Seven to Save 2021: Blow Me Down Farm
A major “jewel” of the Cornish Colony “necklace” is the home and studio of Saint-Gaudens which has the distinction of being the only National Park in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance’s 2021 Seven to Save list includes two other Colony gems that need a preservation and stewardship boosts to survive and thrive.
Art and Architecture Inspired by Nature
New Hampshire’s Connecticut River Valley rolling hills, farms and beautiful vistas attracted artists, writers, musicians, and other creative people who, in turn, left an artistic legacy with local and national importance. The Cornish Colony began when New York attorney Charles Beaman, Jr. bought Blow-Me-Down Farm in 1880 and encouraged sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to join him in Cornish, renting the property that became his home, Aspet. These two, patron and artist, formed the nucleus of a vibrant group that included Maxfield Parrish, Ethel Barrymore, Emma Lazarus, Percy MacKaye, Charles Adams Platt, and novelist Winston Churchill.
In addition to an artistic legacy of paintings, poems and more, the Cornish Colony left a historic architectural and landscape legacy of great architecture and properties in towns of Plainfield and Cornish.
New Purposes for the Property Bring New Opportunities
Blow-Me-Down Farm is leased from the National Park Service to the non-profit Opera North. We have accepted the challenge to help transform this 46-acre site and its buildings into a ‘National Park for the Arts’. Opera North is restoring Beaman’s casino for our new headquarters and performance space.
Beaman had commissioned architect Joseph Morris Wells of McKim, Mead & White to turn a former federal-period house on his property into a Classical Revival-styled house and attached Casino that became a hub for Colony parties, dances, socializing, and ten-pin bowling.
A Modern Day Arts Center Built on the Past
Since 2018, Opera North has been producing professional performances of opera, circus, and musical theatre, as well as hosting Plein air painting classes and circus camps. This mix has attracted diverse, new audiences and continues to build awareness of Opera North (now in its 40th year) and the Saint Gaudens National Historic Park. We hope that this Seven to Save listing will assist our fundraising efforts to continue the building’s rehabilitation to National Park Service preservation standards, truly creating a park for ALL the arts, despite sizeable financial losses/challenges during the pandemic.
From the Blow-Me-Down Farm, views of the Connecticut River and Mt. Ascutney, the natural beauty and culture that surrounded the Colony is still palpable.
Click to learn more about our Seven to Save program and view past listees:
Thanks to our generous 2021 sponsors: Anagnost Companies, Chinburg Properties and Milestone Engineering & Construction, Inc. Also: Great Bridge Properties | JLT Painting | Turnstone Corporation | American Steeple & Tower Co., Inc. SMP Architecture | Dennis Mires, P.A., The Architects | Ciborowski Associates | Fisher Engineering | JR Graton Historic Restoration, LLC | Misiaszek Turpin, PLLC | Peter W. Powell Real Estate | Graham & Veroff, P.C. Summit Engineering | Yeaton Associates, Inc. | Ambit Engineering, Inc. | DB Architects, LLC | Altus Engineering, Inc. | Erie Landmark Co. Emanual Engineering, Inc. | Alba Architects, LLP | Enviro-Tote, Inc. | Arch Weathers Historic SashWorks, LLC | Udelsman Associates Hamblet Electric | Samyn-D’Elia Architects | Abatron, Inc. | Nobis Engineering, Inc.
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