This massive 62,000 square foot estate, dubbed Blairsden, is located at 30 Blair Drive in Peapack-Gladstone, NJ. Set high atop the Bernardsville mountains on 34 acres of land, this Louis XIII style mansion was originally owned by the banker/railroad magnate/stock exchange tycoon Clinton Ledyard Blair. It was designed by Carrere and Hastings Architects and construction began in 1898 and was completed in 1903. In February 1949, Clinton died at the age of 82. The following year Blairsden and 50 acres of property were sold for an estimated $65,000 to the Sisters of St. John the Baptist. The Sisters then sold it for $5 million to the latest owners.
It boasts a mile long driveway, 31 bedrooms, 14 full and 5 half bathrooms and is listed at $4,900,000.
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Tags: businessmen, New Jersey
OMG. Seriously, what is the catch????? This is ***STUNNING***!!!!! That staircase alone is worth the asking price! I think I have found my favorite home in New Jersey. There has to be something wrong with this place – ghouls perhaps? I’d honestly say if I won the lotto tomorrow I would make an offer on this place. Shockingly low price.
It’s supposedly haunted…..
Agreed about the Le Grand Staircase, Dan…..it is an absolute work of art……breathtakingly beautiful and glamorous.
It’s extremely similar to the one at Rosecliff. This has to be my favorite staircase design ever. Screw the overdone (and failed) double staircases people love putting into homes these days.
The house is gorgeous but all the photos make the house look so eerie and if you look at the mansions photos from when it was lived in it was much nicer.
$4.9MM or $49MM?
$4.9 million
This is too good to be true. What’s the catch? Anybody in their right mind who had the money would easily snatch this up. This would be a great summer retreat.
the price has go be a typo…I snuck up to the front door of this back when I was younng brave and dumb and this place is amazing, plus the view from the top.of the mountain is incredible. I don’t know about the building that looks like an apt, but it.s at the bottom of the hill so you probably can.t see it from this castle….wow… I never thought this place would e er go on the mkt…I figured it would be torn torn like some white elephant and be replaced with a bunch of ‘McMansions.’ I hope someone keeps it as aprivate residence and has an open house for all of us to admire…
Too good to be true. In Greenwich it would be 490 mil
No effing way. This place is unreal. It’s stunning…I can’t find anything wrong with it (and that’s rare for me). I really wouldn’t need 31 bedrooms, but I’d make due if I had to. The current owners had to have spent more than $5 million on the renovation.
I have no idea what the area is like, but the setting looks lovely. It’s a little far to drive to NYC every day, but it looks like it would be less than half an hour to the NYC downtown heliport. I guess the area isn’t as shi shi as Greenwich but if it were there it would be 10 times the price.
The fact that it’s supposedly haunted only adds to the appeal!
62,000 sq. Footer for under $5 million?!!???
[...] 60,000 Sq. ft. for less than 5 mil! Via HOTR New Jersey’s 62,000 Square Foot Blairsden Estate Homes of the Rich Not my cup of tea but still insane. __________________ 2007 G35X with some [...]
Is it near a landfill? Is it down wind from a slaughterhouse? Was there a brutal axe murder in the place? Has LE been seen creeping around outside? What is the catch? This place is FFFAAABBBUUUULLLLOOOUUUSSS!!! Two things; how much to extend the land to the water,? and how much is upkeep? Love the idea of the mile long driveway through those woods. This is what a home of the rich should really be.
Stunning.
That price is maddeningly mysterious…it’s got to be a typo or something…
Omg I’ve always loved this home and always wanted to see the inside. The owners must have serious financial issues, at this price point it must be a foreclosure, I mean Peapack Gladstone is a very expensive area, sure it’s not as exclusive as it was a century ago when all the gran estates were built there, but none the less still pricey. I would’ve said this house was worth 20 mil, maybe a lil less. But wow I’m just still in shock it’s even for sale, especially at this price.
How on God’s green earth is this place only $5 million?
This has got to be a major mistake.
Even if this was just a shell it should still be worth more than that.
The owner has passed away and it is being sold by the estate. He also has a townhouse on 5th ave. for sale that hit the market last week. If you think the interior shots of this place is good, you should see the inside of the townhouse, amazzzzing!!
5 million? the fuck?
$4.9M isn’t necessarilly a bargain. Replacing the leaky roof will be $1.1M to do it correctly, it probably needs another $11M in restoration. The nuns hung onto the real estate but, didn’t do any maintenance over 52yrs of ownership. It’s great that it’s all there but, a shame they let it get to the level of needs that it has. The only reason it is still standing is due to the incredible quality of the original construction. Truly an AMAZING property!!
My aunt Lucia was a “nun” sister who oversaw some of the provisional care taking responsibilities of this estate.
