The Mystery of America's 2nd Largest Home: Shadow Brook
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- čas přidán 17. 11. 2022
- At one time, it was the second-largest home in the United States. Today, we are exploring Shadow Brook.
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The Mystery of America's 2nd Largest Home: Shadow Brook
• The Mystery of America...
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Historic Photos from Stokes Records Printed in 1915
Creative Commons 4.0 Photo from: Digital Commonwealth
Music from: Epidemic Sound
All these horror stories about these beautiful houses being lost makes me grateful that Biltmore is still standing and that it’s open to the public. It’s truly a beautiful place to visit.
Yep, concern for fire was why George built his home from steel and stone.
well, that's the thing isn't it? these rich guys build these huge mansions (which are really just their own projection) and then die without leaving any way to maintain them. if i were rich enough to build a huge ass mansion like that, i'd also have the foresight to set up a trust that would take care of maintenance fees and taxes.
@@Vote_Blue EXACTLY
That what I envy about European countries, they preserve history. We wipe it out
I have visited Biltmore twice, once at Christmas and once in the Summer. It’s well worth the trip.
I just feel for the artistry lost when these homes were burned or torn down. You simply can’t find that in today’s construction
That's for sure. In my small village, it's rare to find original mounding, wood floors, etc. There are very few 185hC. houses left here in Georgetown.
@@virginiagrundman4012 Don't worry too much. When Russia drops nukes on Ukraine and the Yanks drop more to try and help we are doomed. Or maybe China near Taiwan and the list goes on ...
Yup!! And now we get young ppl buying up houses and taking some real beautiful wood cabinets or wood window frames and painting everything gray and white. So basic!
It makes me sad that most of the Gilded Age mansions are no longer in existence.
Right??? Same with the piles in Britain.... pictures of their grandiosity and then date when demolished.....
The great tragedy is the loss of the craftmanship of the houses, the workmanship of these homes is now lost and will never be reproduced and the loss of the materials, marble, woodwork, gild, and etc, gone for good.
@@nancyfox64 oh wow no wonder these people couldn't keep these beautiful places......I find it sad that the days grandeur are gone.....
These houses like this one, were generated by a family. Unfortunately life changes and so do owners and their families. This should tell you something about generating wealth. It's not something you can be taught or the entire family would be composed of millionaires and the building would not be lost to us. I suspect it has more to do with your karma which is a master of timing and auspiciousness.
Especially Manhattan, the early skyscrapers were always ravishing hotels, and were usually 8-14 stories tall, BUT, each floor was like 3 floors in a modern house.
Just out of curiosity, I have been looking at homes between 10,000 and 25,000 sqf. The taxes on most homes like this is more than most people make in a year. Then you have grounds keepers and house keepers. Let's not forget lights and heat. Try to imagine having to furnish an entire home that size. You certainly aren't going to just put in big box store furniture. The pool pump running 24 hrs a day, the chemicals needed to keep up with the needs of the pool. Someone once asked Shaquille O'Neal how big his house is, I think he said about 70,000 sqf. Then they asked him out of all of those rooms, how many do you use? I think he said 4. Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room.
My aunt and uncle have a 4,000+ sq ft home and about 11 of us were staying with her and she said she was just glad to use all the rooms. With only 1 child left at home, they only use their bedrooms, the office, kitchen, and family room. All people are the same, the extra is just for show and rare occasions.
This level of house is often misguided way to “preserve” the style and ritzy level of wealth too. In theory the house and property will be there for generations and the survivors of their generations will have a good chunk of wealth left. Normally it’s not a thing though
Didn't Shaquille O'Neal sell his house and say you're never going to get a huge house again cuz you practically had to get a scooter to go from one room to another they're so big
Here in Albany, Georgia you can get huge homes for relatively low property taxes.
