I Capture the Castle

Not far from where I live, there's an abandoned mining town called Redstone. Most of the miner's cottages have been turned into tourist shops now (most of them sell locally-made arts and crafts, but there's also a lovely little general store that sells ice cream). Up on a hill above the town, gazing benevolently over its little shops, is the mansion of the man who owned the mine. When I heard that there was an opportunity to go on a free guided tour through Redstone Castle yesterday, I rushed post-haste to be part of the throng.

Here's a picture of the outside of the building, which was built in the early 1900s. This is a side view, which actually doesn't look that impressive. The snow and the fact that I stupidly wore tennis shoes kept me from getting the shot I really wanted.


The tour started in the loggia, or breakfast room, but I wasn't really that impressed until we moved to the dining room. The walls are covered with red velvet, and the ceiling was painted with gold leaf. Also, the fireplace is made from limestone imported from Italy and the light fixtures are Tiffany.


The great hall. Or whatever it's called. Note the made-up coat of arms on the wall above the fireplace.


The library. The sloping part of the ceiling is leather painted with peacock feathers, and the top of the ceiling is more gold leaf.


I didn't get a good picture of the basement, which was a sort of opulent "man cave." There were gaming tables, a pool table, deer on the wood-paneled walls, an armory, and, randomly, propped up against the side of the wall, there was the original breaker box. That's right. This house and the valley I live in were one of the first places in America to have electricity. Do you know what this means? Part of the movie The Prestige was based on fact! Doesn't that mean I should be finding a few duplicated Hugh Jackmans wandering around town?


After touring the basement we went upstairs, where I counted at least seven bedrooms, each with its own fireplace and bathroom. The lady of the house had her own wing, complete with sitting room, bedroom, and balcony. Here's the sitting room.


Of course they entertained guests. This is the room where Mrs. Rockefeller usually stayed.


And of course, every great American house needs a picture of Teddy Roosevelt hanging in the room he would have slept in.


Up another flight of stairs, I couldn't decide if I'd entered the world of Mary Poppins, or the world of the book Anna and Her Daughters. In Anna and Her Daughters, the main character climbs into the attic of the house her family has just moved into because of their reduced circumstances. The ceiling is covered in wallpaper that looks just like the wallpaper in the nanny's room, and the girl decides immediately that she wants to live in the attic. I think I'd want to live here, too.


Look: Jane and Michael Banks have made their beds for once!


At the end of the tour, I started being silly. Because of all of the mirrors in the house, I took a few shots with me in them. As you can see, I'm not really dressed to be in such a fancy house. Good thing I didn't live back then, huh?