What Happened to Anna Dodge's Mansion?

[@serenitypeaceandcomfort3669]

That building was a masterpiece. What an incredible building that could have been re-purposed as a museum, or school or art center. What a tragedy to lose this.

[@RiceaRoni354]

My ex has a writing desk/library table from the mansion.

[@josephsierzengaIV]

It was offered to the Detroit Institute of Arts and they declined…

[@corrineagnello4584]

It would be too expensive to maintain as a museum.

[@geoffreyselvage1673]

This house is a Detroit legend. To see it from the lake was awe inspiring even to a little boy (which I was then). Such a waste - especially when you see what replaced it. Great job Ken.

[@charlesclager6808]

Geoffrey, good question, what did replace the Dodge mansion ?? Thanks Chuck

[@funguykel]

I'm curious too, what replaced the mansion?

[@geoffreyselvage1673]

@@funguykel It was demolished.

[@IcECreAm-sv2qv]

@@funguykel it is now Rose Terrace St. next to the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. A couple dozen $750k-1.2m homes Also the street right next to it is Dodge Pl. so I assume that was also the property

[@giovanni4070]

I came of age in Grosse Pointe. Our scout troop (96) was in the church next door to Rose Terrace. What a shame that it was such a white elephant and torn down. A gated community now occupies the grounds. The cast iron gates and iron fencing, I think, still remain. I took a rusted out piece of the fencing that had fallen out. It is shaped like a Fleur-de Lis.

[@stime6472]

Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge owned the most modern and sophisticated machine shop in Detroit. They manufactured most of the the parts for the Ford Model T and where a major stockholder. They started out make steam engines and many for boats. Horace had a passion for boats and ships and designed and built all his own engines. His brother John was the the business end of Dodge Brothers but Horace was the man who engineered the cars and the plant and all the machines that were in it. The man was no mere mechanic he was an engineering genius and never afraid to get his hands dirty on the factory floor.

[@topherh5093]

His wife sounds like a real sociopath.

[@RADIUMGLASS]

In Henry Ford's own words "they (Dodge) manufactured everything but the tires".

[@paulradice3534]

What would he think of FIAT owning his company

[@greeneyedwarlock882]

I grew up in the Grosse Pointes and still live in the area and am VERRRY familiar with this once MAGNIFICENT, unbelievably demolished home. I'm a Professional Photographer who's been specializing in homes for sale and to an extent, luxury & million dollar plus ones in the area (& lots of historic ones too) and I'm also on the board on the Grosse Pointe Historical Society. At the risk of sounding egotistical I'm an expert, amateur historian on the house and so many other equally fantastic mansions that've been torn down in the Grosse Pointes. My Aunt was also a Grosse Pointe fixture and made all the floral arrangements for the "Last Night of Rose Terrace" party in '76 before it was torn down. I remember being 14 years old and SICKENED to my core that it was being demolished while I tried to peer down the long driveway as we drove by. The houses that were built on the property are utter affronts to any true quality, even in the late 1970's and have only aged even worse. #ETERNALLYDEPRESSING!

[@j1st633]

Wow interesting story

[@marthaross6301]

I remember that. I grew up in the Shores. I remember standing on the driveway and crying. I totally agree with you about what was built there. Graduate of GPNHS 1977. My grandmother GPHS 192?.🤷🏼‍♀️ I also remember the fabulous home with the raised side double staircase, that was near the then, Bon Secours Hospital ~ that was leveled a few years later. Another heartbreaking loss.

[@AshLilburne]

Are the houses that replaced it bad because they were meant to be luxury and just look terrible? Or are they bad because they are lower income housing?

[@greeneyedwarlock882]

@@AshLilburne OH, definitely NOT lower income! You’re unfamiliar with the Grosse Pointes and they are still one of the best communities in the all the state/ Midwest to live in! Still full of millionaires and billionaires but 95% of the truly huge, original historic 20,000 ft.² plus mansions & estates have been torn down & subdivided decades ago. I mean that they were built in the late 70s and early 80s and they are dated beyond description and made out of drywall and crap repeat crap. but they still sell between the seven hundred and fifty to 1.3 million dollar range and the ones on the lake sell for two and three million. But 95% of them are DREK compared to Rose Terrace.

