Large Estates featured in Someone Lived Here episodes

Theodate Pope Riddle’s Hill-Stead Museum

April 26, 2021June 9, 2021 admin

Explore the home of architect Theodate Pope Riddle

Theodate Pope Riddle with dog and exterior Hill-Stead Museum

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In the first episode of season 3, Kendra brings you to the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut. Theodate Pope Riddle designed this home, her first architectural project, as a retirement home for her parents. Throughout the episode, we learn about her close friendship with Mary Hillard, her fixation on communicating with the dead, and her near-death experience as a survivor of the sinking of the Lusitania.

Theodate’s father, Alfred Pope, was Theodate’s biggest supporter and a lover of the arts. The family’s collection of French Impressionist paintings can still be found in the Hill-Stead Museum today. The home was built around the paintings of Monet, Cassatt, Degas, and Manet.

Theodate Pope Riddle lived from 1867 to 1946. As an architect, Theodate designed homes and schools throughout Connecticut and New York, including Westover School, Avon Old Farms School, and reconstructing Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace.

Thank you to the Hill-Stead Museum: Executive Director – Dr. Anna Swinbourne, Curator – Melanie Bourbeau, and Chief Advancement Officer – Beth Brett. The book Dearest of Geniuses: A Life of Theodate Pope Riddle by Sandra L Katz was key in making this episode.

Photos of Theodate and paintings from the Hill-Stead collection can be found below, along with a full transcript of the episode. Completely unrelated to the episode, but very cute: here is a live cam of sheep at Hill-Stead.

If you are interested in visiting the Hill-Stead Museum you can get more details on tours at the Hill-Stead Museum website.

The music for our show is by Tim Cahill. Check out his new album, Songs From a Bedroom.

If you like this episode and want to hear other episodes like it check out: Lyndhurst Mansion, Pollock-Krasner House, Sailor’s Snug Harbor, Victoria Woodhull’s Murray Hill Mansion.

Theodate Pope Riddle in black and white with fur — Theodate Pope Riddle, courtesy of Hill-Stead Museum.

View of Cap d’Antibes by Claude Monet — **View of Cap d’Antibes** by Claude Monet, courtesy of Hill-Stead Museum.

Sara Handing a Toy to the Baby by Mary Cassatt — **Sara Handing a Toy to the Baby** by Mary Cassatt, courtesy of Hill-Stead Museum.

Below is a transcript for S3E1 of Someone Lived Here at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut. If you have any questions about the show or suggestions on how to make it more accessible please reach out at someonelivedhere@gmail.com. Continue reading “Theodate Pope Riddle’s Hill-Stead Museum” →

Maudslay State Park

April 6, 2020June 9, 2021 admin2 Comments

The home of the Moseleys and the garden design of Martha Brookes Hutcheson

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In the second season of Someone Lived Here, Kendra explores homes that are no longer standing from the self-isolated location of her apartment. This week, we explore Maudslay State Park, formerly the Maudsleigh Estate. The park was once the country home of Frederick Strong Moseley and his family. In 1904, he commissioned the architectural design of Martha Brookes Hutcheson. Her designs and life story are the focus of the episode.

Music for this episode was by Tim Cahill.

*Photo from Martha Brookes Hutcheson’s The Spirit of the Garden*

*Photos from Martha Brookes Hutcheson*‘s The Spirit of the Garden

Unmarked photos taken by Kendra Gaylord between the years of 2010 and 2015.

Below is a transcript for season 2, episode 1 of Someone Lived Here at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, MA. If you have any questions about the show or suggestions on how to make it more accessible please reach out at someonelivedhere@gmail.com.

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Lyndhurst Mansion

July 29, 2019April 11, 2023 admin

Explore the home of Jay Gould and his daughters, Helen and Anna

Listen to the 12-minute bonus episode for Lyndhurst Mansion which includes recordings and stories I couldn’t fit in the original episode. We go to the observatory on top of the house, learn about the interior of Jay Gould’s yacht, and learn more about his childhood friendship with John S Borroughs. You can listen by joining Someone Lived Here’s Patreon at any level.

In this episode of the podcast Someone Lived Here, Kendra brings you to Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, NY. The mansion was built by a former New York City mayor William Pauling and designed by the architect Alexander Jackson Davis. It was then purchased by the Merritt family who doubled the size of the home by commissioning the same architect. Jay Gould, a robber baron, purchased the home. Upon his death his daughter Helen and later his daughter Anna would take over the property. Anna Gould donated the property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation upon her death.

In this episode, we tour the library, dining room, and art gallery of the mansion, along with the bowling pavilion. As we walk through the property we learn more about who Helen and Anna were, their differences, and their combined interest in keeping Lyndhurst standing.

Thank you to Rick Hostnik and Maura Bekelja for showing us around the property. You can sign up for tours and learn more about the mansion and the grounds at the Lyndhurst site.

*Bowling Pavillion – Photo credit: Lyndhurst*

Music by Tim Cahill. Icon artwork by Ben Kirk. Transcription by Sam Fishkind.

Below is a transcript for season 1, episode 5 of Someone Lived Here on Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, NY. If you have any questions about the show or suggestions on how to make it more accessible please reach out at someonelivedhere@gmail.com.

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Sailors’ Snug Harbor

July 1, 2019April 11, 2023 admin

Explore the retirement home for sailors operating from the 1830s to the 1970s

Listen to the 15-minute bonus episode for Sailors’ Snug Harbor which takes recordings I couldn’t fit in the original episode like how religion intertwined with this retirement home and an archaeological dig that investigated how the women employed at Sailor’s Snug Harbor lived. You can listen by joining Someone Lived Here’s Patreon at any level.

In this episode of the podcast Someone Lived Here, Kendra brings you to Sailors’ Snug Harbor on Staten Island. This was a retirement home for sailor’s that was free of charge for all its residents. The home was created by Robert Richard Randall’s will and was run by a Board of Trustees that purchased the 160 acres on Staten Island.

While you walk through the Noble Maritime Collection and the larger Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden you’ll learn about how a place like this came to exist and more about the men who lived there. Through essays and historical documentation, we learn more about this special space whose buildings are still standing after centuries.

Thank you to Megan Beck for guiding us through the home and teaching us more about Sailors’ Snug Harbor and the Noble Maritime Collection.

Music by Tim Cahill. Icon artwork by Ben Kirk. Transcription by Sam Fishkind.

Below is a transcript for season 1, episode 3 of Someone Lived Here at Sailors’ Snug Harbor on Staten Island. If you have any questions about the show or suggestions on how to make it more accessible please reach out at someonelivedhere@gmail.com.

Continue reading →