Day 5.351: Ventfort Hall

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!