Strawberry Banke Museum

Portsmouth,NH


Ever heard the term "living history museum"? Colonial Williamsburg, Old Sturbridge Village,and Plimouth Plantation - They're all living history museums (LHM). And so is Strawberry Bank Museum.

A LHM is defined as special type of open air museum. "An open-air museum is a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of-doors. The first open-air museums were established in Scandinavia towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the concept soon spread throughout Europe and North America. Open-air museums are variously known as skansen, museums of buildings and folk museums. Living museums, also known as living farm museums and living history museums, are a special type of open-air museum where costumed interpreters portray period life in an earlier era. The interpreters act as if they are really living in a different time and place, such as the Colonial era, and perform everyday household tasks, crafts and businesses. The goal is to demonstrate older lifestyles to modern audiences." (Open Air Museums -Wikipedia)

Well back to Strawberry Bank. It's way way smaller than Colonial Williamsburg and smaller than Old Sturbridge Village. But still with 42 houses on 10 acres, there's plenty to see.

In 1950's and 60's The neighborhood formerly known as Puddle Dock was a dilapidated area slated for the urban renewal wrecking ball until a town librarian spearheaded a plan to save the area and turn it into a museum. Our tour guide credited this successful venture as a foundation in the renewal of the city of Portsmouth,NH.





Highlights of the tour for me included the Shapiro House, described in this NY Times Sept 15, 2009 article "Rosh Hashana,Circa 1919 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/dining/16rosh.html?_r=1&em.




Also the Shapley -Drisco House is a fascinating juxtaposition of the use of this house in 1795 and then in 1955. If you're a baby boomer you'll find the 1955 living room and kitchen full of familiar objects.
















And then there's the World War II era corner store. That's always a captivating stop. It's fun to look through all the products and identify those that are still around.















I'm going to take a stand on the controversy of costumed interpreters. I don't remember their performances well enough at most of the living history museums that I've visited but Strawberry Banke is fresh in my mind and for the most part I felt engaged and entertained. In the hands of a less skillful and committed actor they can come across as a member of the Disney staff but the three I encountered in S.B. were adept at drawing you into their world. How do you feel about them?

Inside a garage building were these pictures of World War II posters. What's with the "Save waste fats for explosives. Take them to your meat dealer."? I'd like to learn more about that! And I found the list of ways that you could help the war effort to be fascinating. It's hard to image people rallying around these simple purposeful patriotic actions today. Maybe you can't read the last one well. With my conservation mentality I like the saying: "I'll carry mine too! Trucks and tires must last till victory."

Victoria Mansion

Portland,Me


True to my word, I revisited Maine this summer and did explore some of the promising house museums I missed last summer. In fact the Victoria Mansion was for me the real draw back to the area.

Most of the homes I visit are not exceptionally well known. I become aware of them through newspaper articles, on-line research and occasionally in a guide book. The Victoria Mansion was the exception to this. I first saw it as one of two Maine homes listed in the National Geographic Guide to America's Great Houses-More Than 150 Outstanding Mansions Open to the Public. It's also listed by Trip Advisor as the fifth most popular thing to do in Portland. Pretty unusual for a house museum.

It's referred to as the finest example of Italian villa-style architecture from the pre-Civil War era in America. The sumptuous interior was designed by Gustave Herter, one of the countries first interior designers. With more than 90% of its original contents, its the only Herter commission intact today.

The most amazing fact I learned on the tour was that the home built for Ruggles Sylvester Morse and his wife Olive was occupied for only 2 to 3 weeks in the summer. The rest of the year they spent in their New Orleans luxury hotel. Yet even with such a short occupancy history the tour guide was able to convey how the family used this as a home.

Our guide admonished us several times not to lean up against anything. And then made a cryptic comment to be explained later " not everything is what it seems." For instance in the dining room we admired the impressive chestnut woodwork. But it wasn't wood at all but trompe l'oeil on plaster and now in a very delicate state.

Ruggles has an interesting history. He grew up poor on the outskirts of Portland and moved to Boston, New York and later New Orleans making his fortune in the hotel industry. In 1860 the Portland house was nearly complete but because of the Civil War and the Morse's support of Robert E Lee the family was unable to return to Maine until the wars end in 1865.


The exterior of the home is Portland brownstone, a product I'm familiar with as its from the Connecticut community adjoining Middletown. And of course Middletown is home to Wesleyan University, my daughters alma mater.

Like many beautiful mansions of historical significance this home was close to demolition until it was saved by an inspired admirer. In 1940 William Holmes, a retired educator, purchased the home and established it as a museum. Today it is a designated National Historic Landmark.

