Photo of the Day: Skylands Manor, Exterior, Ringwood NJ

The Tudor Revival mansion of Skylands Manor was designed in the mid-1920s by the American architect John Russell Pope. If his name sounds familiar, it should: Visitors to Washington, DC can see his handiwork in the Jefferson Memorial, the National Archives and the National Gallery of Art.

As you can tell from the date of the design, the building is not really centuries old—it just looks that way. The style—including the weathered stone façade, crenelated walls, rectangular windows, and bay windows—became a favorite of wealthy Americans when they wanted to create country houses for themselves. All the stone in the building was quarried on this estate.

I took this photo in May, on the same afternoon when I visited the New Jersey Botanical Garden (on whose grounds this building sits) and, a couple of miles away, Ringwood Manor.