@@TheLuckyjoenga The South has always been a much better place to live, economically speaking, than the Northeast - where I live. In particular Massachusetts is just crazy. We have some of the highest and most absurd tax rates, and yet our roads are some of the worst in the country. And it’s not because of the weather. Plenty of our neighboring states have great roads. And youu don’t want to die here if you want to leave anything at all to your family. Listen to this - any estate worth more than 1 million (that includes house, savings, etc) is taxed 50% by the state. So if your house is worth $600,000 (which is nothing in Mass) and you have $400,001 in savings, the State immediately takes half. Now 30 years ago 1 million was a lot o money, but now this is a very common, middle class number when you add up every possession. And the sad thing is that the uber-wealthy are able to avoid most taxes anyway because the tax code was built by them, to give them loopholes that the middle and lower classes won’t be able to exploit. Thus punishing the masses and preventing them from moving up and taking their place - and of course, allowing the rich to get richer.
When you mentioned the Wendell family, reminds me what NYers called them, “The Weird Wendells.
Such an amazing, sad and “weird” story.
The Wendell family probably owned the most amount of real estate in NYC.(Over 150/160 properties)
The son, who ran the empire never produced any kids of his own. Also never allowed his 2/3 sisters to marry, fearing the wealth would leave the family.
There are stories where they allowed spaces to be vacant for many years because, they couldn’t find tenants they liked. And tenants they liked, that they never increased at all their rent for decades.
Ran his business out of 170? Broadway, where C21 is. There are a cluster of short old buildings there, around towering ones. Because he owned all of them, and never believed in selling any of his properties.
He sat behind MOUNDS of paper work, undeposited checks and leases. Sadly they passed away with no heirs to their vast fortune.
(I read their story many years ago and apologize for any discrepancies)
It's amazing, I have watched dozens of these American mansions now ... and to think that almost all have been destroyed!
Homestead was built for sisters Julia and Mary Appleton by Charles F. McKim (of McKim, Mead & White) who then married Julia, and they then moved in.
Shadow Brook was the largest in the US for a short period as it was officially opened before Biltmore. There is a fun story about this house with several variations on the wording. One son in the Yale class of 1897 was going to bring some classmates to the house and wired: "Bringing some '97 men." Mrs Phelps Stokes wired back: "Already have guests.Can only house 50." Biographies of Carnegie state that the reason he bought the house was as a substitute for his Scottish Castle Skibo that he couldn't sail to during WWI.
The painting of Mr & Mrs Phelps Stokes used in this video is by American painter Cecilia Beaux who also had a home, Green Alley, on Eastern Point in Gloucester, MA near Henry Sleeper's Beauport (earlier video in this series). Excellent video.
Wow thanks for sharing.
All such interesting details. Thank you for adding your knowledge to this video!
Huron mountain club names
Images of shadow rook were stunning. Thank goodness they remain. Thank you.
What an amazing structure! It's hard to pick a favorite out of all the Stokes' homes. Hard to conceive that one family had so many homes of grandeur.
I went to school with a Stokes girl. These are all her forbears.
Lot of these old homes are more beautiful than today's homes. Everything was more elegant back in the days.
Oh I agree one thousand percent!
I wouldn't say "everything" was more elegant back then. There was plenty of crappy, dangerous, and poorly constructed stuff in those days. A good example is the Titanic. She was beautiful, elegant, and doomed by her poor design. (And remember, the house in this video blew up.🤣)
The people who built
these fabulous houses
were the 1% of their day.
The average worker lived
in poverty. The middle
class was very small
in comparison to the
huge numbers in
poverty.
I grew up in the Berkshires. I remember seeing Shadowbrook as a young girl. I remember when it tragically burned down. I also remember the seminary building that replaced it; very functional with none of the architectural beauty of its predecessor. Tanglewood is across the road from the property. Beautiful views of the Bowl from there.
What a beautiful home . So many amazing people lived there. Homes like that aren't built anymore. Can you imagine the memories that occurred at the Stoks house?
I don’t share your awe. When one has tons of money, why build houses that have so much much wasted space. Why not a humble home, some land and invest in the good of all?
Too much work to keep it clean and not just cluttered!
