Inside Hillwood Estate, a 26,000-square-foot mansion and home of the millionaire businesswoman who built Mar-a-Lago

Talia LakritzSep 18, 2024, 19:41 IST

Hillwood Estate.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider<ul class="summary-list"><li>Hillwood Estate was the home of breakfast-cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post.</li><li>She collected art from 18th-century France and imperial Russia for display in her 36-room mansion.</li></ul>Marjorie Merriweather Post was once known as America's richest woman, with an estimated net worth of $250 million — around $1.8 billion today when adjusted for inflation.She inherited her father's <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/create-eat-cereals-post-heres-what-its-like-2023-5">Post cereal</a> fortune in 1914, but Post helped build the company into the General Foods Corporation by acquiring brands like Jell-O and Maxwell House. She also served on its board of directors.With her success as a businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist, Post built homes to match her elite status.In 1955, she purchased Hillwood Estate in Washington, DC, and renovated it into a 36-room, 26,000-square-foot mansion with a focus on entertaining and displaying her priceless art collections.Post only lived at Hillwood during fall and spring. She spent winters at her <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-trump-mar-a-lago-club-photos-2018-1">Mar-a-Lago</a> estate in Palm Beach, Florida, which is now owned by former President <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-like-to-go-inside-mar-a-lago-2022-8">Donald Trump</a>, and summers at Camp Topridge in New York's Adirondack Mountains.Access to Mar-a-Lago remains limited due to Trump's residence there, but Hillwood is a museum open to the public.Take a look inside Post's opulent home and its surrounding gardens.

Hillwood is a 36-room Georgian-style mansion located on a 25-acre estate in Washington, DC.

Hillwood Estate.Erik Kvalsvik

Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post cereal fortune and known as America's richest woman, purchased Hillwood in 1955.

Marjorie Merriweather Post.George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

My tour of Hillwood began in the entry hall full of art from 18th-century France and imperial Russia, Post's two main areas of interest as a collector.

The entry hall and grand staircase at Hillwood.Erik Kvalsvik

Post devoted entire rooms to her collection of French and Russian porcelain.

The Russian Porcelain Room.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The French Drawing Room would not have looked out of place in the Gilded Age.

The French Drawing Room.Erik Kvalsvik

A hallway led into the Pavilion, Post's primary entertaining space where she hosted film screenings and square dances.

The Pavilion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Post had trays added to the lilac sofas so that guests could enjoy drinks and snacks while watching movies such as "The Jungle Book."

A seat in the Pavilion.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The Pavilion also featured priceless works of art such as "A Boyar Wedding Feast" by Konstantin Makovsky.

"A Boyar Wedding Feast" by Konstantin Makovsky.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The Icon Room displayed around 400 pieces of art connected to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Icon Room.Erik Kvalsvik

The centerpieces of the Icon Room were two gold and diamond-encrusted eggs made by Fabergé, a jeweler catering to Russian imperial rulers.

Fabergé eggs.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Another notable piece was a Fabergé music box commissioned by Prince Feliks and Prince Nikolai Yusupov in 1907.

A music box in the Icon Room.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The Library on the first floor evoked 18th-century England with pine paneling and a marble mantle.

The first-floor Library.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

In the Dining Room, waiters would serve multiple courses at elaborate dinner parties.

The Dining Room.Erik Kvalsvik

The dining room table, handcrafted in Italy with 11 semiprecious stones, was originally designed for Mar-a-Lago.

A piece of Marjorie Post's dining room table.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The table was set with Post's rare collection of 18th-century French porcelain.

Porcelain dishware in the Dining Room.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

In a nook off the Dining Room, Post took meetings and business lunches as the majority shareholder of the General Foods Corporation.

The Breakfast Room.Erik Kvalsvik

The rest of the house was furnished with period decor, but the kitchen was state-of-the-art for the 1950s.

The kitchen.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The butler's pantry was always stocked with General Foods brands such as Maxwell House coffee and Birds Eye frozen food.

The pantry.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Menus on display in the kitchen revealed what Post served for dinner.

A menu of food served at Hillwood Estate.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

On my way upstairs, I noticed that the railing was covered in velvet, a luxurious feature I also saw when I toured a Vanderbilt mansion in New York.

The velvet-covered railing of the grand staircase.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The first room at the top of the stairs was known as the Snooze Room.

The Snooze Room.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The Snooze Room connected to the English Bedroom Suite through a doorway.

The English Bedroom Suite.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The Adam Bedroom Suite was named for its Adam style of decor featuring pastel colors and medallion designs.

The Adam Bedroom Suite.Erik Kvalsvik

The second floor featured a library smaller than the one on the first floor, but decorated in a similar style with wood paneling and portraits.

The library.Erik Kvalsvik

Post's bedroom was full of French furnishings and paintings of her children.

Marjorie Post's bedroom.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

In the adjoining dressing room, Post would often attend to paperwork related to her role on the General Foods board or philanthropy.

Marjorie Post's dressing room.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Her bathroom was decorated with "Mamie pink," a color popularized by first lady Mamie Eisenhower in the 1950s.

Marjorie Post's bathroom.Erik Kvalsvik

The hallway leading to Post's closet displayed pieces of her jewelry.

A diamond necklace worn by Marjorie Post.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The display also featured a diamond from an engagement ring given to her by Herbert May, her fourth husband, in 1958.

The diamond from Marjorie Post's engagement ring.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

My final stop inside Hillwood was the Second Floor Gallery displaying particularly notable and valuable works from Post's art collection.

The Second Floor Gallery.Courtesy Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, photographed by Mark Finkenstaedt

There was much more to see outside the home with the estate's 25 acres of gardens.

Trees in bloom at Hillwood Estate.Erik Kvalsvik

The side of the house featured a French parterre, a formal garden design dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

The French parterre.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The top of the Washington Monument was just visible through the trees on the Lunar Lawn in the back of the house.

The Washington Monument viewed from Hillwood Estate.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The Japanese-style garden was designed by landscape architect Shogo Myaida in 1957.

The Japanese Garden at Hillwood Estate.Erik Kvalsvik

The Greenhouse still housed Post's collection of tropical plants, including over 2,000 orchids.

The Greenhouse.Erik Kvalsvik

I noticed numerous butterflies as I walked around the grounds, likely attracted by the sweet floral smell of the property's many blossoms.

A butterfly in the gardens of Hillwood Estate.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

My final stop was the Rose Garden, where Post's ashes were spread after her death in 1973.

The Rose Garden.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Located just 5 miles from the heart of Washington, DC, Hillwood is an art museum and botanical garden wrapped up in one historic home.

Hillwood Estate.Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

I stayed in a nearly $900-a-night suite in Tulum with a bed that rolled onto the balcony. It was paradise in a crowded tourist destination.

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