Top 10 Castles in the United States
The United States has no medieval castles — the European feudal system never took root here, and the pre-Columbian civilisations of North America built in forms that had no castle equivalent. But the 19th and early 20th centuries produced an extraordinary wave of castle-building by wealthy Americans who admired the European castle aesthetic and had the resources to build their own versions. The results range from the architecturally serious to the fantastical; all of them are monuments to a particular moment in American cultural ambition. Find them on the map.
1. Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California
Hearst Castle is the most extravagant private residence ever built in the United States. William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper publisher, began building on the Santa Lucia Rancho in 1919 with the architect Julia Morgan; construction continued until Hearst's declining health forced him to leave in 1947. The result: the Casa Grande (the main house) and three guest houses, all in Spanish Colonial Revival style, containing 165 rooms, 127 acres of gardens, an outdoor pool modelled on a Roman temple, an indoor pool with Venetian glass mosaic, and a collection of European art and architectural fragments that Hearst assembled for decades.
2. Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina
Biltmore, built from 1889 to 1895 for George Washington Vanderbilt II to designs by Richard Morris Hunt, is the largest private house in the United States at 8,150 square metres. The Chateauesque design draws on the French Loire Valley chateau tradition; the grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The house remains in the Vanderbilt family's ownership and operates as a major tourist attraction, winery, and hotel complex.
3. Boldt Castle, Alexandria Bay, New York
Boldt Castle, on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands section of the Saint Lawrence River, was begun in 1900 by George C. Boldt, proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, as a declaration of love for his wife Louise. When she died suddenly in 1904, he ordered all construction to cease and never visited the island again. The castle stood unfinished and abandoned until the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired it in 1977 and began restoration. The combination of the romantic origin story, the river island setting, and the grand Rhenish style makes it the most visited attraction in the Thousand Islands.
4. Belvedere Castle, Central Park, New York
Belvedere Castle, designed by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Olmsted and built from 1869 in Central Park, is a purely decorative castle — a viewing platform rather than a residential or military building. Its Victorian Gothic silhouette above the Turtle Pond provides the most photogenic point in Central Park. It now houses the Central Park weather station, whose data feeds into New York City's official meteorological records.
5. Gillette Castle, East Haddam, Connecticut
Gillette Castle, above the Connecticut River near East Haddam, was built between 1914 and 1919 by William Gillette, the actor best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in stage productions. The castle, built of locally quarried granite in a distinctive eccentric medieval style that owes nothing to any historical precedent, features built-in furniture designed by Gillette, a miniature railway around the property, and quirky mechanical devices throughout. It is now a Connecticut state park.
6. Hammond Castle, Gloucester, Massachusetts
Hammond Castle, in Gloucester on the Massachusetts coast, was built in the 1920s by inventor John Hays Hammond Jr. as his residence and laboratory. Hammond held more US patents than any person except Thomas Edison; his eclectic interests produced a castle combining genuine medieval European architectural fragments (brought from demolished European buildings) with Roman-period artefacts, Renaissance details, and a fully equipped laboratory.
7. Oheka Castle, Huntington, New York
Oheka, in Huntington, Long Island, was built between 1919 and 1923 for Otto Hermann Kahn, the banker and arts patron who financed the Metropolitan Opera. At the time of its construction it was the second-largest private residence in the United States after Biltmore. The French chateau style, the 443-acre estate, and the elevated position on the highest point of Long Island give it a presence disproportionate to its relatively small domestic scale. It now operates as a hotel and event venue.
8. Singer Castle, Dark Island, New York
Singer Castle, on Dark Island in the Thousand Islands near Alexandria Bay, was built from 1905 for Frederick Bourne, president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The Romanesque Revival design, with its towers, dungeons, and secret passages, was more deliberately castle-like than Boldt's Chateauesque neighbour. It remains in private ownership and offers guided tours.
9. Fonthill Castle, Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Fonthill, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was built by Henry Chapman Mercer, the archaeologist and ceramics artist, between 1908 and 1912. Mercer designed and built the concrete castle himself, incorporating his collection of tiles and architectural fragments — including fragments from European medieval buildings — throughout. It is both a castle and a museum of decorative arts.
10. Iolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawaii
Iolani Palace, the former royal residence of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is the only official royal palace in the United States. Built from 1879-82 for King Kalakaua, it was the most modern building in its time in Hawaii, with electric lighting and a telephone before the White House had either. Queen Liliuokalani was imprisoned here after the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. It is now a museum and National Historic Landmark.
Explore on the map
Every American castle, fantasy fortress, and royal residence mentioned here is on the interactive map. The Thousand Islands castle cluster — Boldt and Singer within a few kilometres — is one of the most accessible castle touring circuits in the United States.