Shangri La (Doris Duke)
Shangri La is the name of an Islamic-style mansion built by heiress Doris Duke near Diamond Head just outside Honolulu, Hawaii. It is now owned by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA) in cooperation with the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and open to the public for tours; an admission fee is charged.
Construction of Shangri La began in 1937,[1] after Doris Duke's 1935 honeymoon which took her through the Islamic world. For nearly 60 years afterwards, Miss Duke commissioned and collected artifacts for the house, forming a collection of about 3,500 objects. It was designed by Marion Sims Wyeth. An artistic reflection of the construction of Shangri La can be found in Kiana Davenport's novel Song of the Exile.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Shangri La collections and holdings
The Doris Duke estate, Shangri La, is furnished with art, furnishings and built-in architectural elements from Iran, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, Syria, Egypt and India. The Playhouse is a reduced-scale version of the 17th century Chehel Setun in Esfahan, Iran. It houses a central recreational room and two guest rooms. The outdoor landscaping blends the formality of an Indian Mughal garden and terraced water features with the intimacy of a private Hawaiian fishpond, tropical garden, and fabulous vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Gilt and painted ceilings from Morocco, vivid ceramics from Iran, intimate interiors from Syria, pierced metalwork and vibrant textiles from Spain to India are among the highlights.
[edit] Shangri La tour description
Tours last approximately two and one-half hours, with one and one-half hours on site at Shangri La. Tours feature the public rooms of the main house and portions of the grounds including Entry Courtyard, Foyer, Living Room, Upper Lawn with views of the Playhouse, pool, and water terraces, Turkish Room, Mughal Garden, Mihrab Room, Dining Room, and covered Lanai.
[edit] Location
Shangri La is situated on a 4.9-acre (20,000 m2) oceanfront lot in the exclusive Black Point residential neighborhood near Diamond Head, Hawaii. All tours to Shangri La begin and end at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, which occupies 3.2 acres (13,000 m2) near downtown Honolulu, just minutes away from the world-class resort destination of Waikiki.
-
Pool view with Diamond Head, Hawaii.
-
Sea view.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shangri La (Doris Duke) |
[edit] References
- ^ Margaret Bourke-White: Newly-built estate, Shangri-la, belonging to American Tobacco Co. heiress Doris Duke and husband James Cromwell (Honolulu, 1937)
- ^ To build the house more than two hundred men had labored a year laying the foundation, excavating five acres of lava. [...] She named her fortress Wahi Pana, legendary place. Kiana Davenport: Song of the Exile. New York 2000, ISBN 0-345-43494-3, pp. 11-12
Coordinates: 21°15′24″N 157°47′41″W / 21.25667°N 157.79472°W
