In 1874, the Vincentian Fathers of Philadelphia purchased Point Breeze for use as a summer retreat. A third mansion was built on the site which survived until 1983 when it was lost to a fire. After moving into the gatehouse, he had the main house torn down. Further ownership īy 1850, Point Breeze was owned by Hamilton Beckett, the son of Henry Beckett, the British consul in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts later acquired a significant amount of furnishings and paintings from the house. When he died in Florence, Italy in 1844, Point Breeze was inherited by his grandson Joseph Lucien Bonaparte, who sold the estate and most of its contents at auction three years later. In 1839 Joseph Bonaparte returned to Europe for good. On completion, it was generally viewed - perhaps diplomatically - as the “second-finest house in America” after the White House. Construction was supervised by French émigré Michel Bouvier. It was larger than the first, with the existing stables enlarged, further back from the overlook of the river. įollowing the fire, Bonaparte had a new mansion built. Many of the furnishings and books from the house were saved by neighbors and servants who ran into the building while it was ablaze. On January 4, 1820, Bonaparte's first mansion burned down. īonaparte had the original painting of his brother, Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David, prominently displayed in the house. Soon it became famous for its landscape, gardens, extensive art collection with more than 150 paintings by Flemish and Italian masters, and 8,000 volume library, which was one of the largest libraries in the United States at that time. Numerous members of high society, politicians, overseas dignities visited what became known as Bonaparte's Park. Bonaparte then set about making the estate the center of society on the East coast. Very quickly he replaced the existing house with a new mansion and acquired more land, eventually owning more than 1,800 acres (730 ha). The estate was located on a promontory which overlooked Crosswicks Creek and the Delaware River. In 1816, after he had fled Europe following the defeat of his brother at Waterloo, Joseph Bonaparte bought the property and the land from American diplomat Stephen Sayre (1736–1818). Bonaparte estate Grounds King Joseph at Point Breeze, portrait of Joseph Bonaparte painted at the estate on 2 February 1832, by Innocent-Louis Goubaud It was the home of Joseph Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, from 1816 to 1839. Point Breeze was an estate in Bordentown, New Jersey.
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