[@AshLilburne]

@@greeneyedwarlock882 Ahh ok thank you for the info! Yeah I was going to say in my original post thatbeing from Australia, I had no idea. But thought to myself - Nah no one needs to know that! Haha

[@RADIUMGLASS]

Most people don't know this but it was her second husband Hugh Dillman who showed her Miramar in Newport and convinced her to build the second house. Dillman was the one 100% instrumental when it came to constructing this house. He told the architects where to put the fire places, he picked out the furniture, where to position everything, it was all Dillman's doing. When the contents were moved out in 1971, everything was still in place where Dillman placed the pieces of furniture and artwork. He had a sense of style and decoration. Look up Sandy Loam Farm in Florida, Dillman owned and developed it.

[@ladycharlotte8693]

What a shame…..it’s so sad to see a lovely structure go to waste and not be used as a hotel, school, or wedding venue

[@rhuephus]

architecturally speaking .. it was UGLY

[@luisflores9677]

@@rhuephus to you, maybe

[@Caterina...3]

So many wedding venues are being torn down and turned in apartment complexes! They build so many buildings, on top of each other, people are living like sardines, sharing everything with strangers! I don't even know how they afford the rents, a mortgage is less than renting!

[@Caterina...3]

@@rhuephus This house was built in the style of centuries old estate properties, that are still standing and the inhabitants are generations of family members! It's reminiscent of the beautiful, old villas dotting the Italian countryside! This is far from ugly, it's architectural magnificence!

[@germ7930]

🤣🤣🤣

[@marie-gemini]

I was in this house as a small child in the mid-late 60’s at an event that Mrs. Dodge attended and talked to me. Unfortunately I was too young to remember but my mother and aunt filled me in on the conversation. But I distinctly remember the day they started tearing it down, they were both on the phone crying.

[@somerandomcommenter5823]

Ken, thanks for the great series on palaces and great houses... that were eventually demolished. Unfortunately, this is starting to be depressing. Maybe you can spice it up with an episode of a house that is still around.

[@karenryder6317]

I like that idea.

[@ernshaw78]

I agree, it would be nice if they had better titles such as "The lost house of (insert name here)" so we don't get our hopes up. Or "The treasure house or palace of (insert name)" to refer to something which is STILL here in some sense. I know enough to know the US has no regard for any form of historical preservation. It's sickening and this further makes me hate our country.

[@rosezingleman5007]

@@ernshaw78 I’ve spent 35+ years as a restoration architect. You’re wrong. Americans are no less devoted to architectural history than the Brits or the French.

[@cremebrulee4759]

@@ernshaw78 That's your opinion. That doesn't make it true.

[@brucestuller79]

I agree it is getting depressing. Everything beautiful seems to get destroyed

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Wow. Rose Terrace was a glorious place but simply too much of a good thing. So much there that was superlative and beautiful yet, considering how long the house could have lasted, was enjoyed by so few for so short a time and that time was even shorter what with Mrs. Dodge becoming a recluse. How sad that Mrs. Dodge became a recluse not just in her house but in only part of her house. I like to think that if I had such a house and could afford living in it that I would put it to good use a place of hospitality to many people and groups, having the house as something of a community center/place for visitors/temporary housing for those in need along with being a private home.

[@RADIUMGLASS]

When it was put up for sale the Detroit yacht club offered to buy the house for the asking price and wanted to use it for special functions and events. The grosse pointe farms city council rejected that proposal and wouldn't rezone it for that purpose and stated the neighborhood is to only be residential.

[@telam1744]

The house was built to last.... sad

[@marthaross6301]

I remember Rose Terrace from my childhood. It was just down Lakeshore from my grandparents family home. It was heartbreaking to watch it be dissembled in my High School years. My parents bought some pieces from the auction.

[@DJ-vh4fq]

I went to the auction and was just more interested in looking at all the magnificent rooms in the house. The kitchen was two stories. The view of Lake St. Clair is beautiful there. As a side note, many antique pieces were brought in for the auction and were not original to the home. Also Mrs. Dodge donated the precious French antique pieces from her music room to the Detroit Institute of Arts. It's a shame the mansion was demolished. It was so beautiful inside and out.

[@marthaross6301]

@@DJ-vh4fq Yes, it was quite magnificent. Thanks for your input on the pieces that were also added to the auction. I am aware. The pieces purchased were important enough, that they were in (one of) the leather bound catalogues of the houses contents. My parents outbid the DIA for the catalog (to prove provenance). Hopefully one day they will be added back to the collection Mrs Dodge left to the DIA.

[@karenryder6317]

@@DJ-vh4fq Was there any historic preservation group who could have rescued it? If it was such a fine architectural example as depicted here, it would seem as if some effort might have been made.

