The Mount Welcomes Two New Members to Its Board of Trustees

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LENOX, Mass. — The Mount, Edith Wharton Cultural Center, announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Trustees: bestselling novelist and short story writer Lauren Groff and landscape architect Mark Strieter, principal at the distinguished firm Nelson Byrd Woltz.
 
These appointments reflect The Mount's continued commitment to bringing together voices in literature, design, and the arts to advance its mission as a vibrant center for intellectual and artistic exchange.
 
"We are thrilled to welcome Lauren and Mark to The Mount's Board," said Barbara Cooperman, Chair of The Mount's Board of Trustees. "Lauren's profound engagement with Edith Wharton's work and her stature in contemporary American letters, together with Mark's exceptional expertise in revitalizing cultural landscapes, each bring invaluable perspective as we continue to expand The Mount's reach and shape the institution's next chapter. We look forward to the creativity and leadership they will bring to our work."
 
"Lauren and Mark each bring a longstanding engagement with The Mount and with Edith Wharton's enduring legacy," said Susan Wissler, Executive Director of The Mount. "Lauren's 2024 In Conversation program demonstrated the continuing power of literature to spark dialogue across generations, while Mark's work on The Mount's Landscape Master Plan has helped us think more deeply about the estate as both a historic home and a significant cultural landscape. As we continue our evolution as The Mount, Edith Wharton Cultural Center, and embark on a new strategic plan, their insights will be enormously valuable."
 
Lauren Groff
 
Lauren Groff is The New York Times–bestselling author of the novels "The Monsters of Templeton," "Arcadia, "Fates and Furies," "Matrix," and The "Vaster Wilds," and the celebrated short story collections "Delicate Edible Birds," "Florida," and, most recently "Brawler." She has won The Story Prize, the ABA Indies' Choice Award, France's Grand Prix de l'Héroïne, and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and has been a finalist three times for the National Book Award. Groff was presented the Howard D. Vursell Memorial Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and was named to Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People list in 2024. Her work regularly appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and elsewhere, and has been translated into thirty-six languages.
 
A devoted admirer of Edith Wharton, Groff last appeared at The Mount in 2024, captivating audiences with her deep knowledge of and affection for Wharton's work and world. Her appointment to the Board marks a natural deepening of a relationship rooted in shared literary passion.
 
Mark Strieter
 
Mark Strieter is a principal at Nelson Byrd Woltz, one of the nation's most distinguished landscape architecture and planning firms, which he joined in 2011. He holds a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has earned numerous honors in his field, including the Kluesing Prize for Art in Landscape Architecture, the ASLA Honor Award, and recognition in the ASLA National Design Competition.
 
Throughout his career, Strieter has focused on revitalizing and interpreting complex cultural sites and ecological systems, working at the intersection of landscape, history, and public life. His portfolio spans urban and rural contexts alike, from Hudson Yards in New York City to comprehensive landscape planning for rural cultural institutions in California. His current projects include the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art, Vizcaya House and Gardens in Miami, Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California, and the Shaker Museum in nearby Mt. Lebanon—as well as The Mount's own ongoing Landscape Master Plan.
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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