Kingscote Mansion [RI]

Description

Kingscote is a landmark of the Gothic Revival style in American architecture. Its appearance in Newport marked the beginning of the "cottage boom" that would distinguish the town as a veritable laboratory for the design of picturesque houses throughout the 19th century. In 1839 Southern planter George Noble Jones commissioned architect Richard Upjohn to design a summer cottage along a country road, known as Bellevue Avenue, on the outskirts of town. Upjohn created a highly original "cottage orne," or ornamental cottage, in the Gothic Revival style. The general effect was romantic—a fanciful composition of towers, windows, Gothic arches, and porch roofs inspired by medieval tournament tents. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Jones family left Newport never to return, and the house was sold in 1864 to China Trade merchant William Henry King. His nephew David took over the house in 1876, and several years later decided to enlarge Kingscote. He engaged the firm of McKim, Mead, and White to make the renovations, including the new dining room. The room combines Colonial American details with exotic ornament—reflecting the architects' interest in combining eastern and western motifs. The innovative use of materials was also important, such as cork tiles as a covering for the wall frieze and ceiling, and an early installation of opalescent glass bricks by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The house remained in the King family until 1972, when the last descendant left it to the Preservation Society. Today, Kingscote is a National Historic Landmark. It is a rare example of a Gothic Revival house and landscape setting preserved intact with original family collections.

The house offers tours.

Chateau-sur-Mer [RI]

Description

Chateau-sur-Mer is a landmark of High Victorian architecture, furniture, wallpapers, ceramics, and stenciling. It was the most palatial residence in Newport from its completion in 1852 until the appearance of the Vanderbilt houses in the 1890s. It was the scene of memorable entertainments, from the "Fete Champetre," an elaborate country picnic for over two thousand guests held in 1857, to the debutante ball for Miss Edith Wetmore in 1889. Chateau-sur-Mer's grand scale and lavish parties ushered in the Gilded Age of Newport. Chateau-sur-Mer was built as an Italianate-style villa for China trade merchant William Shepard Wetmore. Mr. Wetmore died in 1862, leaving the bulk of his fortune to his son, George Peabody Wetmore, and a generous allowance for his daughter, Annie Derby Wetmore. George married Edith Keteltas in 1869. During the 1870s, the young couple departed on an extended trip to Europe, leaving architect Richard Morris Hunt to remodel and redecorate the house in the Second Empire French style. As a result, Chateau-sur-Mer displays most of the major design trends of the last half of the 19th century.

The house offers tours.

Green Animals Topiary Garden [RI]

Description

This small country estate in Portsmouth was purchased in 1877 by Thomas E. Brayton (1844–1939), Treasurer of the Union Cotton Manufacturing Company in Fall River, Massachusetts. It consisted of seven acres of land, a white clapboard summer residence, farm outbuildings, a pasture, and a vegetable garden. Gardener Joseph Carreiro, superintendent of the property from 1905 to 1945, and his son-in-law, George Mendonca, superintendent until 1985, were responsible for creating the topiaries. There are 80 pieces of topiary throughout the gardens, including 21 animals and birds in addition to geometric figures and ornamental designs, sculpted from California privet, yew, and English boxwood. Green Animals is the oldest and most northern topiary garden in the United States. Mr. Brayton's daughter Alice gave the estate its name because of the profusion of "green animals." She made the estate her permanent residence in 1939. Upon her death in 1972, at the age of 94, Miss Brayton left Green Animals to The Preservation Society of Newport County. Today, Green Animals remains as a rare example of a self-sufficient estate combining formal topiaries, vegetable and herb gardens, orchards, and a Victorian house overlooking Narragansett Bay.

The site offers tours.

Rosecliff [RI]

Description

Commissioned by Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs in 1899, architect Stanford White modeled Rosecliff after the Grand Trianon, the garden retreat of French kings at Versailles. After the house was completed in 1902, at a reported cost of $2.5 million, Mrs. Oelrichs hosted fabulous entertainments here, including a fairy tale dinner and a party featuring famed magician Harry Houdini.

The mansion offers tours.

Fremont Indian State Park and Museum [UT]

Description

Visitors to the Museum can discover artifacts, petroglyphs, and pictographs left behind by the Fremont Indians. During construction of Interstate 70, the largest known Fremont Indian village was uncovered. This museum preserves treasures from the site, including pottery, baskets, and arrowheads.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, workshops, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum [UT]

Description

The Museum houses the largest collection of Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) pottery on display in the Four Corners Region and allows visitors to explore an authentic Puebloan village behind the museum. In addition to permanent collections, Edge of the Cedars offers special exhibits, festivals, and events throughout the year. Dynamic exhibits at Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum feature outstanding photography, fine art, current topics in archaeology, and contemporary Native American crafts. Festivals, programs, and special events promote traditional values through storytelling, craft workshops, and an Indian art exhibit.

The site offers exhibits, workshops and classes, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Anasazi State Park Museum [UT]

Description

This ancient village in the heart of Utah's canyon country was one of the largest Ancestral Puebloan communities west of the Colorado River. Now called the Coombs Site, it is believed to have been occupied from AD 1160 to 1235 and may have housed as many as 200 people. Archaeological excavations at the site have revealed more than 100 structures and have produced thousands of artifacts, some of which are on display in the museum. In addition to museum collections, visitors may also explore the Coombs Site, located directly behind the museum.

The site offer exhibits.

Museum Center at 5ive Points [TN]

Description

The Museum Center at 5ive Points presents the sociocultural history of Southeast Tennessee's Ocoee District. The museum's permanent exhibit discusses local Cherokee and other Native American life, the Trail of Tears and settlement, antebellum life, industry and commerce, the World War I and II eras, and the 1996 Olympics. Seven fictional living history characters give the exhibits a personal tone.

The center offers exhibits, a summer art camp, thematic school tours, homeschool programs, traveling trunks, and 50-minute interactive outreach programs.
Reservations are required for groups of 12 or more.

Micanopy Historical Society Museum [FL]

Description

The Micanopy Historical Society Museum presents the history of Micanopy, FL. The museum is housed within a circa 1850 warehouse which once held lumber and agricultural tools. Exhibits address a local trading post, zoology, transportation, the post, general stores, naval pine resin derivatives, Seminole textiles, Seminole war chiefs, the Civil War, World War homefront life, and laundry technology. Highlights include a circa 1930 Coca-Cola sign, an ice box, a 1906 wedding gown, and a Sibley tent stove.

The museum offers exhibits.

C.M. Russell Museum [MT]

Description

The C.M. Russell Museum is dedicated to the art of C.M. Russell, an artist who painted landscapes of the American West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The museum offers five permanent exhibits of Russell's work spanning his entire lifetime as well as galleries devoted to other artists who also portrayed the West. Visiting exhibits include information on Native Americans, bison, and the culture of the West.

The Museum offers field trips free of charge to school groups and homeschoolers. Themes for school tours include C.M. Russell, Montana history, Native American life, current exhibits, and a special 5th grade tour. Special school tours and activities are available during Native American Awareness Day (the 4th Friday in September). All field trips include a hand-on activity.