A grand vision of Victorian architecture and engineering

Let me tell you about the very rich,” F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in his short story, “The Rich Boy." “They are different from you and me.”

Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum entrance. It leads into what was originally the kitchen. 

Those of us who are not rich and wonder at just how different their lives were than our own, can catch glimpses of it in tours of elaborate mansions that were once the homes of the wealthy elite. Certainly, that’s a big draw for tourists to Newport, Rhode Island. It was the place to summer in for the super rich and fashionable during the Gilded Age. But before there was one area designated by fashionable society, the rich may have chosen any area, and one man chose his own birthplace for the most well-appointed summer home ever built in the United States at the time. 

                       Interior view of conservatory (photo by Ariella Brown)

    Exterior view of conservatory (photo by Ariella Brown)

Grand plans

LeGrande Lockwood, one of only a handful of millionaires in the country at the start of the Civil War, and the first millionaire native of Norwalk, Connecticut, opted for his birthplace as the neighborhood in which he would build his summer home. It still stands there, though, not quite in its full glory, as a registered historic landmark called the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum.

The interior can be seen through a docent-led tour, which is limited to the first floor during the colder months due to the difficulty of heating the entire structure. The tour reveals interesting facets of the history of the house and its occupants, as well as details of its construction and design.

You can experience a kind of virtual mini-tour through this video:

The house’s appearance was largely inspired by the French chateaus that Lockwood had seen and admired on his trips to Europe to raise funds for the American Civil War. In fact, the mansion is considered one of the earliest examples of French Empire Style architecture in the United States.

Detail of the ceiling and French wallpaper. a roll
was found in  the house, which enabled
reproductions and restoration and restoration.

While the architectural style was rooted in tradition, the features and comforts utilized the very latest in technology for the times. This house was equipped things you may expect from that time period, like gas lighting, plumbing that allows for both hot and cold water, flush toilets, and central heating powered by coal. But it also includes some things you may not have anticipated.

Even when electricity was not set up for lighting, it was used for a burglar alarm. Most surprisingly -- and, possibly, the most important feature for a summer house -- this house had central air-conditioning, though it didn’t run on electricity.

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion  Museum is set to resume tours in April. As of now, masks are required, though it does graciously offer to provide a disposable one for visitors who did not bring one that complies with its standard. See lockwoodmathewsmansion.com/your-visit/

Related : Have desk, will travel