Overview
Our History
Glenmere was built in 1911 as the country retreat of industrialist Robert Goelet. He commissioned the leading architects of the day, Carrère and Hastings, to create an Italianate mansion reminiscent of the villas of Tuscany that had enchanted him in his travels. Goelet perched the opulent mansion on a hilltop overlooking Glenmere Lake amid thousands of acres of land that he purchased at the turn of the century. Beatrix Jones Farrand, America’s first major female landscape architect, was called upon to create the incomparable Glenmere Gardens, much of which remains today.
The Mansion
Glenmere was originally fashioned as a 35-room Tuscan villa with a central open cortile and majestic interior details, including marble-columned porticoes and sweeping interior and exterior staircases. A painstaking restoration now returns Glenmere to its original magnificence, with flowing rooms and broad terraces all centered on the refurbished cortile. Original architectural details have been preserved throughout, and the landscape once more offers panoramic views of the surrounding hills and tranquil Glenmere Lake. The formal gardens are a particular delight. Today, Glenmere is a luxury escape, ready to host the contemporary guest in modern comfort while offering an irresistible opportunity to turn back the pages of time to a more graceful, gracious way of living.
The Gardens
A world-class sanctuary for the senses, the Gardens at Glenmere, comprising the estate’s original 150 acres, are destined to become a modern tribute to traditional Italian gardens, with terraced vistas, numerous fountains, and a chic pool pavilion.
Originally designed by Beatrix Farrand, America’s first female landscape architect, Glenmere’s meadows and gardens provide a private, secluded retreat. The estate’s lower gardens, once a Farrand masterpiece, are scheduled to undergo a major restoration of her original design.