United States of America -- Massachusetts -- Essex County -- Ipswich
Castle Hill (Ipswich, Massachusetts)
General:
The Crane Estate. Ipswich, Mass. 183. Postcard circa 1901-1915.
The Crane's "Formal Garden" (also known as the "Italian Garden" was designed by the Olmsted Bros. The architects for the hardscape was the Boston firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. The firm also designed the first mansion on the site for the Crane's in 1910-11 and they worked with the Olmsted Bros. on the "Italian Garden." Boston-area sculptor Johan Selmer Larsen also worked with the Olmsted Bros. on the garden, designing cast-stone mermaid figures atop the columns and the relief sculptures along the walls. A large figural sculpture was designed by Bela Pratt. Pratt's solid white marble "Rainbow Fountain (1916) was located in a recessed niche behind the pool area. Landscape architect Arthur Schurcliff designed the Crane's circular Rose Garden and the Grand Allee among other garden areas on the property. In 1924-1928, David Adler later designed a second mansion on the site. The Great House is the central feature of Castle Hill that was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998.The English style mansion was built in 1928 and is 350 acres with five miles of beaches.
Related Materials:
Records related to this site can be found at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Olmsted Job Number 03793, Castle Hill, Richard T. Crane.
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.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Richard Marchand historical postcard collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid in this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.