Shangri La (Doris Duke)
Encyclopedia
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic-style mansion built by heiress Doris Duke
Doris Duke
Doris Duke was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art collector, and philanthropist.-Family and early life:...
near Diamond Head
Diamond Head, Hawaii
Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin...
just outside Honolulu, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. It is now owned by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA) in cooperation with the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
, and open to the public for tours; an admission fee is charged.
Construction of Shangri La began in 1937, after Doris Duke
Doris Duke
Doris Duke was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art collector, and philanthropist.-Family and early life:...
's 1935 honeymoon which took her through the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic world. For nearly 60 years afterwards, Miss Duke commissioned and collected artifacts for the house, forming a collection of about 3,500 objects. It was designed by Marion Sims Wyeth
Marion Sims Wyeth
Marion Sims Wyeth was an American architect who designed numerous mansions in Florida.He was born in New York City. Wyeth's father John Allan Wyeth founded in 1882 the New York Polyclinic Hospital . His grandfather J. Marion Sims founded the country's first Women's Hospital in 1855 Marion Sims...
. An artistic reflection of the construction of Shangri La can be found in Kiana Davenport
Kiana Davenport
Kiana Davenport is an American author of part-Hawaiian ancestry. She is the author of critically acclaimed novels Shark Dialogues and Song of the Exile, both of which explore aspects of life as a Polynesian in Western society. Her most recent novel was the bestselling House of Many Gods...
's novel Song of the Exile.
Shangri La collections and holdings
The Doris Duke estate, Shangri La, is furnished with art, furnishings and built-in architectural elements from Iran, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, Syria, Egypt and India. The Playhouse is a reduced-scale version of the 17th century Chehel Setun in Esfahan, Iran. It houses a central recreational room and two guest rooms. The outdoor landscaping blends the formality of an Indian Mughal garden and terraced water features with the intimacy of a private Hawaiian fishpond, tropical garden, and fabulous vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Gilt and painted ceilings from Morocco, vivid ceramics from Iran, intimate interiors from Syria, pierced metalwork and vibrant textiles from Spain to India are among the highlights.Shangri La tour description
Tours last approximately two and one-half hours, with one and one-half hours on site at Shangri La. Tours feature the public rooms of the main house and portions of the grounds including Entry Courtyard, Foyer, Living Room, Upper Lawn with views of the Playhouse, pool, and water terraces, Turkish Room, Mughal Garden, Mihrab Room, Dining Room, and covered Lanai.Location
Shangri La is situated on a 4.9 acres (19,829.6 m²) oceanfront lot in the exclusive Black Point residential neighborhood near Diamond Head, HawaiiDiamond Head, Hawaii
Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin...
. All tours to Shangri La begin and end at the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
, which occupies 3.2 acres (12,950 m²) near downtown Honolulu, just minutes away from the world-class resort destination of Waikiki.