House of Seven Gables (Salem, MA)

The Turner-Ingersoll Mansion built in 1667 was the colonial home to three generations of the prominent Turner family, then the family of a successful farmer turned seaman named Samuel Ingersoll and the entrepreneurial Upton family before  finally being purchased by Caroline Emmerton who would turn it into the museum it is today.

It is known as the House of Seven Gables and being the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book of the same name. Originally built for wealthy Capt. John Turner. The original structure was a 2 room 2 ½ story post medieval home sporting a massive central chimney. Over the years the home would grow. First Capt Turner added a new kitchen and lean-to and then later a spacious 2 ½ story extension to the front of the house including a new parlor on the first floor and bedroom on the second. The new addition sported higher ceilings and was finished to reflect the wealth of the family.

His son would eventually inherit the home and he too was a successful merchant trading with Europe. The added wealth of the family would lead to more renovations and a change in style. To maintain his position in the community he remodeled the house in the Georgian style and added many features such as wooden paneling inside.

When he died in 1742 he left to his son John III a fortune estimated at 3.2 million dollars in today’s money and made him the 3rd wealthiest person in Salem at the time. Very few changes were made to the house under John III and over the next 40 years the family fortune dwindled due to being a loyalist and heavy gambling.  The house too would fall victim and would be lost.

The home was then purchased by the Ingersolls who remodeled it once more and removed several of the gables, replaced the porches and added Georgian trim to keep up with the newer houses being built in Salem at the time. Samuel Ingersoll was a former farmer who had become successful as a sea captain and West Indies trader and married Susannah Hathorne.  It was Susannah who introduced her cousin Nathanial Hawthorne to the home. In 1851 he would write a book called the House of Seven Gables.

In 1883 with the Ingersoll family fortune lost the house was sold to the Uptons. With the popularity of the book and the fictitious Pyncheon family they allowed visitors for 25 cents per person to enjoy tours of the home.  The Upton Family also sold a line of painted souvenir chine  in a small showp on the Turner Street side of the home to attract patrons to their version of the Hepzibah’s cent shop.

In 1908 it was sold one final time to Miss Emmerton who had inherited a large fortune from her grandfather John Bertram a successful maritime trader. It was with her that the home was restored and through charity she established the home as a philanthropic charity focused on supporting and improving the welfare of foreign born workers who had moved to Salem and helping them transition by teaching them American ways of English, woodworking, sewing and childcare.

In 1910 he established the House of Seven Gables Settlement Association which operates the museum today. Visitors like us pay $12.50 per person for a guided tour of the home. With the history of the home behind us let’s now take the tour. Note that pictures are not allowed on the tour and while I did take a few I managed to find some of the others online.  Our tour started in the kitchen of the home and we were found ourselves transported into a 17th century kitchen whose hearth is complete with cauldrons, toaster and bedwarmer.

While we were in the kitchen area, we took a peek into "Hepzibah's cent shop". While not original to the house it was added to recreate the cent shop from the book to increase appeal of the home to visitors. It has been painstakingly recreated right down to the last spool of thread, curl of ribbon, and gingerbread elephant

 

From the kitchen, we next passed through the door into the dining room. You can tell from the ceiling height that it was part of the original 1668 dwelling. Our guide made mention of the paint in this room. It was a vibrant green called "verdigris". It was made using copper and would have been a very expensive paint in the time. The room also featured a portrait over the dresser of a younger Susannah Ingersoll, Nathaniel Hawthorne's second cousin and fourth owner of the house.

To the left of the fireplace in the dining room is a small arched door that when opened looks more like a storage closet then the entry to the secret staircase mentioned in the book. It too was not part of the original design of the home but was added in keeping with the book written by Hawthorne.

 



For those looking for a bit of adventure we were able to climb the stairwell 2 ½ stories. It was a snug fit for sure but each and every one of us on the tour made our way up the rickety stairs to the attic room of Clifford Pyncheon.

Next we made our way into the attic which retained its original appearance and was setup as an example of where and how servants might have lived in the house. Our guide describe this as the coldest room of the house depending on the season. She also explained that the crumbling wall was an early example of horse hair plaster used as insulation. It failed to work well because of the severity of the temperature changes and crumbled.

Next using a diorama/model our tour guide demonstrated how the house had changed from its original structure to the mansion today with the many modifications and additions. She also took the time to explain which of the peaks formed the 7 gables.

Next we visited the Parlor chamber with its high ceilings and ornate bed with linens.  It was where the Capt. after gaining much wealth in 1677 made one of his many additions. Such a room and bed in these times was very unusual and demonstrated great wealth.



