Luckily for us, however, some lovers with deeper pockets than ours decided to declare their devotion through real estate — and now we can all enjoy these architectural testaments to love!
1. The most famous monument to love, the Taj Mahal in Agra, India was built by the Emporer Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal and completed in 1653.
2. Built on Heart Island in Alexandria Bay, New York, Boldt Castle was built by millionaire George C. Boldt at the turn of the last century. He intended to give the estate to his beloved wife Louise as a Valentine’s Day present — sadly, tragedy struck and Louise died before it was finished.
3. The testaments to the love between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are many, but Balmoral Castle, which Albert helped to design for his wife and family in their beloved Scotland, is one of the most enduring. Balmoral is also the site of the platonic romance between the widowed Queen and Mr. Brown, her Scottish servant.
4. Completed in 1892, William K. Vanderbilt gave Marble House in the fashionable summer community of Newport, Rhode Island to his wife Alva as a 39th birthday present. Though they divorced in 1895, there must have been some form of admiration between the two to occasion such a lovely gift!
5. Long before Marie Antoinette flounced around the property in her milkmaid costumes, King Louis XV built the Petit Trianon at Versailles for his longtime love Madame de Pompadour. Sadly, she died before its completion so the mini-palace went to her successor Louis’s mistress Madame du Barry.
Have any of you received a gift of real estate from your beloved? Would you like to?
Images: 1. Local Travel Tip, 2. BoldtCastle.com, 3. Balmoral Castle, 4. Branch, 5. Catherine Delors
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I'd be quite happy with a small bungalow in Morro Bay - now I just need to find a beloved! ;->
The Taj isn't just 'in memory' of Shah Jahan's wife (Noor Jahan), it is in fact her grave site. once you enter, there are steps going downstairs to a very basic underground chamber where her body is entombed one side, and his on the other. Can someone explain to Donald Trump that the Taj Mahal is a gravesite, not a palace to name a tacky casino after?
*Mumtaz, not Noor Jehan.
I always find this kind of thing very sad--so many of the buildings either are or end up as memorials.
And don't get me started on the idiocy of Valentine's Day.
Actually, I'd be happy with chocolate.
We didn't have a lot of money. So I drew a house, then my husband built it for me with his own two hands. Yeah, it's a pretty good present.
There is a mini-castle in my hometown of Roswell, GA. No one really seems to know but legend has it that a truck driver built it for his wife.
http://thedailydish.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/castlehouse11.jpg?w%3D500%26h%3D335
I think the moral of the story is, if you're going to make something for your beloved, aim for something that can be completed in their lifetime!
I made mine a curry.
Hey this is a great blog post and absolutely beautiful photos of some of the greatest architecture known to mankind! Great stuff!!
Question: Do you know any free acmrchitecture branding apps? Something I can use to get a free branding concept for my office?
I found something I kind of like here
http://mindflashad.com/branding-concept-quiz-design/
But we need something that is purely architecture orientated. Any thoughts?
Bolt castle is very beautiful. When his wife died Mr. Boldt completely abandoned the castle and it was left to the elements and vandals until the state of New York bought it not to long ago with the intention of restoring it. It's open to the public and I visited it with an ex and his family a few years ago. I asked my ex if he'd ever build a castle for me one day, he told me only if I promised to die before he finished it.