Blair Eyrie

On taking possession in 1901, the Blairs (no relation to Mrs Wheeler's family) employed Andrews, Jacques & Rantoul, of Boston, to make a few external additions while giving the interior a facelift to adhere to the fashions of the period. The Drawing Room was finished in the style of Louis XVI, while an informal sitting room was hung with Indian fabrics and decorated with mementoes from their travels in Egypt and Native Indian baskets. 

Outside, two new drives were cut into the hill that scenically wound their way up to the turreted stone and half-timbered house. A teahouse draped in vines was built in the gardens and lumberjacks uprooted mature 50-foot pines from elsewhere and interspersed them throughout the grounds - kept amused by "the whims of the city people".

Greenleaf's real triumph was the 100-by-200-foot Italian Renaissance garden. He transformed what had been, "a rough pile of earth and sand to a garden of beautiful glowing flowers and charming and costly statuary". It was laid out with symmetrical paths and was centered by a bronze Japanese fountain, hand-cast as a dragon sitting in a basin in which large (real) goldfish swam. Mature pines softened by, "arcs of colorful phlox, lilies, dahlias, and hollyhocks" framed the view of Cadillac Mountain, and the sound of the water coupled with the sweet scent of the flowers brought about a calming effect. 

The works were complete by the Spring of 1902 and it became a summer home not only to Dewitt and his wife, but also to their sons (Ledyard and John) and their families too. It was demolished in 1935 and in 1976 the Summit House Nursing Facility took its place.