Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens is a decorative arts museum in Washington, D.C., United States.
The former residence of businesswoman, socialite, philanthropist and collector Marjorie Merriweather Post, Hillwood is known for its large decorative arts collection that focuses heavily on the House of Romanov, including Fabergé eggs. Other highlights are 18th-and 19th-century French art and one of the country's finest orchid collections.
As she arranged her divorce from her third husband, Joseph E. Davies, Post initiated a search for a new house. She wanted a stately home with fifteen-foot ceilings, sited on a large, thickly wooded spot.
After the divorce was final, she bought Arbremont, a Georgian Colonial estate in northwest Washington on the edge of Rock Creek Park, rechristening it Hillwood, a name she had also used for her former property in Brookville, New York. Arbremont, with its 36 rooms, had been built in the 1920s by Marion Blodgett, wife of Delos A. Blodgett Jr, a Michigan lumber tycoon.
Blodgett built Arbremont House for her daughter, Helen Blodgett Erwin. After Post acquired it from the Erwins, she hired the architect Alexander McIlvaine to gut and rebuild its interior. The renovations, which included moving the library doors to frame a view of the Washington Monument, were completed in 1956. Showcasing her collections including French, Asian, and-what Hillwood is m