2. Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, California
Michele and her mother had lunch at a burger joint at the famed Santa Monica Pier.
Three miles south is Venice Beach, the Bohemian center of Los Angeles where Michele
lived until her mother’s death.
200 Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 395-4248
3. Bow Bridge
Central Park, New York
The Bow Bridge is a historic iron structure spanning the Central Park Lake at mid-park
around 73d Street. When Michele travels back in time to 1910, she and Philip walk to
Cherry Hill in Central Park for a romantic picnic overlooking the Bow Bridge.
4. Belvedere Castle
Central Park, New York
Modern Belvedere Castle Belvedere Castle 1910
Michele observes Central Park's landmark Belvedere Castle on her picnic with Philip.
While the Castle has remained virtually unchanged, Michele takes note of the silence
and emptiness of the park around her; it is so different from the bustling, crowded
park of the future.
5. The Plaza Hotel
New York, New York
Modern Plaza Hotel Plaza Hotel 1910
A lot can change in 100 years, but many of New York City’s most recognizable buildings
and landmarks have remained the same. On her walk to Central Park with
Philip, Michele is able to easily identify the ornate green roof of the landmark Plaza
Hotel. Later, when Michele visits the Roaring Twenties, she and her great-
grandmother spend the evening celebrating at the Plaza.
The Plaza Hotel
Fifth Avenue at Central Park South
New York, New York 10019
(212) 759-3000
6. Union Square
New York, New York
Modern Union Square Union Square 1910
Michele knows that Union Square is an area of lower Manhattan known for its fine
eateries, office buildings, and the W Hotel. When she goes back in time and
accompanies Clara to a dress fitting at Lord & Taylor, Michele learns that the area was
the heart of the city’s most posh shopping in the early 1900s.
7. Alice Vanderbilt’s The Breakers
Newport, Rhode Island
The Breakers Dining Room The Breakers circa 1910
The 65,000-square-foot Newport home of Cornelius and Alice Vanderbilt known as
The Breakers served as the inspiration for the Windsor estate’s Grand Hall.
The Breakers
44 Ochre Point Avenue
Newport, Rhode Island 02840
8. Alva Vanderbilt’s Marble House
Newport, Rhode Island
Another Vanderbilt mansion in Newport, Marble House, served as the inspiration for
the impressive exterior of the Windsor Mansion.
70 Perry Street
Newport, Rhode Island 02840
(401) 847-1000
9. Springwood
Hyde Park, New York
Visiting Springwood, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s estate of 400 acres, helped the
author to describe the Windsors’ experiences during World War II.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Library National Historic Site
4097 Albany Post Road
Hyde Park, New York 12538
10. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Hyde Park, New York
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum provided Monir with
access to vast resources that brought World War II to life.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
4079 Albany Post Road
Hyde Park, New York 12538
11. Waldorf Astoria
New York, New York
Modern Waldorf-Astoria Waldorf-Astoria in 1910
Built by William Waldorf Astor in 1893, the Waldorf-Astoria remains an iconic New
York landmark. It is where Michele’s private school holds its annual Autumn Ball and
where Philip lives when he returns from London to try to make it as a composer.
12. The Juilliard School
New York, New York
Modern Juilliard The Institute of Musical Art circa 1910
The Juilliard School in New York traces its beginnings to the Institute of Musical
Art, which since 1910 had been located near Columbia University. In 1969, it occupied
its modern building at 66th Street and Broadway. When Philip’s family forbids his
musical aspirations, Michele advises him not to allow their disapproval to derail his
dreams of attending the Institute of Musical Art.
13. The Cotton Club
Harlem, New York
In the Jazz Age of the 1920s, blacks performed for an all-white audience at Harlem's
famed Cotton Club speakeasy. Michele’s great-grandmother, sixteen-year-old Lily
Windsor, sneaks out of her house and wins a singing contest at the club.
14. The New Amsterdam Theater
New York, NY
Modern New Amsterdam Theater New Amsterdam Theater in 1910
The ornate New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street, built in 1902, was once home to
the Ziegfeld Follies. After Michele’s parents take her to see Mary Poppins at Disney's
New Amsterdam Theatre, Michele journeys back in time to discover that her great-
grandmother performed at the same theater as a member of the Follies in 1926.
