One of the most beautiful historic luxury homes in Stamford Connecticut is Marion Castle, built in 1914 by Frank Marion, one of the early pioneers of motion pictures. This stunning waterfront Neo-French Revival castle on One Rogers Road, Shippan Point exemplifies the era of Stamford’s rise in the early 1900s from a farming community to the year-round residences of wealthy New York families.
Marion Castle was built by one of the first true movie moguls, Frank Marion, whose Kalem Company produced some of the first reels shown in Nickelodeon and silent theaters across the country. His first big hit was Ben Hur in 1907, which lasted fifteen minutes and focused mainly on chariot racing. The film was shot on the beach with firefighters as actors using the horses that normally pulled the fire trucks that pulled the cars.
Ben Hur was one of the most popular novels of its time and the film was an immediate success. Frank Marion proved not only a good businessman, but also a social conscience when he raised the daily wage for actors to five dollars a day, forcing the rest of the emerging film industry to do the same.
However, Marion was at the forefront of what was then the emerging technology of her day. Ben Hur’s publisher and author’s estate took the company all the way to the US Supreme Court and established the first copyright precedent that although the film only focused on the chariot race that was a very brief part of the book, film producers must first obtain the rights to the work in print before they can produce a film based on that work.
Undeterred, Marion’s Kalem company then made movie history by sending a crew to Ireland in 1910 to make what was the first American movie shot on location outside of the United States. Two years later, he sent a camera crew to Palestine, where From the Manger to the Cross was filmed.
These films were very successful, he sold the company after ten years in the film business and built Marion Castle as his retirement home for the enjoyment of his wife, son and four daughters.
Marion Castle was designed in the style of a French Renaissance chateau by the prominent New York City-based architectural firm Hunt & Hunt, which had made this style very popular on Fifth Avenue earlier in the century. The Château de Marion is a combination of several castles in the Loire Valley.
It features a steep slate roof with copper cresting that rises above the main body of the mansion. The facade has large dormer windows with high pediments bordered by finials. A gabled wing facing the sea side has a large triple window with mullions and stern bars and steps leading to the drop off.
On the north side of the house, a long half-timbered bay projects from the main wall and leads to a circular tower that gives it its distinctive “castle” appearance. The interior includes a main hall with balconies and almost thirty additional rooms of various sizes and uses.
Frank Marion built and occupied Marion Castle until his death at age 93 in 1963. The property was then sold to Martha and David Cogan, an inventor and leading developer of radio and television who helped develop the first tube of color TV. Martha was widely recognized and respected for saving many children from Hitler during World War II.
In 1978, Jay Kobrin and Gordon Micunis purchased Marion Castle and were highly influential in placing it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, the only structure on Stamford’s Shippan Point to be listed on the Register.
Since 1998, Marion Castle has been owned and occupied by Thomas L. Rich, a well-known Stamford real estate developer. Mr. Rich has allowed the house to be used extensively for non-profit events, such as the Shippan Point Association’s annual community party.
Today, Frank Marion’s beautiful historic waterfront luxury home is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Stamford CT. Having been owned by a number of innovative, civic-minded entrepreneurs, Marion Castle continues to be the focal point for many of the city’s important social and community events.
