Christmas on Main St. with Norman Rockwell in Stockbridge, MA

"Home for Christmas" by Norman Rockwell, December 1967
I took this photo, of the original painting.

On December 3, 2017, we went to the "28th Anniversary Recreation of Main Street at Christmas". I am quite certain the afternoon would have almost looked like the painting if it had snowed. The street was cleared of all cars, except for the many antique cars lining both sides of the street. Decorations were up, and the streets were packed with people walking, and horse drawn wagon rides. There were carolers, a food booth, and everybody passed through the Red Lion Inn, either to eat or browse. I am not a car lover, but I did take quite a few photos of them, including 3 of my husband, since he looked at every one! It wasn't dark enough to take night shots, unfortunately. Although the weather looked frightful, it was cool, no wind nor rain.

Front and back of the green truck.

I'm not sure why there were no room lights on, but perhaps because the original painting was done in winter, and the Inn was closed. Now, it is open year round.

The above photo was taken from the Inn porch, and the three below were inside the Inn.

Gift Shop

Cars began departing around 2:00.

Photo of the button above, cost $5.00 and gets you on to Main Street. The picture was done by Norman Rockwell for a Saturday Evening Post magazine, dated December 23,1944, cost .10. If I had known at the time, I would have looked for the original magazine cover, when we went to the Norman Rockwell museum.

Castle Hill at Christmas, Which of the 17 Rooms Judged Best?

This photo is one of 17 that were beautifully decorated for Christmas at the Crane Estate in Ipswich, MA. Every year, there is a theme, and this year it was The Season of Carols. I'm showing photos and the program, with a map of all the rooms.

On December 9, 2015, I attended the annual Christmas display at the Estate. See my previous blog for more photos. I tried not to repeat pictures. On a personal note, I think the 2015 display was much more beautiful, I think because of the use of flowers.

Front entrance to the Crane Estate at Castle Hill, Ipswich, MA.
Photo taken in the summer.

From Wikipedia, "Castle Hill refers to either a 165-acre (67 ha) drumlin surrounded by sea and salt marsh or to the mansion that sits on the hill. Both are part of the 2,100-acre (850 ha) Crane Estate located on Argilla Road in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The former summer home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Crane, Jr., the estate includes a historic mansion, 21 outbuildings, and designed landscapes overlooking Ipswich Bay, on the seacoast off Route 1, north of Boston. Its name derives from a promontory in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, whence many early Massachusetts Bay Colony settlers immigrated, and predates the Crane mansion."

The Library, on the first floor. I don't believe we were allowed to use flash a few years ago, but this year we could, so I'm sharing the next 4 photos, with the flash, of this very lovely dark room.

  

  The kitchen is a nice place to visit when you are treated to cider and cookies.

I patiently waited to take a photo, and all the visitors left the dining room.

The second floor is shown above.

 

  The gallery, the long hall room, is where you register as you enter the house.

 Mr. Crane's suite, above.

Miscellaneous Photos

Bedroom and bathroom photos in 2015 blog.

On our self-guided tour, we were able to judge which decorated room we liked best. As you can see, there 17 rooms to walk through.