Obama Loses 'Blue Heron Farm' Getaway to British Architect

President Obama just lost his favorite summer getaway. "Blue Heron Farm," a Martha's Vineyard estatethat the First Family has rented for the last three summers, was recently purchased by Norman Foster, one of Britain's leading architects, for $21.9 million. Proving that even presidential pedigree won't trump today's sluggish market, the home in Chilmark, Mass., actually sold for nearly $2 million less than its original listing price, the Vineyard Gazette reports.

The sale seems to validate something liberals have known about Barack and Michelle ever since they danced onto the national stage to catchy tunes like "Change You Can Believe In" and "Yes We Can" five years ago: The First Couple has impeccable taste.

Foster, of the international design firm, Foster + Partners, has been knighted for his achievements, which include 30 St. Mary Axe, a cylindrical structure in downtown London known as the "Gherkin," and the new Wembley Stadium, one of the sites of the 2012 Olympics. Apparently, he appreciates the 29-acre waterfront property's aesthetic oomph. But, then again, who wouldn't.

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The estate was once the property of philanthropist M. Anthony "Tony" Fisher, a Manhattan real estate developer who, among other civic contributions, created the Fisher House Foundation (a foundation that creates facilities where relatives can visit family members wounded in the military) and served as chief executive officer of the Intrepid Museum Foundation, according to Martha'sVineyardPatch.

Fisher transformed the land into the jaw-dropper it is today by continually adding touches to the property. But tragedy struck in 2003 when he and his wife perished in an airplane crash in Leominster, Mass.

For more about the estate's history, see AOL Real Estate's previous post on "Blue Heron Farm."

See some galleries of other presidential homes:
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Click on the images below to see some other gorgeous Martha's Vineyard estates:

See other homes for sale in Chilmark, Mass.


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