Desperately Seeking Doris -- The Remaking of Duke Farms

South Gate Entrance, Duke Farms, Hillsborough, NJ

Duke Farms is the 2,740-acre former estate of Doris Duke (1912-1993), the one-time “richest woman in the world.” It has been reincarnated by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation as a nature preserve and exemplar of sustainability, ostensibly in accordance with her testamentary wishes. It opened to the public in the May 2012, but not without controversy.

One sultry, late-summer morning some years ago, a friend and I set out on a bike ride in Somerset County, New Jersey. Our trip this time took us along the South Branch of the Raritan River, where we were ferreting out historic 19^th C. bridges in an area known for its exciting examples. (That day, we were on a quest to see the 1886 Nevius Street bridge at Raritan, New Jersey, the north end of which, as it happens, terminates at the Duke estate pump house... but a little more about that later.)

After an hour of riding, the road began to follow alongside a low stone wall, punctuated by locked iron gates that seemed long closed. Occasionally we'd pass a strange, overgrown stone folly at the side of the road - a niche for statuary, a tempietto, a crenelated section of the wall, the flat interstices at just the right height to be stone seats. The sun-dappled forest beyond the wall had no visible signs of occupation or activity– no buildings, no people, no tire marks on a road into the property that quickly disappeared around a blind curve. There was only a deadly quiet, mysterious woodland.

Distinctive stone walls and pergola at Duke Farms.

“It's the Doris Duke estate,” my biking companion called out as we rode on. “She died a long time ago. The estate has been closed for years.”

The Duke estate was a passing curiosity on my ride that day, nothing more. Having grown up in a small, industrial town in upstate New York, I knew very little of Doris, in fact, any of the Dukes. Hers was one of those celebrity names I would hear occasionally in the news, but her lifestyle was so far removed from my reality that it left no lasting impression.

That is, until this summer.

The Reblooming

In May 2012, a reincarnated Duke Farms opened to the public as an environmental center, an exemplar of sustainability, and a model for ecological stewardship in the 21^st Century. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation spent some $47 Million renovating land, infrastructure, and buildings.

The estate's 1905 Farm Barn was “repurposed” as an orientation center, renovating it to the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum standards. 
 

1905 Farm Barn, now Orientation Center at Duke Farms (2012).

Inside, a very modern cafe in a now-pristine space that once housed farm animals.

Cafe in Orientation Center, Duke Farms (2012)

The extensive lawn areas were transformed into meadows, wetland habitats were created, invasive species of flora were rooted out. The exploding deer population, which once threatened to overrun the property, is now drastically reduced and excluded from the property by tall wire fencing.

Native species of wildflowers abound in the Great Meadow.

An extensive community garden was created west of the orientation center, just opposite a large solar array that powers the entire complex. Some 22 miles of paths are open to pedestrians and bicycles, which can be rented at the Farm Barn. An electric tram is available to transport less mobile visitors around the site.

The site is impressive. On my first visit, we only had time for a walk around the main route, which is also used by the tram. The core area of the site is located at the center of the property adjacent to “Dukes Parkway West,” a public right-of-way that passes through the estate between the orientation center and the core of the restored areas. 

The paved main path first takes you by the ruins of the Hay Barn (1905, Kendall, Taylor, and Stevens, Archs.; destroyed by fire in 1915). Doris had created a outdoor room for statuary within the walls, which are now covered with trumpet vines. 

Contemplative place inside the ruins of the Hay Barn.

Next, the Orchid Range (1899-1901), which was renovated to LEED Gold Standards and today houses a wonderful display of exotic orchids - a flower beloved by Doris Duke. 

An Orchid specimen in the Orchid Range greenhouse (2012).

The Old Foundation, also along the main path, is all that remains of an abandoned scheme of James Buchanan “Buck” Duke, Doris's father, for an enormous mansion and gardens (commissioned 1909, Horace Trumbauer, Arch.; never completed). The only feature of the project that was completed was a piazza with elaborate balustrade that now overlooks the Great Meadow.

The Old Foundation, Duke Farms (2012).

Interpretive signs at each feature contained a few historical photos and information on the native habitats or species highlighted at various stops. I saw birds I had never seen before, including the brilliant yellow American Goldfinch – New Jersey's state bird.

