Mansions to museums 2— a new look at the Gilded Age in New York State
“Architecture on the inside is not always what it seems on the outside”
The New York State Department of Parks and Recreation (NYSDPR) is “developing a house museum tour LGBT+ history with that of a mansion’s Gilded Age history.” Using Staatsburgh State Historic Site as a test, NYSPDR is seeking to broaden its interpretation of its historic museum houses, in this case by focusing on the LGBT+ connections of this historic house during the Gilded Age. This project follows several trends in house museums across the country – those looking to redefine their purpose in early 21st-century society as well as looking to reach new audiences by looking back at previously hidden histories. This effort has been underway for a variety of sites in New York City for several years, with their LGBT context statement being published in May 2018. (The 2016 photo above by Daniel Case is shared here under CC BY-SA 3.0).
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By Twisted Preservation
2018
ORIGINAL POST (October 9, 2017) - The Gilded Age in the United States generally referred to the post-Civil War period from the 1870s to the turn of the 20th century, when vast industrial fortunes led to lavish lifestyles for those relatively families. Newport, Rhode Island came to be seen as the most fashionable resort for many wealthy industrialists, with such “summer cottages” as The Breakers, Marble House, Rosecliff, The Elms, and others. Eventually, as Henry Flagler extended the railroad down the Atlantic coast of Florida, St. Augustine became a winter destination with the opening in1888 of the Ponce de Leon Hotel (now Flagler College), before the winter resorts farther south at Palm Beach, Miami Beach, and the Florida Keys became popular. In addition to the architectural extravagance, the Gilded Age also saw the development of elaborate social customs, etiquettes, and ruleBut what transformed the economic and social dynamics that effectively brought the Gilded Age to an end? And what became of those summer cottages? Many were demolished, others were preserved as historic house museums in the early days of US efforts in historic preservation, and yet still a few of them are still available for sale as private homes today. Follow the links below for more information.
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Opulence and Excesses of the Gilded Age
By Cheryl Adams Richkoff
Ranker
Accessed July 18, 2017
Why did Gilded Age mansions lose their luster?
By Robert Khederian
Curbed
September 28, 2017
Reconstruction and the Gilded Age: How technology and capitalism shaped America after the Civil War
[Review of The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896, by Richard White, Oxford University Press, October 2017]
By The Ecocnomist
August 24, 2017
The architects who built Gilded Age NYC are having a real estate revival
By Zachary Kussin
New York Post
September 20, 2017
Three Gilded Age mansions for sale right now: from Newport to New York City
By Robert Khederian
Curbed
August 10, 2017