Giant guitar tribute to Taylor Swift finds fame in Westerly after a decade

Table Of Content

• Lakefront Home With Infinity Pool & Tennis Court (PHOTOS)
• Poem ideas inspired by Taylor Swift
• Celebrity Homes
• Taylor Swift Gives Historical Tours of Her Rhode Island Home to Friends and Family
• Want more celebrity and pop culture news?
• A secret love nest for Taylor’s friends?
• Modern Bel Air Mega Mansion (PHOTOS + FLOOR PLANS)

In this sprawling home, there are eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms, and eight fireplaces. Rebekah, who also founded her own ballet company, died of cancer in 1982. The house sat empty on the beach until Taylor bought it in 2013 for an alleged all-cash deal of $17 million. Taylor seems to confirm that she was the house's next owner in the song, singing, "Holiday House sat quietly on that beach / Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits / And then it was bought by me." Rebekah was born in St. Louis and was married to William Hale Harkness, who was the heir to the fortune of Standard Oil.

Lakefront Home With Infinity Pool & Tennis Court (PHOTOS)

Dubbed “High Watch”, it sits on the highest point in Watch Hill, a historic district in Westerly, Rhode Island. It is situated on 5 acres of land and features 700 feet of shoreline with views of Little Narragansett Bay. The colonial style home was built in 1930 for the wife of oil magnate George Grant Snowden. It was then sold in 1948 to Mr. William Hale Harkness, heir to the Standard Oil Company fortune. The home features approximately 11,000 square feet of living space with 8 bedrooms, 10+ bathrooms, 8 fireplaces, 36′ long parlor, formal dining room, kitchen, 45′ long sunroom, lower level rec room with service kitchen, 5-car garage and more.

Poem ideas inspired by Taylor Swift

After her brief vacation in Rhode Island, she's back on the road and performing in Kansas City this weekend. On Monday, a 54-year-old woman was arrested and charged with trespassing outside Swift's home, Westerly Police Chief Paul Gingerella confirmed. The outdoor pictures show beautiful blue skies, suggesting that maybe parts of the celebration was a little belated in addition to the pictures, as this Fourth of July delivered torrential rain for much of the day, postponing firework shows.

Celebrity Homes

It was built onto of Watch Hill, creating a beautiful view of the land when anyone looks out the window. However, purchasing the home, which is known as High Watch or Holiday House, wasn't just about luxury — it comes with a charming history, too. Taylor Swift’s new album, Folklore, was released today, and we’re obsessing over one song in particular that tells the story of the former owners of Swift's Rhode Island home, known as Holiday House. The song, titled “The Last Great American Dynasty,” is based on the lives of Rebekah West Harkness (known as "Betty"), a composer and philanthropist who founded Harkness Ballet, and her husband, William Hale “Bill” Harkness, whose family founded Standard Oil. Swift purchased the Watch Hill, Rhode Island, house for $17.75 million (in cash, no less) back in 2013, and has since held numerous—very Instagrammed—Fourth of July parties there.

Woman charged with trespassing at Taylor Swift's Watch Hill Mansion

In 2015, High Watch inspired a proposal by the Governor of Rhode Island to impose a luxury tax on expensive secondary homes in the state. In 2017, Swift was sued over her decision to build a seawall on the beach as plaintiffs argued the beach had been dedicated to the public over the years and Swift had no ownership of it; the courts ruled in Swift's favor. L'Officiel has listed High Watch as one of the most expensive celebrity homes in the Americas. Built in 1930, the mansion sits on the highest point in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, and features 700 feet of shoreline and views of Little Narragansett Bay, according to the real-estate site Zillow. The Instagram post of Swift and her "girlies" in Watch Hill "sittin', there by the water" comes after the songstress dropped the re-release of her 2010 album at midnight on Friday. "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" is the third in her series of re-recordings since the sale of her master recordings in 2020.

Taylor Swift Gives Historical Tours of Her Rhode Island Home to Friends and Family

Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper Had a Getaway at Taylor Swift's Rhode Island Home - Harper's BAZAAR

Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper Had a Getaway at Taylor Swift's Rhode Island Home.

Posted: Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

He put the house up for sale in 2017, but in December he was embroiled in a conflict with the town when he challenged his neighbor's plans to build a home on the edge of Boone Lake. The “A Thousand Miles” singer has been posting snapshots of her family's circa 1803 Federal Colonial home on Instagram since 2021. A playground for the rich and the famous during the Gilded Age, the shorelines are dotted with mansions. Some of them are tourist attractions, but others are still functioning vacation homes for today’s elite. Swift no longer owns this ranch-style home, which reflects the midcentury modern designs of 1950s Hollywood, when it was built. Sitting at the base of lush green hills, the great location creates an airy, sunlight-filled home.

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Her first NYC real estate purchase was made in 2014, buying two adjacent penthouses in a Tribeca building for $19.95 million. She was released on $1,000 personal recognizance and scheduled for a District Court arraignment on July 14, according to court records. She spends a lot of time touring and in Nashville, but she does have a farm in Rhode Island and has talked about it publicly as recently as February 2023. She bought the farm during the pandemic and told the Illinois Entertainer that they have goats, donkeys and some other farm animals. Unlike those who have chosen an ocean view, Woods lives on the edge of Boone Lake in Exeter. The land, not far from the Arcadia Management Area, has been owned by his family for decades.

Look around the room and describe the setting using lofty prose or personify the objects around you. Or create a character and tell their story – think of Swift’s love triangle in the “Betty,” “Cardigan” and “August” trilogy or “No Body, No Crime,” in which she slips into the skin of a vengeance-seeking best friend. Maya Angelou, William Wordsworth, Frank O’Hara, Sylvia Plath and Amanda Gorman are among the greats. Look to your favorite songwriters and ask yourself, "What do I admire about their craft?" Atkins also recommends looking for a poem about a subject you're passionate about. "It's for everybody to see, I think it's a great piece and it's a tribute to the owner of that property."

What she failed to mention at the time though, is how much she related to the woman who famously owned the house before her. Known as the Holiday House, Taylor Swift’s home in Rhode Island was built in 1930 and comes with 7 bedrooms and even more fireplaces (there are 8 of them throughout the residence). The property spans 5.23 acres and is said to be “the highest point of direct waterfront land on the entire eastern seaboard.” It’s also the most expensive privately owned home in all of Rhode Island. Back in 2013, Taylor Swift paid a whopping $17.75 million for the 7-bedroom mansion — along with 700 feet of shoreline on Watch Hill, in Rhode Island.

In June 2011, she purchased the 5,600-square-foot main house for $2.5 million. Built in 1934, the main house is made up of four bedrooms and five bathrooms, along with a 2,000-square-foot guest house added in 1964. Dubbed the “Holiday House,” the Watch Hill mansion was bought by Swift in 2013, complete with an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a past that ties it to the Standard Oil fortune. The songwriter spun the story of the house’s past — and the divorcee who lived there, Rebekah Harkness — into the song "Great American Dynasty” in her eighth studio album, "Folklore." Plus, there are another 5.23 acres of land that come with it, some of which include 700 feet of private beach.

Whatever you are feeling or going through, we can almost guarantee there is a Taylor Swift song for that. However, the pricey pad is just one fraction of Swift’s over $80 million real estate portfolio. Rather than lavish paintings, Swift opted for black-and-white photos of her friends and family — which seemingly line one of her hallway walls. The home, which has eight fireplaces and 10 bathrooms, sits on 5.23 acres and features a sprawling back patio with a massive pool.