@@gottasay4766 ew, I bet your like bill gates, waste 26 billion on disgusting poor pigs who deserve death. My father is rich and we live in a large house, and nice cars. I laugh when I see the janitor at my school cs he probably lives in an apartment
@@lindadeal3344 if this family were as old monied as suggested, they would have had an army of maids, butlers, grooms, cooks, stable hands, gardeners, etc. I'll bet that Mrs. Stokes never fretted about much of anything as mundane as cleaning. She had nine children to birth and then raise.
@@gottasay4766 - But they did invest in the good of all ... They hired builders... artists.. wood-workers.. plumbers.. masons.. electricians.. gardeners and groundskeepers... housekeepers.. decorators.. cooks and chefs.. people to take care of the barns and horses.. the list goes on and on. Once the home was finished, they held elaborate parties, and you can be assured they didn't plan or do them all by themselves.. They hired professionals to do it for them. They gave quite a bit to charities, and universities and funded scholarships. They were people of their time, doing what they loved to do .. and allowed others to earn a living, doing what they love to do.
Anyone interested, might check into the Phelps Stokes Fund, created to ""connect emerging leaders and organizations in Africa and the Americas with resources to help them advance social and economic development"". Quoting from Wiki - ""Among the many organizations that trace their roots to Phelps Stokes are UNCF, the Booker Washington Agricultural and Industrial Institute (BWI), the American Indian College Fund, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and the Association of Black American Ambassadors. - - Phelps Stokes has also contributed to education in the U.S. South and British colonial Africa, having 'considerable influence' in these areas."
Speaking for myself, having been in private service and doing what I love to do for over 35 years.. I'm very grateful that people like this have allowed me, and several peers in the profession, to earn a very nice living, doing what we love to do.
One employer became a life long mentor to me, until the day he left the planet.. and his family and I remain close to this day. One of the things I learned from this self-made multi-millionaire (who happened to be paralyzed from the neck down from polio during his third year in college back in the 50's) was that "No one ever became successful by lamenting what others had in their pockets." It caused me to focus only forward, and not on mindless distractions. I learned from all my employers the importance of the philosophy of "giving over receiving". They all told me the same thing: "When you are the giver... it changes something within you. It makes you the creator, and not the reactor.. the lion and not the lamb.. it makes you the Instigator, and not 'at the mercy of'. It flexes a muscle within you that only gets stronger over time". And they were right ;) .
And so, while they don't just walk down the street handing out cash... there are far more people in this social strata who do give a LOT of it away.. than those who do not. Hope that's helpful.
Always excited for your uploads. So many incredible houses that sadly got lost forever.
I think you mean excited..
@@wyatberp3611 yeah typo.
Their second empire first home on Staten Island is likely my favorite. It was ridiculously large, but compared to their other homes, it almost seems modest.
Nine children wasn't that unusual in the latter half of the nineteenth century. What could have been the justification for such excess? Can you imagine the "disagreement" she had with the architect that caused her to fire him? I'd love to know what caused her to act so impulsively on such an enormous project.
Right! Who needs 3 dining rooms and each of the 9 children needed thier own private bathroom?!
and who fires Stanford White?!
@@dazzads That blew my mind when he said that!!!
Thank you for keeping these historical masterpieces alive through your videos. I really appreciate the time and energy you put into them!
What a story! Just watched the film about Paul Getty’s grandson being kidnapped in which Getty says: Getting rich is what everyone can do, BEING rich is the hard part. Stories like this one seem to confirm that. The destiny of these houses once belonging to people with deep pockets, wow!
Getty was a Nazi collaborator.
The first generation makes the money.
The second generation consolidates the money.
The third, fourth, fith generations spend the money.
Homestead was awesome, as far as death traps go. It's really interesting how few of these stories have happy endings. Tragedy strikes most families at some point, but with the wealthy it's also mixed with hubris and mountains of misspent money. Very enjoyable and educational. Thanks.
What a way to go out 🥲 RIP Shadow Brook - such a shame...
One of my Favorite Mansions! This was definitely one of the finest homes ever, in all of America! Excellent Video. Thanks
Okay, I've heard of homes being demolished or burning down but was not expecting that it SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODED
Houses with steam boilers
often did blow up when the
system was not maintained
properly.
