Villa Crawford
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Keswick Hall (Villa Crawford)
c. 1910, Eugene Bradbury. 1990, additions and renovation, Dalgliesh, Eichman, Gilpin and Paxton. Keswick Rd. (VA 731)
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(Photograph by Mark Mones) -
(Photograph by Mark Mones) -
(Photograph by Mark Mones)
Relentlessly pretentious with its evocation of Old World status, this hotel is the center of a large gated community and golf course. Bradbury, a Charlottesville architect, designed an eighteen-room Georgian-Italianate structure for the A. E. Crawfords of New York City. Subsequently, the property passed through several incarnations before Sir Bernard Ashley, of Laura Ashley fabrics, purchased it and converted it into a hotel. Robert Paxton, the lead architect, more than doubled the size of the original structure (now the north wing) and enhanced the Italian character of the exterior. The well-designed terrace along the east front offers great views. The interior is overloaded comfy English, faux country house, but without the tatters and wear. In 1999 the house was sold to Orient-Express Hotels.
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