Champ Soleil, one of only nine intact estates remaining from Newport’s Gilded Age, has come to market with an asking price of $22 million.
The 5.3-acre property at 601 Bellevue Avenue is listed by Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty, with co-owners Paul Leys and David Huberman representing the seller.
The original owners, the Drexel family of Philadelphia, had been one of America’s richest families since well before the Gilded Age. Patriarch Anthony J. Drexel was the majority partner of Drexel Morgan & Associates along with his protégé, J. Pierpont Morgan. The firm would eventually become J.P. Morgan Chase.
The firm managed an impressive roster of clientele — among them the Vanderbilts, Ogdens, Belmonts, Carnegies and Astors — many of whom would go on to build the extravagant palaces of Newport as well as New York, including The Breakers, Marble House, The Elms, Rosecliff, Miramar, Belmont Castle and Champ Soleil.
Champ Soleil secured a spot on the southern end of famed Bellevue Avenue in 1929 and patterned its charming character after La Lanterne at Versailles, surrounded by enchanting forests and stately specimen trees.
Following the Drexels, owners have included the Ogden family of Manhattan Bank, who added a ballroom and servants’ quarters. Their stewardship was followed by Russell and Annie Laurie Aitken — he a noted collector and sportsman, and she, a well-regarded sculptor and mother of Sunny Von Bulow, who resided across the avenue in Clarendon Court.
The 15,000-plus-square-foot villa, designed by renowned architects Polhemus & Coffin, sits behind wrought-iron gates. The main residence houses seven bedrooms and 8.3 baths, grand rooms, paneled library, a home theater and fully modernized high-end systems.
The property is graced with manicured gardens designed by landscape architect Umberto Innocenti, a croquet lawn, a 20-by-40-foot pool, FAA-approved heliport, greenhouse and expansive terraces.
The estate includes a separate two-unit carriage house with four-car garage and workshop, while vacant land offers the potential for subdivision.
Meticulously restored and modernized, Champ Soleil is described as a landmark estate preserving the splendor of Newport’s legendary Gilded Age.
For more information, contact Paul A. Leys at 401-862-6706 or pleys@gustavewhite.com.
