Seal Harbor -- The Eyrie

Object Details

Varying Form: Also known as the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden.
General: 001: "The Eyrie" Summer home of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Mt. Desert Island, Maine. 5A-N2341 Postcard circa 1915-1930. 002: Postcard circa 1939-1990. 003: "The Eyrie" Summer home of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Seal Harbor, Maine. Postcard circa 1901-1945. 004: Postcard circa 1901-1915.; A 1921 trip to China and a tour of Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and the Philippines inspired Abby and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to create the garden at Eyrie on the western hill of Seal Harbor. Beatrix Farrand, a fellow Mount Desert Island resident, was hired to design it. Lavish flower gardens and Western influences coexist with Eastern material objects. The garden is enclosed by a rose-colored serpentine wall capped with yellow tiles salvaged from a demolished section of wall around China's Forbidden City. The Spirit Path is lined with Korean tomb "procession" figures. The use of native shrubs and ground covers soften the stone sculptures. A lawn is the center of the sunken garden. Persons associated with the garden and property include: Abby Aldrich and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (former owners, ca. 1928-1948); Beatrix Jones Farrand (landscape architect); and Robert W. Patterson (landscape architect).

Former owner: Rockefeller, John D., Jr. (John Davison), 1874-1960; Rockefeller, David, 1915-
Architect: Candler, Duncan; Reynolds, Marcus T.
Landscape architect: Farrand, Beatrix, 1872-1959; Patterson, Robert W.
Collection Collector: Marchand, Richard

Place: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden (Seal Harbor, Maine); United States of America -- Maine -- Hancock County -- Seal Harbor

Topic: Gardens -- Maine -- Seal Harbor; Mansions; Tudor Revival; Driveways; Trees; Retaining walls; Woodland gardens; Boulders; Flower beds; Hillside planting

Former owner: Rockefeller, John D., Jr. (John Davison), 1874-1960; Rockefeller, David, 1915-
Architect: Candler, Duncan; Reynolds, Marcus T.
Landscape architect: Farrand, Beatrix, 1872-1959; Patterson, Robert W.

See more items in: Richard Marchand historical postcard collection (35mm slides); Richard Marchand historical postcard collection (35mm slides) / Maine

Sponsor: A project to describe images in this finding aid in this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Collection Citation: Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Richard Marchand historical postcard collection.

Collection Rights: Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Bibliography: Garden featured in Altman, Cynthia Bronson; Forrest, Todd A.; Lederman, Larry; Browning, Dominique; and Banning, Cassie. The Rockefeller Family Gardens: An American Legacy. United States: Monacelli Press, 2017. Garden featured in Brown, Jane. Beatrix: The Gardening Life of Beatrix Jones Farrand 1872-1959. New York: Viking Press, 1995. Garden featured in Shettleworth, Earle G. and Vandenbergh, Lydia. Revisiting Seal Harbor and Acadia National Park. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing Incorporated, 1997. Garden featured in Paula Deitz, "The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden," House and Garden (February 1985), p. 116.Garden featured in Elaine Kasmer, "Recalling Summer's Splender: Three Gardens in Maine," The Horticultural Society of Maryland Newsletter (winter 2000/2001), pp. 3, 6.

Collection Restrictions: Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.