{"nrhp_refnum":"83003930","name":"Villa Virginia","other_names":["Laurel-Mere"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Ice Glen Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Stockbridge","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.27480006950006,"lon":-73.31080804405158,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-11-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Villa Virginia (also called Laurel-Mere) is a Renaissance Revival summer estate on Ice Glen Road in Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, built in 1914-1915. It includes a main house, a carriage building and formal gardens on two parcels.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a largely intact example of the formally designed and landscaped summer estates that were once common in the Berkshires. Of 75 major mansions existing in 1900, only a handful remain intact, and Villa Virginia was the last of them to be built. It also has historical associations with a succession of owners, notably the Clarke family.","narrative":"Villa Virginia is a summer estate on Ice Glen Road in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, built in 1914-1915 in the Renaissance Revival style. The stucco main house has a U-shaped plan, a low tile roof, quoins, belt courses and blind arches. Inside are a marble entry hall, a gilded wrought iron staircase, and a drawing room with frescoed ceiling panels and mantels imported from Florence. The grounds include a lily pond, a grotto, walled gardens and a carriage house with a tower. The land was once part of the Winthrop estate and later a cattle farm, and the Clarke family named it Villa Virginia and planned the present buildings and gardens. Stockbridge was known as the Inland Newport for its palatial summer homes. Of 75 major mansions existing in the Berkshires in 1900, only a few remain intact, and this was the last built. Its architecture and its place in that estate tradition support its listing.","period_of_significance":"1914-1915","architect_builder":"Architect not confirmed; Harry Ellis is generally thought to have designed it, and landscape architect Ferruccio Vitalli is believed to have designed the grounds.","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and used as a private residence; the small formal garden is partially neglected and overgrown.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.254507-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/82/7941/63794182/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83003930.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003930/dc6cba40ae-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003930/dc6cba40ae-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Villa_Virginia,_Stockbridge_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Villa_Virginia,_Stockbridge_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794182","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Virginia","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7930530"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/villa-virginia-83003930/"}