dollars worth of repairs.

Carey began several remodeling projects on the western half of the building, but has yet to address several issues in the eastern half. As a result, the solarium and ballroom are now closed off and repairs are pending. It is also interesting that, despite its condition, the ballroom is the best-preserved room in the house because it never housed students and was seldom used by the Bradleys.

As it is one of the largest of Newport's mansions, Mr. and Mrs. Carey are faced with astronomical costs for upkeep. Because of this the third floor and most of the second and first floors have been leased to Salve Regina University. The second floor in the south wing is maintained as the Carey family's private residence, which is used chiefly in the summer months.

The former stables of the mansions are used as a dormitory for Salve Regina, known as Seaview. Cecilia Hall, named for the patron saint of music (Saint Cecilia), refers to the music chamber in the mansion, which is used by the university for performances and practice.

Unfortunately, sea air has not been kind to the facade since its last repair over thirty years ago, and it is now once again in a state of disrepair. The vines have absorbed most of the moisture from around the facade and their suckers have dug into it, causing further damage.

Features

Whispering Gallery

Cecilia Hall features a whispering gallery, an elliptical room reminiscent of the prototype at Saint Paul's Cathedral in which a person standing at one of the foci could utter the slightest whisper allowing a person at the other foci to hear it. Another well known example is the Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.

tained Glass

"The Flagellation" was part of series that represented the cycle of the Passion of Christ. Designed for the Milan Cathedral. Believed to be designed in Currado Mochis da Colonia workshop around 1545 AD. Bought by Edson Bradley for the home when it resided in DuPont circle. img - http://www.icvbc.cnr.it/bivi/eng/estero/1NEWPORT%20Seavew%20Terrace1.htm

Estey Organ

Jacob Estey of Estey Organ Company Brattleboro, VT manufactured pipe organs. Carey Mansion had Opus 2140. It was a Tremolo Electric Detached Console Automatic Player which included Great pipes, Swell, and multiple pedals. It is no longer operational, and the console is missing.

Links

* [http://www2.bc.edu/~kuchar/collinwood/collinwood-misc.htm A visual tour of "Collinwood"]
* [http://www.esteyorgan.com/Opus2140.html Estey Pipe Organs Opus List (Carey Mansion's entry)]
* [http://www.icvbc.cnr.it/bivi/eng/estero/1NEWPORT%20Seavew%20Terrace1.htm The Flagellation (stained-glass installation at Seaview)]