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace

Manhattan, New York



Ever have a curiosity itch that you just have to scratch? You leave a movie and can't go to sleep until you remember the name of that actor and what other movies he's been in or you hear Brian Williams' introduction on the NBC Nightly News and know you've heard that voice before but can't rest until you've researched it and found out it's Michael Douglas.

One of my favorite things about house museums is how you are exposed to an idea, a philosophy, a person, or a historical occurrence and it sparks a question that you just have to have answered - a curiosity itch. One historic home can ignite hours of research on numerous topics.

For me the birthplace and home of Theodore Roosevelt did just that. After my visit I watched a 4 hour PBS series on his life; searched the web for more information on his irrepressible daughter Alice; and researched other house museums within the city of New York.

The Union Square home is easy to find and the tour and exhibits offered a rich background in the man and his philosophy.

And on the big plus side - I bought my first coloring book since childhood. Historic Houses of New York State includes sketches of 43 homes with a short introduction that focus's on the home owner's life and/or architectural points of interest.

From a coloring book's perspective here's what's of note. "This typical four-story brownstone, the birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt, is located on what was a quiet,tree-lined street in New York's most fashionable residential district. After the family moved in 1872, the house was eventually taken over for business purposes and was completely demolished in 1916. After Theodore Roosevelt's death in 1919, the site was purchased and the original house reconstructed as a memorial. This was America's first Victorian reconstruction and is now a National Historic Site."



I should find my crayons and color this in but with my curiosity itch scratched I think I'll just move on.

Joshua L Chamberlain Museum & Skofield-Whittier House

Brunswick,ME



This post is almost exactly a year old. It's been a hell of a year. Both good and bad and so much of it momentous. This is my second start of At Home With House Museums. So here's to a new year with abundant home touring and exploring history.


Taking a family vacation offers an opportunity to see house museums further from home. Our family vacation to coastal Maine offered an unusual number of homes to tour. But as this was our first trip to Maine, our attention was diverted and we sampled from the wide variety of activities and sights that the area offered.

We stayed in Harpswell, a cute little rural coastal community just outside of Brunswick. In Brunswick we were drawn to the partially restored home of Joshua L Chamberlain (1828-1914), a civil war hero, Bowdoin College president and Maine Governor. Sorry to say that the tour just didn't come to life for any of us. Could have been that it just dragged on too long or that there just wasn't enough there to feel it was a "home" to anyone or that little was said about the man or his family to bring them to life. Actually all that rings true.

One set of family pictures hanging on the wall did spark an interesting family discussion. The group of 8x10 photographs from the early 1900's showed a toddler - a girl I was sure. No it was a cute little boy in a dress with hair almost down to his shoulders. A little google research lead to an explanation. In the 1800's children were under the care solely of their mothers and in their early years were not subjected to "strict gender boundaries." Grant, Julia, 1953- A "Real Boy" and not a Sissy: Gender, Childhood, and Masculinity, 1890-1940 Journal of Social History - Volume 37, Number 4, Summer 2004, pp. 829-851.

The Skolfield-Whittier House just across the street and up the green a few blocks was decidedly more fun. The owners of this home verged on a compulsive hoarding disorder. The home is often "described as a time capsule with the complete possessions of three generations." And everything is labeled! The last resident, Dr Alice Whittier, was Maine's first pediatrician.

The home is one half of a brick Italianate duplex built in 1858 by a ship captain for his 2 sons. Today the other half of the duplex is the Pejepscott Museum, a museum of local history.

What didn't we see? Well a lot. We drove up through New Hampshire where in Portsmouth there's an entire historic neighborhood, Strawberry Bank. But with the car loaded with vacation gear and an 8 hour trip we put off the stop for another time.

In Portland, Maine the Victorian Preservation Association website, www.vpa.org lists 4 historic house museums. That's too many to see in a day so I narrowed it down to the Victoria Mansion, an Italianate Villa. We were,however, lured to the many boutique shops and wonderful restaurants and didn't see any of the house museums. But based on a wonderful leisurely lunch I can highly recommend the Salt Exchange.

Next trip we'll not only stop in Strawberry Bank, NH and tour several homes in Portland but will also do the self-guided walking and driving tours of the city of Bath.

Philip Johnson Glass House

New Canaan, CT




I've visited many house museums. They've always been a favorite on our trips. And then on my birthday in March I'd drag the family to something nearby. But truth is, its hard to find house museums open in early March.

In theory I don't have to actively visit homes for quite some time. I've got lots of reviews, if not pictures, stored in my memory. Here's one that you may not think of in the category of house museums- a modern home built by Philip Johnson, the Glass House.

*****

Architect Philip Johnson knew he had something special here and he passed it on to histories protectorate long before he moved on. In 1986 he bequeathed the property, 46 acres, to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with the stipulation that he could live there until his death, which as it turned out was not until some 19 years later.