What the story fails to mention is that the home was filled with millions of dollars worth of items that have been sold over the years to pay for nearly everything. The house was never as pilfered as it is now. The estate is nearly barren of all its collections. To Dress such a fine lady would cost about 5 million dollars. The kind of fine tasseled draperies made of silks and satins that once were showcased here were also found at the original Waldorf Astoria prior to the Empire State building and the white house. Fine tiffany glass collections, Tiffany glass room partitions and its table and floor lamps have been sold off back in the 80′s.
The walls are made of a very special formulation an adapted Portland cement infused concrete, they are highly resilient to chemicals and acids and are less likely to leak. The concrete walls are 30 inches(2.5 feet thick) of solid concrete with a standard layer of brick skirting the exterior facade. and limestone/wood/marble/granite lining the interiors facade. Thus the walls of the first 2 stories are nearly 1 Yard Thick.
The Crocker mansion sold for 8.8 million dollars was regarded in higher esteem than this estate by those that knew of these things. The crocker mansion was built with the same thick walls.
The furniture as far as i am aware is not for sale/included in the sale. I’m not sure if the original sterling silver wall ornamentation and chandlers and wall candelabra are included either.
Over the top grandiose styles are more in step with public buildings than homes, in their day many of the rich would not want to see these fine homes very long because they were considered garish even by their owners. Remember that men were usually not responsible for the building of such estates it was the women who were chastised in society in every way except for social buffoonery that built these stone and metal peacocks.
You will find more historical newspaper articles making fun of such places than boasting about them.
When we were kids we referred to it as Dracula’s Castle. You used to get chased by guys on horseback or the cops if you trespassed. That was back when the nuns lived in the estate. Very sad that it was left for so long, nice to see that someone put some effort into the main house. From my understanding there is probably alot more renov to be done, hence the cheap price.
The catch is the are in the process of renovating it, and people say it is really haunted. Nuns use to own it, and people say there was a major killing spree inside the house from one of the nun. I think for 4.9 million, I would buy it! There is no type-o in the price.
The gardens and grounds are fabulous for folks that want to play hide and seek. If it is haunted, these ghosts are getting off free. These ghosts should be given chores. It is only right. It is good to know you are still good even after death.
This is probably the finest house in New Jersey and rivals the Newport, RI “Cottages.” I know the house well, and have worked for the nuns many years ago helping to maintain the estate. The house is NOT haunted, and the Blair family history has no “tragedies” associated with it. In fact, this was C Ledyard Blair’s “country house” and was used for summers and grand coaching weekends. (Blair had several fine coaches and teams.) And likewise, the Sisters of St. John the Baptist ran a retirement home for women, never an orphanage (the orphanage was the original use of the Mosle Estate, which the sisters currently own.) These Sisters were caring, compassionate and wonderful stewards of the property, given their limited means.
Unfortunately, the house is in need of major repairs. My last visit, prior to the current owners, confirmed the need to replace the slate roof, flashings, etc. There is a one-zone heating system, and much of the plumbing is in need of replacement. The once glorious landscape has overgrown and will cost a fortune to restore. There is no longer lake access. Repairs and upgrading to 21st century standards would conservatively cost another $15 million. So, the asking price is just the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully, someone will step forward and protect this magnificent estate from the bulldozers. It is a state treasure and one of the finest country houses ever built in America.
I have slept there last summer and had many dinner parties there it is an amazing place but does need a lot of work. The views are heaven nothing like it in NJ. It is not a Koi pond it is a reflecting pool with Busts of world leaders .
This “home” is a total bargain…. If I had the money… I’d fix it up and create a boutique B&B of sorts -liken to the Southern Mansion in Cape May- with a luxurious spa and other relaxing/meditative activities. Then eventually donate the building and surrounding property to be used as a public space… museum… park… etc. An injustice like this would not be tolerated in Mercer County… that said, here.. this home would have sold already… and for quite a bit more. $4.9million here might buy your a nice large/older home (maybe not the nicest) in Princeton, Lawrenceville, or Hopewell.
Haha, nice. By the way, I have a feeling Mak will really like this place. It’s like the Chiltern of New Jersey hahaha
What a silly report. Cool to see the house in video though. And, weren’t the reporters guilty of trespassing…?
I’d take this over Chiltern. This home has a history that cannot be beat. Only problem I see is the nearby apartment complex(?). and the fact that it has been a haven for the up-to-no-good. You’d need to invest a lot for security and additional privacy features.
That thing in picture 16 could be made into a koi pond.
The Chiltern of NJ. Rofl. I spit out my drink laughing at that.
Hahaha =)
I think it would make a very cool resort like Trump did with Mar-A-Lago
That “thing” in picture 16 is a reflection pond – 25feet wide and 300feet long – Might be kinda big for a coy pond LOL
But the Two Swanns that lived there must have loved it – their names were Elsa and Lohengrin.