Exploring the Crane Estate in Ipswich

By Legacy User

1 minute to read

  • A lavish property that even Jay Gatsby would envy, the Crane Estate in Ipswich offers an idyllic image of what life was like for the privileged during the Roaring Twenties. Purchased by Richard T. Crane Jr. in 1910, the Chicago plumbing magnate transformed the seaside real estate into his perfect dream home, complete with an English-style summer house where he would host huge get-togethers with his wife, Florence. Check out these images of the picturesque property.

    Pictured: the Great House at the Crane Estate.

  • The Grand Allee, the estate’s grassy lawn that slopes to the bay, measures nearly 2,060 feet long — that’s 5 ½ football fields — and sweeps from the Great House to the casino and then on to the ocean.

  • The Grand Allee at the Crane Estate is lined with spruce trees and classical statuary.

  • From left: Chicago plumbing magnate Richard T. Crane Jr. with his son Cornelius, daughter Florence, and wife Florence.

  • The Italian Garden at the Crane Estate (picutred) was designed by the Olmsted Brothers, a very influential , yet now defunct, landscape design firm .

  • The library in Castle Hill came, in part, from a razed English country house, former home to the Earls of Essex.

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