O Christmas Tree
Great ideas from house museum trees from across the country
By Robyn Davis Sekula
Victorian Homes | February 2009
In Victorian times, Christmas wasn’t quite the decadent
affair we expect today. Decorations were created from natural items found on
the grounds of a home. Ornaments were largely homemade. The season was shorter,
with Christmas trees being unveiled usually on Christmas Eve.
But that type of low-key celebration just wouldn’t be enough
to draw out most visitors to Victorian house museums. The December holidays
have become a must-do fundraiser for many of the organizations, bringing return
visitors year after year and a sense of excitement to the homes that the public
embraces. So, many house museums take a little license with the holiday.
Explains Jim Kern, Executive Dairector of Brucemore in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, “A
modern visitor coming to a mansion of this grandeur expects to see something
more grand,” Kern says. “It’s trying to recapture the flavor of a grand home.
But they probably did not have 16 trees in the house.”
We’ve taken a peek inside some of the country’s most elegant
Victorian house museums to get ideas for Christmas trees in your home.
Accompanying this story are five photos of trees graciously provided by the
museums that showcase great designs and ideas. For a truer experience, support
the museums by visiting and soak in a little of the season. All museums
included here are closed on Christmas Day, and many on Christmas Eve, so call
before you go to make sure no tour dates have changed.
Brucemore
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Photo credit: Brucemore
One of the many rooms in Brucemore that receives the full
Christmas treatment is the study. This is the room where matriarch Irene
Douglas would have entertained afternoon guests for tea or any callers,
according to Jim Kern, Executive Director of Brucemore, which is owned and
operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This was also the
space in the house where the Douglas children could roll up the rugs, crank up
the Victrola and dance.
The Christmas tree shown here is one of 16 in the home, and
it is decorated with ornaments and items that have a vintage style, but are not
true vintage ornaments, as that simply would be too pricey for the museum. The
museum uses reproduction ornaments on the Christmas trees. On the tree shown
here, jewel tone balls and ornaments decorated with lace are the main elements.
The 2008 evening holiday tours will include a broad range of
actors portraying the Douglas family, butlers and holiday guests.
Brucemore is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is a
National Trust site. Brucemore is open for Christmas tours beginning the day
after Thanksgiving and ending December 31. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and
Sundays noon to 3 p.m. Evening tours are held Wednesdays and Thursdays in
December, 5 to 8 p.m. Reservations are required for evening tours. Prices are
$7 daytime for adults, $3 for students. Evening holiday tours are $10 for
adults, $5 for students. On all tours, National Trust for Historic Preservation
and Brucemore members can tour for free. For more information, visit www.brucemore.org or call (319) 362-7375
Molly Brown House Museum
Denver
Photo credit: Jeff Padrick, Klug Studios
Christmas at the Molly Brown House in the late Victorian era
likely included a Christmas tree, a tradition that started during Victorian
times, says Annie Robb Levinsky, director of the museum. “Prior to that, it had
been a German tradition,” Levinsky says. “There were different trees for
different purposes, a main formal tree, then a tree for children upstairs, a
tree for servants in kitchen decorated with ornaments that they would have made
themselves in kitchen.”
Garland would have decorated doorways and mantles, many
times decorated with baby’s breath. The museum keeps Christmas lights to a
minimum, but does use them. One tree in the house has candles on it, but the
candles are not lit, due to the fire hazard.
The library at the Molly Brown House is depicted in this
photo. Most of the ornaments on the tree are painted glass. “We have
several small glass Santa Clauses, and many painted glass birds with feathered
tails, often either cardinals or peacocks,” Levinsky says. An Old World
Christmas line of reproduction ornaments similar to those used in the Museum is
sold in the Museum store each year, Levinsky says. The Museum uses red plaid
ribbon on its main Christmas central tree, which cascades down from the tip of
the tree.
The Molly Brown House is located in Denver and is owned
and operated by Historic Denver. The house is open for Christmas tours
beginning usually around December 1 until the second week of January. Guided
tours are given every half-hour, Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and
noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Cost is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $4 for
children. For more information, visit www.mollybrown.org,
or call (303) 832-4092.