I can’t imagine dusting that whole house! It’s YUGGEEEE
My father would have liked these homes because of the top quality woodwork, and masonry. However I don't think he would have liked the over decorating in terms of the furniture, and potted plants, which he considered to be too ostentatious and fussy. Both he and I love books, so the library would be our favorite place. Thank you again for your excellent work.
Thank you, Ken... great tour of a lovely mansions.
I was a student at the nearby Tanglewood in the 1970s. (Tanglewood is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.) Of course the mansion at Shadow Brook was long gone by then, but the Jesuits had replaced the house with a large, purpose-designed seminary building, about the same size of the old Shadow Brook mansion. The new building was notable only for its size, but the beautiful grounds overlooking the Stockbridge Bowl were still in good shape.
Interesting. I always thought the Jesuits were there first, maybe going back to the 19th century. I know they're long gone now.
Student near Tanglewood… were you a student at Williams College? I lived in Williamstown for several years 🤗
@@jillmahoney1009 No. I was a student at Boston University School of Music. BU ran a program at Tanglewood every summer. However, I lived in nearby Blandford during my high school years (1973-77).
It's truly saddening that it ended that way, all of that fine craftsmanship gone forever.
What a BEAUTIFUL home!!! My fav home was Shadow Brook. I wished it survived because based on the pics, it was just as grand or close to the grandness of the Biltmore Estate. Love homes like this and how they looked inside.
As a Stokes, I find this very interesrting. LOL, I wish somehow I was related to this family, but.... sharing a last name is good enough.
How very sad when one hears that more are lost. I almost hesitate opening the videos.
Wow that is a nice home. None of that awful marbles everywhere, just nice wood work that makes the house look cozy and welcoming.
Pretty amazing Ken….Shadow Brook was definitely overwhelming with a very interesting history- thanks for the video!❤
I wonder why she got into an argument with Stanford White? Wonder if he was making advances towards her young teenage daughters, because he liked them young.
Can you imagine a 40 room house not being big enough for 11 people 🤔 must be nice to move on to bigger and better
It is crazy. My cousins had 11 kids & grew up in a 5 bedroom house.
These people entertained
throughout the "season(s)"
that they used the house.
These were places where
the rich and (later) famous
people mixed. The social life
ensured that the own's children
married within their own
socio-economic class.
Business deals were agreed
upon and more fortunes
made. (or, maybe not ....)
(Much like expensive ski
resorts and areas of the
Riviera/Monaco where the
rich still gather to mix with
each other, nowadays.)
You do such a thorough and amazing job of presenting these wonderful homes... Always love their spectacular history and houses!
In such a sprawling mansion, I wonder if there were some rooms that were practically never used.
I would imagine there would be, some rooms that people didn't go in. At least they knew that life was important and made it an event! Life today has become so casual.
@@stardustgirl2904 That's why we have church--to add depth and joy.
@@thomasewing2656 Yes I go to church every Sunday morning 🌅
@@thomasewing2656 drugs do the job too. many different jobs as well. and i can see those.
@@thomasewing2656 🤣There are SO MANY other ways to find depth and joy. I mean, you do you, but the world is filled with things that provide the same function.
tragedy Shadow Brook was destroyed by fire. Immensely gorgeous.
The house that had 100 rooms, needed those same 500 people who built it to keep it clean. Love 💘 the video. Keep them coming.
Biltmore Estate: “2 is not a winner and 3 nobody remembers”
That ending took a quick turn
Exactly what I'm looking for when I move out of my parents basement. Totally unspoiled. 🏰
Ha!
"Yeah when our
ship come in ..."
The Second Empire is actually my favorite. We had a Second Empire in my home town which I nearly purchased. However it had been neglected and needed major work. It was sold with the plan to restore it. Unfortunately there was no inspection prior to the sale. Underpinnings were full of dry rot and it was demolished. 😔
I love houses from that era and this one was the most elaborate mansion I’ve ever seen. They just don’t make houses that beautiful anymore.
The interiors of those
houses were gorgeous!
The lack of skilled
craftsmen is the
reason that type of
decoration is no longer
available.
