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Catalog Data

Landscape architect:
Farrand, Beatrix, 1872-1959  Search this
Garden designer:
Bracale, Dennis  Search this
Sculptor:
Soderholtz, Eric E.  Search this
Former owner:
Kennedy, John Stewart  Search this
Dorrance, Ethel Mallincknot  Search this
Architect:
Rowe & Baker  Search this
Carroll, Grisdale & Van Alen  Search this
Provenance:
Garden Club of Mount Desert  Search this
Collection Creator:
Garden Club of America  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Place:
Kenarden (Bar Harbor, Maine)
United States of America -- Maine -- Hancock County -- Bar Harbor
Scope and Contents:
The folders includes worksheets, historical information about the property, and a garden tour description.
General:
The original gardens at Kenarden were designed by landscape architect Beatrix Jones Farrand (1872-1959) early in the last century and have been restored and replanted by the current owners. The gardens include a formal rose garden with boxwood edging that has a contemporary Lunaform urn at its center. The fomal sunken Italianate garden's balustrade and pergola were replicated by garden designer Dennis Bracale, and the flower beds were replanted. Urns created by Eric Ellis Soderholtz in the early 20th century are in situ in the Italianate garden as well as around the residence. Large cutting and vegetable gardens were installed in the same location as the historic gardens, alongside greenhouses. Many of the original outhouses remain on the property as well as mature specimens including a Japanese umbrella pine, a very large hawthorn tree, a mature gingko, and very mature pieris, kalmia and rhododendron. An iron fence surrounding the property was added with new perimeter plantings. The drive from the main entrance cuts through native woods that are maintained as a decorative feature.
Kenarden Lodge was one of the original summer properties built at the end of the 19th century in Mount Desert, Maine. The turreted mansion with its own electrical plant designed by New York architects Rowe and Baker in 1892 was torn down in the 1960s and another house was built in its place circa 1970 by the architectural firm Carroll, Grisdale & Van Alen. The first owner of the property was financier John Stewart Kennedy; the estate was sold in the 1930s to Ethel Mallinckrot Dorrance, widow of Dr. John Thompson Dorrance, a chemist at Campbell who invented condensed canned soups.
Encouraged by Beatrix Farrand, Eric Ellis Soderholtz switched from photography to manufacturing garden urns and other ornaments, some of which remain at Kenarden.
Persons associated with the garden include John Stewart Kennedy and members of the Kennedy family (former owners, 1892-1933); Ethel Mallinckrot Dorrance (former owner 1933-1958); Ethel Dorrance Colket (former owner 1958-1966); Rowe and Baker (architects of original house, 1892); Beatrix Jones Farrand (landscape architect, circa 1915); Carroll, Grisdale & Van Alen (architects of current house, 1970-1972; firm in business 1946-1973 ); AB & JR Hodgkins, Inc. (builders of current house, 1970-1972); Dennis Bracale, Gardens by Design (landscape designer).
Related Materials:
Kenarden related holdings consist of 3 folders (36 35 mm. slides; 15 digital images.; 4 photographic prints; 3 glass lantern slides)
See others in:
J. Horace McFarland Collection, 1900-1961
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Gardens -- Maine -- Bar Harbor  Search this
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Identifier:
AAG.GCA, File ME044
See more items in:
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Maine
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb638447c52-0b53-49c9-b91b-690e7e5929ef
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref8150