Editing Carolands (section)

==History==

===Harriett Pullman Carolan===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Harriett Pullman-Carolan.1890.jpg|thumb|left|206px|Miss Harriett Pullman circa 1890]]  --><!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Harriett Pullman-Carolan on the west terrace of Carolands, 1917.jpg|thumb|left|265px|Harriett and pet on her West Terrace]] -->
The woman who built Carolands, Harriett Pullman Carolan (1869–1956), was the daughter of [[George Pullman]], a 19th-century industrialist, one of [[Chicago]]'s wealthiest men, and founder of the [[Pullman Company]], famous for its Palace railway cars. In Chicago in 1892, Harriett Pullman married Francis Carolan of San Francisco and moved with him to California. In 1912, she acquired {{convert |554|acres|ha|0}} of land in Hillsborough,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://carolands.org/history/ |title=History |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2015 |website=Carolands Foundation |access-date=19 March 2015 }}</ref> on which she intended to build a house and garden that would excite "the wonder and admiration of America" and reflect her many refined and cultivated interests.<ref>{{Citation |last=Price |first=Paul |date=March 2008 |title=Carolands Hillsborough, California |periodical=Architecture |pages=2}}</ref>  The result was a masterpiece of Beaux-Arts architecture, inspired by the court architecture of [[Louis XIV]]. Carolan chose the site, the highest in the neighborhood, for its commanding views of the San Francisco Bay and the surrounding hills. <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Carolands - Miss Harriett Pullman circa 1890.jpg|thumb|right|206px|Miss Harriett Pullman circa 1890]] --><!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Carolands, Library, 1917.jpg Sargent portrait of Harriett Pullman Carolan.jpg|thumb|center|320px|Carolands Chateau- Library with John Singer Sargent portrait of Harriett(on the left) circa 1917]] -->

===Architects===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Carolands Chateau Architect, Ernest Sanson circa 1879.jpg|thumb|right|Carolands Chateau Architect, Ernest Sanson circa 1879.jpg]] --> 
Harriett Carolan commissioned plans for the chateau from the Parisian architect [[Ernest Sanson]], at the time France's foremost designer of prestigious private houses. Sanson was a classicist, and his design for the chateau's exterior was inspired by the 17th-century designs of [[François Mansart]]. He was seventy-six years old, near the end of a long and distinguished career, and never visited the California site. Carolan engaged the San Francisco-based [[Willis Polk]], a distinguished architect in his own right, to be the structural designer and construction manager, instructing him to faithfully execute Sanson's designs.<ref>{{Citation |last=Price |first=Paul |date=March 2008 |title=Carolands Hillsborough, California |periodical=Architecture |pages=3}}</ref>

France's leading landscape architect, [[Achille Duchêne]], designed Carolands' gardens. Duchêne's work was inspired by the works of the great 17th-century landscape designer [[André Le Nôtre]], whose most famous creations included the gardens at the [[Palace of Versailles]], [[Vaux-le-Vicomte]] and the [[Jardins des Tuileries]]. In his original, ambitious design for Carolands, Duchêne planned miles of roadways leading across extensive grounds, landscaped with thousands of shrubs and trees, accented by fountains and statuary. <!-- Deleted image removed:  [[File:Carolands - Reinforced concrete superstructure circa 1915.jpg|thumb|left|Carolands Chateau- Reinforced concrete superstructure circa 1915]] --> Only a small portion of the scheme was ever built.

===Construction===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Carolands Chateau, Harriett Pullman-Carolan.jpg|thumb|left|265px|Harriett and pet on her West Terrace]] -->
Soon after Harriett Carolan secured the land in 1912, Duchêne arrived in San Francisco to lay out the grand [[parterre]] gardens. In late 1913, Ernest Sanson began to design the house. His plans included a dry [[moat]] around two sides of the house, discreetly located to provide light and air, and access, to the service spaces in the basement, while not blocking views of the gardens from the principal rooms on the main floor. In his design, Sanson incorporated three 18th-century period rooms that Carolan had purchased in Paris with the advice of the famous antique dealer [[Boni de Castellane]].

