Mill Reef at Seventy-Five

The Mill Reef Club was founded in 1947 on the Caribbean island of Antigua. The visionary American architect who championed the 1,500-acre Club was Robertson “Happy” Ward. Ward solicited interest in the Club among a who’s who of American industrialists and leading citizens, including Mellons, DuPonts, Cowles, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, and poet Archibald MacLeish. Ward encouraged members who built homes on Club property to adhere to a mid-century vernacular. Houses were positioned to catch prevailing winds for cooling purposes, and cisterns and catchments were added to collect and store rainwater. This new, full-color coffee-table book celebrates 75 years of the evolution of architecture to what former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter terms “High WASP Modernism. A succession of nearly 300 Mill Reef house owners have reimagined Happy Ward’s original design decisions in the update and remodel of 50 private houses at the club. . The fanciful sense of whimsy, initiated by Ward, is echoed today by modern architects and designers who still bow to the founder’s conception and are today arbiters of an updated Mill Reef aesthetic. With 385 color photos and 324 pages, the book is a stunning introduction to one of the world’s most exclusive private clubs.