HOUSES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS: More photos from the international properties belonging to American philanthropist, landscape gardener and art patron, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, who died this month…
See PART 1 here, which includes:
Philanthropist Paul Mellon with two of his horses
Rachel “Bunny” Lowe Lambert Lloyd Mellon
Antigua
The 5-bedroom Antigua estate in the West Indies overlooking Half Moon Bay is on 27 acres and has been owned by the Mellon family since the 1950s, includes two masters suites, a library, wine cellar, greenhouse, manicured garden, vegetable gardens and citrus orchard.
Other famous folk who’ve spent time in Antigua include Giorgio Armani, Oprah Winfrey, Eric Clapton, Timothy Dalton and Richard Branson.
Done in a classic British Colonial style, the secure property also includes guest and staff cottages, poolhouse, and multiple outbuildings.
It is currently for sale for $11.5 million – see the listing here.
Scroll through the photo gallery here:
Cape Cod
Bunny Mellon’s 26-acre property at 17 Indian Trail, Osterville, Massachusetts – one town over from the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port – has over 1000 feet of continuous shoreline. It was purchased by Paul and Bunny Mellon in the 1940s.
There are views of the Seapuit River and Nantucket Sound.
The 7000-square-foot, eight-bedroom main house, also contains a beach shack, artist’s studio, greenhouses, pool, tennis court, formal gardens, and dock, as well as guest and staff accommodation.
It was sold for $19.5 million to businessman and maritime collector, Bill Koch in 2013, down from $28.7 million. It was offered in smaller parcels of land, or the whole lot – he bought the lot. See the original listing here.
Scroll through the photo gallery here:
Washington DC
Paul and Bunny Mellon had a 8-bed, 9-bath property at 3055 Whitehaven Street in Washington DC, or possibly even two – one to live in, and the other, next door, to house and display part of their extensive art collection – Paul Mellon was the primary benefactor of Washington’s National Gallery of Art.
No. 3055 was sold in 2001 for $5 million to Wayne and Lea Berman. Wayne was Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Bush Administration and is currently a Washington lobbyist, and Lea worked as Laura Bush’s social secretary.
Apparently it’s back on the market for either $13.7 or $20 million, depending on what you read.
The 12,000 square-foot, 6-8 bedroom residence was built in 1930 in the Palladian style on a beautifully landscaped lot of over 13,000 square-feet.
As well as all the usual amenities, it includes a kitchen with butler’s pantry, walk-in linen and silver storage closet, and luggage room. Of course.
Designed by Washington architect Nathan C. Wyeth, both homes overlook Sir Edwin Lutyen-designed British Embassy, and its famed gardens. The security-obsessed area is popular with embassies and houses of Washington’s elite, including Hillary Clinton.
Scroll through the photo gallery here:
Paris, France and Nantucket, Massachusetts
The Mellons also owned at least two properties in Paris, France, as well as on the island of Nantucket.
Apparently, the Mellon family’s Nantucket holdings are (or were) considerable, and Bunny Mellon was thought to be the island’s largest single landowner. At one point, 50 acres of pasture off New South Road was donated to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.
You might also be interested in these books:
- Thomas Mellon and His Times by Thomas Mellon
- The Judge: A Life of Thomas Mellon, Founder of a Fortune by James Mellon
- Mellon: An American Life by David Cannadine
- The Georgetown Ladies’ Social Club: Power, Passion, and Politics in the Nation’s Capital by C. David Heymann
- Reflections in a Silver Spoon: A Memoir by Paul Mellon
- Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years: Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum by Hamish Bowles, Jr. Arthur M. Schlessinger, Rachel Lambert Mellon
- Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator by Adam Lewis
- John Fowler: Prince of Decorators by Martin Wood
- Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them by Frank Langella
- Paul Mellon’s Legacy: A Passion for British Art (Yale Center for British Art)
See PART 1 of our Bunny Mellon coverage here
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Cheers, Natasha
www.myLusciousLife.com