[@DJ-vh4fq]

@@karenryder6317 Rose Terrace was a truly magnificent home. If you look up Whitemarsh Hall and Lynewood Hall you get an idea of the detail Horace Trumbauer, the architect,, put into designing for his clients. Despite this importance, if my memory serves me right, Grosse Pointe officials just weren't interested in preserving it and they were able to realize a huge tax benefit by replacing the property with many new large homes which remain today. "Mc Mansions". Such a loss to Detroit history.

[@soulsurvivorla]

Thank you for introducing me to Julian Abele. Growing up in Philadelphia, I was unaware of the man's architectural legacy.

[@LJB103]

While Horace Trumbauer was willing to hire him, all of his work was attributed to either the firm or Trumbauer himself as no one of the era would work with a black architect. This was carried to the extreme when he designed the quadrangle for Duke University, but couldn't see it as at that time no blacks were allowed on the campus unless they were maintenance or kitchen staff.

[@annonymously331]

@@LJB103Which was pretty much the situation for any other architect. For example, while Stanford white receives most of the credit, it’s actually his designers who do most of the work. White mostly did client relations and design approval

[@LJB103]

@@annonymously331 This was a different case. Julian Abele had all of the abilities to be a first rate architect, but because he was African-American no one at that time would have hired him (except for Trumbauer). He still had to stay in the background. Had he been white, the firm would probably have been Trumbauer and Abele. Stanford White also had both McKim and Mead as partners.

[@annonymously331]

@@LJB103 Actually, while Julian abele was talented, during the first few years, Abele actually learned from Trumbauer rather than the other way round. And my point still stands about White and his firm: It was actually less well known designers who did most of the heavy lifting

[@40intrepid]

Actually there is something left over from Rose Terrace. The Mansion was at Lakeshore and Fisher in Grosse Pointe Farms, some of the estates iron fence and the service gate still stand there, and two stone columns from the entrance with a plaque reading "Rose Terrace" remain.

[@johnpickford4222]

Well, start withe gates and rebuild it!!

[@greeneyedwarlock882]

@@johnpickford4222 🤯🤯

[@lifeslittlesweets]

So many of the mansions end up being demolished in your videos; are there some with happier endings? Thank you for making these videos and preserving their legacies.

[@posticusmaximus1739]

Yes, Meadowbrook

[@Caterina...3]

Thank you for this history as well as wonderful architectural history! She was the epitome of a silly, superficial woman. The tragedy here is not only that something so grand and elegant was destroyed but that she was so wasteful and oblivious to the plight of other humans; which seems to be a disease all elites share! I guess no matter how humble ones beginnings may be, once they get their hands on money all sensibility escapes them! What I don't understand though is how Dodge Co, a giant corporation in the auto industry, wasn't able to supply the family with the funds necessary for the upkeep of the home.

[@North49191]

She sold all her stock in Dodge Motors and had nothing to do with the company anymore.

[@musicformonsters]

She was a worthless monster .. worse than most like her

[@Caterina...3]

@@North49191 If she had no stock in the company, what did she live on? She would definitely need a lot of money to keep up her lifestyle and as she aged, the upkeep and management of that house.

[@christopherkraft1327]

Another sad ending to a beautiful mansion!!! Thanks for sharing!!! 👍

[@williamdrijver4141]

Mind blowing stupidity and arrogance of that woman. Such a waste of money and resources.

[@CharlesCoderre-yv1cu]

Building and running it employed many people

[@annonymously331]

To me at least, art is not a waste of resources and this house certainly is a masterpiece

[@dawnreneegmail]

WAS a masterpiece.@@annonymously331

[@pamelas1002]

Thank you again, for the history lesson! Never before had I heard of Julian Abele. Keep 'em coming!

[@Joanie-o5l]

Lovely audio quality!!! Well done! Thank you for your wonderful videos!🌺

[@benniebarrow348]

She sounds like a terrible person . Spoiled , entitled and condescending. She’d fit right in with today’s elitist.

[@johnvonundzu2170]

Many thanks for this. I'd heard of Anna Dodge, but this really did an excellent job of filling in the blanks! The scenario is weird - an elderly woman decides to build a 1910 beaux-arts palace in the middle of the Great Depression. And it only lasted forty years. The couple @ 0.50 are Anna's son Horace Dodge, Jr., and, (probably) one of his five wives, circa 1940.