In 1914, Willis Polk began grading the great terraces planned by Duchêne, sending progress photographs to the owner and her architects. Polk began to build the reinforced concrete superstructure he had designed, creating the infill walls with brick, finishing them with concrete stucco, sanded and scored to resemble natural limestone.<ref name="Price 4">{{Citation |last=Price |first=Paul |date=March 2008 |title=Carolands Hillsborough, California |periodical=Architecture |pages=4}}</ref>

[[File:017416pv.jpg|thumb|right|The Dining Room, photographed by [[Jack E. Boucher]] for [[Historic American Buildings Survey|HABS]] in August 1974]]
In mid-1916, the elaborate interior elements began arriving on the site. The house as completed had ninety-eight rooms, including nine bedrooms and baths for the owners and their guests, each with an antechamber to guarantee quiet and privacy. The service spaces were equally elaborate: a kitchen with walls and ceiling made of white glass tiles; a service elevator connecting all floors; and a butler's pantry and mezzanine with walls of [[Delftware]] tile.<ref name="Price 4"/> In the fall of 1916, Harriett and Frank Carolan moved in with their staff.

===First decline===
Harriett Carolan did not use her house for long: she separated from Frank Carolan in 1917 and closed the chateau the following year. After the separation, she moved to New York City, while Frank remained in California where he died in 1923. Two years later, Harriett married Col. Arthur Schermerhorn, and while the couple occasionally occupied Carolands, in 1928 Harriett removed her furniture and put the property up for sale.

The U.S. Government considered buying Carolands to use as a Western White House in 1939,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/carolans.html |title=One of Peninsula's First Fashionables Slips Into Town |author=Robbins, Mildred Brown |date=1 October 1939 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=25 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402025116/http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/carolans.html |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> and again during the Kennedy administration, but both times declined to purchase.

In 1945, Tomlinson Moseley bought the house and surrounding <span style="white-space:nowrap">550&nbsp;acres&nbsp;(2.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>)</span> from the Schermerhorns and began to sub-divide the land and build additional houses.<ref name=NRHP /> In 1947, ''[[Life Magazine]]'' published an article about a charity event held at the house,<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=60kEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA138 |title=Life Goes to a Party in a Deserted Mansion |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=17 March 1947 |journal=LIFE Magazine |access-date=19 March 2015 }}</ref> the first opportunity for San Francisco-area residents to see its interior. According to the article, the house had been abandoned for twenty-five years, so that plumbing for the event had to be provided by a fire hose, and lighting required the use of portable generators and flood lights.

[[File:017413pv.jpg|thumb|left|Grand Staircase (from first level), by Boucher for HABS in Aug 1974]]
In 1948, Moseley sold the property, by then reduced to {{convert |25|acres|ha|0}}, to Mrs. S. Coe Robinson.<ref name=NRHP /> By 1950, she had carved off much of the remaining land into smaller parcels and begun to contemplate demolishing the house.<ref name=1950demo />

===Countess Lillian Remillard Dandini===
Countess Lillian Remillard Dandini purchased Carolands Chateau in 1950,<ref name=HouseHill>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/THE-HOUSE-ON-THE-HILL-After-four-years-and-20-2582214.php |title=The House on the Hill: After four years and $20 million, the famed Carolands mansion is set for another century |author=Richter, Judy |date=11 July 2007 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=19 March 2015 }}</ref> saving it from demolition by speculators interested in developing the land, and uninterested in the house's architectural significance. Prior to her marriage in 1932 to Mexican-born Count Alessandro Dandini di Cesena, Lillian Remillard was an heir to the [[Remillard Brothers]] fortune, which derived from a [[bricks|brick]] manufacturing business dating back to California's [[gold rush]], a business that benefitted greatly from the construction boom following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]]. During the twenty-three years (until her death) that she lived at Carolands, the countess entertained often and made the house available for numerous charity benefits. She frequently invited San Francisco's French community to the house and opened it annually to the San Francisco Bay area's French students. Her generosity in sharing the house inspired the Town of Burlingame to give her the town's "Woman of the Year" award.

