Sunday, April 28, 2024

The Devoted Classicist: The Furnishings: Mercer House

mercer williams house museum

The windows of the basement level mirror the size of the window immediately above. Mercer House (now the Mercer Williams House Museum) is located at 429 Bull Street in Savannah, Georgia.[3] Completed in 1868, it occupies the southwestern civic block of Monterey Square. The house and carriage house are both constructed with deep rose-colored bricks called ‘Philadelphia Reds’. Please check your meter as it varies depending on which portion of the district you park in. Our 35 minute guided tours are first come, first serve only and run approximately every minutes. Museum tickets and entry are located behind the main house at 430 Whitaker Street.

Georgia on Your Mind?

Only comments relating to the current post are eligible for publication; non-relevant comments and promotional references will be deleted. The tour's main benefit is that it makes you realize that Jim Williams was a helluva guy and a helluva benefactor to the Savannah that has so richly profited from his efforts ever since.

East Harlem

30 years after death of Jim Williams, his iconic Savannah home is being restored - Bluffton Today

30 years after death of Jim Williams, his iconic Savannah home is being restored.

Posted: Fri, 17 Jan 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]

McIntosh called Gwinnett a “scoundrel and lying rascal,” in front of the Georgia Assembly. Infuriated, Gwinnett challenged McIntosh to a duel on what is now the cemetery grounds. Both men were shot in the leg, at which point their seconds stopped the duel. Gwinnett’s thigh injury was far more serious, and he died 3 days after being taken to a hospital. Mrs. Gwinnett refused to condemn McIntosh for the death of her husband. Many of Jim Williams's antiques and furnishings were sold by his sister at a Sotheby's auction on October 20, 2000.[1][24] Where their locations in the house were known, they are mentioned in the relevant section below.

The Tredwell Collection

mercer williams house museum

This is also the home that Mr. Williams lived in during the time chronicled in the book and film, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." The Museum’s collection of over 3,000 items comprises the possessions of the Tredwells, the wealthy merchant-class family who lived in the House from 1835 to 1933. The collection includes furniture, decorative arts, clothing, photographs and books, household items, and personal items. Highlights include a suite of 12 mahogany side chairs attributed to renowned furniture maker Duncan Phyfe, a pair of matching six-globe gas chandeliers, and 40 dresses and numerous fashion accessories that belonged to the Tredwell women. The main façade, facing east onto Monterey Square, has five French windows (two on the first floor, three on the second). Except for the window above the double front doors, each French window on the three open sides of the house has a balcony surrounded by an iron railing.

Each window on the first and second levels of these three open sides is crowned with a sculptural hood mold of cast iron.[2] A classical portico,[22] with two columns at each of the front corners, covers the front doors. Both sets of columns are adjoined at their bases (the base on the left is adorned with a plaque denoting the year construction on the house was begun; the right, the home's number). Kingery's daughter and Williams's niece, Dorothy Susan Kingery,[7] manages the museum,[8] which is based out of the carriage house at the rear of the property.

Collection

The first floor has a double door with a French window on each side; the second floor has three windows and one door in the middle.[23] The section without a window is where the ballroom organ is installed. Both the northern and southern (long) sides have a French window in the middle of both the first and second floors, flanked by two single windows on each side. Using a symmetrical interior shape, Norris combined 15 foot ceilings with floor length windows to elongate the structure. It is also anchored with a 60 foot entrance hall that retains its original ceramic tile made in England at Stoke-on-Trent.

Mr. Williams restored more than 50 buildings during his 30-year career in historic preservation in Savannah and the Low-country. The Mercer-Williams House was designed by New York architect John S. Norris for General Hugh W. Mercer, great-grandfather of celebrated songwriter Johnny Mercer. Construction began in 1860 and was subsequently interrupted by the Civil War.

The groundbreaking for this extension, which included renovation of existing gallery space, as well as a new pavilion, took place on August 2, 2006,[10] and it was completed in February 2008 with a ribbon cutting later that same year. Between the house and the carriage house is a courtyard,[26] with a brick wall connecting the house and carriage house running either side. This privacy wall was raised after the 1994 publication of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. After Williams's death in 1990, the house was owned by Dorothy Williams Kingery, Williams's sister.