I visited the home on a perfect sunny summer day- warm but not too much so with a beautiful breeze. Sitting at the tables on the lawn just outside the side door I relaxed while overlooking the miniature turret and pond.

Our guide dressed all in white had a passion for the modernist homes of New Canaan designed by the Harvard five, Marcel Breur,Landis Gores,John Johansen,Philip Johnson,and Eliot Noyes.

I'm not sure what I expected. I knew there'd be a glass house. But there's not simply a totally inventive house on the property. There's 6 buildings- 4 of which we toured. Wait you really should count the gate at the entrance to the property as a structure. So make it 7. The gate is massive, imposing and medieval like but modernist in spirit and design. It signals that you've crossed over into a consuming experience.

When Johnson purchased the property in the late 1940's he envisioned the whole of the land his home. How could he have seen through the forest to the curve of the land that would yield itself to multiple levels on which to plant fascinating structures and foliage. But here in 2008 my eyes wondered down the hillside to the wild turkeys shading themselves under the tree canopy and to the round shimmering pool with a concrete rectangular border that mimicked the house 50 feet away, and then to the bunker that transformed itself into an art museum.










While everyone on the tour was fascinated, eager to search out and discuss every nook and cranny, it seems Mr Johnson's neighbors hadn't always felt the same. The property is surrounded by a stone wall. In Fairfield County, CT this is common but this one is particularly high. And the story or is it legend has it that Mr Johnson added to the height because his neighbors complained they'd seen him naked too many times.

Tickets to the Glass House are hard to come by. They go on sale once or twice a year and sell out within a day or two. I registered on their website; was notified of the upcoming sale and sat at my computer as the clock clicked down the minutes to sale time. It was worth it.

Biltmore Hotel

Phoenix, AZ

OK no way is this a house museum. I know that. But Frank Lloyd Wright's influence is obvious and in this 80th anniversary year they do offer hour long tours so we went on our first hotel tour.

I hope this is a case of one picture being worth a thousand words. Either I'm too tired, my notes are terrible or very little of interest was said. Let's go with the first two. I remember being very interested during the tour.

One thing I do remember is finding my husband's birthday gift. Displayed in a case near the Wright bar was a selection of pre-embargo Cuban cigars, a rare find. The price for one cigar ranged from $135 to ten times that. The choice was easy.

Wrigley Mansion

Phoenix, AZ




The living room and adjoining sun room of the Wrigley Mansion are perfect for a small wedding while the bar and patio host a weekly wine tasting. Dinner is served from 5 to 9 PM in the main dining room which is at times also used for corporate functions.

The tour of this house was equal parts architectural or historical nuggets and sales promotion. This seems entirely appropriate given that that the mansion was built by William Wrigley, the consummate salesman and marketer.

The Wrigley mansion was built in the late 1920's as an anniversary present for William Wrigley's wife Ada. The mansion which sits atop a 100-foot knoll has Spanish, mission and Italian influences. It was one of 5 homes owned by the Wrigley's. While the family held onto the home until the 1970's William spent only one night there. He died at the mansion that night of "acute indigestion, complicated by apoplexy and heart disease".

The Wrigley name is no doubt known by you. If you're a baby boomer you can't forget the twins who promised you'd double your pleasure, double your fun with Doublemint gum. And while I'm not a baseball fan I have heard of Wrigley Field in Chicago.

The William Wrigley Jr company originally sold soap and baking powder. As a marketing gimmick gum was added to each package. The gum became the more prized product and the company changed its focus to confections.

Another cleaver marketing strategy was to give 4 sticks of gum to every household in the phone book. I was struck by the enormity of this, then stepped back and realized that in the early 1900's there were a lot fewer people with phones.

During the first world war Wrigley lobbied to have gum declared a war necessity and included in the K pack. His success lead to production shortages necessitating its removal from the public market. Wrigley continued advertising with the slogan "remember this wrapper".

One of the most beautiful features of the home is the Catalina tile used in the 8 bathrooms and numerous fireplaces. The tile was manufactured on Catalina Island which was owned by Wrigley.












In another instance of combining his businesses, Wrigley papered the small telephone switchboard room of the Phoenix mansion with the tin foil used to wrap Wrigley gum. The results were odd but interesting.

Wrigley was among the original investors in the Arizona Biltmore hotel. And when the stock market collapsed in 1929 he became the sole owner. While in Phoenix consulting on the Biltmore, Frank Lloyd Wright expressed his dislike of the Wrigley Mansion. His objections started with the siting of the mansion atop a hill.

While I didn't appreciate the sales promotion aspect of the tour I did enjoy seeing the home. And its easy to visit it and the Biltmore Hotel at the same time. They're probably less than a mile from one another. We spent a pleasant sunny afternoon touring the two.