In her later years the Countess Dandini lacked the necessary funds to maintain the house, and after she died in 1973 it was once again at risk of demolition.<ref name=luna>{{cite web |url=http://lunaproductions.com/the-heiress-and-her-chateau/ |title=The Heiress and Her Chateau: Carolands of California |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2015 |website=Luna Productions |access-date=19 March 2015 }}</ref> The countess willed the house and the remaining {{convert |5.83|acre|m2}} to the Town of Hillsborough to be used as a French and Italian musical, artistic and literary center,<ref name=Morente06>{{cite news |url=http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_3867593 |title=Chateau revived after much tragedy |author=Morente, Christine |date=26 May 2006 |publisher=Inside Bay eArea |access-date=20 March 2015 }}</ref> but was unable to include an endowment. The Town of Hillsborough declined the gift, ruling the proposed use inconsistent with the town's charter while noting it could not afford to pay the cost to maintain the property.

===Years of decline===
In 1975, the house was added to the list of [[California Historical Landmark]]s (CHL #886),<ref name=CHL /> and to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] (NRHP #75000478).<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=fc3325cf-d6c5-41a2-a055-dd7a59485101 |format=pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form: The Carolands |author1=Turner, Paul V. |author2=Eliassen Jr., John Weld |author3=Ringler, Donald P. |author4=Von Homola, Beatrice |website=United States National Park Service |date=7 April 1975 |access-date=7 March 2016 }}</ref> Nevertheless, Carolands suffered from frequent changes in ownership after Countess Dandini's death.

In 1976, Dr. Selwyn McCabe won the house in a probate auction,<ref name=Dr76 /> but declined to purchase, deferring to the next bidder, Rose 'Roz' Franks.<ref name=dropped /><ref name=SC76 /> In 1979, Franks lost the house to George I. Benny,<ref name=HouseHill /> who in turn lost it to foreclosure in 1982, after conviction for conspiring to defraud institutional lenders.<ref name=UPI83 /> 
At the time, adult filmmakers gained access to the site where they produced the 1982 film ''All American Girls.''<ref name=Morente06 />{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

During these years, Carolands was often vacant, and curious local high school students often entered the house.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_3867589 |title=Chateau's troubled history attracts curious |author=Morente, Christine |date=26 May 2006 |publisher=Inside Bay Area |access-date=20 March 2015 }}</ref> In 1985, [[David Allen Raley]], a security guard, lured two high school students onto the property where he sexually assaulted and stabbed them, leaving them for dead in a ravine near San Jose.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/history/ci_26545365/carolands-mansion-murder-testimony-from-david-raleys-trial |title=Carolands mansion murder: Testimony from David Raley's trial |author=Romero, Lorenzo |date=7 April 1987 |newspaper=San Jose Mercury News |access-date=20 March 2015 }}</ref> They managed to climb out of the ravine and flag down a passing motorist for help, but one later died of wounds received during the ordeal.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m7pPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gVMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6872%2C2737919 |title=Girls lured by attacker |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |agency=UPI |date=5 February 1985 |newspaper=Mohave Daily Miner |access-date=20 March 2015 }}</ref> Raley had bragged earlier that day that he often received bribes from curious students interested in the mansion's interior, but that "he only let girls in."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.apnews.com/4ddb268116e3b58e326526855441cf0a |title=Authorities Say Police Buff Ran His Own Disneyland to Attract Girls |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |agency=AP |date=5 February 1985 |work=AP News |access-date=26 September 2019 |archive-date=September 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926151450/https://www.apnews.com/4ddb268116e3b58e326526855441cf0a |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was convicted, and received the death penalty in 1988.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_26545368/carolands-mansion-murder-survivor-laurie-mckenna-speaks-20 |title=Carolands mansion murder: Survivor Laurie McKenna speaks, 20 years later |author=Mintz, Howard |date=24 September 2006 |newspaper=San Jose Mercury News |access-date=20 March 2015 }}</ref>