Next we descended down a more formal stairwell and headed to the Hall. It was the most formal room in the house and is where guest would have been entertained.  On either side of its fireplace are identical doors. The one on the right reveled an elegant built in cabinet functioning as a bar. Its intricate carvings and choice of color would certainly have displayed the family’s success.

This room marked the end of the inside tour. Our guide next took us outside to visit the ground as we made our way to the red house across the elegant courtyard.

The Nathaniel Hawthorne Birthplace is now immediately adjacent to the House of the Seven Gables, and also covered by the admission fee isn’t where it once was. Although it is indeed the house in which Hawthorne was born and lived to the age of four, the house was sited a few blocks away on Union Street when he inhabited it.

Today its original location is a parking lot and the building would have been lost if not for the hard work of the association. The Nathaniel Hawthorn home is a self-guided tour. We didn’t spend much time here as the rooms were pretty bare with the exception of some period furniture and anecdotal bits of information. It too had a beautiful hearth in its kitchen with all the wears you would expect to have found in a home of its time.

Once through this small and modest house we returned to the grounds where we enjoyed the view of Salem harbor from the front lawn. We also took some great pictures of the Houses from the central courtyard.

On March 29, 2007, the House of the Seven Gables Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark District. It’s an amazing home with an even more amazing story. It is a must visit for anyone making the trip to Salem.

Brimfield Antique Show / Flea Market

Along route 20 in Brimfield, MA is a mile long stretch of road which plays host to the largest outdoor antique shows in New England.  The spectacle occurs three times a year in May July and September and attracts over 5,000 different dealers who set up in 21 fields.

Every year I try to make the trip to find some hidden treasure amongst the tons of junk. This year the heat was stifling and we were all were sweating like crazy. We charged ahead and wandered around some of the fields up and down isles looking for a treasure or two. 

I also always try to find the same booths where I had been before and seen things that I liked. Some of those include:

The Attic Turn Overs booth was where last year I discovered my new coffee table. Their booth was smaller this year than last but was still filled with some of the most amazing things all laid out to make you want to make a purchase. Unfortunately most of their products are large and I am all out of room but if I had a loft in a city they would most definitely be a source for its contents.

Sandstone Gardens is a really good architectural garden booth. They have everything from fountains and pillars to smaller unique items like gargoyles, frogs, and other creatures of the garden. Last year I helped my friend Chris select a gargoyle and this year I made a purchase myself of a little fat frog.

Olde Good Things is another booth were we have found success. They take old ceiling tiles and other reclaimed materials and fashion spectacular tables, benches, mirrors, and wall art. They have many a store in New York City but nothing up here.  Dan bought two more tiles here and Grace picked up a tile and a mirror.

This year I added another booth to my list of favorites. I didn’t catch the name of the dealer but I had seen and even checked out there stuff in years past but never made a purchase. Again as history proves I enjoy things that were repurposed. This booth took metal and created lawn art/ornaments from them and I selected a unique praying mantis mixed media. It had both metal and rock featured prominently. I have a fondness for these amazing creatures as they call my parents beach house yard and hedge their home every year.

After making our purchases and lugging them around the rest of the fields we decided we had had enough and it was time to go.

Task 29 - Russian Icon Museum

Located in a renovated 150-year-old former mill, court house & police station in central Massachusetts resides the largest collection of Russian Icon’s in North America. Gordon B Lankton’s vast collection started as a small personal collection which graced the walls of his home then corporate office when it grew too large. When the collection grew even larger and no suitable location could be found Mr Lankton decided he would start his own museum.

Opened in 2006 the renovated facility and contemporary aluminum clad addition is the culmination of his life’s work. The collection now consisting of more than 500 Russian icons and artifacts and isn’t just the largest in North America but also one of the largest outside of Russia. While visiting the museum I got the privilege of a guided tour by non-other than the founder. Gordon who can often be found in the museum provided us with a personalized tour of the 16,000 square foot facility and also shared a little history about his collection.

We learned his first piece was purchased at a Moscow flea market for $25 during his a visit to Russia. He also shared the story of how he came to own “Not Made by Hand” which he acquired after a long period of negotiation with a Moscow shop owner. The story of “Not Made By Hand” is an interesting one. It is a story of Syrian King Abgar who believed that an image of Christ could heal him from his illness. He sent a painter to see Christ who told him he need not paint him but instead asked him for a cloth. “Just give me a cloth and my face will be transferred to the cloth”. From what Gordon told us this icon the Icon of the Savior is one of the earliest icons witnessed by the church.

Next he told us the story of St Paraskeva who was born to a wealthy Greek Christian Family who while in Rome sought to teach the way Christ. This icon was a recent acquisition for the museum and is one of Gordon’s favorites. As the story goes Antonius Pius then emperor tortured and imprisoned Paraskeva. While being tortured she withstood being immersed in a vat of boiling oil. While immersed she stood up and threw some of the oil into the face of the emperor blinding him. She went to his side and told him that only the Christian God could cure him. Having regained his sight he ended all persecution against the Christians. She would later be beheaded after Antonius’s death.

