Bois Doré, 1927 mansion in Newport, United States.
Bois Doré is a French château-style mansion built in 1927 in Newport, Rhode Island, within the Ochre Point-Cliffs historic district. New York architect Charles A. Platt designed it for banker William Fahnestock in limestone, with 25 rooms, a loggia, a terrace and a 2,000-square-foot ballroom, on four acres of grounds.
Investment banker William Fahnestock commissioned architect Charles A. Platt to design this residence, completed in 1927. The mansion was built during Newport's height as a favored retreat for wealthy businessmen.
The dining room displays hand-painted wall murals by artist Martin Battersby showing characters from the French court, created using trompe l'oeil technique directly on the walls.
Bois Doré stands on four acres within the Ochre Point-Cliffs historic district, at coordinates 41.47474, -71.30606. A separate 4,428-square-foot carriage house on Webster Avenue, built in 1900, was renovated and sold apart from the main estate in 2015, so it is not part of the grounds today.
Bois Doré was one of the last grand houses built in Newport. Its later owner Carolyn Mary Skelly, daughter of oilman William Grove Skelly, was once called "the most stolen woman in the United States" by the Boston Globe, a phrase tied to her much-publicized divorces.
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