Huge, expensive, houses
are still built. But nobody
tries to reproduce the look
of European palaces any-
more.
I have said before, I like floor plans (printable if possible). Rooms cluttered with furniture are 'nice' but don't allow me a true idea of the room shape/size. Many may be interested in the furnishings, but I am in the Room/structure itself. No great impact, just my thought.
Agree, love to see the floor plans of these houses. Often can't find them on line
Can you imagine the nightmare of getting rid of all that unnecessary crap if you get divorced or your spouse dies and you want to downsize, or if you inherit it from a relative? The expenses of trying to maintain it too, I read one of the large homes in Britain needed a new roof-one million for that alone.
Wow! Incredible. Thank you.
You should do one on the Witherbee Mansion in Port Henry NY…..Adirondack village with a masterpiece of a mansion!
I have enjoyed your channel but this is the first time I have wanted to comment. All the houses, save the brick house which does have some architectural merit, were rather hideous and should not be mourned. In Europe many of the great houses and public buildings of the past have been appreciated and preserved, but they were much finer in design. Americans have built a lot of expensive monstrosities, flaunting expense with a disregard or ignorance of style, design and taste. We are finally appreciating what is good in our architectural history and making efforts to preserve it.
In your opinion. To each their own . I’m sure they loved it .
It is such a shame it was burnt to the ground. Out of all of the houses I have seen on your site, this house was the most stylish.
There are people - creators, and there are people - destroyers. The 20th century was dominated by destroyers - look at how many magnificent mansions are destroyed around the world. Now the era of creators has come, who are restoring pearls that have not yet been completely lost, who are proud of their historical and cultural memory.
Interesting! Very nice video! Thank you for your job!!!!
I love English Tutor style. I also loved the home, they moved out of second.
The houses shown in this video are not like Tudor houses, believe me.
And thank God, Hearst castle on the California coast is still pretty much as it has always been and open to the public!! Great tours available...
it's tragic that people spend so much money with creating these intricate masterpieces only for them to disappear.
Thank you for this content on a favorite topic for me.
Wow some pretty amazing houses and the detail that goes in to them is fascinating I’m really enjoying this channel seeing it gives site to some awesome looking houses or mansions! 😊
Oh my, what could have been a second Biltmore burned. Wonder what happened to those stones.
Really love your content, thanks.
Shadowbrook is now kripalu a huge yoga retreat i have been to a few times. The grounds are beautiful. Great to see the original house
Excellent research and presentation.
Although tragic, at least this went out in a blaze of glory rather than being torn down as was the fate of so many grand homes 🏰 of the past. Have you done a post on FILOLI in Woodside, California? Now a National Trust property. Visited many years ago! Such a great history, including being used in films and exteriors for original DYNASTY.
05:36 what a cool photograph! Quite a few photogenic faces. The man up front is gorgeous.
hey, ken…love your videos…i have spent quite a bit of time at kripalu, the yoga based retreat on the grounds of the former shadowbrook. there are still some ruins there to see and i have had great interest in this house since investigating them. great video.
Great video!
It's hard to believe how many grand homes simply burned. Thanks for the video.
I grew up in the town where Brick House is (Darien Ct). I knew a guy who lived in one of the old sections and recognized it immediately. Still looks familiar!
Where in Darien was that? I lived there from 1955-196l and don't recognize it. Of course, I was 8 years old when we moved there and that was a long time ago.
@@miriambucholtz9315 it is still standing on long neck point. Very end of the peninsula.
@@johnking1026 That probably explains why I don't remember it. I didn't get out that way too often.
Back in the 80’s a half dozen friends rented the house in Noroton Heights near the beach for a year. If t has since been purchased and fully restored. If you are from the area, you know the house. Nicest place I have ever lived.
well....that’s was shocking 😢 i audibly gasped
Great Video as always
Good job here!
Great vid thanks
Thank you so much for this survey of huge awesome properties. Wonder what the Morgan library is.
Great job 👏
Shadow Brook was the largest in the US for a short period as it was officially opened before Biltmore. There is a fun story about this house with several variations on the wording.
WOW !
These homes are beautiful color would be nice really.
