At age 13 he emmigrated to the United States, and started working in the kitchen of a hotel. Eventually he headed to Texas to try his hand at ranching, but a series of misfortunes caused him to give up and return to New York City, where he took a job at Parker's Restaraunt.

In 1876 George Boldt was appointed steward at the Clover Club in Philadelphia, Pa. It was here that he met and fell in love with Louise Kehrer, who was only 14 at the time.
They married in 1877 and had two children, George Jr., in 1879 and Louise Clover in 1885.

George Boldt rose quickly in the hotel business, amassing a fortune. Eventually he owned and operated his own hotels such as the Bellevue and the Stratford Hotels, and managed such hotels, as world-famous Waldorf-Astoria, in New York City.

George built Boldt Castle as a testament to the love he had for his beloved wife, Louise. He started construction on his dream castle in 1900 and was going to present it to her as a gift on valentine's day. But tragedy struck.

The castle was nearing completion when, in January of 1904, Louise Boldt died. Broken-hearted, George Boldt halted construction on the castle and never had it started again.
As long as he lived George Boldt never stepped foot on Heart Island again.

He died in 1916 in his room at the Waldorf-Astoria.
He was 65 years old.

the Love Story

History of Heart Island

Major Players

Other Buildings

The Origin of 1000 Island Dressing

George Boldt's Good Deed

Summer White House?

Tragedy and Vandalism

MY Story

1000 Island Bridge Authority

'Broken Heart'
(a ghost story)

Fun Facts and Trivia