Posted on 06/04/2009 5:09:29 PM PDT by JoeProBono
In 1861, a melancholy Englishman named Benjamin Walker settled in Madison and built a medieval castle for his home.
Two round turrets framed a square tower. In each turret was an octagonal sitting room, one decorated in red and the other in green. Carved marble mantels topped the fireplaces and gilt-framed oil paintings decorated the walls. A massive oak table and chairs, elaborate candelabras, and fine china furnished the dining room. Walker built a stone barn behind the castle and an underground tunnel to connect the two buildings.
Walker was recalled as "a dark, glowering, silent man" who spent most of his time in his "dark study, which always had a smell of musty books and an aromatic odor" (later presumed to be liquor). In 1866 he departed Madison as abruptly as he’d come, selling the castle at 930 E. Gorham St. to a man named Thompson. The new owner soon died but his eccentric widow lingered on for years, threatening "to fill trespassers with lead from one of her numerous fowling pieces" if they approached.
After she died, the dank, cheerless building could not be sold and slowly crumbled. Its most frequent visitors were University of Wisconsin fraternities, who initiated new freshmen by making them walk the underground tunnel alone at night.
Walker’s Castle was finally demolished about 1893 but its memory survives in the street name, Castle Place, running alongside modern Christ Presbyterian Church. Before it was dismantled, many pictures were taken (viewable at www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi) showing it in all its Gothic gloom.
Set on an island in the middle of the winding St. Lawrence River, the red-tipped turrets of the medieval-inspired Singer Castle are an unexpected sight. One of only a handful of American castles open to the public, this Thousand Islands landmark is barely over a century old, but has a surprisingly rich history.
Biltmore Estate in North Carolina
With 255 rooms, the magnificent Bilmore Estate is often called an American Castle. It was constructed in the late 1800s.
Biltmore Estate - Was the architect French or inspired by that type of building design? That place is magnificent.
Biltmore Estate
1888-1895
Richard Morris Hunt, architect
Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape design
Asheville, North Carolina
Gilded Age architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the Biltmore Estate for George Washington Vanderbilt at the end of 19th century. Constructed in the style of a French Renaissance chateau, the Biltmore has 255 rooms. At 175,000 square feet (16,300 square meters), the Biltmore is the largest privately owned home in the United States. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed the gardens and grounds surrounding the mansion.
I don't know how up-to-date it is, but if you scroll down the page a bit, there is an index of states, with links to photos and text about various castles built in this country.
Thank you. Approx a six hr drive away, I may just get down there this summer.
Cheers!
Well, you can be certain that ‘The People’s Republik of Madistan’ will never be home to anything as important as ‘The Castle DOCTRINE’ but at least we once had a castle, LOL!
There’s a house on the main drag in Middleton, WI (next town over from Madistan) that looks like The Flintstones could live in it. It’s very unattractive.
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Thanks JoeProBono. Nowadays, Wisconsin is home to "the House on the Rock". Grand Rapids Michigan has The Castle, and Charlevoix Michigan has parts of a number of structures built by (I think) the Loeb family around a century ago. For a while in the mid-1980s it hosted concerts as "Castle Farms", but when I was a kid a painter tried making it into a tourist attraction called "Castle Van Haver". :')Walker's Castle was finally demolished about 1893 but its memory survives in the street name, Castle Place, running alongside modern Christ Presbyterian Church. Before it was dismantled, many pictures were taken (viewable at www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi) showing it in all its Gothic gloom.Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. |
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We sell a lot of the ‘Biltmore’ brand bulbs, shrubs, etc. at our garden center...they FLY off the shelves.
What a racket! But I guess they have to pay for upkeep somehow. The gardens are said to be spectacular; I’d like to visit there one day. :)
Boy, could I use about a month at that place (Post #4) right about now. *SIGH*
That comes complete with plenty of cute Cabana Boys, No? LOL!
Cool! Too bad it was torn down. I’d like to see Ghost Hunters do an investigation at these places.
When they go in you get a tour of the place by the owner and then you get see several locations in those places close up.
Whether you think the ghost thing is legit or not, you do get some excellent historical tours on that show.
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