Love your show. Can you do a video of LA’s famous Bunker Hill in downtown LA?
9:56 thank you! 🏡
I like The Brick House. Nice video! Tks for sharing 🧑🏻🦰🇨🇦
Wow just beautiful 🤩
I grew up in the 1980's . I had 6 siblings. We all slept in one room, which the architect, my father built to accommodate all of us. W shared one bathroom , while mom and dad slept in the 2nd bedroom . We all turned out ok.
Cool story.
I drive by this site at least once a week while doing delivery work in Lenox. It's now home to the well know Kripalu Yoga Center.
I loved the last house the big one !
They were all beautiful homes it's a shame that they were lost
shadowbrook was truly something
It is so beautiful
I grew up in a scale model version of this house, mine was considerably smaller, but same style.
The biggest house shown was gaudy as hell, indoors and out! The Brick House looked nice on the outside, and less gaudy on the inside. Even though that three-story+ house in or near the city looked large, something tells me that the "flow" of it indoors was claustrophobic. I like to think that the one turned into a library would be more open, it doesn't look like it allows much natural light getting in.
Tastes change.
What we consider
gaudy were once
considered the
more desirable
designs, fabrics
and materials.
For sure. I'm just expressing my taste. I don't remember now, did the video ask what the viewers thought? Was my expression of taste unsolicited? Could've been.
Great video! have you done a Video on Meadow Brook Hall?
Similar if not identical reason why a lot of the "castles" and manors in the UK ended up empty/uncared for. Too large and expensive for upkeep. A lot of the ones still running today are open to public for tours to hopefully bring in money to continue upkeep and renovations. Beautiful places. I just hope that they're gonna be around long enough for me to check them out.
One of my dearest friends and most brilliant renaissance man was the Reverend Raymond Helmick, SJ. He was living in ShadowBrook when he first entered the Jesuits as a novice. As young men were want to do at that period of time, they would sneak down to the furnace room in the basement to smoke, which was forbidden. When they would hear someone coming, they would throw the cigarettes into one of the large furnaces. After a few years of thE accumulation of cigarette butts, along with the fuel, spontaneously caught fire.
Cardinal Cushing whoever’s the cardinal archbishop of Boston pledge to help them and built the mid-century modern seminary that replaced it. That was eventually closed and today it is a place for yoga, meditation etc. called Kripalu.
Theres no place like home. Thanks 4 vid.
Newport RI has stately mansions the nonprofits were formed to save and keep up. The row by the ocean is really something. I recommend a trip there.
The large house reminds me of the "American Club" in Kohler Wisconsin. I wonder if it was the same architect?
The second largest home in the USA is Oheka Castle in Long Island NY.
How about a video on the 24,000 sft. Winchester mansion?
I've been there when I lived in San Jose. Would love to see the Tiffany glass that they never opened in those boxes.
Phelps Dodge
Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 as an import-export firm by Anson Greene Phelps and his two sons-in-law William ...
Products: Copper
Number of employees: 15,000 (2006)
Headquarters: Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Founded: 1834
And responsible for 13 super fund toxic waste sites, and don't forget the ugliest mansion on fifth avenue.
So what . That’s what everyone did at that time . Must be nice being so virtuous
Staten Island for me!
The Staten Island property is today a collection of slightly quirky but rag-tag properties grouped together. The precise site of the original house appears today to be a large but poorly kept apartment building. The Brick House property in Darien, CT was built on a small peninsula with the entire site now a gated private drive with a dozen or so residential properties - the original house was built far up from the point so when the connecting wing was demolished, a driveway was constructed to allow access to the end of the point where two very modern abodes were built and stand today.
I liked the town house simple but elegant.
No one ever mentions Staten Island, in these stories. Even if it plays a major role.
Thanks for that
it seems like most of the rich turn of the century families, all seem to befall some kind of death, loss, and misfortune. it was a beautiful home though, Shadowbrook.
Too bad to see these beautiful works of art disappear. Maintenance and taxes were beyond most people’s means and then of course modern amenities such as central heat and air were not part of the plan .
i love that hidden staircase at 4:19.