[@larryduggan1524]

I'd also like to add that the house shown @ 4:47 is not Rose Terrace but Miramar, the Widener residence in Newport, RI (also designed by Trumbauer) which was the model for Rose Terrace.

[@SpanishEclectic]

For some reason, this story bothered me more than the rest. Perhaps it was that during the Depression here in the U.S., this woman hired only workers from Europe, and spent an obscene amount of money buying things for herself while so many people starved and lived in poverty. Having been poor herself (and I'm sure she owned a radio), she doesn't come off in a very good light, though I did see a comment below regarding her second husband, the lucky real estate agent. Regardless, your stories are interesting, Ken, and yes, you sound great!

[@jimmason8502]

So many super wealthy US industrialists and their heirs squandered their fortunes on hedonistic pursuits. It's a real shame and I'm not the least bit sad when I hear that they died poor or alone. Money cannot and rarely does not buy happiness.

[@derricklangford4725]

Dude you're channel is so great, I like how you take the time and colorize the rooms so that we get a more realistic picture of how they looked. I've only been a subscriber for about a month, but I just want to wish you the best of luck 👍🏿

[@lila6117]

Oh dear, what a sad ending for Rose and all the things she created and bought.

[@sandrawilcox4986]

You are a wonderful story teller with interesting topics. These are important stories/lessons to be learned.

[@Timjacks01]

I wish you would add a little bit on the end of each video showing what is there now.

[@Lisa-fq7ks]

The time you put into your videos is so apparent and very much appreciated.

[@erindindoffer3325]

Hi! GP native here. This video is a nice ode to Rose Terrace. As a previous commenter stated the house has been demolished. Although a street bears the name where the estate stood-so there is some remanence of the property.

[@SuperDalite]

You grow up, attain whatever wealth, to attain whatever possessions and for what? In the end we all have a finite time to live, laugh, and love.

[@superdougie10]

Audio was great, thank you for this video.

[@wessebaggers]

beautiful house sad no one wanted or could afford it ! 💔

[@jamesholt7612]

Awesome video my friend and the history that goes with it.

[@baffledanderanged2101]

Sadly it no longer stands. Thank you for the tour. 👍

[@doreenbibby7941]

House was beautiful, sad that it was lost

[@kellingtonlink956]

Thanks for another fascinating history lesson.

[@jimwiskus8862]

Wow, crazy!

[@katherinebopp2021]

Born in low circumstances, progressed to Two Billion in todays dollars. Became reclusive. Her grandchildren inherited the house but were unable to even sell the mansion. House torn down. My goodness what a downer.

[@whigparty6180]

Wonderful commentary, but also utterly heartbreaking. All these gorgeous edifices and people with no vision or respect for craftmanship just tear them down. Tragic.

[@hewitc]

But no one wants to pay to keep them. Fuels, electricity, groundskeepers, taxes, new roof, etc. Cities and towns don't have the money.

[@geoffreyselvage1673]

FYI: A documentary on the home was made shortly before its demolition.

[@jorgschwantje1239]

You did a great job with this video again. Here on youtube are two films made in Rose Terrasse days before it's demolition. Including a narrator. It's phantastic footage but kind of heartbreaking to watch.

[@janicerosenthal8798]

Wow what a amazing video. Thank you so much for all the research that goes into this videos I absolutely love all the back stories. My favorite new channel ❤️🙌🏻❤️

[@adventureswithamy7747]

WOW. Thank you!!

[@bschuff]

Do Playa Riente now? The home was beautiful!

[@Keithf1]

We never gave a second thought to the audio quality, it's good. Thanks for the tour.

[@flyingspirit3549]

Fabulous video of a now gone and almost forgotten palace. Special thanks for including the floor plans of the first and second floors.

[@annabanna123]

I’ve been enjoying your content so much! Keep up the great work 🏆

[@anthonymitchell2354]

She was 103 when she died, if anyone was wondering.

[@greeneyedwarlock882]

More likely 99. See my comment above and it's thought to be accurate.

[@jamesodell3064]

She was born in 1866 and died in 1970

[@ginamaria2579]

Wow curious about her diet probably had a chef ? Wonder if this photo of her children was taken at her passing, they did not look happy.

[@ginamaria2579]

@@jamesodell3064 born in 1866 she would have been a fun grandma to have conversations with 😊

[@greeneyedwarlock882]

@@ginamaria2579 🤯🙄. “Curious about her diet”?? You’re serious?? Of course she had Gourmet Chefs all her adult life….she was a multi millionaire/billionaire and those are not her children. They’re her grandchildren. She outlived her son and daughter by decades.

