A visit to Ormond Beach just would not be right without a visit to the Casements. Our group of four were in the area and we convinced them it is a must see. My wife and I had been there about ten years earlier and really enjoyed it. So on a beautiful early November day we made a visit. Still very impressive with the times opulence, it was a refreshing view of history in the areas. Rooms, offices, kitchen, library, etc. One remodeled large room had pictures from the early days of racing on the beach. Paintings, sculptures, desks, an elegant coffee server. It was all very fascinating to see. Also pictures of a disastrous fire that occurred there, and has been fully restored. The tour takes about 30-35 minutes, depending on how many questions you might have. The docent was very well versed on all the aspects of the home and the history. Hard to imagine being the richest man in America and being able to live in this fine house in the Winter. After the tour, I made a donation to the Historical Society thar do the excellent tours. And my wife made a separate donation by purchasing a necklace from the gift shop. read more

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If you are in Ormond Beach, this is a fantastic way to kill time and learn some mazing history...if you can catch a tour. We walked in and amazingly caught a tour just starting. It was totally free, too, and the tour guides are fun and knowledgeable. There is a lot of signage, so you can still enjoy it without a tour, but the tour will be so much more enjoyable. read more

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Dan was such a wonderful guide-warm, knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about The Casements. He brings the Rockefeller history to life with great stories and a laid back style that makes the tour feel personal and fun. He also gave us fantastic recommendations for local restaurants and things to do, which made our visit even better. Highly recommend catching a tour with him! read more

The Casements - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Ormond Beach, Florida

Interesting story of John d Rockefeller and his winter home. We have been to Kykuit so this added to our base of Rockefeller knowledge. Sadly the home was repurposed as a girls school and then fell in to disrepair so little of the original home remains. They did a great job renovating and the home is a great community resource...Art classes, cooking classes, Christmas gala! We had a fabulous tour guide! read more

Looking for something to do on a Monday during the holidays, when many other local museums are closed, we decided to head over to the Casements to check out their Christmas decorations. They have a parking lot with plenty of spaces right next to the building, and fortunately they even have a handicapped ramp to get in; useful because a member of our party was in a wheelchair. We missed the docent tour, so we just wandered around. In the main room, they had a towering, beautifully decorated Christmas tree. It was surrounded on all sides by tapestries and more decorations. Also, in a separate room they had a variety of decorated trees that had been donated by various organizations and had themes i.e. there was one from the United States Postal Service with all mail and delivery related ornaments. After taking the elevator upstairs, we wandered around peering in the rooms. This area was not so great - some rooms were closed off, some rooms were undergoing construction, and many just had an eclectic mix of furniture piled in them. Only one room was interesting, as it had pictures of the family on the wall. Outside, the grounds are gorgeous. You can wander across the street down to the water and walk along the pathways. They were gearing up for a big event that weekend, so they were in the process of planting flowers, and I imagine it would have looked beautiful once they were done, but we only saw it in the prep phase. read more

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Unforeseen find in the heart of Ormond Beach. Interesting structure with breathtaking windows. It is unfortunate that the callous attitude of the 1970's towards historic places and nature and style and architecture took such a toll on this gem. The abandonment for years with no care damaged a good portion of the property. Additionally, government gave some of the spaces a stale pragmatic look. You can still appreciate a lot of the original structure, style and typical epoch specific items. It's location and proximity to beautiful gardens and river view make it a worthwhile visit. There is a self guided tour and admission is free. Quick stop on the way to or from the beach. read more

If you're looking for a well curated tour, don't bother. Our guide forgot half of what she wanted to say, the place is used as a community center so other than a few rooms you've got to use your imagination. There's so much more they could have said about rockerfeller and his time in ormond but didn't. Waste of time. read more

We had extra time to explore so we checked out The Casements (home to John D. Rockefeller & named for their windows). Free parking lot behind the building. Nice garden area by the Halifax River. Historic and cultural events are held here-we just visited on a day that had nothing scheduled. read more

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The Casements, the former winter John D Rockefeller home, is a modest, but architecturally interesting house with a magnificent view of the river across the street. It was January, but there are indications that the gardens will be beautiful come spring and a lovely place to walk. This home is basically a recreation. Sadly, its previous abandonment left the city with mostly a shell with a highly destroyed interior. I applaud the city for raising the funds and doing their best to save the structure. There is an interesting photo display depicting racing events in one room. Another room is set up to look like it would have been his office. The interior furnishings are all donations, not his personal belongings and some items most likely would never have appeared in the original home ( particularly the gaudy office mirror that looks like it was originally from a theater.) At one point the home became a girls school and a room is set up to memorialize its founder a Miss van Woy. We skipped the third floor Boy Scout display. I appreciate the fact that the city is actually using this building as a community center for events, meetings, classes, etc. While touring, there was an art class taking place in a corner room. I'm told that volunteers decorate the home beautifully at Christmas. Admission is free (donations appreciated), there is a small gift shop and guided tours are provided. Our tour guide gave us the history of the home, explained the Rockefeller connection to racing and talked about the celebrated individuals he entertained. As a former docent and tour guide in an historic house museum, I appreciated our guide's information but she constantly veered from a script into other subjects. If it's rainy or you had enough of the beach, this is a good place to stop. read more

