Did Betty Hutton have a house in Atlantic City NJ?

Answer 1

Yes Betty Hutton had a bay side mansion in NJ. The Hutton Estate was located in West Atlantic City on Black Horse Pike (Hwy 40) the main artery into Atlantic City proper. As with all summer or vacation homes along the Jersey Shore it had a name. Betty Hutton caller hers SandCastle. It was built on a large property directly on the bay on the narrow spit of land that stretches between Atlantic City on Absecon Island and the mainland at Pleasantville, NJ. The rear of the mansion faced Black Horse Pike and the front of SandCastle faced the bay. The rear of a house would be considered by most as the lesser of a home's views to face the public but this house in its day also had a lovely rear entry and there were gardens of high shrubs, trees, and fountains that made SandCastle appear as if it rose right from the bay as a small island. SandCastle was a large two story home with the finished attic making up a third level. Viewed from the rear as the house faced south--there was a large bent wood and glass arched (gothic styled) greenhouse that I suppose had served as more of a Conservatory than a working nursery space as it contained a paved floor. When I first viewed the SandCastle it had already been unused for many years and through the hands of several caretakers. The locals had a lot of tales concerning Betty Hutton and her SandCastle retreat as well as her group of invited friends that frequented the parties she held there. Stories of everything from seanaces and a huge black mystical oval mirror to a tragic death at the mansion that eventually led to it being permanently closed. I never learned the specific year Miss Hutton finally abandoned the place but it was in the 1960's. Through a friend that had a business just 1/4 mile further down Black Horse Pike on the opposite side of that road I had the priviledge of seeing the inside of the mansion. A friend of his that was the legal caretaker of the estate property allowed us to visit with him on his monthly round of the mansion. It was not well kept (dusty and moldy smelling), but it still held furniture, (raised on wooden blocks in case of floodings), paintings and other items all draped in dust covers. The room sized thick carpets of the first level had been rolled up from the floors and stored on the second level hallway. The crystal and china was still in the butler's pantry. And yes, there was a large oval black glass mirror in a prominent room of the house. There was no real furniture in the greenhouse conservatory except for some very ornamental metal garden type furniture that was starting to rust due to several cracked curved glass panels near the edge of the arched roof. The result of either wind damage from storms or vandals but the caretaker did not know which. He had never been authorized to repair much on the property but hired to just check to keep vandals out, the roof sound, the grounds mowed and any storm damage cleaned up. By the last time I viewed the exterior of the property before leaving NJ in 1988 much of the conservatory's glass was broken and almost no trees or shrubs remained in the gardens. One dry fountain still stood but the paved patio and walkways were no longer visable because storms had washed and blown soil or sand over them allowing weeds & rough grasses to gain prominence. Years of Atlantic storms and bay flooding had changed the once man made sandy bay beach to bay mud while also reducing the land's mass on the bay frontage.

No one ever used the place once Betty Hutton deserted it in what some locals called "much haste".

I was told that this was a "lost period" in Hutton's life that contained much heartache leading to addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol. There was a long period of loss in Miss Hutton's life after only a short span of true stardom (1942 thru mid 1950's). By 1962 she had lost her relationships with four husbands and Paramount Studios when she walked out on her contract back in the mid 1950's.

Finally let me say that whatever happened at SandCastle Miss Hutton was a great lady and a true patriot in every way. Along with many famous actors & actresses of the 1930's thru 1950's she donated her time to the War Bond efforts of WWII. She went into the Pacific War theater to entertain our service men, even in active frontline areas, even right into foxholes to hug our fighting boys. She also traveled with the USO and she was a regular at the Stage Door Canteen in Hollywood right along with Greer Garson, Jimmy Cagney, Fred Astaire, and all of the Hollywood notables of the day. She continued her service to our troops right through the Korea Police Action (now known as the Korean War).

However you will not find any info on Betty Hutton's SandCastle or mention of the years she used this retreat. Was it due to her terrible memories of her life then? If so why did she keep the expensive and prime property all those years? The land alone is worth upwards of 25 million. Yet she never returned to it, lease it out, or even maintained it properly. She let it slowly deteriorate almost as if in punishment. The SandCastle was only razed to the ground at her demised. It is now just a vacant lot on the bay--the only bayfront vacant lot or space in that highly valuable strip of land in sight of the grand Casinos on Absecon Island. Betty Hutton and her grand SandCastle are both gone now but many mysteries remain. What happened at the SandCastle during those lost party years? Why did she hastily abandon it in the middle of the night but then retain ownership all those years? Betty was not a wealthy woman after many failures trying to return to the big screen, stage, or television, and her inability to manage money is well known--so who paid the large property taxes, the liability insurance, and provided for the caretakers fees for over 45 years of its abandonment?

Answer 2

Bahia Vista (later the Sand Castle) was not owned by the actress Betty Hutton. It was owned by Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. My family was from Atlantic City, and I remember seeing that house as a kid.

Answer 3

There is a picture of it. gone now.

Answer 4

Yes

Answer 5

Yes it was called The Bahia Vista The bay view in the early seventies I lived there for about a month with my family