Icons of Cape May's Living History
Following the catastrophic fire of 1878, Cape May was granted an unexpected silver lining: the chance to rebuild grand summer homes by the sea in the fashionable Victorian style of the day, using the designs of some of America's most noteworthy architects. This resulted in a beautiful and homogeneous architectural unity in downtown Cape May.
So frames the story of the Virginia Cottages, our eclectic collection of five historic homes nestled off Jackson Street. Three of these cottages—the Pink Cottage, White Cottage and Brown Cottage—are members of Cape May's storied "Seven Sisters", seven identical 1891 Italian-Renaissance-style cottages built, according to the legend, for the seven beloved daughters of a wealthy Cape May builder. Over on Jackson sits the Red Cottage, a spectacular 1891 Queen Anne built for Harry and Dorothy Parker as a summer home.
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