Landscape Information
Built in 1895 for Mr. and Mrs. John J. Emery of New York, The Turrets was one of approximately 220 private estates built in Bar Harbor between the 1880s and 1920s, rivaling Newport, Rhode Island, as a fashionable summer destination. Built of stone, the mansion was designed by Bruce Price; records indicate he may have designed the 4,000-square-foot Sea Side Garden as well.
On a terrace enclosed by capped gray stone walls that match the mansion, the garden occupies much of the land between the residence and the cliff overlooking Frenchman’s Bay. The rectilinear garden design includes ten planting beds filled with herbs and perennials and separated by lawn paths. Narrow borders line the rough-hewn walls, which, along with the central beds, are edged with granite curbing. The garden also features a circular pool that once held a fountain depicting Hercules wrestling a serpent, designed by sculptor Paul Manship. The garden serves as a foreground to expansive ocean views that include the Porcupine Islands.
The College of the Atlantic purchased The Turrets in 1973, when the Sea Side Garden had been overgrown for years. The site was rehabilitated in 2004. The structure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