[@crowe2171]

I enjoy your videos so much. !

[@richardflores4560]

the money is staggering what a shame the people it could have fed the children it could have helped WOW

[@LJB103]

For Anna it was a weapon! Her children (even as adults) did what she said or she withheld the $$$.

[@CharlesCoderre-yv1cu]

nobody is stopping you from contributing to the children . Besides it was HER money, not yours

[@richardflores4560]

@@CharlesCoderre-yv1cu very true

[@charliefunboy5210]

If I'm not mistaken, the first house she had on the lake is still there. Several years ago a developer built a development called "Dodge Place" on the property of the first house. The original house owned by Dodge was sold to R&B singer, Anita Baker. To the best of my knowledge, Anita and her husband still live there.

[@blueztx]

Great channel. I especially love these "What happened to" episodes! Thank you!

[@chrisallen7911]

That had to have been one of the most beautiful and tasteful mansions ever built in the USA. Unbelievable that it was destroyed.

[@h.j.hatcher6265]

Hi there you , hope your well I enjoyed this video very much thanks again from N.C. 😉❤️🥰

[@charlesclager6808]

Ken, all of your videos are fascinating and educational. Do you know what happened to the rest of her fortune ? If her children couldn't afford to keep the mansion they didn't seem to have inherited all of her money.

[@greeneyedwarlock882]

CORRECTION......the house shown @ 4:46 is not, repeat NOT Rose Terrace. It is house that still stands in Newport Rhode Island called "Miramar" which was built long before Rose Terrace. It was also designed by Trumbauer. Dodge herself wanted her house to be a MUCH bigger, more lavish and grandiose (i.e. OVERDONE) copy of it. And the runner on the grand staircase was not red, it was deep, sapphire blue.

[@GregNBiloxi]

Please do the story of Anna Dodge's Florida house.

[@michaeldougherty8344]

Still loving these videos, always surprising and informative. Thank you.

[@sharonschauer3257]

The biggest of the Michigan mansions is Meadowbrook Hall. It was built by Anna's sister in law and still stands today as a museum. I think you should do a video about that also

[@josephsierzengaIV]

MeadowBrook was originally planned to be built on Lakeshore Drive in Grosse Pointe Farms but the project was halted upon his death… The home was dismantled and most of it was later used to construct MeadowBrook

[@hungrysoles]

It''s sad these beautiful homes are lost because no one is found to maintain them.

[@saipuakivikaupias]

Thank you for the video. What a tragedy losing such a beautiful architectural treasure.

[@CuriousEarthMan]

Thank you! So often the same story: overly extravagant and wasteful construction (tearing it down to rebuild it larger) tremendous upkeep, heirs forced to sell, home later demolished. It happened over and over and over.

[@emily76m]

I love your channel! Thank you!

[@sergpie]

Palazzos and country estates all over southern Italy look so much like this. I wonder if something they had seen on a escapade there would’ve inspired them to build their home in such a style?

[@rhuephus]

most of those are centuries old ...

[@larryduggan1524]

This is not an Italian villa but a French palace.

[@michaelangelo7511]

Great job and great subject. 👍🏻🇺🇸

[@nightengale7163]

Interesting but tragic story. Thank you.

[@pmm3112]

Thank you for this video. It's too much to think of the waste of handcrafted ornamentation which flowed through this huge palace to be lost when it was demolished.

[@alphaomega5909]

My daughter worked for Charley's Crab in Grand Rapids Michigan. Charley's opened in 1982. The main back wall n surrounding walls were the Wood paneling taken from the DODGE mansion in the Detroit area when torn down. Sadly Charley's closed last year nntorn down too. I think all that magnificent paneling wash thrown out.

[@denton1972]

Thank you for sharing.

[@christians.7019]

Made my day off!!!😃

[@jonrussell1690]

WOW!!! Rose Terrace was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! Unfortunately, back than when the house was put up for sale, there wasn’t that many billionaires like there are today. That would be one beautiful home with contents and grounds that could’ve been willed to the state or city for public enjoyment.

[@PK-bh1ww]

true but heating, other utilities, repairs and upkeep is very pricey. But it could have been used for a trade school of some kind maybe.... Something to pay for the cost of maintaining it.

[@jamesodell3064]

@@PK-bh1ww GP Farms would never have allowed a trade school there, they wanted the property to remain single family residential. It was to much house for a single family to maintain, even people with the money to afford it did not want that large of a home. Perhaps it could have been divided into condos.

