Thursday, July 22, 2021

Eleonora R. Sears, Legend in Women's Sports: Her 11-Bedroom Mansion for Sale at $22 Million

 

 Eleonora R. Sears
(Courtesy Wikipedia)

GOLD COAST, North Shore, Massachusetts)  -- Many of America’s Olympic stars of today can thank socialite Eleonora R. Sears, who in the early 20th century made women’s sports in the United States acceptable and popular

  According to TopTenRealEstateDeals.com,  When she died in 1968 at the age of 86, Boston Globe sportswriter Victor Jones wrote, she ‘was probably the most versatile performer that sports has ever produced — not just the most versatile female performer, but the most versatile, period.’ 

Eleonora R. Sears mansion, "Rock Edge,"
North Shore, MA

 She was a four-time national tennis champion, the first women’s squash champion and an accomplished horsewoman, who was the first woman to ride a horse in a major polo match. 

Charles, Prince of Wales

With her social standing and the wealth it provided, the home she chose was a glamorous Gilded Age mansion with 400 feet of Massachusetts Atlantic oceanfront and private beach, where she lived for 40 years until her death in 1968. 

 

Harold Stirling Vanderbilt 

Named “Rock Edge” due to its location above the rocky shore, the home has undergone a meticulous 21st-century update and is now for sale at $22 million.

 

Cole Porter 

As a socialite whose friends and frequent home visitors included the Prince of Wales, Harold Vanderbilt (to whom she was once engaged), Cole Porter (who played the piano at some of her gatherings) and Judy Garland, her oceanfront mansion was the perfect venue for everything from intimate dinners to fundraisers.

Judy Garland

Two years after Eleonora’s death, the home was purchased by a family-owned Boston construction materials company, Benevento Companies.

 Frederick Richard Sears 

 Built in 1904 on Massachusetts’ Gold Coast, the 28,000-square-foot mansion has 11 bedrooms and 13 baths sited on three oceanfront acres with a private beach and carriage house. 

 

Henry Cabot Lodge

All rooms have ocean views with most having fireplaces retaining the original mantels.  Large slabs of white marble have been used in the spacious kitchen and bathroom updates.

 James Dwight 

 Large windows and French doors open to the terraces that fill the home with sunlight, creating an elegant beachy vibe.  

 

Corinne Douglass Robinson

A fearless pioneer of her day, Elenora was as comfortable at a society event as she was when she was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, the Show Jumping Hall of Fame, the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame and the United States Squash Hall of Fame

 

 Eleanor Roosevelt 

 With her large fortune, she felt free to do whatever she wanted, including wearing slacks, smoking cigarettes and riding horses astride rather than sidesaddle - all during an age when the acceptable activity of society women was not to stray too far away from the closest chaise lounge.  

Alice Roosevelt

According to Wikipedia:  Sears was the daughter of Boston businessman Frederick Richard Sears and a granddaughter of 

T. Jefferson Coolidge (who was a great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson) and Hetty Appleton, and a cousin of Henry Cabot Lodge.

President Theodore Roosevelt

 Sears' father was also known for playing the first tennis game in the United States, his opponent being his cousin James Dwight who brought the game from Europe.

John Jacob Astor IV

Sears was raised in wealth and privilege. She was acquainted with Corinne Douglass RobinsonEleanor Roosevelt andAlice Roosevelt, all related to President Theodore Roosevelt

Robert Wrenn

She played tennis at a competition organized by Ava Lowle Willing, the wife of John Jacob Astor IV, and she attended the wedding of tennis champion Robert Wrenn


Ava Lowle Willing

For a while she dated Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, the sporty scion of the Vanderbilt fortune.

 The listing agent is George Sarkis of The Sarkis Team, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Boston, Massachusetts.

 

CONTACT:


Genelle C. Brown
Content Manager, Media Division

TopTenRealEstateDeals.com
Phone:  336-459-3728

Twitter:  @toptenrealestat
facebook.com/toptenrealestat  

Photo Credit:  Douglas Elliman 
Sources:  TopTenRealEstateDeals.com and www.elliman.com
Video:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXUlMyuTkkE 
Video Credit:  Sean Evans, @evvo1991 backtothemovies.com/