The Victorian Society in America honors The Mount

Santa Fe, NM (April 29, 2004) -- The Victorian Society in America will honor The Mount, Edith Wharton’s estate and gardens in Lenox, Mass., with its highest preservation award at its 38th Annual Meeting and Conference on May 1, 2004. Wilson Stiles, a member of The Mount’s Interior Restoration Committee, will accept the award on the estate’s behalf.

Applauding The Mount and Edith Wharton Restoration for “meritorious preservation and restoration,” The Victorian Society will cite the $9.5 million refurbishing of the estate, which began in 1997 with funding from numerous public and private sources, including one of the largest grants ever made by Save America’s Treasures. With consultation from professional preservationists in several fields, the exterior of the 42-room mansion, along with the greenhouse and three acres of formal gardens have been restored, with work on the principal interior rooms now also completed. The Mount is one of only 5% of National Historic Landmarks dedicated to women.

Over the decades, The Mount, with three acres of overgrown formal gardens, a collapsed greenhouse, and numerous outbuildings, had fallen into sad decay. Constructed in 1901-02 as the country home of American author Edith Wharton, The Mount is the only property that Wharton designed and built from a scratch, in collaboration with architects Ogden Codman and Francis Hoppin. The estate was Wharton’s opportunity to realize the design principles espoused in her influential works, The Decoration of Houses and Italian Villas and Their Gardens. During her residence at The Mount, Wharton wrote six novels, including two of her most famous, as well as three non-fiction books, and numerous short stories.

At the awards ceremony, The Victorian Society will present two additional preservation and restoration awards, two commendations and three book awards. Nominations were submitted by the Society’s chapters and members for significant buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and constructed between 1837 and 1917. Restorations must meet local, state, or national standards of historic preservation.

Founded in 1966 by leaders in historic preservation, including Brendan Gill, Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Margot Gayle, the Victorian Society is the only national organization dedicated to the protection, understanding, education, and enjoyment of America’s 19th-century heritage. The Society fulfills its mission through its publications, symposia, architectural tours and renowned Summer Schools in Newport, Rhode Island, and London, England. There are 18 chapters, which host a wide variety of events and lectures. For more information, contact (215) 545-8340 or www.victoriansociety.org.