Judging by most standards, and borne out by the large number of visitors, the new incarnation of Duke Farms is a great success.

So... what's missing?

During my first visit to Duke Farms, I felt a strange, nagging sense of disorientation. Something essential was missing. What was this troubling void hanging over my experience that spectacular vistas, a collection of historic structures, interpretive plaques, and breathtaking carpets of wildflowers could not disspell?

For one thing - as inconsequential as this might seem to some - there are no guidebooks for sale at the site. They are available as a free download at the website, the staff told me. (It's also available in hard copy if you order it from an independent book vendor.) This was no help, since I was standing at the main desk of the visitor center, miles away from my computer. I didn't view the tiny screen of my smart phone as an acceptable alternative. The only available information about the estate at the site is a visitor's map, which includes other basic information about Duke Farms and a guide to programs.  Since I am a big fan of hard-copy guidebooks, I found the map helpful but I was hungry for more information. I like to know what I am looking at.

A few days later, still trying to pinpoint the source of my discomfort, I turned to research. I read about the history of the Duke family and the original assembly of the estate from some forty farms along the Raritan. Central to Buck Duke's complex waterworks was a pumping station conveniently located at the terminus of the Nevius St. bridge, not far from the gates of the Duke estate just across the river. From there, the waters of the Raritan were propelled under the river and up the hill, where the flow fed the estate's eight lakes and many waterfalls before gravity allowed it to cascade back down into the river. 

The mothballed pumphouse for Duke Farms waterworks, Raritan,
NJ, just north of the Nevius St. Bridge (2012).

Then there was Buck's death in 1925 and young Doris's fight to wrest the estate from her mother, Nanaline, who wanted to sell it. Doris's two ill-fated marriages; a child lost in infancy; the tragic death of a friend with Doris at the wheel. And Doris's enormous wealth – she once reigned as “the richest girl in the world” - that never seemed to bring her happiness. The Duke family history is quite the romantic tale.

Doris Duke's associations with the Somerville estate are both significant and enduring. In contrast to the picture painted of her in the tabloids, Doris had many serious, wide-ranging interests in arts and culture. She collected an astonishing array of arts and antiques from Asia and Europe; she was a dedicated horticulturist; she loved music (particularly jazz) and dance; and she studied languages. Among the many causes she supported were conservation of the environment, architectural restoration; medical research; and animal welfare. She loved her animals, and most of all, perhaps, she loved her gardens – especially her world famous “Garden of Nations,” housed in a large conservatory and series of greenhouses on the Somerset estate that she opened to the public in 1964.

Of all the properties she owned around the world, of all the exotic places she could stay, beyond all the riches she could amass, Doris regarded Duke Farms as her “homey home,” as one source put it. It was here she relaxed, swam in the Mermaid Pool, tended her extensive greenhouse gardens, and played with her dogs. Ultimately, Doris retreated into seclusion, trusting no one (as her father admonished her on his deathbed), wanting little more out of life than her privacy.

There seems insufficient evidence of this history in the new iteration of Duke Farms.

"That's what is missing," I concluded. "The Dukes are missing."

Second Look

I was disturbed enough by this thought to return to Duke Farms for a second look – this time exploring the north and eastern sections of the property. Less attention seems to have been paid to the buildings and landscaping in these areas during the recent makeover. Of these, the 1917 Conservatory (Horace Trumbauer, Arch., Lord & Burnham, Builder), located on the far eastern section of the estate, is perhaps the saddest of them all.

The 1917 Conservatory (Horace Trumbauer, Arch.).

Both J.B. Duke and his daughter Doris were avid horticulturalists. The Conservatory was the center of production for those activities. Doris Duke began its transformation in 1958 as the Indoor Display Gardens, also known as the “Garden of Nations.” These consisted of 11 separate indoor greenhouses joined together in a walkable rectangle, each representing the horticulture and aesthetics of a different country. Joseph D'Agnese, reporting on it for the New York Times in 1995, called it “a public treasure.” Doris herself sometimes led tours through the gardens. 

