Yank Royalty: 7 Outrageous American Castles

2013-08-28

For a country that ditched monarchical rule, America has some of the most intriguing “castles” in the world. OK, maybe not castles in the classic sense. To visit a fortress where ancient monarchs slept on stone pillows and knights bickered about grails, you’ll still have to fly across the pond. But for a different sort of castle — the kind redefined by Gilded Age names such as Vanderbilt and Ringling, by proud Polynesian monarchs or by the occasional heartbroken Latvian-Floridian stonemason — the United States is home to a melting pot of historic domiciles that would blow an 11th-century Scottish king’s mind. Here we crown seven favorites whose gates are open to gaping plebeians.

Read more