It's free, donation should be given, but it doesn't have to be much. Interesting history of the Rockefeller family. The house is mainly used for functions, so non of the family heirlooms are there The tour guide was really sweet and informative. read more

My review has to be in regards to the grounds being the house was closed on this Saturday afternoon I knew this before entering the property but was in the area and was curious to check it out. The entrance to this small one way lane coming from the east is a left turn right before the causeway. It's a beautiful well maintained property with a nice quite park directly across the street along the river. Lots of benches overlooking the water and a great view of the causeway nice place to enjoy your Starbucks located just a few blocks east before the beach. I can certainly see why John D decided to build his winter home here. Be sure to drive the entire length of the one way lane when leaving there are some beautiful houses along the river that gives some insight to years gone by this must have been something special at the turn of the century. read more

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John Davison Rockefeller Sr. Winter home. beautiful lots of history. Private tour are available, but QR scan worked just as well. Recommended read more

When things open up again it is definitely worth a tour. You'll learn quite a bit about the history of the Rockefellers, his friendships and why Daytona has developed into a racing city. Hmmm read more

Just by chance happened up on this place with a friend. Ken our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and his genuine interest in the history of this place and the Rockefeller family made me more interested in the history of it. Thank you Ken for the tour! read more

I was pretty intrigued to see the home, and my interest continued regardless of the docent who was chatty and got off topic quite a bit. I could use even more historical knowledge of how the place relates to ormond beach and what Rockefeller meant to the community, as there were not a great deal of placards or knowledgeable employees. (They're all volunteer retirees from the neighborhood; an actual historian or curator would be better in leading groups around.) Still it's lovely, and adds depth and charm to what this tourist sees as a waning, tourist-centric town. read more

http://www.thecasements.net for more info

Neat. Strange to be in Rockefeller's summer home.... The furniture, unfortunately, is all donations. But the place itself is in good condition. The tour is free. It later became a boarding school with Ms. Van Moy. A student of hers happened to be visiting that same... she was 17 then..she's 87 now! And she's still terrified to even enter Ms. Van Moy's room, even though she's probably been long gone for past half century. read more

One can't argue with the previous reviewer that more could be done with the historical presentation of this Rockefeller home. However, the primary purpose of The Casements is as a municipal community center. In this regard Ormond Beach should be commended for an excellent job. Not only have they been able to restore this historical home of John D. Rockefeller, providing free access to the public for viewing, but they run a multitude of events for the community. Exercise classes. Summer camps for children. Lunches. Weddings. Monthly movies on the green. Weekly farmers market. Concerts. Ethnic festivals. The Casements is a case study in how a local community can turn a run-down historical property into a hub of community activity. read more

The story goes John D Rockefeller bought this location for his house because the hotel across the street was ripping him off. It is always decorated at Christmas, but I feel they could do a little more with it. read more

I give this place a four. I enjoyed the guided tour of John D. Rockefeller's winter home. I also enjoyed the books in the gift shop about his activities here. read more

I went with my family earlier in the year. It was intriguing to see the old furniture and building, but I was constantly distracted by the guide getting off topic constantly. Not the best tour I've had, but still a very beautiful place to visit with the whole family! read more

This house museum adds s little historic culture to this little beach town. The grounds and park are beautiful and classes and activities are offered. Lots of people exercise on the bridge and bike so it is busy! read more

I worked as a tour guide here for the casements guild. Tours of the house are free and you'll learn a lot about Rockefeller's time spent in the house and what happened to the house after he passed away at the casements. Tours usually last 30-40 minutes, so please don't show up 5 minutes before we're about to close the giftshop and expect a tour. You can of course walk around the house on your own but if you want access to the gated rooms and the third floor (where the Boy Scouts exhibit is) then you have to have a tour guide with you. Donations are appreciated since we're all volunteers here and the money goes towards the upkeep/restoration of the house. Besides being a museum, the casements is also a great cultural center for the community, hosting various festivals throughout the year as well as weddings and cooking classes and yoga. They also have children's art camps during the summer (another thing I've volunteered with) and the children have a great time. (PS the casements guild is always eager for more volunteers so if you like storytelling and meeting new people from all over you should think of joining!) read more

This was the winter home of John D. Rockefeller from 1918 until his death in 1937.. So there is some very interesting history associated with the place. Unfortunately the curators have not done much with it.. There is some period furniture from when Rockefeller was here, but much of the space is not in restored condition , is being used for other purposes by the community as a local cultural center, and does not have period items. When I walked in whoever was working told me they were closed, but there was no sign indicating hours, it was daytime, and the front door was unlocked, so I don't know how I was supposed to know that. Anyways, they let me walk around and check out the place for a few minutes.. Be sure to step across the street to the little park and check out the view. The mansion itself is quite modest and underwhelming, shockingly so for someone as rich as Rockefeller. But the curators could do a lot more with this place and turn it into a real tourist attraction, given the importance of John D Rockefeller and the level of public interest in his life and times, as reflected in recent TV documentaries. In the current state, this place is definitely not worth going much out of your way for.. I visited in Jan 2010, I was at a conference for a week in Daytona Beach and took the lousy local public transport to get here since I was without a rental car, which was a pain, and found this somewhat disappointing. read more