The building and landscaping were still being designed when George Widener and his son Harry died aboard the RMS Titanic.[1] His widow, Eleanor Elkins Widener, survived the sinking; construction continued in 1913 and 1914 and Eleanor Widener hosted a large reception there on August 20, 1915.[2]
The 27-bedroom, 14-bath mansion has a grand salon and ballroom, 27 feet by 63 feet, on the first floor, which opens onto a 4,000-square-foot (370 m2) oceanfront terrace. It also features a 10,000-bottle wine cellar with a 20-ft (6 m) stone basin for icing up to 200 bottles of champagne at once.[3]
The property features includes a 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) carriage house and gardens with a bronze fountain designed by French sculptor Henri-Léon Gréber, father of the landscape designer.
Owners
In 1956, Miramar was sold by the estate of Eleanor Widener's second husband, Alexander H. Rice Jr, for US$118,000 (equivalent to $1,320,000 in 2023),[4][5] and in 2006 it was sold again, for $17.5 million.[6] The estate was bought by Stephen A. Schwarzman in 2021 for $27 million.[7][8]