[@LJB103]

Sorry, but there is an error about how much Anna inherited. When John and his brother Horace both died in 1920, Dodge Motors was sold for $146 million: Anna got 1/2 and John's widow Matilda (builder of Meadowbrook Hall - open to the public and well worth a tour) got 1/2. The photo showning "Horace and Anna's" wedding is actually of Horace, Jr and one of his 5 wives. Other than these 2 small missteps a very good video overall. Like French Baron James de Rothschild's dictate for Frerriers: Build me a Mentmore (Towers - A British Rothschild mansion), only bigger. Anna's to Trumbauer was "Build me a Miramar (Trumbauer's summer cottage for the Wideners in Newport - still standing and still privately owned - not by the Wideners), only bigger. If you look they are almost identical except for scale. Delphine Dodge's (Anna's daughter) 1st husband was Jimmy Cromwell whose mother Eva married Ned Stotesbury (who built Whitemarsh Hall for her). Jimmy dumped Delphine when lots more money came along in the person of Doris Duke. Actually there is a lot of Rose Terrace around in a mansion that was featured on one of those "open house" shows a number of years ago on HGTV. Large parts of the interior were installed in the new home in Arizona.

[@DJ-vh4fq]

Could you please elaborate on the house in Arizona? Is there a video or article about it and who owned and built it?

[@LJB103]

@@DJ-vh4fq Sorry, but the listing I just sent seems to be for a horse ranch in an area called Rose Terrace although it did reference the Dodge estate. The HGTV show was at least 10 - 15 years ago, and was about touring estates up for sale all over the country.

[@DJ-vh4fq]

@@LJB103 hi, thanks for clarifying, Louis. Best regards.

[@sandyarizona3471]

The property tax in 1970 was unaffordable. That alone made the heirs not afford it. Also inheritance tax , none of which is covered in this video. shame on the government

[@karenryder6317]

Oh yes, the government is a handy scape goat that is always the villain of whatever social problem is at hand.

[@hewitc]

@@karenryder6317 It's always easy to blame "the Government". People want everything for free from the Government but don't want to pay a dime of taxes. Huuman nature. What town or city would take on a white elephant like this at taxpayers' expense? What Mayor wants to announce "We cut back on the police and fire departments so we could pay the heating bill on this sumptuous mansion."

[@richardflores4560]

i love what you do it blows my mind the money these people spent haha a thousand dollars is still alot of money to me

[@lisariggs8947]

Hi Ken the audio quality is great 👍 thanks. The story is another sad ending for the home, and Anna as well, such a pity!

[@crowe2171]

Thanks!

[@ThisHouse]

Thank you so much!

[@rick0e295]

Another great visit to a magnificent estate unfortunately the victim of the wrecking ball. These gems 💎 are symbols of a life style unfortunately never to be equalled. Detail and craftsmanship cannot be matched today. So interesting that she became a virtual recluse, much like Barbara Hutton in her final years. AND, the Dodge mausoleum appears to be exactly the same as the Woolworth mausoleum.

[@abovethecloudsmedia1002]

Beautiful again. I live in Palm Beach County and cannot locate anything about Playa Riente. Please do that next. The Flagler Museum formerly Whitehall Mansion is spectacular as well as Vizcaya and of course Mar-A-Lago. The only thing I found on Playa Riente was that Palm Beach refused to allow it to become a school or museum and the structure was consequently demolished in the 50s. What a tragedy. Also interesting para-normal several Internet personalities have read on Mar-A-Lago that it was built on energetic lay lines. I believe Gene Decode, Tarot By Janine or Linda Paris. They claim the good guys and bad guys fought over that property and it is now or will be used as a Southern White House in the future.

[@hewitc]

Trump bought it for cheap but then wanted to subdivide it and sell condos on the property because he couldn't afford to maintain it. The Town of Palm Beach wouldn't let him riun the historic property so he turned it into a resort in "club form". Most of the mansion is used by the many members, including the living and dining rooms, the pool and beach. The Trumps live in an apartment upstairs. It can't be a "Southern White House" (which is what Mrs. Post wanted for it) or even any kind of "house" because it is a public space with strangers roaming and using all of the facilities.

[@cyrilmauras4247]

Like so many robber barons at the turn of the century, they built huge mansions to impress, but most went bankrupt at the stock market crash of 1929. Then there weren't enough multi-millionaires with money to buy and maintain those white elephant buildings and they were torn down for redevelopment. An interesting book about huge mansions going to waste is "The Twilight of Splendor" by James T. Mahler.

