SEAVIEW TERRACE CASTLE

Seaview Terrace was built on Dupont Circle, in Washington, D.C., by liquor millionaire Edson Bradley. In the 1920's, Mr. Bradley had the castle dismantled, and shipped to an oceanfront property in Newport, R.I., where it was rebuilt, larger and grander than before.

Seaview Terrace still stands today on Ruggles Avenue, in Newport. Mr. Bradley filled the castle with fine art, tapestries, and stained glass. This 54 room summer house was the last great Newport mansion built, and contains a chapel with seating for 150. Seaview Terrace cost over two million dollars to build in the 20's, but sold for only $8,000 in 1949, a fate shared with many other Newport mansions. The current owner is Salve Regina College, of Newport.

Originally, the castle was located on the south side of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., covering more than half of a city block. The site was made available by demolishing the Gardiner Hubbard mansion, a huge victorian house. The original incarnation included the aforementioned Gothic chapel, a large ballroom, an art gallery, and a 1,000 seat theater. Work on the Herculean task of moving the mansion to Newport started in 1923 and continued for more than five years. At the time of the castle's 2nd completion, it was named Burnham-by-the-Sea.

I received E-Mail that said:

An interesting side note to your commentary on Seaview Terrace is that it was featured as the exterior of Collinwood mansion on the soap Dark Shadows.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

One note here, the mansion is not owned by, but leased to, Salve Regina. The owners are a Mr. and Mrs. Carey who have been gracious enough to allow some friends and I to have our run of the house for a few days each summer while there are only a few students around.

Another point of interest: when moved from DC, the transport was barge - 23 barges to be exact, and Ripley's Believe It or Not newspaper column ran a series of photos of the move in progress. I have never been able to track these photos down, but would love to find them some day.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

I was researching buildings in Newport, and when I punched in Carey Mansion (aka Seaview Terrace), your site came up in the Google search. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I enjoyed seeing your photos! I am a 1996 graduate of Salve Regina University, and spent two summers living in Carey Mansion (1994 and 1995). Forever intrigued, I was constantly asking questions about the house. As a student during the year- I also lived in other interesting homes around the campus, but during the summer- I worked for the school as a housekeeper. I was able to not only live in Carey- but clean it as well! This allowed me to really get a good look behind the scenes, and also get to know the regular housekeepers there, as well as the ins and outs of most of the other homes on campus.

Later, I received E-Mail that said:

Just a quick note. A lot of the information you have on "Seaview Terrace" is incorrect. I am the Bradley Family Historian. I knew the Bradley family for many years and have records of Seaview Terrace and the Dupont Circle House. One of the errors is that the house was brought by barges! 23!!?? No, not true. Railroad and Trucks brought the building to Newport, I have the proof. The house was completed in 1925. And, it ws only named "Burnham by the Sea " because in 1950, it became a summer school for girls. The Bradley's named the house "Seaview Terrace". The house does not have 65 rooms! As of the 1925 records, there were 17 rooms on the first floor, 25 on the second, and 12 on the third.

On 2-10-11, I received e-mail that said;

I was a student at Seaview Terrace Castle also know as Burnham by the Sea School for Girls (in the summer) and Newport School for Girls the rest of the year. The school also owned the former Marjorie Mariweather Post home next door. So the younger girls (myself included lived in the home that the Hostess with the Mostest) lived there, but all our classes, meals, and parties were held at Seaview Terrace. It was really an incredible experience! To live on the Cliff Walk, too! The year I attended summer school was 1967. I have never forgotten the wonderful days at Seaview Terrace.

Thank you for posting this information. I stood at DuPont Circle and just stared at the south side of it, trying to picture a version of Seaview Terrace in the space. I couldn't do it. What a story!

On 8-12-13, I received e-mail that said:

Just a note about Seaview Terrace/Burnham By The Sea in Newport. My father and I spent the summer of 1965 at Burnham By The Sea School For Girls. Dad, an episcopal priest, taught language courses at Burnham during the summer break from teaching Latin and theology at Saint Andrew's School in Boca Raton, FL where we lived on campus. The lessor and head of the school was George Emerson (a direct descendent of Ralph Waldo Emerson) and his wife, and children, best friends of mine, George Jr. and Mary Emerson. We were there when the exterior shots of the mansion were filmed for the 60's soap opera Dark Shadows. I was 12 years old, and we lived in an apartment on the grounds. I got my Social Security number in Rhode Island that summer and worked in the kitchen of the mansion/school washing dishes. I also attended a couple of classes. I used to spend hours in the music room listening to classical music. There were around 350 girls attending the summer school and I was the only boy. It was a wonderful summer.

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Photo and research for this page by Phil Bilzor. Some information courtesy of Nancy McKenney, and some from historian Michael Seggie.