Inside Taylor Swift's iconic $17M Rhode Island vacation home

Table Of Content

• Extra features
• The singer is going to great lengths to restore Hollywood icon Samuel Goldwyn’s former home
• The story of Taylor Swift’s Holiday House — Home to “the Last Great American Dynasty”
• Ashlyn Harris and Sophia Bush make red carpet debut at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
• Man found injured in Clarksville after shooting reported …
• More From the Los Angeles Times

Several stalking, trespassing, and home invasion incidents have been reported at the house since Swift's purchase. In 2015, High Watch inspired a proposal by the Governor of Rhode Island to impose a luxury tax on expensive secondary homes in the state. In 2017, Swift was sued over her decision to build a seawall on the beach as plaintiffs argued the beach had been dedicated to the public over the years and Swift had no ownership of it; the courts ruled in Swift's favor. L'Officiel has listed High Watch as one of the most expensive celebrity homes in the Americas. Outside, there's a covered patio with original decorative elements like lattice panels and wooden finials.

Extra features

The Money blog is your place for consumer news, economic analysis and everything you need to know about the cost of living - bookmark news.sky.com/money. Use our tool below for a rough guide to what tax changes can be expected for most people, as there are other variables not included which might affect how much tax you pay including being in receipt of the blind person's allowance or the marriage allowance. With house prices at already extortionate levels, now mortgage rates rising again, is there any hope for first-time buyers?

The singer is going to great lengths to restore Hollywood icon Samuel Goldwyn’s former home

The full story of Holiday House is featured in season 3 of House Beautiful's haunted house podcast, Dark House. Swift likens her own star-studded parties to the bevy of famous composers and dancers that once frequented the Holiday House in Harkness’ days. Swift’s song highlights some of the most outrageous antics the heiress was known for, which included filling up her pool with Dom Pérignon, dyeing one of her pets green, and having a relationship with Salvador Dali (himself known as one of the most eccentric artists in modern history). The mansion was once owned by Rebekah Harkness, a high-profile socialite who famously married into the Standard Oil fortune.

The story of Taylor Swift’s Holiday House — Home to “the Last Great American Dynasty”

She eventually quit her job in events management and started teaching others how to do it successfully. While some people focus their manifestation practices on being grateful to the universe, Tansy Jane Dowman believes we need to get "out of our heads, into our bodies", connect with nature and find our true selves before we can practice it successfully. The 43-year-old also believes he manifested his husband Fiongal after being diagnosed with cancer. While going through treatment and dating "a lot" of people, he decided to take matters into his own hands, or rather his own head, and started visualising his perfect partner. Like woods in Edenbridge, where I stood meditating under a tree in the pouring rain.

The rest of the crew has remained a mystery, and the ultra-private Struyck has laid low, supposedly staying with family near San Diego. It’s also possible, as news columnist Anita Chabria notes, that the case could turn out to be a big nothing. Not only are there legal reasons why the decision might have little bearing on California’s homelessness policies, she writes; the court could also decide the case is now moot because of an Oregon law overruling Grants Pass’ onerous ordinance. Goldwyn co-founded Goldwyn Pictures, which later merged into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, or MGM, known by its iconic roaring lion in the intro credits. His most-acclaimed movies include 1946 drama "The Best Years of Our Lives," "Dead End" starring Humphrey Bogart, musical "Guys and Dolls" and one of his last productions, "Porgy And Bess." Before her tenure, Goldwyn and his heirs had continuously owned the property for more than 80 years, according to a report on the property from the Heritage Commission.

Lemp Mansion (St. Louis, MO)

However, the pricey pad is just one fraction of Swift’s over $80 million real estate portfolio. In fact, the 14-time Grammy winner reportedly offered up her saltbox house on the coast to Hadid and Bradley Cooper during the early stages of their romance last year. Several other friends of the super star have also shared photos inside the home’s white kitchen. Back in 2015, several of her famous friends — including Gigi Hadid, Joe Jonas and Martha Hunt — shared photos from the fun-filled weekend to their Instagrams.

Luxury features include double-height ceilings, antique Parisian brickwork, and a variety of glamorous chandeliers. Arguably one of her most beautiful abodes, it’s old charm complete with modern renovations makes for beyond luxurious (not to mention costly) digs. Harkness was married to William Hale Harkness, whose family founded the Standard Oil Company. After William's death in 1954, it was reported that Rebekah infuriated her neighbors with her quirky and wild antics. Swift includes details in her song about how Rebekah filled the pool with champagne, threw luxurious parties, and played cards with Salvador Dali. The singer also draws parallels between Rebekah's reputation and her own, especially when it comes to their shared tendency to upset society for not always doing what is expected of them.

The home has more than an acre of greenspace and also features a guest house with a private drive, the Sun reported. A historic designation means that future construction requires special approval from the city, so as not to damage or alter the historic integrity of a property. Ms. Swift, who has homes in New York City and Nashville, is also reportedly in the middle of renovating her Tribeca penthouse. One commission member wants to make Ms. Swift the local poster child of historic preservation. "It would be wonderful to have some kind of press conference or event for people in the city," suggested commissioner Lisa Greer, to dispel the idea "that landmarking is a pain in the neck and, you know, that it’s nothing but trouble."