[@Dina52328]

I would love to read that book. I admire the architectural beauty of historical mansions and their history. It just breaks my heart when I find out about the destruction of these irreplaceable buildings. I understand they were too expensive to maintain but nevertheless, so much work and money spent only to end up with the wrecking ball. How sad. Thank you for sharing.

[@cyrilmauras4247]

@@Dina52328 Philadelphia has two such mansions. Whitemarsh Hall in Wyndmoor Pennsylvania built for E Stotesbury. He lost it all after the crash of 1929. The house was torn down except for the four columns of the entrance and some garden structures and replaced with an upscale neighborhood. Lynnewood Hall built for P Widener still stands in Elkins Park Pennsylvania but is deteriorating with no buyers to repair it for the estimated cost of $50 million. You can see them by Googling them.

[@willtheman840]

Understated, ha ha. Yes, I suppose so compared to many the other outlandish houses at the time.

[@chuckandmax7313]

It’s so sad that these beautiful mansions ended up with the wrecking ball due to the heirs not being able to upkeep them. Surely she must have had money as well as the house. Who knows. It’s just a tragic life she lived, I know what it feels like to be reclusive and spend your hours wasting away in bed. I had a nervous breakdown of such severity that it debilitated me as though I had had a severe stroke. I locked myself in my room for three years I never came out of the house I only left my bed to feed my dog and let him run outside, I was so severely depressed, I had a roommate that bought all the groceries but I hardly ever saw him. The house cleaning was neglected all that time and my roof had holes in it that leaked. I became so distressed that I prayed to God with all my heart, please Lord send me a miracle, I really need to get out of this bed, and my whole house needs to be cleaned, and there’s holes in the roof and I have no money or energy to fix these problems so I’m handing it over to you,amen. Well I went to bed and fell asleep and around 8:30 there were all the neighbors yelling outside, I went to the front door and asked them to be quiet but they said hey mister, you’re house is on fire 🔥 I told them they were crazy and closed the door. Then I went to look out the back door and the whole yard and garage were lit up bright orange, and I saw that the roof was on fire. The fire alarm never went off either, I grabbed my little dog and my phone and ran out of the house and got in my car. The fire trucks were already coming down the street , the neighbors had called 911, I watched the firemen break down my gate and my front door and dragged hoses through my house and yard by now half the roof was in flames 🔥 they brought out a big chainsaw and started cutting holes in the roof and they got the fire out. The fire had burned off half my roof and the entire back end of my house 🏠 was completely soaked from the water with giant holes they broke through the ceilings, there was broken plaster everywhere and no power to the house I had to use my phone torch to see inside and it was still smoking. I had had a fire earlier that day and apparently there was no grate on top of the chimney and it was one of those Santa Anna winds that day, some burning embers went onto my cedar shake shingle roof which was so old and dry and they just shouldered all day. The next day there were dozens of public adjuster at the door who wanted to help me with the fire claim, I signed one on and they moved me into a nice residence inn by Marriott in a 2 bedroom suite with a kitchen and a living room, everything in my house had to be packed up and taken away to be cleaned and put in storage and the whole roof had to be torn off. Then there was a big rainstorm and what didn’t get burned got flooded because there was no roof. So to wrap this up, the lesson I learned is that God does miracles and gives you exactly what you ask for, I got a new roof, my whole house got cleaned, and I certainly got out of my bed. I lived in the hotel for a year while they totally restored my whole house, I ate breakfast in the hotel dining room every morning and had oatmeal every day. I ended up reversing my bad cholesterol and met people every day and made all new friends and was happy again and took long walks with my dog all around the hotel, I lost weight and I quit smoking because I couldn’t stand the smell of smoke after all that. My doctor saw me and said I was in the best shape she had seen me in for years. So happy ending, with the house completely refinished with everything new I put the house on the market and sold it for $649,000 in Long Beach California 2019, in 2020 April after the sale closed I moved to Texas and bought a huge brick ranch house for $300,000, paid for it in cash, paid off my old mortgage and my second mortgage, escaped the pandemic and now live happily in north east Texas where it’s lush and green on an acre of land. Praise the Lord

[@classrockin]

This is a great channel Ken, this one, and Recollection Road have quickly become favorites of mine. Good luck, I think your channel is going to be a big success

[@rcp3764]

Audio sounds good!

