We visited Ventfort Hall in Lenox MA this morning. It's a cottage in the Berkshires - which is to say a mansion built around the end of the 19th century. The house - the summer home of a sister of JP Morgan has had a fascinating history - starting with the jacking and moving across the street of the home that stood on the site previously and including a brush with demolition (after a lot of damage) in 1997 just before its current owners acquired it.
It is now partially restored to its original splendour and serves as a museum to the Gilded Age - the era that gave rise to these mansions
At the moment the house is beautifully decorated for the holidays, there is also a large exhibit of era-relevant fashion dolls that the girls spent a very happy time admiring. The staff are enthusiastic and knowledgeable and even though we opted to do a self-guided tour, three different staff members popped up at various times to let us know what we were looking at.
As I write, our first winter storm of the season is winding up, looks like tomorrow will be a snow day!
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