Victoria Mansion
Portland, Maine
Photo credit: J. David Bohl
Getting into the spirit of the season at Victoria Mansion
usually means a little research is involved, says Julia Kirby, deputy director
of Victoria Mansion in Portland, Maine. The house was built between 1858 and
1860 in the Italianate style. Its opulent interiors were created by Gustave
Herter, so the Christmas décor has the right to be entirely over-the-top.
Decorators and designers who design a room for the Christmas
tour usually enjoy researching Victorian Christmas traditions and incorporating
those ideas into the décor for the room they’ve chosen to decorate. “It’s not a
designer showhouse,” Kirby says. “We try to be educational. It’s a family
event.”
The museum is careful to make sure the décor closely
resembles Victorian design. When appropriate, Kirby and other museum staff
offer antiques to fit in with the theme of the tree, such as antique toys for a
designer who wants to put toys around the base of a tree.
The tree shown in this photo was created by Dan Kennedy,
Sawyer & Co. Florists in Portland, who has decorated the room for the past
seven years. The tree shown here is in the home’s parlor, and the designer used
a Christmas tree and swags above each window. Each year designers use glass
ornaments, feathers, faux fruit and nuts, either painted or adorned with
ribbon, to give the tree decorations a Victorian, home-made feel. “In the
mid-19th century, you couldn’t go to the Christmas tree store to buy
decorations,” Kirby says.
Victoria mansion is open for Christmas tour starting the
day after Thanksgiving, Tuesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The mansion’s
last holiday tours occur on December 31. Cost is $12 adults, $5 for children
six to 17, and free for kids six and under. Family tickets are $25 and apply to
two adults of same household and up to five children. For more information,
visit www.victoriamansion.org, or
call (207) 772-4841.
Holmes County Historical Society
Millersburg, Ohio
Photo credit: Mark Boley, Holmes County Historical Society
The Christmas tour at the Holmes County Historical Society’s museum house is a chance to involve the community around the museum. It’s also an enjoyable time for designers to stretch their imagination, says Mark Boley, executive director of the society. The home’s dining room is one of the many rooms decorated in the home. The staff of the Inn and Spa at Honey Run did dining room decorations shown in the photo with this story, and true to Victorian form, the staff chose natural elements to create the look. “The theme for dining room is very natural, lots of leaves,” Boley says. “The centerpiece is gold fringed things and pheasant feathers. Birds are often used on the tree.”
The Holmes County Historical Society opens for its
holiday tour the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the tour continues through
December 31. Hours are typically Monday through Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m.,
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 8 p.m. COST. For more information, visit www.victorianhouse.org or call (330)
674-0022.
Lyndhurst
Tarrytown, N.Y.
Photo credit: Bryan E. McCay
Lyndhurst creates a Fairy Tale Holiday theme in each public
room of the mansion for its Christmas program. Bob Pesce, the Manhattan-based
designer of the Christmas decorations, says he switches rooms around and adds a
new story to the house every year. The most Victorian in designs is the
Nutcracker room. For the tree in this room, Pesce’s main element is Santa’s
checklist. A scroll design cascades down the tree with names of girls and boys
on it, denoting who’s getting treats, and who will get the dreaded coal. He
also incorporates other elements that relate to royalty and ballet, including
toe shoes and a five-foot tall nutcracker. The primary colors for the room are
purple, magenta and red. Toys around the tree are from the museum’s collection.
Among the 18 themes created for the holidays are the Princess and the Pea, the Little Mermaid, Jack and the
Beanstalk and Arabian Nights.
Lyndhurst is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The house is decorated for the holidays annually by December 5. Self-guided holiday tours are held in the evenings every Saturday and Sunday in December from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 3 to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Guided tours of the home are available on weekends only in December during the daytime. Admission for daytime tours is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors and $6 for children ages six to 16. Children age five and under are admitted free. Trust members can visit during the day for free but have to pay for the Fairy Tale holiday evening program. Admission for the evening event is $15 for adults and seniors, $6 for children ages 6 to 12. Children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, see www.lyndhurst.org or call (914) 631-4481.