Victoria Mansion and Christmas Through a Child's Eyes

109 Danforth Street

Portland, Maine 04101

www.victoriamansion.org

https://victoriamansion.org/about/ (Very interesting short video.)

Grand staircase.

(About my visit is at the end of this post.)

Information from their website (above and below), permission was granted to use it on this blog.

Morse hired Gustav Herter, a German-trained cabinetmaker and interior designer to decorate his summer retreat. Herter was one of the most influential designers in the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century. Today, Victoria Mansion is the only Herter commission that survives intact. Richly gilded surfaces, intricate plaster work, enormous mirrors, and sumptuous fabrics combined to create lavish spaces of a palatial scale.

Morse died in 1893 and the following year his widow, Olive Ring Merrill Morse, sold the house with most of its furnishings to J. R. Libby, a prominent dry goods merchant. The Libby family preserved the original décor and made few changes to the property. The Libbys occupied the Mansion until about 1929.

In 1940 the house was rescued from an uncertain fate and has been open to the public as a museum since in 1941.

Today Victoria Mansion contains over 90% of the original interiors including almost all of the original wall paintings by the Italian-born artist Giuseppe Guidicini, a master of the trompe l’oeil (“fool the eye”) style; many surfaces in the house appear to be three-dimensional and warrant a second look.

Looking out the front door.

The first room on the right after you enter the house is the Reception Room. This is an extremely beautiful room, but hidden by Christmas decorations.

The dining room, 5 photos.

(Husband checking out the ceiling, below.)

 

The Library filled with toys. Check out the ceiling below.

The elegant parlor. Two photos are large, just so you can see it all.

  

Looking up at the 25 foot-long stained glass skylight.

Views of the hallway from the 2nd floor.

Turkish Smoking Room.
"This may be the earliest smoking room that survives in an American residence."

The Red Bedroom, below.

 
I love the double washstand in the bedroom!

Sitting Room for the ladies on the 2nd floor.

The Green Bedroom.

 My husband and I visited the Victorian Mansion on December 10, 2018. We were there about 11 and there were very few visitors. I understand the weekends and nearer to Christmas get quite crowded. We loved the self-guided tour, and chatting with guides nearby. There is a nice gift shop. On street parking is very limited, so go early or park in a garage nearby. I was told that every year, the theme changes, so you never see the same thing twice.

Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum, With Several Surprises

Once I found out about Ventfort Hall Mansion, I knew I had to visit. In October, we went to Lenox, Massachusetts for the weekend, and Sadie gave us one of the best tours ever. This summer "Cottage" belonged to the sister of J. P. Morgan, and was built in 1893. From a flyer, this house was "Rescued from demolition in 1994 and opened to the public in 2000." Ventfort or Vent Fort means "strong wind."

From their webpage, "Described at the time of its completion as “one of the most beautiful places in Lenox,” the house had “28 rooms, including 15 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms and 17 fireplaces.” Typical of the period, the interior features a soaring three-story great hall and staircase with wood paneling detailing. Other rooms include an elegant salon, paneled library, a dining room, a billiard room and bowling alley. It was designed with all the latest modern amenities, numerous ingeniously ventilated bathrooms, combined gas and electric light fixtures, an elevator, burglar alarms and central heating. The property contained several outbuildings, including two gatehouses, a carriage house/stable and six greenhouses." 

This house is open year-round, and I just saw a photo of a room decorated for Christmas, it's the last photo on this blog.

Front entrance, through the red door.

This is the gift shop. The fireplace with mantle was better shown in my first photo.

Down a long hall, is the dining room. Check out this ceiling.
See a recent photo at the end of this post, of this room decked out in Christmas finery. You will want to visit!



Lots of stained glass.

One long hall.

Elegant ceiling and staircase.

A few costumes were displayed. Unfortunately, I missed the special exhibit displaying more of these beautiful clothes.

The above photo was taken through a glass window on a door. The area is being renovated. I hope it's a kitchen!

Two bedrooms below.

I love the unique brown wooden shutters above the mirror.

Dining Room above, and Orientation or Meeting room below.

Repair work being done on the back, and below is old photo of the front.

Booklet about the history of Ventfort Hall, purchased from our tour guide.

The exterior of "The Cider House Rules" movie was filmed here. I saw it when it first came out and decided to see it again, thanks to my library.

Additional bit of information I found very interesting. There was a smaller Ventfort house, built abt. 1853 at this same location, and it was moved nearby and renamed "Bel Air." The original house was the home of the Haggerty family, and daughter Annie, who married Robert Gould Shaw (my detailed post)! While on their honeymoon, Robert wrote, "The countryside is just beginning to look green and the weather is perfect. We are living at Pa Haggerty's place which is a remarkably pretty one..." He died three months later. Annie never remarried and is buried in the town cemetery where two of my ancestors are.

https://www.gildedage.org/events/a-home-for-the-holidays/

Many years later, the work was completed and a wedding took place.