Next he showed us a few modern pieces in his collection. The originals these replica’s duplicate almost exactly are housed in the Tretyakov State Gallery. They were painted by Alyona Knyazeva a master iconist based in Moscow

He has chosen to have Alyona create a few replica’s for display because export restrictions forbid taking icons out of Russia. Over the past decade it has only gotten harder and Gordon described to us having a few icon’s seized from him when he attempted to carry them out of the country. He later was able to legally take them out of Russia after some paper shuffling. Now he only purchases from auction houses and reputable dealers.

“Not Made By Hands” is one of those pieces and while owned by Gordon it is on loan to him from his collection that must be kept in Russia. Gordon also was able to secure a loan of 16 icons from the State Tretyakov Gallery. Gordon was able to accomplish this feat by covering all the costs related to insuring, transporting, custom fees, advertising and publishing a catalog of the pieces. These pieces have since been returned to the Russia.

After being given the best tour possible Gordon then introduced us to one of the museum docents names Svitlana. Svitlana’s expertise and knowledge of Russian icons’ was amazing. She began by explaining how they are painted using what is called tempera paint. Tempera paint is pigment mixed with egg yolk and water.

She also explained that icons are meant to be replicated and that many of the icon’s in the collection while still old are recreations of even older icons. Icons weren’t meant to be creative. They were instead meant to retell stories important to the people. She explained that for centuries that many of the people were illiterate and that religion was taught to the people pictorially

In addition to the vast collection the museum also has a Russian Tea House where guests can sample some authentic Russian treats. It also has a great gift shop where visitors can pick up a few uniquely Russian items to take home.

Higgin's Armory: End of an Era

Located in Worcester, MA, Higgin’s Armory was the only Museum in the Western Hemisphere solely dedicated to the collection of arms and armor until 2004. It operated as a non-profit museum and was founded in 1931 by John Woodman Higgins a prominent industrialist who owned Worcester Pressed Steel Company. 

As owner of Worcester Pressed Steel, John Woodman Higgins, had a fascination with all things metal both new and old. While traveling to Europe in the 1920’s he collected arms, armor and other steel items. His collection at first was stored in his home but it was quickly realized that he needed a more suitable location and more space to display his vast collection. Having outgrown his home he began construction in 1929 of a steel and glass building next to his factory. In 1928 he incorporated his collection as a museum. The new facility opened on January 12, 1931. His collection displayed medieval weaponry as well as automobile parts and even an all steel airplane which hung from its ceiling. 

The collection consisted of over 2,000 objects making it the second largest collection of arms and armor behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. It included 24 full suits of armor, and gladiator helmet to name a few. Its oldest object was an Eastern Mediterranean dagger from between 3,000 and 1,500 B.C.E.

Tours of the museum began with a walk through his collection and ended with a tour of the production lines of his modern steel manufacturing facility. The building itself was designed in the Art Deco motif and was a 4-story L-shaped facility designed by Joseph D Leland. It was a steel frame construction covered in glass and was built at a cost of over $300,000. It is believed to be one of, if not the first buildings in the US built entirely of steel and glass. 

In 1961 Higgin’s died and left an endowment of only $17,000 to support the museum. In 1978 the museum was robbed and over 100,000 worth of armor was stolen. This break-in and theft lead to changes and in 1979 the museum went from a private foundation to a publicly supported charity. Over the course of the next few decades many offers from the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art in NYC, the Worcester Art Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston were turned down. The museum board rewrote the mission statement and transformed the museum from an exhibit of steel manufacturing and refocused the collection on Ancient and Medieval arms and armor. 

In early 2010 with the endowment dwindling more than 500 items were sold off to shore up its finance’s but it wasn’t meant to be and in early 2013 it was announced that the museum would close and its collection would be transferred and integrated into the Worcester Art Museum’s collection.

Before it closed I decided to make one last visit to the museum. I had been numerous times during my lifetime as either a student on a field trips or just a visit with my family. As I walked the exhibits halls and admired the amazing collection I couldn’t help but feel sad that this great collection was soon going to be broken down and moved. While the collection is remaining intact and soon to be housed locally at WAM I am sad that the amazing building’s future is unknown. It is an architectural treasure and as much a part of the collection as any other individual piece. Hopefully like the collection a new purpose can be found for this structure that keeps it whole allowing the legacy that was John Woodman Higgin’s to survive as one of the most prominent industrialist’s of this time and contributor to not just Worcester but to society as a whole.