Designed by the renowned architect Stanford White in 1885, this 44-room Gilded Age 'cottage' was the summer retreat of Joseph Hodges Choate, a former US ambassador to England. The estate retains so much of its original character that you might expect Choate to be sitting at the breakfast table. The influence of his travels abroad are visible not only in the home's rich and eclectic interior but also in the acres of surrounding formal gardens with their fountains, sculpture and themed plantings.
The prominent landscape architect Fletcher Steele spent some three decades laying out the gardens and establishing the plantings. Guided house tours run every hour on the half-hour; tours of the garden are also offered. To get to Naumkeag, follow Pine St from the Red Lion Inn to Prospect St.
