unsinkable molly

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

I wanted to take advantage of being in Colorado since I'm kind of a historic house fan... obviously. I got to stop into the Molly Brown House, which was decked out for the anniversary of the Titanic.  Molly, being the unsinkable Margaret Brown. image




The house was built in the 1880s by architect William A. Lang for owners Isaac and Mary Large. The Brown's bought the house in 1884 and made very few changes, although one of which was adding gilt (yes, gilt...) floor to ceiling lincrusta/anaglypta to the entry hall and tile to the porch. In 1902, it was even the governor's mansion for the Governor of Colorado while their house was being remodeled. Photos by me.


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The interior. No, I don't think I would want to move in but I enjoyed seeing it at any rate. image

  
 
  

Molly presenting a trophy cup award to Capt. Arthur Henry Rostron for his service in the rescue of the passengers on Titanic that sunk April 15, 1912. image


  I did tremendously enjoy the account of her insurance claim from the Titanic. The woman knows how to travel. ref


BCN said...

I love the insurance accounting so much. A $20K necklace in 1912 would be worth nearly $500K. Who brings that on a boat?

Parnassus said...

As an antiquities collector, I am wondering about the "souvenirs of Egypt", and the "crates of ancient models". As BCN points out, these sums of money were quite substantial then, so these were not minor purchases. About the necklace, she was in Europe to make an impression after all, or perhaps it was acquired on the trip.
--Road to Parnassus

Ann said...

I was surprised by the lavishness of her insurance claim in contrast to the modesty of the house. It is surely not the most posh residence in Denver. I mean compare it to Richthofen Castle which is presently on the market. Like a creeper I drove by RC - the neighborhood left something to be desired and it seems the carriage house was long ago parceled off. And to BCN's amusement there is a 6-10 ft Star of David Hanukkah light left on the chimney.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/02/richthofen-castle-in-denv_n_667756.html#s121660

ArchitectDesign™ said...

amazing to see those prices/costs now. They're high NOW so as BCN says -they were a fortune back in the day!
I too am surprised at the victorian homi-ness of the house and that it's not palatial.

Anonymous said...

Wow this is amazing! I love the insurance claim - it just shows how beautifully women dressed back then. Now on a cruiser most women would only take one or two evening dresses if that!

My family has an old will which details everything they owned. It is so interesting to see the prices of everything back then.

Love your blog xx

Anna (My Design Ethos)

Ann said...

Hi Anna! Welcome!

I am so glad you guys liked this post. I have to admit that when I first walked into this house and saw that gold lincrusta I thought, "wow, Donald Trump would love this!"