Stone Barn Castle

Stone Barn Castle is a private residence located in Oneida County, New York.^[a] The building was initially built as a dairy farm in the early 20th-century. After closing around 1917, the building was without a permanent tenant until the 1970s, and severely damaged in a 1946 fire. From the 1970s to early 2000s, the building was restored and operated as a museum.

Since 2007, actor Adrien Brody has owned the building and used it as one of his private residences.

History

Designed by Charles William Knight, the castle was completed in 1906,^[4] at a total cost of $140,000. Knight initially operated Stone Barn Castle as a dairy farm, but was unable to recoup the costs of building it and had to file for bankruptcy after around eleven years.^[1][5]

Attempts were made to convert the building to a country club or a night club, but both were unsuccessful.^[6] A fire destroyed much of the castle in 1946.^[5] For the next twenty years, the building continued to deteriorate and accumulate vandalism and graffiti.^[6][3]

The building was purchased in 1970 by Robert Hugel, who began restoring it with his wife, Alison.^[5] They operated the building as a museum, and hosted events on sitesuch as weddings and, around halloween, used the building as a 'haunted castle'. In 2003, the couple retired and transferred ownership to their son, William,^[1] and daughter, Catherine.^[2] He began efforts to redevelop the house into an art center, with a summer residency program.^[5] The Hugels sold the house to actor Adrien Brody in 2007 for $650,000. Brody spent has worked extensively on further renovating the house since purchasing it.^[4][7][2] A documentary about the renovation premiered at South by Southwest in March 2015.^[8][9]

Stone Barn Castle is not open to the public.^[4]