Arch. Digest 10/83 Rockefeller Home Colombier

JEK

Senior Insider
I came across an old, old copy of Architectural Digest that has an article of interest to any of us who have made the hike to Columbier.

Gentle Geometry, Mr. and Mrs. David Rockefeller's Home on St. Barts


A few excerpts:

The hilltop was first glimpsed by Mr. and Mrs. Rockefeller over twenty year ago from the cockpit of a sailboat. Several years later, the property purchased, they returned, this time with Nelson Aldrich on board. Architect and clients rowed ashore and walked the land together. Later, while the rest of the party picnicked, Mr. Aldrich made some preliminary sketches that resembled to a remarkable degree the house as it appears today. "It's curious the way one gets inspiration," says Mr. Aldrich. "I had three thoughts in mind: the contours of the hills, the extraordinary stone cisterns I had noticed on the island, built to collect water, and oddly enough, the interior of Eastern Airlines, which had flown me down to the Caribbean"


The article has great detail on the site and concept for the home as well as many wonderful pictures.

I may scan a few of the pages and pictures in after I return from a business trip next week. They will be too large for posting, so let me know if you are interested by a PM and private email.
 
We are making our first trip to the island in May. Is the Rockefeller home still standing and if so, who owns it now? Just curious.
 
It's still there. It has gone through several hands over the last decade or so. I'm not sure who owns it now. The last I heard (now more than a year old) was that the then-new owner was once again trying to get approval for a road/driveway. The problem, as I remember it, was that all gradable routes would need to pass through a nature preserve.
 
We were just up there....awesome.......walked the entire property..........have some great pictures......
 
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