Ruling halts demolition of mansion once owned by Doris Duke
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015 file photo, a portion of the sprawling main mansion of the Duke Farms estate that tobacco heiress Doris Duke once called home is seen in Hillsborough Township, N.J. Demolition work has started at a historic mansion. Crews were at the Hillsborough Township site Saturday,March 5, 2016 a day after a state judge rejected a community group’s bid to halt the work. Officials say a large part of the mansion has been demolished and the work is expected to be completed on Sunday.
SOMERVILLE, N.J. >> Demolition work at a historic New Jersey mansion once owned by tobacco heiress and socialite Doris Duke has again been put on hold.
Crews started tearing down the Hillsborough Township mansion Saturday, a day after a judge rejected a community group’s bid to halt the work.
The work was expected to continue Sunday, but an appellate court judge late Saturday granted an emergent motion filed by the group. The judge ordered a halt to all demolition work until the matter is resolved.
The 67,000-square-foot mansion has been empty since Duke’s death in 1993. Foundation officials say it has fallen into disrepair and would take at least $10 million to bring up to code.
The foundation’s executive director says he was surprised by the ruling but would respect the court order.
6 responses to “Ruling halts demolition of mansion once owned by Doris Duke”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
An old relic with no useful purpose as it stand. Restoration costing costing $10 million only benefit the repairmen. Further if the public cannot get access by the expense to preserve a lifestyle that is impossible to an average citizen. Those legacies do not meet the litmus test of preservation.
agree..and as rich as she was from her evil tobacco fortune she never lifted a finger to help anyone in Hawaii. Selfish to say the least as she lived on Diamond Head for many years.
allie, I thought the same, but she does have a Foundation, employs 27 people here in Hawaii and gives grants for a number of purposes. Yes, tobacco is evil–I have made a bunch of money on tobacco stocks–raise the taxes on them and people still buy. MO and PM—great dividends.
She had nothing to do witht eh Foudnation. Her rich father started it. I think you are referring to the Foudnation establishign an Islamic Art Center through the Art Academy. But no, she herself did little or nothing to help the pooor here despite her billions.
To each thing there is a season.
I am told I look great in any season 🙂