Development of staff housing and conversion of an on-site single-family house for extended-stay guests are among the highlights of the property’s application to the zoning board.
Millionaire Giraud Foster spent $2.5 million to build Bellefontaine in 1897 as a duplicate of Marie Antoinette s Petit Trianon. He lived there with his family until his death at age
The first time you see a Berkshire Cottage you may wonder, “What is that?” Because the “cottage” may now be a luxury hotel, a house museum, or even a restaurant. Or it may still be what long ago it was built to be a private home. The Berkshire Cottages are mansions from the gilded age. Many are still available to visit - as hotels, spas or non-profit organizatons.
March 6: $1.9 trillion COVID relief package passes, including direct payments to those in need.
1896: At the height of the Gilded Age, Bellefontaine, reputedly the most beautiful Berkshire cottage, opens. Designed by Carrere and Hasting then altered and reopened in 1898, it was built for Giraud Foster.
In 1892, Foster married Jane Van Nest. Though there was a local joke that Foster made all his money in one day â âhe married itâ â truth is the wedding merged two great fortunes in coal, shipping and land. They had one child, Giraud Foster Jr. (called âBoyâ), in 1904.
Some who had the privilege of dining in both thought the White House State dining room, renovated in 1902, was at least reminiscent of the dining room at Bellefontaine. In that elegant room, at lunches and dinners, the famous, fashionable, wealthy and accomplished ate, drank and discussed.