Christmas at the Maymont Mansion in Richmond



While in Richmond we took a tour of the Maymont Mansion. This gilded age estate is situated on 100 acres in the middle of Richmond. From the Maymont website: 

During the Gilded Age of the late 1880s through the 1910s—the era of Carnegie, Rockefeller and Vanderbilt —millionaires demonstrated their prosperity through their elaborate homes. Richmond-born financier James Dooley was among this new class in American society. His home, Maymont, stands today as a remarkably complete expression of Gilded Age luxury and opulence.

Maymont was the 100-acre Victorian country estate of James Henry and Sallie May Dooley. In 1886, the Dooleys first viewed and purchased the rough pasture and field that would become Maymont. At the age of forty, with no children and the resources of her husband’s prosperity at her disposal, Sallie Dooley led the effort to transform the landscape into a showplace that would rival the lavish estates that were springing up throughout the country. The Romanesque-style mansion was completed in 1893. The Dooleys spent the next three decades filling its sumptuous interiors with treasures from around the world and establishing Maymont’s magnificent gardens, landscapes and architectural complex.



The Dooleys  passed away in the early 1920s. They had no children and left the estate to the City of Richmond in their will.

Since we were there in winter ... the temps were in the mid-30s and there had just been a significant snowfall ... the first of the year ... so we were not able to view the gardens, which look like they are pretty spectacular when in bloom. BUT the interior spaces are just wonderful and seem so livable even today ... PLUS the mansion was totally decked out for the Holidays. It really is worth a visit when in Richmond.
 
Ready for the Holidays
One of the Parlors
The Dinner Table Set for a Christmas Feast
A Bedroom Set made of Silver and Narwhal Tusk Ivory
The Victorian Christmas Tree
The Wine and Spirits Cellar
The Kitchen

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