{{multiple image 
 |image1=017418pv.jpg
 |caption1=Bordeaux Salon.  Photograph by Boucher for HABS in Aug 1974
 |image2=Carolands Chateau - Bordeaux Salon 2.16.2013.jpg
 |caption2=After 2013 restoration
 |align=right|direction=vertical}}

In 1986, Michael DeDomenico, an heir to the family controlling [[Rice-a-Roni]] and [[Ghirardelli Chocolate Company|Ghirardelli]], bought Carolands,<ref name=86rescue />
and that year developers commissioned an [[Environmental Impact Report]] in support of a proposal to further subdivide the land and build additional houses. In 1989, the house suffered superficial damage in the [[1989 Loma Prieta earthquake|Loma Prieta earthquake]] leading its owners to consider demolishing it. In 1997, a new owner proposed carving the house into fifteen condominiums,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Historic-Mansion-Opens-Door-To-Debate-Strict-3240182.php |title=Historic Mansion Opens Door To Debate |author=Wilson, Marshall |date=19 August 1997 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=19 March 2015 }}</ref> but the Hillsborough town charter banned multi-family residences.

===Restoration===
In 1991, the Hillsborough Designer Showhouse was held at Carolands, attracting 68,000 visitors, each paying $20 admission, netting more than $1 million for the sponsoring charity and reviving interest in the house.<ref name=NYT91 /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-08-re-2720-story.html |title=Karras Tackles Malibu Move |author=Ryon, Ruth |date=8 September 1991 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=19 March 2015 }}</ref><ref name=Morente06 /><ref name=luna/> Among the visitors were Dr. Ann Johnson, who would later buy Carolands, and her interior decorator, [[Mario Buatta]], who would help her to restore it.

In 1998, Johnson and her husband, mutual fund billionaire [[Charles Bartlett Johnson]], bought the house and the remaining land for under $6 million.<ref name=Morente06 /> The Johnsons undertook extensive renovations and restorations of the house, often hosting events there.<ref>{{cite web|last=Eerdmans |first=Emily |date=6 November 2009 |title=Carolands House Visit, Part I |url=http://emilyevanseerdmans.blogspot.com/2009/11/carolands-house-visit-part-i.html |access-date=19 March 2015}}</ref>

===Current status===
Billionaire businessperson [[Charles B. Johnson]] and his wife bought the Carolands Chateau in 2009 for $26 million.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Ernsthausen |first=Jeff |date=2023-07-26 |title=How the Ultrawealthy Use Private Foundations to Bank Millions in Tax Deductions While Giving the Public Little in Return |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/how-private-nonprofits-ultrawealthy-tax-deductions-museums-foundation-art |website=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref> By 2023, it was appraised at $130 million.<ref name=":0" /> In 2012, Johnson and his wife donated the Carolands Chateau to his private foundation, "Carolands Foundation".<ref name=":0" /> The couple filed for tax-exempt status for the mansion, as they said that the mansion would be open to self-guided public tours every weekday from 9–5.<ref name=":0" /> By valuing the mansion so highly and by obtaining tax-exempt status, the Johnsons collected more than $38 million in tax savings from the estate over five years.<ref name=":0" /> However, the mansion was not open to the public 40 hours per week and was not subject to self-guided tours.<ref name=":0" /> Rather, it was only open to a few dozen lottery winners who could access the mansion on a guided tour for two hours from 1PM on most Wednesdays.<ref name=":0" /> Tax and legal experts questioned the validity of the high appraisal for the mansion and the tax-exempt status of the estate.<ref name=":0" />