Opinion Taylor Swift Needs to Become Other People The New York Times

Table Of Content

• Taylor Swift picks up Harkness’ role
• Merv Griffin’s legendary desert estate hits the market for $36M
• Unpacking Taylor Swift’s New Song About Her Rhode Island Mansion
• Why Taylor Swift Mentions the Chelsea Hotel in "The Tortured Poets Department"
• A secret love nest for Taylor’s friends?
• Woman charged with trespassing at Taylor Swift's Watch Hill Mansion
• Other Mentions of the Chelsea Hotel in Music

Then they got angry that she dared to stake her claim on the part of the beach she rightly owned, even though people had been using it for years. Next came the controversy over Swift wanting to rebuild a seawall on her own property. People claimed her construction — which was to repair damage done by erosion — would impede public access and would ruin the popular surfing spot. The coastal mansion, located at 16 Bluff Avenue in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, was built in 1930 and sits on the highest point in the coastal town.

Taylor Swift picks up Harkness’ role

After William's death in 1954, it was reported that Rebekah infuriated her neighbors with her quirky and wild antics. Swift includes details in her song about how Rebekah filled the pool with champagne, threw luxurious parties, and played cards with Salvador Dali. The singer also draws parallels between Rebekah's reputation and her own, especially when it comes to their shared tendency to upset society for not always doing what is expected of them.

Merv Griffin’s legendary desert estate hits the market for $36M

“Clara Bow,” it turns out, isn’t about Clara Bow the person at all, though it could be said to be about Clara Bow the vibe. Is it possible to be beautiful and charismatic to the point of possessing a kind of cosmic power that draws success to you? The song opens with the lines “You look like Clara Bow in this light, remarkable/ All your life, did you know you’d be picked like a rose?

Unpacking Taylor Swift’s New Song About Her Rhode Island Mansion

The “Cruel Summer” singer, whom Forbes recently named a billionaire, mostly tries to keep her private life out of the spotlight, but she has occasionally shared some photos inside her Big Apple abode. While Taylor was not home during the once-in-a-lifetime tour, she had met Conroy prior to that and even wrote the title of her 2008 album, “Fearless,” on a piece of paper for him so he could get it tattooed on his foot. The property sits on 5 acres of land and has more than 700 feet of beachfront on top of the highest point in Watch Hill, giving the singer unobstructed views of the water. When Swift needs a little getaway, she has her Rhode Island home to escape to.

Taylor Swift's $17M Rhode Island Home Is Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper's Secret Idyllic Hideaway - ELLE Decor

Taylor Swift's $17M Rhode Island Home Is Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper's Secret Idyllic Hideaway.

Posted: Wed, 18 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Authorities on Friday said they arrested a 54-year-old woman from Connecticut outside the gates of Taylor Swift’s multimillion dollar Rhode Island home, known for its rich backstory, views of Long Island and in recent years, the singer’s celebrity-filled Independence Day parties. The Olympia Tea Room is a century-old, family-owned restaurant with a view of the gorgeous Rhode Island sunsets. Swift has been spotted here with numerous celebrity friends (and exes), including Lena Dunham, Ed Sheeran, Hailee Steinfeld, Jessica Szohr, Jack Antonoff, Calvin Harris, Joy Williams, and Tom Hiddleston. She's been known to enjoy the restaurant's famous Avondale Swan pastry with whipped cream and fudge.

A secret love nest for Taylor’s friends?

Almost immediately after the purchase, reports of attempted trespassings began. Some fans left notes for the singer and one man attempted a swim to the property. The house was built in 1929–1930 for the Snowden family, owners of an oil company, who named it Holiday House.

Indeed, Swift has risen to become the second richest self-made woman in music — with her net worth at a cool $740 million. She has surpassed Madonna’s net worth of $580 million, but ranks behind Rihanna, whose net worth is $1.4 billion. She was released on $1,000 personal recognizance and scheduled for a District Court arraignment on July 14, according to court records.

Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper using Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island home as ‘secret love nest’: report - Page Six

Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper using Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island home as ‘secret love nest’: report.

Posted: Sun, 15 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

According to the celebrity insiders at Page Six, “Even though Gigi and Bradley have their own properties in New York, they wanted somewhere more private to spend time getting to know each other and Taylor was only too happy to help,” an insider said. But there are plenty of news stories and tabloid speculation as to what goes on in the singer’s secluded abode. And the most intriguing one, as of late, is a secret romance that reportedly took place in Tay Tay’s beach retreat. 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). However, the pricey pad is just one fraction of Swift’s over $80 million real estate portfolio.

The pop star’s favorite spots to visit around town when she's staying at her Watch Hill mansion. Swift was so fascinated with Rebekah that another song on Folklore is titled “Betty,” a clear reference to Rebekah Harkness’s nickname. Swift likens her own star-studded parties to the bevy of famous composers and dancers that once frequented the Holiday House in Harkness’ days. Swift’s song highlights some of the most outrageous antics the heiress was known for, which included filling up her pool with Dom Pérignon, dyeing one of her pets green, and having a relationship with Salvador Dali (himself known as one of the most eccentric artists in modern history).

The mansion used to belong to Hollywood film producer Samuel Goldwyn until Swift bought the home in 2015. She reportedly made the purchase in an all-cash deal, paying a whopping $17.75 million. More recently, she’s made headlines in 2023 for racking up thousands from the city’s Sanitation Department for failing to keep the sidewalks in front of her building clean, according to city records. On Monday, a 54-year-old woman was arrested and charged with trespassing outside Swift's home, Westerly Police Chief Paul Gingerella confirmed.

Back in 2015, several of her famous friends — including Gigi Hadid, Joe Jonas and Martha Hunt — shared photos from the fun-filled weekend to their Instagrams. Taylor has been photographed entering and leaving her multimillion-dollar townhouse several times over the years, most recently while hanging out with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Taylor bought her Tribeca pad for $18 million in 2014 and later expanded the space by purchasing the three units above her –– for roughly $10 million each –– and renovating them to create an 8,300-square-foot duplex. On Taylor Swift's newest album, The Tortured Poets Department, which was released on April 19 in a surprise double-length drop, there are a myriad of references to places, relationships, and feelings, both past and present.

Lucia Tonelli is an Assistant Editor at Town & Country, where she writes about the royal family, culture, real estate, design, and more. 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. Despite its modest facade, the four-bed, four-bath ranch features white beamed ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass, and, best of all, a 1,000-bottle, climate-controlled wine cellar. In early 2018, the 12-time Grammy winner paid $9.75 million for an additional three-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot loft on the second floor of the same TriBeCa building, dramatically upping her stake in the super-coveted 155 Franklin Street.

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." Taylor Swift surprised all of us when she dropped her latest album, Folklore, on July 24. While fans quickly went to work decoding the lyrics and searching for Easter eggs in the music video for "Cardigan," another song on the album also caught people's attention.

Law enforcement declined to say if Swift was at the residence at the time of the arrest. The full story of Holiday House is featured in season 3 of House Beautiful's haunted house podcast, Dark House. Taylor Swift is notorious for her autobiographical style of songwriting, incorporating her own life experiences into her music. Whatever you are feeling or going through, we can almost guarantee there is a Taylor Swift song for that.

The 11,744-square-foot holiday house boasts 700 feet of shoreline and offers sweeping views of Little Narragansett Bay, per Business Insider. According to See Westerly, Watch Hill was used as a lookout during battles dating back before the French and Indian War. These days, when she is in Music City, she is probably spending her time at the grand Greek revival estate known as the Northumberland Estate. 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.