[@annapoole132]

Love watching your channel! You give excellent commentary and valuable historical information! Thank you for what you do! Great job Ken!!! 👍

[@eastmanwebb5477]

The audio quality is great. Thanks for continuing to invest in your channel.

[@mariasussman6683]

Wow…just wow

[@jacobdillman60]

Very interesting!

[@louisetraxler3188]

your video was loved the audio was supurb i will be watching all of them so please keep posting

[@veramae4098]

I remember when Anna Dodge died. I remember because my Dad was gripped with despair. He sat at the dining room table with the newspaper open in front of him, shaking his head and saying over and over "I pay more taxes than she ever paid." Over and over.

[@Jamieprv]

Anna intended to leave the house to the DIA, but they wanted more funds than the $1 million she had promised as an endowment to maintain “Before Anna died, she considered gifting the whole estate and its collection to the Detroit Institute of Arts. But, when they asked for an endowment of $10 million to ensure its preservation - a not unreasonable sum and only 10% of her fortune - her Scottish blood boiled up within her, and she snatched back her offer. They were left $1 million and the contents of the Music Room, whereas the City of Detroit was left $2 million with which to build a fountain in memory of her husband and son, now seen in the Philip A. Hart Plaza.”

[@ceejay960]

So if she hadn't been such a tightwad, we might still have Rose Terrace as an art museum.

[@billcordell9797]

So sad

[@dannybeun948]

Fantastic 🤌

[@donovanreimer2324]

Such neat detail and really good pacing. Thoroughly fun to watch. Audio perfect.

[@carlasauer8395]

I watch your videos and they always tear the house down

[@MrNikodemus5]

What a sad story. Thank you for telling us.

[@suzanneterrey4499]

I went to the final auction of Rose Terrace. It was such a beautiful home and had 2 marble staircases winding up to the second floor. The complete dining room, chandelier, including the painted paneled walls was sold to some woman from Texas. It was to be carefully disassembled moved to Texas and reassembled. All the fireplaces were marble and were sold and torn out. Sadly, I couldn't afford the fireplaces, but they were all carved marble.

[@RONMAYS71]

Wish it was made into a Hotel

[@DJ-vh4fq]

What I understood at the time is that Grosse Pointe refused to rezone the mansion for any other use, thus contributing to its demise, yet the mansion next door was rezoned as the Grosse Pointe War Memorial and was spared a similar fate.

[@RONMAYS71]

@@DJ-vh4fq Wow That is a Shame, Whitehall in Palm Beach is a Museum today, but was a Hotel for a while after Henry and Mary Flagler lived there, what a tremendous lose that Grosse Pointe does not have this home today. Florida has a few Great home museums, Vizcaya and Ca' d'Zan. I do like Grosse Pointe and Greater Detroit very much.

[@hewitc]

@@DJ-vh4fq Would there be enough visitors to that part of Michigan to make a hotel profitable? Winter season must not be very compelling for tourists.

[@DJ-vh4fq]

@@hewitc My degree is in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Michigan State and hotels, like restaurants are expensive to run. I think it can be done, but it's a balancing act. The city probably wouldn't endorse adding more structures on the site, so you would have to work on dividing up rooms within what's there without compromising the interiors too much. Perhaps a bed and breakfast style establishment and upscale restaurants and catering could have been done. There's a historic mansion called The Whitney in Detroit that's been very successful for years. It's converted to a restaurant and is absolutely beautiful throughout. It's online if anyone wants to look. Rose Terrace would have made a beautiful hotel/restaurant establishment. The waterfront setting is wonderful! I think there would have been enough business and the room rates would probably have been high enough to turn a profit. The irreplaceable skill of the workmen is what saddens me. When I think of how hundreds of artisans put their heart into creating lasting art in building these homes all over the country and people just demolish their work without respect for their creation.

[@rosepelzel4244]

Now, this was a shame to be demolished!!! It was incredible!!

[@NGMonocrom]

Beautiful mansion. Unfortunate that someone with such humble upbringings lost her mind and spent like crazy though. I get interested in something, I research and educate myself. She remained happily ignorant and got swindled. Very sad.

[@lauraguida8482]

It's similar to some lottery winners of today They overspend, are in debt up to their eyeballs and are no happier than they were previously.

[@cherchezlavache5183]

Love it!! Thank you!🥂

[@jamesnaas4727]

Heartbreaking! Soo sad that it was just torn down. Couldn't she have worked her money to save it or turn it into museum? 😢🙏💔

[@2Sugarbears]

I remember going into this house many years ago.