(EAST HADDAM, CONN.) -- Much like the Griswolds in Chevy Chase's 1983 classic comedy "Vacation," we drove a great distance five years ago to find a national landmark closed for repairs.
Sweepings views of the Connecticut River from Gillette Castle.
Some of the fussbudgets on HGTV might have demanded an interior change of the too-large rooms or re-positioning of the couches (all to accommodate a husband's need for a 52-inch flat screen television in a castle, of course) or to alter the Connecticut River for more curb appeal, but to the normal eye, the Gillette Castle makes for true architectural splendor. It is amazing that there were no Cinderellas, Belles or Princess Fionas ever living in the castle. Rather, William Hooker Gillette (1853-1936), a famous actor, director and playright, best known for his portray of Sherlock Holmes, designed the castle and most of its contents personally, high atop the the most southerly hill in a chain known as the Seven Sisters -- periodically checking every phase of their construction, according to Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) literature. This was to be his semi-retirement home, purchased for $1 million dollars, a hefty sum in the early 1900s, but now fairly commonplace for a three bedroom ranch in Weston, Mass.
Great room at Gillette Castle.
It took 20 men five years to build the castle. Hopefully,
Mr. Gillette let them play with the moveable table as a reward.
The outside is no less spectacular with, as the DEP states, where,
"trails often follow, over trestle and through tunnel, the actor's
three mile long narrow gauge railroad. Gillette's own walking paths
were constructed with near-vertical steps, stone-arch bridges, and
wooded trestles spanning up to forty feet. Other outdoor attractions
include a vegetable cellar, the railroad station (Grand Central), and
Gillette's goldfish pond."
In 1943, the State of Connecticut purchased the property, following up
on Gillette's request many years earlier to not allow the property to,
according to DEP literature, fall into the hands "of some blithering
saphead who has no conception of where he is or with what surrounded."
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