The Duke Farms Foundation closed the Conservatory to the public in 2008 in preparation for the makeover. Today, it remains shuttered, devoid of plants, statuary, or other remnants of that legacy. When it closed, Tim Taylor, Duke Farms's Executive Director, tried to reassure people who wanted to save the displays that materials removed from the greenhouses would be used in the new gardens, and “leftover” plant materials were to be donated to other botanical and display gardens. “We're not destroying anything,” Taylor is reported to have said at the time. 

 

View of the interior of the 1917 Conservatory in 2012.

Granted, there were all sorts of issues in trying to keep the indoor gardens open to the public – there were accessibility problems, including the difficulty of negotiating the narrow stepping stone paths and bridges through the garden rooms; the Conservatory glazing leaked and was very energy-inefficient. It was unheated in winter. In summer, temperatures inside the building topped 100 degrees. And then there were the costs just to maintain the specimens and displays, which were an enormous financial drain.

So, the decision was made to dismantle the indoor gardens in the large building, and focus available resources on restoring the smaller Orchid Range. A single interpretive sign near the 1917 Conservatory now provides an aerial view, some photos of the current nursery, and a paragraph or two of background on the building. The Conservatory is neither labeled on the visitors map, nor is there much said about the importance of the Conservatory to the Duke family in any other informational materials available at the site.

And, while the Orchid Range greenhouse displays of exotic orchids are delightful, they don't fully compensate for the loss of the world-renowned "Garden of Nations" in the 1917 Conservatory, in my view.

Then, I set out to locate the “Country Manor” - the residence Doris Duke called home. This, too, has been mothballed. Like the Conservatory, the house is not labeled on the visitors map. The path that leads down the hill to the manor is closed and locked. The furnishings, clothing, jewelry, art and antiques Doris housed at the Duke estate were auctioned off by Christies in 2004, generating some $35 Million for the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. 
 

At a recent presentation at the 2012 New Jersey Statewide Historic Preservation Conference, the Duke Farms makeover was the subject of a workshop, presented by Mr. Taylor and the project architects from VITETTA. Mr. Taylor summarily dismissed the Duke manor house, saying that the architectural consultants to the project found the 18^th Century house and its later additions to be “not significant.” I found the comment mystifying. And somewhat incredible. What, I asked myself, can be “not significant” about an 18^th Century home that was birthplace and life-long home to Doris Duke, one of the most consequential philanthropists of the 20^th Century?
 

Duke family manor at Duke Farms in 1910.
Courtesy of InternetStones.com.

In any event, Mr. Taylor – who reportedly served as a former terrorism expert for the United States Navy and in various real estate management roles – noted in a 2005 interview with J.P. Capuzzo of the New York Times, “As I read the will, there was no mention of this being an historical place. It was all about the environment.”

Executing Doris's Wishes

The Board of Trustees of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, guided by the terms of Doris Duke's Last Will and Testament, no doubt feel that they have followed the letter and the spirit of that document. It is true, Doris's Last Will divided the Somerville estate into three portions. The first was to be dedicated to the preservation of endangered species of flora and fauna. The second portion was to be dedicated to “farmland and growing areas.” The remainder of the Somerville property, including all “structures and improvements located thereon” were to be given over to the newly created “Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.”

The spectacular $45 Million makeover of Duke Farms as a model of environmental stewardship does seem consistent with Ms. Duke's intentions. And perhaps, given the secluded, isolated life she chose to live during the last decade of her life, dismantling her collections at the Manor and preventing it from becoming a tourist attraction based on her celebrity is also consistent with her wishes. At the end, she didn't seem to put much store in all of her material goods, in any event. She clearly wanted them to be put to better use by the Foundation. As it happens, the $34 Million went a long way towards realizing the current environmental center.

There is no doubt that the Foundation has overlaid a worthy public mission on what could have been an underutilized private resource. Preserving 2,700 delightful acres of open space, recreating native habitats, and opening it to the public, free of charge – this is an extraordinary enterprise.

Balancing History and Environment

Now, I don't see myself as a celebrity groupie, especially a dead celebrity. It is not my goal to revive a cult of personality around Doris Duke. But I do think that an important layer of history seems to be little appreciated there. And the site is the poorer for it.

