40 US Historical Homes That Are Worth the Visit

25.Grey Gardens

Grey Gardens is a beautiful home in its own right. However, it is more famous for the titular television program that documented the Kennedy family inhabitants’ incredibly eccentric life. The documentary, also titled Grey Gardens, followed the mental illness and decline of a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale. They were the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy, as they lived in the deteriorating home. Located in East Hampton, New York, the 14 room mansion was built in 1897 and has changed hands several times. It entered the extended Kennedy family when Edith Beale was gifted the property by her husband.

It fell into disrepair, leading to the documentary after cutting his estranged wife off from all financial support. The home conditions were so bad – fleas, cats, raccoons, decay, and a lack of running water, for example – that the Beale women were facing eviction at one point until Jackie O intervened with the needed funds for repairs. Not only is the home itself historically relevant, but the documentary itself was also selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Financial management was a problem for the inhabitants of the next household, too.