imagine building so many additions onto a house that the original house becomes completely hidden
inside hi everyone ken here welcome to this house today we are exploring aladdin's palace
in washington dc make sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an exciting episode of
this house originally the galt family built this home in 1876 to be a stately in modest washington
dc residence but that would soon change four years after its construction they sold it to
gardner-greene hubbard who was the first president of national geographic and the co-founder of the
bell telephone company when the hubbards purchased the house they made it their own by adding rooms
and reworking the facade to better unify the house's exterior when mr hubbard passed away
in 1897 he left the home to his daughter mabel and her husband alexander graham bell the other
co-founder of the bell telephone company they held on to the house until 1907 when they sold
it to the whiskey baron edson bradley jr for 166 500 or the modern day equivalent of over 5 million
dollars bradley had purchased the home with the intention of demolishing it but after submitting
plans to the city he was informed that if he did so he would only be allowed to build a smaller
house that conformed to the new zoning regulations of washington dc he hired architect howard
greenlee to rework the existing house and add more space greenlee was able to make sense of the
new zoning regulations and designed a series of additions that would double the size of the house
he drew upon 16th century english design as his inspiration and incorporated elements of french
renaissance styling throughout the home the house would be laid out in two sections the
servants in one wing and the family and another the two sections of the house
would be separated by a driveway on the first floor and joined on the second floor by a gallery
the entire renovation would expand the house to consume half of a city block with over 40 rooms
at a total cost of one hundred thousand dollars or the modern day equivalent of over three million
dollars entering the house you would pass through giant iron doors and walk into the vestibule the
walls were wainscotted with old-growth italian walnut below this were marble floors surrounding
a centered tile mosaic the ceiling boasted intricate relief work which had been gold-leafed
we can imagine the golden glow of the room as the ceiling reflected off the polished marble floors
continuing up a short flight of stairs you would arrive in the stair hall
salomonic columns twisted from the balustrade to form arches below the ceiling reliefs
here you can see the grand stairs receding behind one of the arches and the opening to the east
gallery traveling through the opening the east gallery extended 60 feet deep with a width of 18
feet the ceiling was modeled after a roman atrium and sword above the wooden egyptian tiled floor
this gallery was filled with antique furniture vases and tapestries there were many other grand
rooms in this palace including the porcelain room the walls were crafted from green silk and the
mantle of the italian renaissance fireplace was supported by angels carved from stone the ceiling
had been fold to create a more rustic aesthetic the wood beams and panels were charred before
receiving an acid wash then they were painted with watercolors to give the illusion that they were
several centuries old the cabinets contained the bradley's prized collection of porcelains
most of which were in rows in peach tones adding a lively accent to an otherwise earth-toned room
the dining room was assembled from oak panels with colorful tapestries decorating the walls
the plaster ceiling boasted a custom geometric tracery pattern
a fireplace was centered in the bay window allowing light to flood into the space
continuing on through an opening in the dining room you would arrive in the west gallery which
extended over the driveway it was decorated with rich green velvets and contained the rare virgin
and child by veracio the music room contained the bradley's collection of antique instruments
every architectural feature of the room was white with the only color coming from decorations and
furniture pilasters flanked the walls and set intervals with tapestries hung between them
the ceiling was barrel vaulted with identical reliefs carved into each section
at the far end of the music room set behind an arched opening was the grand fireplace with
reliefs of maidens both above and below the hearth and topped with cherubs sitting above the pediment
a giant living room measuring 90 feet by 120 feet had been added to the southern wall of the mansion
to allow more space for displaying the bradley's works of art and to double as an in-home theater
the living room was three stories tall and was said to have been an exact replica of a grand
hall they had seen in an english castle the walls were clad with walnut panels with contrasting
oak trim sweeping around the room the visual anchor of the room was a massive stone fireplace
details abounded throughout the house with no surface left lacking ornamentation walking into
the oratory you would have passed through a large pointed gothic arch finished out with
bricks and being surrounded by carved stone the ceiling of the oratory was geometrically offset
with several layers of molding creating within it sections for murals to be painted at the far end
of the oratory was an altar and a pipe organ above which three stained glass windows were installed
leading up to 1920 mr bradley had been lobbying against the growing cries for prohibition
he knew that if this was to become law his whiskey empire would crumble so when the law was passed he
left washington dc and bought a house in newport by the name of seaview terrace they sold aladdin's
palace for seven hundred thousand dollars or the modern-day equivalent of over ten million dollars
the bradley's missed their home in dc dearly but fortunately they were able to repurchase it again
a few years later but not to live in they hired their architect howard greenlee to systematically
disassemble the interior of aladdin's palace and reconfigure it inside of seaview terrace the
facade of aladdin's palace was now the only piece of the home that stood at the site the entire
interior had been saved and transported to their new house the bradley sold the shell of aladdin's
palace in 1926 it was then demolished to make way for the dupont circle building which continues
to occupy the lot to this day thank you all for watching i really hope that you enjoyed this video
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