Winchester Mystery House
http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/
On Friday the 13th Valley Oak Kindred went to the Winchester Mystery House for a special flashlight tour through the amazing home. Everyone attended except Mom and the Olsen girls (she watched movies with the kids).
Everyone agreed that we had a blast and were amazed at all the work that went into the house and gardens, even those of us who have been there before. Every time you go, you see something new that amazes you.
In 1884, a wealthy widow named Sarah L. Winchester began a construction project of such magnitude that it was to occupy the lives of carpenters and craftsmen until her death thirty-eight years later. The Victorian mansion, designed and built by the Winchester Rifle heiress, is filled with so many unexplained oddities, that it has come to be known as the Winchester Mystery House.
<lj-cut>Sarah Winchester built a home that is an architectural marvel. Unlike most homes of its era, this 160-room Victorian mansion had modern heating and sewer systems, gas lights that operated by pressing a button, three working elevators, and 47 fireplaces. From rambling roofs and exquisite hand inlaid parquet floors to the gold and silver chandeliers and Tiffany art glasswindows, you will be impressed by the staggering amount of creativity, energy, and expense poured into each and every detail.
Why did Mrs. Winchester spend the last half of her life and $5,500,000 building a house that contains 160 rooms? The mystery remains unsolved to this very day. In 1884, Mrs. Winchester left New Haven, Connecticut, and the graves of her husband and only child, moved to San Jose, California, and began the obsession that was to last for the rest of her life. She purchased an unfinished eight-room farmhouse outside the small agricultural town, and for the next 38 years, the sound of construction on Mrs. Winchester’s house never stopped.
Mrs. Winchester hired carpenters to work around the clock building and rebuilding room after room, as the spirits – or her mood – directed. The house was furnished with the finest materials and was a showcase of Victorian elegance and taste. Mrs. Winchester passed away peacefully in her sleep on September 5, 1922, and work on the still uncompleted house stopped.
Why did Mrs. Winchester build the world’s strangest home? Was she following the advice of psychics who told her to provide a home for the spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifles? Was she told she would live forever, so long as construction never stopped?
We may never know.
Amazing Facts
Number of rooms: 160
Cost: $5,500,000
Date of Construction: 1884 - September 5, 1922 (38 continuous years!)
Number of stories: Prior to 1906 Earthquake - 7; presently 4
Number of acres: Originally 161.919; presently 4
Number of basements: 2
Heating: Steam, forced air, fireplaces
Number of windows: Frames 1,257; panes approx. 10,000
Number of doors: Doorways 467, doors approx. 950 not including cabinet doors.
Number of fireplaces: 47 (gas, wood, or coal burning)
Number of chimneys: Presently 17 with evidence of 2 others
Number of cars at her death: 2 (a 1917 Pierce Arrow Limousine & a 1916 4 cyl. Buick truck)
Number of bedrooms: Approx. 40
Number of kitchens: 5 or 6
Number of staircases: 40, total of stair steps - 367
Number of skylights: Approx. 52
Number of gallons of paint required to paint entire home: Over 20,000
Number of ballrooms: 2 (one nearly complete, and one under construction)
Blueprints available: No, Mrs. Winchester never had a master set of blueprints, but did sketch out individual rooms on paper and even tablecloths!</lj-cut>
One of the odd things in the house - a staircase to a window inset in the wall.
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