End of an Era: David Easton, designer of mega-mansions, is dead at 83
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Albermarle House: 55 rooms, 16,000 acres
It’s now the “Trump Winery” (technically, owned by son Eric, but that’s like saying Hunter is on the board of Burisma because of his knowledge of the oil business) and it’s open to all oenophiles, regardless of political persuasion.
Looking at the future of over-built mansions in 2007, Easton was dubious:
“I’ve built all these Georgian houses, we’re talking about 15-to-25,000-square-foot houses,” he said. “Young people are not going to build that way. They still are up in Greenwich, but that’s the last blast. We can’t afford to. No, I think in the day and age when people are starving and dying, the earth can’t afford it.”
Bottoms up!
Update: There are many articles on Albemarle House, but this 2015 story in The Washingtonian not only touches on its history but provides a taste of the media’s Trump coverage to come. Venomous, contemptuous and false (Trump did not “betray his old friend” when he purchased the estate for $6.5 million: he bought it, not from Patrica Klug, and certainly not Trump’s friend John Klug, who had long before ceded ownership to 30-year-younger Patricia as part of their divorce settlement, but from the bank that had already foreclosed on the property).