Back in 2013, Taylor Swift paid a whopping $17.75 million for the 7-bedroom mansion — along with 700 feet of shoreline on Watch Hill, in Rhode Island. And since celebrity homes are in our blood, especially when they come with their own backstory, we just had to do our due diligence and look up Taylor Swift’s house (and the story behind it), and boy, is it a good one. But imagine our surprise when we heard that one of the songs on the album is a reference to the Grammy Award-winner’s house in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Sky News analysis shows someone on £16,000 a year will pay £607 more in total - equivalent to more than three months of average household spending on food. The group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland and Coutts, also reported an operating pre-tax profit of £1.3bn for the first quarter, down 27% from £1.8bn the previous year. NatWest says its mortgage lending nearly halved at the start of the year as it retreated from parts of the market when competition among lenders stepped up.

The parallels between the two of them are strong enough that it’s hard not to hear the lyric, “Rebekah gave up on the Rhode Island set forever,” as Swift’s own feelings toward my home state. Rebekah was born in St. Louis and was married to William Hale Harkness, who was the heir to the fortune of Standard Oil. The company was the largest oil refiner in the world in the late 1800s and early 1900s, which made Rebekah one of the richest women in the US. Because of their wealth and love for the lavish lifestyle, the Harkness couple purchased the mansion in Watch Hill, RI, which they nicknamed The Holiday House. The coastal mansion, located at 16 Bluff Avenue in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, was built in 1930 and sits on the highest point in the coastal town. The 11,744-square-foot holiday house boasts 700 feet of shoreline and offers sweeping views of Little Narragansett Bay, per Business Insider.

The move by M&G, which owns the fashion retailer's 32,000 square foot Oxford Street store, will not necessarily result in a formal legal challenge - but sources say it's possible. "While there are clearly some positive elements to what the private parking industry is proposing, it conveniently avoids some of the biggest issues around caps on penalty charges and debt recovery fees which badly need to be addressed to prevent drivers being taken advantage of." It also features requirements for consistent signage, a single set of rules for operators on private land and an "appeals charter". Her charity has also been affected by those increased costs, with the electricity bill rising to £10,000 a month at their highest, to fund things like heated pools for alligators.

The theory, which is expounded upon in a recent episode of House Beautiful’s haunted house podcast, Dark House, is tied to the song “the last great american dynasty,” a track Taylor released on her album folklore in 2020. Fans instantly became obsessed with the story it tells of the former owners of her Watch Hill, Rhode Island home, which is also referred to as Holiday House. The similarities between Taylor and Rebekah may also go much deeper than shared real estate. Much like Rebekah was called out in the press on numerous occasions for being a controversial figure, Taylor has been scrutinized for everything from her dating history to her "squad" of celebrity friends whom she used to frequently attend events with. Taylor makes this connection between the two in the last chorus of the song, singing, "Who knows, if I never showed up, what could've been / There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen / I had a marvelous time ruining everything." The house was built in 1929–1930 for the Snowden family, owners of an oil company, who named it Holiday House.

George Grant Snowden and his brother, James Hastings Snowden, explored for oil first in Pennsylvania and then in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The Snowden family is of Welsh descent, with ties to Welsh, English, and Scottish royals. Pearl was a descendant of pilgrim Edward Fuller, the House of Stuart, and Robert Burns. According to the celebrity insiders at Page Six, “Even though Gigi and Bradley have their own properties in New York, they wanted somewhere more private to spend time getting to know each other and Taylor was only too happy to help,” an insider said. Only a select few know what happens in the safely guarded compounds of her High Watch house, perched atop Watch Hill, the historic district in Westerly, Rhode Island. According to Rhode Island Monthly, the couple bought the coastal property soon after the wedding, and they became known for their (as Swift points out herself) “tasteful if a little loud” soirees.

Merry Swiftmas! Amy Scott creates viral Naperville 'Taylor Swift house' on Atlas Lane after being inspired by 'Eras Tour' movie - WLS-TV

Merry Swiftmas! Amy Scott creates viral Naperville 'Taylor Swift house' on Atlas Lane after being inspired by 'Eras Tour' movie.

Posted: Mon, 27 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

In her day, Harkness was as much of a media darling as Swift is now, and often the target of unfavorable headlines and press coverage. The name is said to come from the wives of mariners, who would watch for their spouses’ return, often in vain as the ocean took their lives, leaving the women widows. The master’s suite contains a sitting room with a wet bar as well as a widow’s walk terrace — which is a term used to describe a railed rooftop platform with an inner cupola or turret frequently found in 19th-century North American coastal houses.

She added people who want to get rid of the pets sometimes call zoos for help, which then call on her charity. The Exotic Pet Refuge, which homes parrots, monkeys, snakes and alligators among others, says it receives referrals across the country, including from zoos and the RSPCA. And while I'd love a big cash injection, Tansy explained to me that money is "only a stepping stone to a feeling" and, ultimately, I'm aiming to create an emotion with it. "The way I manifest is not to focus on material wealth or gain. I would ask my clients what an abundant life means to them in terms of feelings, experiences, connections, people and places," she explained. "I decided to spend a good couple of weeks getting really, really, super clear in my mind what this person looked like. Then I started creating lists asking about personality traits, and all the things that I wanted that person to be," the former dancer said. "I've become very clear on what I want and the amount of money I need and literally it can be within 24 hours that I get a phone call for a job and it's almost identical to what I asked for money-wise."

His husband calls him "the master manifester" because of his "ability to bring in money". My journey into the world of manifestation (the belief that you can attract success in your life through positive affirmations and visualisation) has taken me places I never thought I'd go. Located less than 40 minutes from Nashville, the same castle where Taylor Swift filmed her 2008 music video ‘Love Story,’ will soon be open as a wedding and honeymoon destination. In photos obtained by The Sun, a boat is seen alongside two old trucks on Struyck’s small-town property, and he was sporting a T-shirt from an annual motocross race close to his home.