Lexington's Castle

OUR HOUSE SOCIETY TOUR

OF "THE CASTLE IN LEXINGTON

JUNE 30, 2007

We are happy to present this summary of the interior tour with the help of Chuck and Mary Wright and two of their grandchildren, Clay

and Robin, who are our students at Lexington Elementary School.

The Old Society Tour of the Castle in Lexington was held on

Saturday, June 30 from 10 am to 4 pm.  The lines formed early

and wound down the driveway all afternoon.  Some late-comers

had to be turned away on that day because time would not permit

a full tour.  Parking was on the north side of the castle or behind

the castle near the old red barn and the lots were full all day long.

The following was the general tour direction throughout the house:

Station 1: Front Porch

Station 2: Front Hall and Front Parlor

Station 3: Dining Room and Green Room

Station 4: Up Front Stairway to Library Tower Room, Front Bedroom, Master Bedroom

Station 5: Up Front Stairway to Top Tower Room, Ballroom, Exercise Room and Elevator

Station 6: Down Back Stairway to Master Bedroom, Laundry/Bathroom, Back Bedroom

Station 7: Down Back Stairway to Back Hall, Bathroom and Kitchen

The porch rails are of stone and wrought iron

and seem to include the "heart" theme discovered

by the grandchildren of the Wrights.

STATION 1 =FRONT PORCH FOR HISTORY

          The castle was built for David and Brittania Van Dolah on the site of their former white frame house. The construction began in 1898 and was completed in 1899. The exterior design is Chateauesque eclectic with its Flemish steps in the roof line and its Palatine windows and trim.  The interior is Victorian in design.

          Van Dolah was a wealthy farmer who owned hundreds of acres of farmland from here to Lake Bloomington. He imported Percheron draft horses. He died three years after completing the house. His wife, Brittania, lived in the house with her grandson's family for many years. The Van Dolah family sold the house in 1954 to Richard Gwin, an antique dealer and botanist.  Joyce and Bob Turner, the third owners, made and replaced the stained glass windows and owned the house from 1981-1985.

   This window is in the entrance anteroom where guests would

   first be received.  Notice the "heart" design that seems to be

   prevalent throughout the home.  The grandchildren have a lot

   of fund is covering all the hearts in the home's design.

   Charles and Mary Wright are the fourth owners. They moved in on December 31, 1985. At the time of purchase there were only

three rooms that had heat and there were no storm windows. Extensive work had to be done to reactivate the hot water radiators.

New storm windows were made and glazed that first year. Throughout the years of restoration, each room was rewired, replumbed,

repainted or wallpapered, woodwork was stripped in two rooms, ceilings restored to their original height, paneling removed, brick

tuckpointed, slate roof replaced, and porches rebuilt.

All of the original light fixtures were sold from the

house during the years that it was an antique shop.

Charles restored 40 period fixtures which hang

throughout the house.

While removing lowered ceilings or wallpaper

or plaster, the Wrights discovered the original

 art work. The ceiling in the dining room is the

 only example of the original hand painting

 in the house.

The art work in the other rooms are copies of

the original patterns which had deteriorated

beyond repair. The artwork restoration was

done by Janet Oliver from Lexington.

Mrs. Wright and Robin show some of the

intricate stencils used to recreate copies

of the original patterns.

STATION 2-FRONT PARLOR AND FRONT HALL

The guide describes the Front Parlor:

    The ceiling had been paneled with fake beams

during a remodeling or "remuddling" period  of

ownership. Janet Oliver and Mary Wright

scraped away a ten foot area on the wall above

 the picture hanging rail to find the blue arabesque

 and rose design. After the rewiring and the plastering

 was completed, Janet recreated the artwork.

Clay and Robin show some treasured pieces

of the original plaster walls from which the

 designs were carefully copied.

The fireplace tiles are original to the house.

The light fixtures are from the period of the

house, but not original.

 10 year old grandson Clay, in his detective

hunt for the heart shaped theme in the

 house, noticed one day that if you lay in

 a certain spot under the stairway it appears

 to be in the shape of a heart!  See our first

 article on the castle for some excellent

photos of the beautiful stairwell.

Robin Shows off a beautiful Pram

that sits beside the staircase.

Through this door the stairs continue down

to the basement and the Wrights use this area

 to showcase many of the pictures and

 drawings of the house they have acquired

 over the years.

The small entrance to the right of the stairway is a porte cochere or coach door. During inclement weather guests would arrive at that door. * Note the different inlaid wood designs in the floors of the Front Hall, Green Room and the Dining Room. The brass door escutcheons (hardware) are angels and original to the house.

STATION 3-DINING ROOM AND GREEN ROOM

          The guide describes the dining room:

          The ceiling in the dining room was covered with coal soot. After cleaning it, the Wrights' discovered the wood graining or marbleizing on the ceiling. (See photo above) The painted lines on the yellowish colored plaster that look like knotty pine were painted by hand to resemble wood. The fireplace tiles were replaced with period tiles.

The high backed chairs were purchased in Chicago and were refinished and reupholstered.

The buffet was purchased at the Pharey Martin Auction sale a number of years ago and was restored by John Parker of LeRoy.

 Robin pointed out that this would

be a great hiding place in a castle

 game of "Hide 'n Seek!"

The black leather chairs are the only original pieces of furniture in the house. They were purchased at the Van Dolah lawn sale

 in 1952.  The Wrights' purchased them several years ago and restored them. * Note the foo dog legs on the dining room table.

The guide turns and describes the green room:

          The ceiling in this second parlor was raised to its original height. The art deco period wallpaper was found in Nebraska from an old abandoned general store. The tile around the fireplace was probably replaced in the 1930's.

Clay points out another heart he

has found in the house.

