Gilded Age Revisited Places to gothings to do

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Lenox Massachusetts is home to the Gilded Age Museum, Ventfort Hall- at 104 Walker St. This was built for Sarah Spencer Morgan (Our J.P. Morgan's sis) and was falling into disrepair until 1994 when an enterprising National Trust rescued the stately mansion. It currently hosts frequent Gilded Age musicales, lectures, picnics, balls, and costumed affairs. I see a field trip!
http://www.gildedage .org/

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Hartford Connecticut is the stop for today. Mark Twain coined the phrase "Gilded Age" and what a shame he died in 1910 (being born and dying the years of Haley's Comet)-what he should have written on the sinking of Titanic! The house IS spectacular and the summer events at the house are worth the trip.
http://www.marktwain house.org/

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Kronprinzessin Cecile, Shenandoah(the dirigible) and QE2, Madeleine and J.J. Astor-what do they all have in common? Bar Harbor, Maine. Just found out that this place has "souvenirs" of the famous escapade with the 4-stacked, North German Lloyd Cecile, which at the outbreak of WWI tried to run back to Germany disguised as OLYMPIC- a fascinating interlude, captured in Pavotti's THE MAGIC SHIP. The town got to be very friendly with the crew- even under the circumstances of war. Sadly the Cecile ended up eventually scrapped in a Baltimore breakers, her bell is in Fall River Mass. and other bits at this lovely museum in Bar Harbor- which was the Gilded Age "Newport North."
http://www.barharborhistorical.org/gildedage.html

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Headed to Oswego, New York? - This looks like our kind of place!

Time and Again Books and Tea

 

[Kyrila Scully]

The New England area isn't the only place to revisit the Gilded Age. In South Florida, many Edwardian era homes are now museums. Where I live in West Palm Beach, we are very proud of Whitehall, the marble palace of Henry and Mary Lily Flagler. Flagler was one of the founders of Standard Oil Corp. (along with Rockefeller and Andrews) in 1870. He built Whitehall for Mary Lily in 1902 and they lived there only a few weeks each winter until 1917, when Mary Lily died. (Flagler died a year after a fall at Whitehall in 1912.)
We also have two Edwardian homes in Ft. Lauderdale, the Stranahan House (believed to be haunted) and Bonnet House. In Miami you'll be able to see the famous Villa Vizcaya.
I have a few brochures of some of these homes to share with you if you want to send me an SASE.
I had the privilege yesterday of driving past Madeleine Astor's home, however, there is construction in the area and the house is surrounded by foliage making photography difficult. It's called Casa de Baile de ____ (couldn't read the rest of the sign). I wonder if the residents are aware of the home's history?

Kyrila

 

[Kyrila Scully]

Here are some websites you can peruse:
www.flagler.org
www.vizcayamuseum.com
www.bonnethouse.org

Kyrila

 

[Cynthia L. Rich]

Rhodes Hall built 1904 (the founder of Rhodes furniture) is in Buckhead/Atlanta area. Came across it walking around after classes. It is now a headquarters and run by a historical preservation society. They give tours of the downstairs of the house. Got rare stain glass windows depicting scenes and people of the civil war in the place of a wall curving up and around with the staircase. Also in Marietta, Georgia there is a civil war era train depot that now houses the Gone with the Wind and a Civil War museum.