Tuesday, March 9, 2010

'Nid de Papillon'

'Nid de Papillon', the Robert Appleton estate designed by Frank Eaton Newman c. 1917 in East Hampton. Appleton was head of Robert Appleton Publishing Company and his estate overlooked the Maidstone Club. He was also the president of the East Hampton Riding Club and the estate comprised 100 acres with a polo field and paddocks along with over a quarter mile of oceanfront. Appleton died in a mysterious fall from the sixth floor of a hotel in Palm Beach in 1948. Click HERE to see 'Nid de Papillon' on google earth.



Pictures from Architectural Record, 1919. Houses of the Hamptons has more pictures and floorplans.

9 comments:

An Aesthete's Lament said...

The name means "butterfly's nest."

Turner Pack Rats said...

what the heck do you call that style? unless that roof is shingled in asphalt, i pity those poor roofers or reroofers. those roofs are classy and i don't remember another house on this site with any like those but they must be a bear esp. since they seem to be one seamless line. very nice.
interiors?
and could we get street names, if possible, zach. i don't want to overstress the system as you do such phenomenal work and give us our daily dose of extravagance but street names make it so much easier to find these places on bing. and the houses look so much nicer on bing birdseye plus you get to cruise the neighborhood. thanx again for all your hard work.

Zach L. said...

When you click the link to see the location on Wikimapia that I provide...click 'Map Type' and change the map to 'Google Hybrid' and all the street names will show up.

Zach L. said...

In case anyone's wondering why I don't post a link to Bing (which in Bird's Eye view is undoubtedly better) it's because Wikimapia allows the entire property to be tagged with a boundary line and name making it much easier to identify from the surrounding developments. Plus all the 'Gold Coast' properties are tagged as such and can be filtered so you can only see them.

Anonymous said...

ligc - 703 and counting!

Anonymous said...

I had the privilege of growing up in Nid de Papillon. A very unique and beautiful nest. Mrs. Appleton had a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder - hence the name. Incidentally she also had all the $. The roof was indeed a work of art. Steamed shingles on curved roof rafters, in some places 7 or 8 layers thick. Unfortunately, copper or galvanized nails
were not used and despite the massive layering by the 1980s the roof had to be replaced - a huge task and no local builders really up to the job. The house was then sold to the present owners. I understand they have faithfully and beautifully restored her to her original condition.Well done!

Anonymous said...

Hello Zach - amazing to find all this info. My great grandmother was an Appleton and my grandmother was Robert (Bobbie's) cousin. She visited him at Le Nid de P and I have a few photos of her trip. I wonder whether the Appletons had kids? Yes, I discovered that 'Flicka' (Frederica von Stade) had lived there and wish I knew that fact when I worked in a UK opera company where she was performing back in the 80s! Would have been fascinating to ask her about the house. Thanks for the fab images.

L Thommen said...

Robert Appleton had two daughters, Mary and Florence, by his first wife Mary Horsman. None with second wife Katherine. Appleton's parties at Nid---including those held during his daughters' debutante days---were well covered in the social press.

Anonymous said...

Ah, thank you so much for this info L Thommen. I'll investigate online so I can further my genealogical research!