 The guide points the group up to the Library Tower Room.

STATION 4-LIBRARY, FRONT BEDROOM, SECOND BEDROOM AND MASTER BEDROOM

          The guide describes the Library as the group walks by:

          The two curved bookcases in the Library are original as are the curved windows and the ceiling has been restored to its original design.

Grandma helps Robin with the antique stereo viewer displayed in the library.  The extra care that the Wrights have taken to add so many interesting and usable

 antiques to the home give the children an idea of

what life might have been like for the original owners.

Sorry, the photo does not

show its true beauty.

It was purchased by the Wrights

 on a trip overseas.

Mrs. Wright shows a hallway closet still lined with the

original cedar boards.

 The guide describes the Front Bedroom:

          The artwork on the walls had been covered by wallpaper. The striped paintings were matched and brightened by paint. The leaves, flowers, ribbons and background are original. The woodwork is quarter sawn sycamore. * Note the corset tightening chair by the closet door.

Clay points out the original closet

 hardware--hooks--not a hanging rod--designed

 that way because hangars were not yet

invented when the house was built.

          The guide describes the Second Bedroom:

          This bedroom had been the display room for antique glassware when Mr. Gwin, the antique dealer, owned it. The Wrights' removed the shelves from the walls and the wallpaper from the ceiling. It was the first room in which the Wrights' discovered any artwork in the house. The art treasure hunt had begun. * Note the new Venetian chandelier, a beautiful piece of pink glass art.

Robin shows an antique vessel that could be

filled with hot water and used as a bed

warmer--especially in the rooms with no heat!

             The guide leads the group down the hall to the Master Bedroom door and leads them through the room and describes:

          This room had originally been the upstairs den or women's sewing room. The fireplace was used to heat the bricks that were placed in the beds in the winter. The fireplace tile is original.

The ceiling was raised to its original height and the artwork was restored. A south facing balcony can be entered from this room.

Robin and Clay show the access to the upstairs balcony off the master bedroom and Robin peeks onto the balcony.

STATION 5- TOWER COSTUME ROOM, BALLROOM,

EXERCISE ROOM AND ELEVATOR-

          The guide describes the Top Tower Room:

          This round room was called the Mens' Smoking and Gambling Room by the original owners, the Van Dolahs'. The Wrights' have chosen to display a collection of costumes. *Note the cherubs on the ceiling.

          The guide takes the group through the Ballroom and describes:

          This room is called the Ballroom and was used for parties and dances. The tudor boards were added during the 60's. There are two balconies off from this room. (Point them out.)

Clay shows one of the small balconies off the

3rd floor ballroom facing North.  Just enough

room for warm dancers to catch a cool breeze.

This fountain was original to the ballroom.

          The guide describes the Exercise Room and and elevator:

          The Exercise Room was originally a maid's room. *Note the painted ceiling.

          The elevator is manual and runs from the third floor down to the basement.

Mrs. Van Dolah was an invalid for many years,

even before the house was built, so the elevator was

 a necessity, not just an indulgence. 

It was not in working order when the Wrights moved in, but

luckily their clever  son devised a way to make it

 work again with some ropes being over 100 feet long.

          The guide points the group down the back steps to the second floor back hall.

STATION 6-MASTER BATH, LAUNDRY ROOM AND BACK BEDROOM- SECOND FLOOR-

          The guide takes the group down the back stairway and walks them by the Master Bathroom and describes:

          The china bathtub with elephant feet is original to the house.

The strange faucet on the wall was part of the

interior fire prevention system.  The big hoses

had to be removed because of mold.

          The guide takes the group through the Laundry Room and describes:

          This room had been a bedroom. The wainscoting paneling was salvaged from the old American State Bank in downtown Bloomington by the Wrights'. * Note the claw foot marble sink.  

*Note the high

tank toilet.

There was a water tank in the attic that supplied water for the indoor plumbing.  

Clay shows us

how it works.

Antique displays seem to keep the home in the

 1800s, but modern appliances are cleverly

disguised so that the home is pleasant and up

to date for the Wright family of the 21st century. .

The garment on display is a nightgown that

belonged to Britanna Van Dolah.

This shows the modern, but old fashioned looking, bathroom.

          The guide walks them through the Back Bedroom and describes:

          This room had been a maid's room. *Note the speaker tube which is connected to the kitchen and-the master bedroom.

Then the guide points out the closed elevator door on the second floor and shows them down the back steps to the first floor back hall.

Mrs. Wright's mother's calendar

 collection hangs on the back stairwell.

TATION 7- FIRST FLOOR BACK HALL AND KITCHEN

          The guide stops in the Back Hall, points out the first floor elevator door and describes:

          The house has over 90 doors. In this area alone there are 7 doors.

          The guide then leads them to the kitchen and describes:

The kitchen cabinets were built by Kent Whiteside

 to match the original butler pantry doors

(point out butler pantry doors).  This little room

 housed supplies such as flour and sugar in these

 huge bins and is original to the house.

 The antique hardware was found in seven

 different shops over a two year period of time.

 The speaker tubes over the sink are original.

 They lead to various rooms and entrance

 doors. Several speakers still work. The bell

 system directly above the speaker tubes has

 been restored to operation.

The tin ceiling and the wainscoting

were salvaged from the old

American State Bank in

Bloomington.

The dishwasher, microwave

 and television are behind

cupboard doors.

          The eating area is a winterized back porch. The screened porch area was added by the Wright's.

          The guide points to the back kitchen door for exiting the house.

          We hope you have enjoyed our virtual tour of Lexington's famous landmark.  Much thanks to the Wright family--Chuck, Mary, and grandchildren Connor, Chuckie, Clay and Robin--for all their assistance and extra time to help us bring you this coverage.!