Explore Savannah's historic charm with this travel guide - NewsBytes

Explore Savannah's historic charm with this travel guide.

Posted: Mon, 11 Mar 2024 09:47:07 GMT [source]

Museum of the City of New York

mercer williams house museum

It was eventually completed in 1868, after General Mercer sold the unfinished structure to John R. Wilder. Thus, no Mercer ever actually lived in the house that bears their name. In Savannah, the majority of historic homes use the name of the home’s original family in addition to the most prominent family. Browse our online store for books, jewelry, artwork, exhibition-related items, unique gifts, and all things New York City. In November 2016 the museum opened New York At Its Core, a three-gallery exploration of New York City's 400-year history and the city's future. It features over 450 historic objects and images, many from the museum's collection, as well as contemporary video, photography, and interactive digital experiences.

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown,[1][2] in 1923[3] to preserve and present the history of New York City, and its people. It is located at 1220–1227 Fifth Avenue between East 103rd to 104th Streets, across from Central Park on Manhattan's Upper East Side, at the northern end of the Museum Mile section of Fifth Avenue. Williams used the carriage house, which fronts onto Whitaker Street to the west, as a guest house for visitors. In total, there are 40 windows (including the basement level) and eight iron balconies. At the rear, both the first and second levels open out onto verandas.

See our schedule of family programs, lectures, film screenings and more. The Museum of the City of New York provides specialized resources to support and enhance the experience of all visitors, including those with disabilities, their peers, and families. K-12 Student Groups / Field Trips — We are currently offering both in-person and virtual field trips for K-12 students. Private & Group Experience — Arrange an engaging guided tour for an immersive and intimate experience. Other commitments might prevent an immediate response to your comments or questions. That does not lessen the value of the blog reader's input, however.

The Mercer Williams House is gorgeously furnished in a style that befits a sophisticated millionaire. It is not an authentic re-creation of a Federalist or mid-Victorian home, thanks to the presence of comfortable 20th-century sofas, personalized photos, and art objects, and the "eclectic" vision of its style setter. It was signed by Laurent Dey, a master of the Paris Clockmakers' Guild.

In front of the clock was a white statuary marble bust of Edward VII, English, dated 1906, by Walter Merrett, on a late-19th-century green marble column.[24] There is also a fireplace in this room, on its southern wall. The house is decorated with pieces from Mr. Williams’ private collection, many of which have been in the house since he resided there in the 1970s. This includes 18th and 19th century Regency and Empire furniture, 18th and 19th century portraiture by Gilbert Stuart and Thomas Hudson, a wide collection of Chinese export porcelain, and other curiosities from around the globe. In 1969, James A. Williams, one of Savannah’s earliest and most dedicated private preservationists, bought the vacant property and began a two-year restoration of the house that would become his permanent residence.

The property, constructed with "Philadelphia Red" bricks,[9] is three stories, including a basement, where Williams's restoration workshop was. He and three employees repaired antiques, as well as doing gold leafing, veneering and marbleizing.[14] The lot consists of a front yard, the house, a courtyard and a carriage house. In 1969, Jim Williams, one of Savannah's earliest and most dedicated private restorationists, bought the then-vacant house and began a two-year restoration. This house is one of the more than 50 houses Mr. Williams saved during his 30-year career in historic restoration in Savannah and the Lowcountry. Throughout the house, you will see furniture and art from Mr. Williams's private collection, including 18th and 19th century furniture, 18th century English and American portraits, drawings from the 17th century and a wide collection of Chinese export porcelain.

On top of that, the house maintains its original moldings, windows, doorways, hand-railings, interior shutters, flooring and interior dome with stained glass fitted in 1868 when construction on the home was finished. In June 2007, the museum opened its temporary "The Glory Days, 1947–1957" exhibition, an in-depth photographic look at the history of professional baseball in New York City. The exhibit included clips of Ed Sullivan, a pioneer of CBS television entertainment, interviewing many of the players of the era, including Mickey Mantle and Phil Rizzuto. A section was devoted to Jackie Robinson, who broke the color line in 1947 when he joined the former Brooklyn Dodgers and became an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement. The house has been used as the setting for movies, including Clint Eastwood's film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Swamp Thing, and Return of Swamp Thing.

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