America's Castles: The Cotton Kings (DVD)

In the years following the Civil War, a new generation of wealthy landowners began to emerge in the South: the Cotton Kings. From exquisite murals to lavish gardens, AMERICA'S CASTLES: THE COTTON KINGS offers an exclusive tour of some of their incomparable homes. Atlanta's Swan House, built in the 1920s, is a perfectly symmetrical Palladian house detailed both inside and out with swans. In Galveston, Texas, we enter the Bishop's Palace, a grand 1892 mansion that ranges in style from French Renaissance and Romanesque to Moorish and Tudor. In that same locale sits the Moody Mansion, which features rich oak paneling, an 800-square-foot dining room, and coffered ceilings. This intriguing architectural exploration concludes in New Orleans at the beautiful Longue Vue House, a spectacular example of mid-twentieth-century living.

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