Caramoor Launches Free Digital Guide to the Estate's Gardens, Grounds and History on Bloomberg Connects
Caramoor Launches Free Digital Guide to the Estate's Gardens, Grounds and History on Bloomberg Connects
The Bloomberg Connects App is Available via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
KATONAH, NY – Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts has launched its official digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The guide invites visitors to explore Caramoor's 81-acre estate in Westchester County at their own pace, with a 23-stop, one-mile walking tour of the gardens, architecture, and outdoor performance venues that have defined the property since Walter and Lucie Rosen opened it to the public in 1946. Because Caramoor's grounds are free and open to the public daily, any visitor can now walk the estate with expert commentary in hand — no ticket, no guide, no admission fee. The guide is available in multiple languages and was made possible through the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The Caramoor guide is available now on Bloomberg Connects, a free digital guide to cultural organizations around the world, which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and viewed online at guides.bloombergconnects.org. The app requires no ticket, login, or subscription. Caramoor's gardens and grounds are free and open to the public every day from 10:00am to 4:00pm, unless otherwise noted. Visitors can walk the entire tour without a ticket or reservation.
At the center of the guide is Caramoor's Gardens and Grounds, a self-guided tour of roughly 90 minutes that traces a one-mile loop across the estate. Stops include the Pegasus Gates by sculptor Malvina Hoffman, the open-air Venetian Theater designed by Frederick Kiesler, the Spanish Courtyard and Italian Pavilion by Christian Rosborg, the Sunken Garden and Tapestry Hedge laid out by landscape designer Flora MacDonald Potter, and Friends Field and Stage by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects with Avant Garden Designs. Along the way, visitors encounter the Dovecote and Marjorie Carr Adams Sense Circle, the Woodland Garden, and the bronze Caldwell doors that once hung in the Rosens' New York townhouse. The tour also introduces five permanent sound art installations sited across the grounds: Dyning in the Dovecote by Liz Phillips, t(ch)ime by Taylor Deupree, Wild Energy by Annea Lockwood and Bob Bielecki, in“C” by Trimpin, and Stone Song by Ranjit Bhatnagar.
The guide's second tour, Five Essays on Caramoor, a Sound Walk, is a five-stop, hour-long audio and visual work by artist Lisa Renée Coons. Created for the estate, the piece moves across the grounds through a sequence of essays that draw on Caramoor's history, its landscape, and the archival record, pairing Coons's compositions with collaged visual scores installed on site.
Throughout the guide, eighteen audio clips bring Caramoor's history and its people into the visitor's ear. Among them is an excerpt from a 1962 broadcast of the television program Camera Three, in which Lucie Rosen welcomes host James Macandrew to Caramoor and describes how music became central to the family's life. Anne Bigelow Stern, the Rosens' daughter, recalls the Italian-American gardeners who tended the estate's grounds. Caramoor trustee David Pogue explains what makes the Italian Pavilion noteworthy; Floy Kaminski, chair of the Rosen House Committee, discusses the Caldwell doors; and artists Liz Phillips and Taylor Deupree describe the thinking behind their installations. Lisa Renée Coons introduces the sound walk in her own voice.
A Welcome to Caramoor section orients first-time visitors with a message from President and CEO Gillian Fox, a short history of the institution, and a profile of Walter and Lucie Rosen — the art collectors and music patrons whose Mediterranean-style country house, built between 1929 and 1939 and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, anchors the estate and remains a stop on the walking tour.
The guide also includes a detailed Accessibility at Caramoor section covering parking, complimentary wheelchairs, restrooms, service animals, and pathway surfaces across the grounds, along with a mapped location for Caramoor's wellness and sensory-friendly space — a quiet room with rocking chairs, children's books, and a changing table where guests can rest, take a break from live music, or nurse in privacy. Caramoor's accessibility work has been supported by Floy and Amos Kaminski and Nicole and Gerald Mayer.
Every audio clip in the guide is accompanied by a full text transcript. Content can be used on site while walking the grounds or explored remotely from anywhere.
About Caramoor
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is a vibrant cultural destination nestled on 81 acres of historic gardens and woodlands in Katonah, NY. Once the home of music and art lovers Walter and Lucie Rosen, Caramoor has evolved into one of the region’s most distinctive destinations for live performances, cultural engagement, and exploration – a sanctuary for music, art, and nature.
Each year, Caramoor presents an exciting array of concerts across genres – from classical, opera, and chamber music to jazz, American roots, global sounds, and the American songbook. Caramoor’s acclaimed Summer Season brings audiences together for unforgettable outdoor performances from June into August in five distinct settings (the Venetian Theater, Friends Field, Spanish Courtyard, Sunken Garden, and the Music Room), while the intimate Rosen House Concert Series runs from October through May in the historic Rosen House, a Mediterranean-style villa listed on the National Register of Historic Places and filled with treasures from around the world. With a mission to engage audiences of all ages, Caramoor also offers a selection of concerts and programs for families and our youngest listeners. Caramoor’s concert schedule is available at caramoor.org/events/concerts.
Caramoor is a place where music, history, and nature come together to create moments of beauty and connection for all who visit. Caramoor has expanded its Beyond the Music slate of community and family programming to include tours, teas, yoga, and more, giving visitors a wide variety of ways to experience this unique setting in addition to its world-class concerts. In addition to hearing concerts, visitors to Caramoor can tour the spectacular Rosen House, explore its intriguing collections, enjoy a picnic, and experience the lush gardens and grounds – including Caramoor’s unique collection of site-specific Sound Art, permanently installed sound sculptures that draw inspiration from their environment. Caramoor also offers a formal afternoon tea service year-round in the Music Room (by reservation), the seasonal summer concessions Bravo Bar, and a selection of public programs such as yoga, art classes, and large-scale community events. Beyond the Music programs are announced on a rolling basis at caramoor.org/events/beyond-the-music.
Caramoor’s official digital guide is available on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app from Bloomberg Philanthropies, via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The guide invites visitors to explore the estate at their own pace, with a 23-stop, one-mile walking tour. The app requires no ticket, login, or subscription. Visitors can walk the entire tour without a ticket or reservation.
For Caramoor’s complete concert and events schedule, visit: caramoor.org/events/calendar
Caramoor is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road in Katonah, NY. How to get to Caramoor: caramoor.org/visit-us/amenities
More information about visiting Caramoor: caramoor.org/visit