Any Rhode Islander or Taylor Swift fan knows that the superstar has a house in Rhode Island, which has been the site of various celebrity parties since she purchased it in 2013.
However, Swift’s Watch Hill mansion, known as Holiday House, has a storied history that goes back long before she bought the estate, a history that Swift herself sings about in “the last great american dynasty” off her eighth studio album “folklore.” Originally built in the early 1900s, Holiday House has gone through major changes over time, in both renovations and owners. In fact, the house was once much larger than it is today.
Here’s a brief history of Holiday House and its changes over the years.
History of Holiday House
Taylor Swift’s oceanfront mansion in the Watch Hill section of Westerly, Rhode Island, on January 16, 2025, as it was undergoing renovations.
According to The Westerly Sun, Holiday House was first constructed by an unnamed architect in 1929-1930 for Pearl Pinkerton McClelland Snowden of Philadelphia, the widow of George Grant Snowden.
The original mansion had 35 rooms, dual sweeping staircases, seven fireplaces, a fountain in the entryway, a small elevator and a widow’s walk. Snowden’s home also originally featured a seawall, which was destroyed in a hurricane in 1938, and a two-story, 10-room wing on the East side, which was removed later on.
In 1943, Pearl Snowden passed away, and in 1948, Standard Oil heir William Harkness bought the home for $80,000, or about $1.04 million today, reports Architectural Digest. Harkness died of a heart attack in 1954, leaving behind the house and $75 million – or $720 million today – to his wife Rebekah Harkness, the protagonist of “the last great american dynasty.”
Harkness made extensive renovations to Holiday House, expanding the mansion to around 40 rooms with 21 bathrooms and eight kitchens, as well as constructing a three-hole golf course at one point. As made famous in Swift’s song, Harkness did not only blow her inheritance on extravagant home additions, but also on lavish, loud parties, in which she “filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names” such as artist Salvador Dali and choreographer Alvin Ailey.
Taylor Swift has almost 1,400 square feet of inground pools at her Watch Hill mansion.
The New England Historical Society reports that Harkness was also a patron and fan of the ballet, bringing the entire company of The Joffrey Ballet to party and stay at her house. She poured millions of dollars into accommodating and training the Joffrey dancers, and eventually into starting her own company, the Harkness Ballet.
Eventually, Harkness ran out of money, leading to the crumble of her ballet company and the sale of Holiday House. In 1974, Watch Hill Associates purchased the property, selling it to the Wattles family under the conditions that the building be reduced in size and the property be subdivided into three lots.
The Wattles poured millions of dollars into renovating, removing the 10-room wing on the East side and parts of the West side. At the end of renovations, the house stood at 11,000 sq. ft., made up of 10 bathrooms and eight bedrooms. James and Marlene Benson became the next owners of the house in 1996, though it sat empty for most of the time under their ownership.
Taylor Swift’s oceanfront mansion in the Watch Hill section of Westerly on Jan. 16, as it was undergoing renovations.
Taylor Swift purchased Holiday House for $17.75 million in 2013, rebuilding the seawall and adding in reinforcements to the foundation. The home remained largely the same with minor renovations until January of 2025, when Swift added a bedroom of 16 by 24 ft., as well as multiple bathrooms and renovating a kitchen. Today, Holiday House stands at 12,657 sq. ft.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What’s the history of Taylor Swift’s RI house? Beyond ‘folklore’
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
