The first building that always comes to mind when one thinks about buildings-built-for-love is the Taj Mahal. With the four minarets that give the mausoleum its symmetry and the 180-foot "onion" dome rising skyward, these features makes this structure one of the most recognizable buildings in the world.

Taking 22 years to build, the Taj Mahal was begun in 1623 at the death of Mumtaz Mahal, the third wife of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The gleaming testament-to-love and outpouring of the Shah's grief is located in Agra, a city in northern India. Its architect, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, mixed designs of Persian architecture and Mughai architecture that resulted in one of the world's unique structures.

In the early 1600s, Mughal buildings were constructed, most often, using red sandstone that was readily available. The Shah wanted something different and suggested the use of white marble to his architect for the mausoleum. Shah Jahan then went a step beyond and suggested that the marble be inlaid with semi-precious stones (e.g.: lapis lazuli).

During the Shah's 30-year reign (1628 - 1658), this period was considered the golden age of Mughal architecture.

(Note: Taj, historically, means a crown worn by an Indian price of high rank. Perhaps, a literal translation of the Taj Mahal would be Mahal's crown.)

Taj Mahal - Agra, India

Then, fast-forward to the early Twentieth century and, take for example, Boldt Castle located on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands of the Saint Lawrence River located along the northern perimeter of New York State.

As manager of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, and the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, George Boldt and his family summered on Heart Island in a quaint frame cottage they expanded over the years. In 1900, Boldt decided to build a "castle" dedicated to his wife, Louise Keher Boldt.

Boldt retained the architectural firm of G.W. & W.D. Hewitt to design his 6-story "castle." In 1904, Boldt's wife, Louise died suddenly and construction was halted. The structure was left to the weather and occasional vandals for 73 years. In 1977, the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority bought George Boldt's Heart Island for one dollar. The Authority spent more than $15,000,000 for restoration of Boldt Castle.

Today, Boldt Castle is visited by tourists who access it by ferry, private boat, or tour boat. The rooms on the first floor are furnished with 2011 contemporary furnishings while most of the rooms on other floor only contain artifacts from the initial construction.

No doubt, George Boldt would be pleased that the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority found a way and the where-with-all to restore, conserve, and preserve his "building-built-for-love."

Boldt Castle - Heart Island, New York