Imagine at age 12
becoming the richest girl in America.
Image at age 14
having the guts to sue your mother.
Imagine at age 15
controlling an estate of
27 acres
45 Buildings
9 lakes
18 miles of roads
and
1.5 miles of stone walls.
Imagine being Doris Duke.
Heiress, Horticulturist, Philanthropist, Art Collector.
But something was missing: A mansion.
The foundation lies abandoned.
The upper floors never built.
The Crumbling Foundation
of the Mansion that Never Was
Doris' father, James Buchanan Duke
of Duke University fame,
quit the project,
fired the workers,
and put his focus in Europe
when the US government dissolved his company
due to it being considered a monopoly.
But Doris loved the property
and because of her
it is left for us to enjoy today.
Inside the Orchid House
You can visit Duke Farms
in Hillsborough, NJ
free of charge
thanks to the Doris Duke Foundation.
It is worth the visit.
All photos taken at Duke Farms.
My gallery is here.
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13 comments:
Lovely. I think I like it better with no mansion.
gorgeous gardens. It looks like a beautiful place to stroll and take photos. Have a wonderful week. I am joining you at Communal Global.
Amazingly beautiful place, and I love how you've told the story.
Again, just beautiful!
That's a really interesting story! WOW! Such beautiful images to go along!
Oh wow, How cool to learn about that!
Looks like an awesome place. I like it better with the crumbly foundation instead of a mansion.
She was indeed an interesting woman, and this looks like a wonderful place to visit.
what an amazing story!
Mollyxxx
a new and amazing story, and a beautiful place that is open to the public is awesome... so they shut down his monopoly and now we have so many..
I really like the photo with the bridge reflection. Hopefully I'll go there myself someday.
That's quite a story! Lovely photos too!
Interesting story so we have the pleasure of such beauty acres and all to look at.
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