We asked the Caramoor staff a simple question: “what’s your favorite spot on Caramoor’s grounds?” We hope you enjoy their answers, and that one day soon you will visit and check out these spots for yourselves, or even find one that wasn’t mentioned on this list! Happy exploring!
Lucie’s Porch
“This is a tucked-away spot, but when sitting there, you can still see and hear guests walking on Center Walk and feel the energy of Caramoor. Plus I like the birds that are part of the ornamental gate at the entrance. Anyone is welcome to sit here if it’s not already occupied!”
-Jessa Krick, Director of Interpretation, Collection and Archives
The Sunken Garden in the Summer
“I loved the vivid colors of the many varieties of flowers and watching the many butterflies and hummingbirds (of which there were two), fly around the flowers, chasing each other or landing on them and flying from one flower to another. I also love the delicate design of the iron gate that is one entrance/exit from the garden. It is climbing rose vines and if I remember correctly one rose bud remains on one of the gates. While the last of the flowers are left as fall started, I identified a favorite tree because the leaf colors were various hues of peach from dark at the top where the sun was hitting to paler hues in the middle and bottom.”
-Carolyn Frugis, Assistant Bookkeeper
Side Seat in the Music Room
“When sitting on the north side of the Music Room, or rather, when you enter the Music Room and sit in a seat on the right-hand side – that’s my favorite Caramoor spot (specifically seat K112). If you look up to the ceiling on your left, you will see the beautiful stained glass windows. Look to your right and you will see the Spanish Alcove, where the Rosen family gathered to play games and spend leisurely time with each other. Look right behind you, and you will see a magnificent painting of Lucie Rosen herself, enjoying the concert with you. Sure, by the first glance of the Music Room, you think: “wow, this is really beautiful.” But once you are in your seat, looking around, waiting for the concert to start, that’s when it all sinks in that you are in someone’s grand living room, and that this is a truly unique place.”
-Roslyn Wertheimer, Marketing Manager
Pegasus Gate
“Magical!”
-Adina Williams, Director, School Programs & Community Engagement
Watching a concert from a seat in the back of the Spanish Courtyard
“It’s such an intimate outdoor spot for hearing live music. I feel like I’ve traveled abroad to Europe due to the architecture of the house which surrounds the venue. Birds and dragonflies swoop through (plus the occasional frog in the fountain…), and the stained glass windows lit from within the Rosen House combined with the terrific performances make it a unique and wonderful place for a concert.”
-Barb Prisament, Media Relations & Outreach Consultant
A shady tree next to the Sunken Garden
“I love hearing music in this space during the summer, surrounded by all the native plants and sometimes HUNDREDS of butterflies!”
-Kathy Schuman, Artistic Director
Hammocks on Cedar Walk
“They’re in the most peaceful hidden-away spot, and all you can hear are the birds and the leaves (and sometimes the music, depending on your nap timing)…”
-Laura Schiller, Publications Editor
The Jade Room in the Rosen House
“As a sculptor, I have always been interested in the more difficult-to-handle materials. Jade is a perfect example. The near translucent, intricately detailed green jade screen inside the room leaves me in awe every time I glimpse at it. Jade is a hard mineral known for its durability, and the fact that the sculptor was able to carve it thin enough for light to shine through is astounding. The amount of work that must have gone into it, and the other jade figures and sculptures in the room, is something that I cannot imagine. I could stare at the pieces for hours and still not feel like I have properly taken in everything!”
-Noah Rigby, Artistic Department Coordinator
Sense Circle (South Bench)
“The Sense Circle’s south bench is my favorite place to read a book, relax, and enjoy the beauty of Caramoor. This spot features a wonderful sight of the fountain and secluded landscape (a secret hideaway from the stressors of the day). As an added bonus, you often can hear the Sound Art piece, Frequency, in the distance.”
-Brittany Frieder, Membership Assistant and Donor Concierge
Hammocks around Wild Energy
“I love the concept behind the piece: it’s an access point to hear earth sounds that are normally inaudible to the human ear. It’s nestled off the beaten paths of Caramoor, tucked into a wooded enclave near the Picnic Parking lot. It’s quiet, and amid the low rumblings of hydrothermal vents and earthquakes which emanate from a nearby outcrop, you hear bird songs from the surrounding woods. It almost as though the artists, Annea Lockwood and Bob Bielecki, have unlocked a few secrets of the Earth, and when juxtaposed against everyday sounds, you’re reminded of how much we don’t know.”
-Brittany Laughlin, Director of Marketing & Communications
Tapestry Hedge
“Tapestry Hedge has a cozy appeal that I enjoy for Garden Listening during the summer. I am drawn to it for the surrounding beauty in the spring (with the blooming of the irises and peonies) and the fall (the fiery red glow in the forsythias) and find solitude in during cold winter walks.”
-Jennifer Pace, Director of Individual Gifts
Sense Circle
“It’s behind my office and provides a peaceful spot for reflection and enjoying the beautiful garden.”
-Edward Lewis, President & CEO
Italian Pavilion
“At the Italian Pavilion, I feel transported to another time and place. It’s open to nature, yet sheltering— a great place to linger and admire the rich colors and varied texture of the tiled floor while listening to the surrounding sounds (even without a concert happening).”
-Christina Horzepa, Grants Manager
As a former employee, I loved all of these places, too. We didn’t have the hammocks when I worked there – what a fabulous idea! I’d also add the Lacquer Room.