Behind its gates on Hermitage Road, beneath Myers Park’s famous willow oak canopy, the Duke Mansion keeps Charlotte’s grandest story. Built in 1915 and expanded by tobacco and power magnate James B. Duke, the white-columned mansion is now a nonprofit historic site, inn and gathering place, and its gardens welcome the public on happy wandering days.
The house grew with Duke’s ambitions: what began as a family home became a 32,000-square-foot landmark where deals that shaped Duke Energy and Duke University were dreamed up. Saved from demolition by devoted Charlotteans and lovingly restored, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.
Today the mansion hosts weddings, community celebrations and overnight guests in rooms named for the families who lived here, while its four and a half acres of gardens bloom through every season. Garden days invite visitors to stroll the terraces and fountains free of charge.
It is Charlotte’s elegant elder, still hosting the city’s happiest occasions. Happy City News suggests a garden stroll the next time Myers Park’s oaks call your name.
