Going Back To Raymere

I found some interesting information that I found in the book “Around Deal Lake” by Marie A. Sylvester (Arcadia 1998). There is a picture of Raymere the caption says: “This is Raymere, the stately French-influenced mansion of General Motors founder William C. Durant.” It had fourteen floors and six bathrooms.  The home was near the Jersey shore and was one of the most valuable in Deal Beach. Huge amounts of money was spent on decorating and the parties were the most extravagant in the community.  Vicky and Ward visited often even though Vicky, Catherine and Durrants mother never got along well. When my father came to Raymere, he found opulence in every direction. Huge dinner parties were the norm. Vicky was very athletic and played golf and swam at Raymere. William and Catherine belonged to thirteen golf clubs. The pools were large and surrounded by beautiful flowers, statues and fountains. Durant bought the home in 1920 and remained there till 1940. As I mentioned before it was torn down in 1951. It’s amazing that it took seven weeks to tear down the home.