But never fear, the estate has not been irrevocably compromised. A few tweaks by the Dukes Farms Foundation would allow the larger history of the site to co-exist comfortably with the new environmental mission as it continues to develop the site. Here are a couple of suggestions, which, if anyone from the Foundation is listening, I hope can be taken in the positive spirit with which they are given:
 

• Adhere more closely to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Treatments of Historic Properties in future rehabilitations. The “repurposed” and renovated 1905 Farm Barn now Orientation Center, albeit “sustainable,” no longer looks or feels historic: the masonry is so sparkling clean, so seamlessly repointed and repaired, that it looks new; all interior features of its previous existence have been totally removed, like the horse stalls, which might have been retained and “repurposed” so as to give some sense of the historic use of the original building. For instance, still in a good state of preservation is the 1903 Coach Barn, now used for group meetings.  It would be a shame to see this building transformed as aggressively as was the Farm Barn. One totally sustainable, LEED-certified conversion may be sufficient for the site as an example. Now we need to show how historic buildings are also sustainable by their very preservation. 
  
  
  

  

  The Coach Barn (1903, Kendall, Taylor & Stevens, Archs.)

• Reopen the 1917 Conservatory (with or without LEED) and recreate, from historical evidence, one or more rooms of the world-famous “Garden of Nations.” The dismantling of this feature is a great loss to the site, and one that had intrinsic cultural value as an virtuoso example of horticulture seldom seen anywhere. It would be a fitting legacy to Doris Duke's efforts as horticulturalist and benefactor of Duke Farms. (The organization could even make this a “premium feature” that requires admission. And a paved parking area is already available near the Conservatory). 
   
• Have guidebooks available for purchase at the orientation center (there's plenty of room), along with other books on nature, environment, books on the history of the Duke family. This may seem a small thing, but it really does help orient people to the raison d'être of Duke Farms. And it would help support the work of the Foundation, if only in a modest way.
   
• Mark the historic carriageways and pathways through the site, so that visitors can understand how they were originally laid out. Again, this would help orient the visitor - which roads are historic pathways? Which are newly created for the current use? We have no way of knowing without a marking system that differentiates them.
   
• Develop a comprehensive history of the estate (if not a National Register nomination) and a Preservation Plan that will help guide future redevelopment of the site. There are many worthy buildings (including the main residence) and much history that should be taken into account. And it could form the basis of other publications that could be sold at the orientation center.
  
  
• Ultimately, as resources permit, the Duke Farms Foundation may want to reevaluate its decision to close the Country Manor, and use it as an opportunity to interpret the history of the Duke family and, in particular, Doris Duke's interests in the environment, gardens, and healthy living. It's understandable that not all areas of the facility can be developed at once – the facility just opened to the public a few months ago, after all. But it would be a lost opportunity if the residence could not also be used at some point in the future to further the mission of Duke Farms in accordance with the wishes of its benefactor.

Gate to Country Manor, now closed to public.

All of my qualms and suggestions aside, Duke Farms is a must-see. It is a remarkable enterprise, and one that will continue to serve the Foundation's mission of sustainability and environmental stewardship for many decades.

Update: Spring 2016

In the late summer of 2015, the Duke Farms Foundation applied to the Hillsborough Historic Preservation Commission for permission to demolish the former residence of the Duke Family, citing as its reasons 1) it had fallen into "disrepair"; 2) it was too expensive to fix; 3) it wasn't really significant anyway; and 4) it didn't fit with its "mission."  This confirmed all of my suspicions about the Foundation's lack of respect for the legacy of the Duke Family and its significant contributions to the grounds and architecture found on the estate. 

Although it was true that the residence had been altered over the some-100 years of occupancy by the Duke family, all of the alterations had been designed by noted architects. And, it must be noted, that the house was meticulously cared for by Doris Duke until her death in 1993; its decline seems to have resulted, in large part, from the Foundation's refusal to devote any funds to maintaining it after it assumed control of the estate. 

The Commission, over the objections of many preservation advocates and former friends of the family and staff members of the estate, ruled in favor of the Foundation's application to demolish the residence. Litigation was waged by the advocates, but ultimately the NJ courts ruled for the Foundation. In April 2016, the demolition was complete and the site cleared. The controversy, from the viewpoint of the preservationists, can be found here: DORIS (Demolition of the Residence is Senseless). 

Resources

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