iseecerulean

The Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion has not had the restoration the Campbell House had, but was still a wonderful home to visit.   I was lucky enough to be the only person on my tour, so my guide and I had a leisurely conversation about the house as we progressed through the rooms.  The house had been turned into apartments in the 1940s or 50s, and when it was saved from demolition in the 1960s and opened to the public it was made more cheerful by painting most of the original woodwork white.   It was obvious the foundation caring for this house is not as well funded as the one which cares for the Campbell House...at the Campbell House the restoration was complete, at the Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion it's as if the the restoration has been paused.

Geographically this house is not as conveniently located as the Campbell House, which I'm sure doesn't help.  I took a cab to get there, and when I stepped out of the cab I fell in love.

Many of the photos I took inside, especially on the first floor, didn't turn out, because there was not enought light for my camera to focus.  The window shutters were closed to protect the room's furnishings from the sun, and, because in October they decorate in Victorian mourning, the mirrors that would normally reflect light were draped in black fabric.  The portraits were draped as well, but the fabric was drawn up to the top of the frames so that guests could see the artwork.

On October 26th the mansion hosts it's annual Mourning Event, which I would love to attend one day.  I got to see some of the prep work for the event on my tour.

There was more natural light upstairs in the bedrooms....

The attic houses a collection of 1904 World's Fair memorabilia which was donated to the museum by the family of a collector.  It was neat, but not my thing...the only picture I took in the attic was of the temporary caskets that will be used for the Mourning Event.

After my tour I bought a couple of things in the gift shop basement to support the renovation, then walked next tour to have lunch at the Lemp Mansion, which is now a restaurant and B&B...it's the Haunted Mansion...but I had a very quiet lunch.

That concludes my trip to St. Louis, I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  My next post will be back to normal programming....dollhouses, miniatures, Susan's gratuitous cat pictures, etc...