Antique Boat Museum

I stumbled upon this Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY recently. If you are a fan of wooden boats, or boats in general, this is a must-visit place. There are world-record breakers, some of the first of their kind and even an incredible house boat.

Architecturally speaking, the design of the museum is just beautiful. I love the colors on the repair shop.

Camp Sagamore, Part III

Mrs. Vanderbilt added quite a bit of fun to the property including this very inviting "Playhouse"

Lots of taxidermy. It is also the only structure on the property designed by a professional architect but happens to be the least structurally sound and has required the most repair.

As Photographed in 1940 for Life Magazine

 Which naturally features an adjacent en plein air bowling alley. Replete with original (and working) return.

Photo from Martha

And of course, decor for all seasons

One last thing, I thought these twin cottages were my favorite. Still used by visiting family (although the property is in the care of Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks) these were built by Mrs. Vanderbilt for her children, this is one of the two.

Camp Sagamore, Part II

Let's take a look at the main compound of Camp Sagamore in the Adirondacks. New York State is beautiful in the summer, a local to Upstate told me they call it the "wooing season" and I can see why.  So the main lodge is clearly the centerpiece of the property. The man who built the property was William West Durant as a self-sufficient wilderness camp from 1895 - 1897. The Main Lodge was all that stood here, inspired by the chalet style it was intended to be intimate with only five bedroom suites. Also, note Durant was a pragmatic man - the door was based on one he saw in a catalog. Not unlike many modern home decorators. 

Due to financial reasons he sold it to Alfred G. Vanderbilt in 1901 and visited the property frequently until his untimely death on the Lusitania. His second wife, married in 1911, Margaret Emerson McKim really made the property home and together they did a great deal of entertaining and building, adding so much life to the compound and making it what it is today. This is the Main Lodge's details and interiors. I just love the "rusticated" (a term the trustees of the property use lovingly) details of the main door. A blacksmith worked on site full-time and fabricated everything by hand.

Care for croquet?

I'll be honest, I didn't bring the best equipment for interior, low-light photos. So some are mine but some are "borrowed" from Martha Stewart, as below:

 Back to my snapshots:

Here's the dock, just beautiful and in keeping with the surroundings.

Dining Lodge

Here's the interior from Martha's site:

Now, my photos - because this view and this window...

Camp Sagamore, Part I

I've been traveling a lot in the past couple years. I still take photos of architecture along the way - can't break the habit. I recently had a good friend who is a terribly accomplished designer visit me in New York and just through sharing enthusiasm for architecture and design, she really encouraged me to write again. We also took a quick trip up to the Adirondacks and here I am, with photos from Sagamore, the old Vanderbilt lodge. What you can't see are the biting black flies. So let's start where you would if you were visiting the property:

Stables and Carriage House - If you stayed at the property, to enhance the image of the rustic, your car would be dropped with a driver at the end of the drive where a carriage would bring you the the house. If you were of appropriate caste, you would enjoy pomp and circumstance in the form of sparklers and such along the drive. Meanwhile your modern vehicle would sit here, waiting for your return trip.

Wood shed roof with exquisite patina

"Wigwam House" - Note the sides are made of peeled bark applied.

The view of Racquette Lake

On a more personal note, a few months ago we bought a house. After living all over the world, it feels nice to put down roots. It was built in 1886-1891 and we're redoing a lot. Some of the original plasterwork is in tact but a lot has been sacrificed for pragmatism. I'm enjoying revamping the spaces (kitchen, bathrooms, etc) remotely from New York. I thought when we finally stopped moving I would be all about the renovation blogging/journaling, but I'm just not that into it. I think I like the inspirational places most of all.