Maymont Gardens- Richmond, VA
Maymont’s grand gardens are a gift straight from the Gilded Age. Elaborate and elegant, they perfectly exemplify the excess of the era. Featuring several different design styles, a stroll through the grounds will take you around the world.
In 1886, successful Richmond lawyer and businessman James Henry Dooley purchased 100 acres of pastureland overlooking the James River. He commissioned Edgerton S. Rogers, who trained in Rome, to build a magnificent Richardsonian Romanesque mansion on the site, which was completed in 1893. Designed to impress, the substantial 12,000 square foot house featured a 16 foot Tiffany stained glass window, exotic woods, and elaborate ornamental plaster work.
In 1904, Dooley retained local architects Noland & Baskervill to expand the estate. At this time, a series of Norman Revival outbuildings were added to the grounds, as well as a terraced Italian garden.
Patterned after Italy’s Villa Torlonia, Nolad & Baskervill’s plan featured a central formal garden with a domed gazebo and pergola, an elegant Petersburg granite cascade, and a 45 foot waterfall. Below the garden’s main level was a small enclosed courtyard and a hillside grotto.
In 1912, Japanese garden master Y. Muto was retained to install an elaborate Asian inspired space along the river, using the Italian garden’s waterfall as a backdrop. Features included a pond with earthen bridge, rock groupings, stone lanterns and pavilions. Renovated and enlarged in 1978, the garden now also includes pruned trees, stone paths, and a traditional Torii gate.
Used only seasonally, Maymont remained in the family until Sallie Dooley’s death in 1925. As stipulated in her will, ownership was then transferred to the City of Richmond, for use as a public park. Remarkably intact, the estate looks substantially the same today as it did a century ago. Although updated in places, original statuary and masonry remains, some seemingly forgotten. Although popular, with 100 acres, it is easy enough to avoid the crowds.
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