Coolidge Estate
Encyclopedia
The Coolidge Estate, located in Topsfield, Massachusetts
, is the former property of William A. Coolidge, a lawyer, financier, and art collector. Encompassing 571 acres (2.3 km²), it includes a 24-room Georgian
-style mansion designed by architect Phillip Richardson in 1921, other buildings, and landscaping by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted
. The brick mansion includes 14 bedrooms, six fireplaces, parquet floors, hand-carved wood paneling, and extensive gardens. When Coolidge died in 1992, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
inherited the property. In 2000, MIT and the Essex County Greenbelt Association, a conservation organization and private, non-profit land trust, concluded an agreement to restrict further development, and the former estate, which includes over a mile of land along the Ipswich River
, is now one of the largest conservation areas in private hands in Massachusetts.
Topsfield, Massachusetts
Topsfield is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,085 at the 2010 census.Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Topsfield.-Colonial period:...
, is the former property of William A. Coolidge, a lawyer, financier, and art collector. Encompassing 571 acres (2.3 km²), it includes a 24-room Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
-style mansion designed by architect Phillip Richardson in 1921, other buildings, and landscaping by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
. The brick mansion includes 14 bedrooms, six fireplaces, parquet floors, hand-carved wood paneling, and extensive gardens. When Coolidge died in 1992, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
inherited the property. In 2000, MIT and the Essex County Greenbelt Association, a conservation organization and private, non-profit land trust, concluded an agreement to restrict further development, and the former estate, which includes over a mile of land along the Ipswich River
Ipswich River
Ipswich River is a small river in northeastern Massachusetts, USA. It is long, and its watershed is approximately , with an estimated population in the area of 160,000 people. - Geography :...
, is now one of the largest conservation areas in private hands in Massachusetts.