One of my hobbies is traveling and visiting mansions. Today I want to tell you about one of my favorite mansions - Winchester Mystery House. It is located in San Jose, CA. If you are planning to attend the Good Sam show at the beginning of October, try to find time to visit that mansion, you won't regret.
This mansion has a second name "The mansion designed by spirits".
Construction starts in 1884
Construction ends in 1922
Cost of construction is $5,500,000
Length of construction is 38 years
Size of Original Estate - 161 acres
Number of rooms - 160
Number of doors - 2,000
Number of Windows - 10,000
Number of stairways - 40
Number of Fireplaces - 47
Number of chimneys - 17
Number of bathrooms - 13
Number of kitchens - 6
Number of gallons of paint needed for exterior - 20,000
Do you dare to reproduce it in miniature?
The fascinating story of the Winchester Mystery House has its roots in the personal tragedies suffered by Mrs. Winchester and in the legacy of the Winchester rifle, "The Gun That Won The West".
Why did Mrs. Sarah Winchester spent the last half of her life and $5,500,000 building a house that contains 160 rooms? The mystery remains unsolved to this very day.
It is said that this photo was taken secretly by a gardener hiding in the nearby bushes. Mrs. Winchester didn't like to be taken a photo of.
Winchester Mystery House is an extravagant maze of Victorian craftmanship.
There are stairs that lead to nowhere. For example, this one leads to the ceiling:
There are doors leading to nowhere:
The daisy was Mrs. Winchester's favorite flower, and she used it often - including in these custom-made stained glass windows on the second floor:
The Seance Room was where Mrs. Winchester supposedly held her late night conferences with the spirits. The 13 hooks in the cupboards had 13 colored robes which she wore during seances:
Many windows have 13 panes and there are 13 bathrooms, with 13 windows in the 13th bathroom. There are also 13 wall panels in the room prior to the 13th bathroom, and 13 steps leading to the bathroom. The Carriage Entrance Hall floor is divided in 13 cement sections. There are 13 hooks in the Seance Room. There are more thirteens: 13 rails by the floor-level skylight in the South Conservatory, 13 steps on many stairways, 13 squares on each side of the Otis electric elevator, 13 glass cupolas on the Greenhouse, 13 holes in the sink drain covers, 13 ceiling panels in some of the rooms, and 13 gas jets on the Ballroom chandelier! Do you have chill already or what?
Can you tell what is wrong with the house on these pictures?
You are absolutely correct, spindles/balusters are upside down! Amazing imagination!
The gardens are beautiful!
In some ways, the design of the gardens is typically Victorian, with geometric designs and neatly trimmed shrubs.
Absolutely gorgeous and mystic mansion!
One of the best known statues is that of Chief Little fawn, a Native American who died defending his homeland. It is said that Mrs. Winchester erected this statue to placate the spirits of hundreds of thousands of Indians who were killed by the Winchester repeating rifles.
This is Mrs. Winchester's bedroom where she died in 1922. She suffered greatly from arthritis and passed away in her sleep from heart failure.
She was buried beside her beloved husband in New haven, Connecticut, taking all secrets of the way she lived and why she built one of the world's oddest houses...
I hope you liked the story,
Natalia
This mansion has a second name "The mansion designed by spirits".
Construction ends in 1922
Cost of construction is $5,500,000
Length of construction is 38 years
Size of Original Estate - 161 acres
Number of rooms - 160
Number of doors - 2,000
Number of Windows - 10,000
Number of stairways - 40
Number of Fireplaces - 47
Number of chimneys - 17
Number of bathrooms - 13
Number of kitchens - 6
Number of gallons of paint needed for exterior - 20,000
Do you dare to reproduce it in miniature?
The fascinating story of the Winchester Mystery House has its roots in the personal tragedies suffered by Mrs. Winchester and in the legacy of the Winchester rifle, "The Gun That Won The West".
Why did Mrs. Sarah Winchester spent the last half of her life and $5,500,000 building a house that contains 160 rooms? The mystery remains unsolved to this very day.
Winchester Mystery House is an extravagant maze of Victorian craftmanship.
There are stairs that lead to nowhere. For example, this one leads to the ceiling:
There are doors leading to nowhere:
The daisy was Mrs. Winchester's favorite flower, and she used it often - including in these custom-made stained glass windows on the second floor:
The Seance Room was where Mrs. Winchester supposedly held her late night conferences with the spirits. The 13 hooks in the cupboards had 13 colored robes which she wore during seances:
Many windows have 13 panes and there are 13 bathrooms, with 13 windows in the 13th bathroom. There are also 13 wall panels in the room prior to the 13th bathroom, and 13 steps leading to the bathroom. The Carriage Entrance Hall floor is divided in 13 cement sections. There are 13 hooks in the Seance Room. There are more thirteens: 13 rails by the floor-level skylight in the South Conservatory, 13 steps on many stairways, 13 squares on each side of the Otis electric elevator, 13 glass cupolas on the Greenhouse, 13 holes in the sink drain covers, 13 ceiling panels in some of the rooms, and 13 gas jets on the Ballroom chandelier! Do you have chill already or what?
Can you tell what is wrong with the house on these pictures?
You are absolutely correct, spindles/balusters are upside down! Amazing imagination!
The gardens are beautiful!
Absolutely gorgeous and mystic mansion!
One of the best known statues is that of Chief Little fawn, a Native American who died defending his homeland. It is said that Mrs. Winchester erected this statue to placate the spirits of hundreds of thousands of Indians who were killed by the Winchester repeating rifles.
This is Mrs. Winchester's bedroom where she died in 1922. She suffered greatly from arthritis and passed away in her sleep from heart failure.
She was buried beside her beloved husband in New haven, Connecticut, taking all secrets of the way she lived and why she built one of the world's oddest houses...
I hope you liked the story,
Natalia
no solo me ha encantado la casa y su historia, sino que me ha recordado a una pelicula basade en un libro de Stephen King, Rose Red, es una historia y casa similares , gracias por las fotos y la informacion , muy interesante
ReplyDeletebesitos
Mari
What an interesting house! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Hello from Spain: Victorian houses are my favorite. I see that this house is very big. 160 rooms! The house is too big. I like the curtains in the room of Mrs. Winchester. We keep in touch.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like your story - I loved it! This was absolutely stunning, I've never heard of somehting like that before. Would be fun to know what the archtitects were thinking when getting the order by Mrs. Winchester... ;O)Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreetings
Birgit
Thanks for sharing! I never herd about this house before! I looks fantstic!But I don´t want to live in. 160 rooms ! So many rooms to clean up!!
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Melanie
I am glad you liked the story, ladies!
ReplyDeleteMari, Red Rose is on the list.
Birgit, the builders probably thought the same what the most of people do...
Melanie, if you are able to afford that kind of house, you would afford to have servants to clean those 160 rooms as well! No problems! :))))
Thank you all for your comments!
I think there is a lot that we all can take from this story and implement to our own projects!
Natalia
What an odd lady but what a story she created with this house. You are a gem to share this with us, Natalia, Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, she might have built those 160 rooms for the spirits and they can jolly well clean their own rooms :):):)
Thanks for sharing. I like to see old places so I can use some ideas for my doll house.
ReplyDeleteHi Natalia, I don't look through my friends blogs too often, but checked in on yours today and lo and behold, a whole report on The Winchester Mystery House! My daughter took a trip to San Jose, Calif. a few weeks ago and I told her all about the house. I lived in San Jose when I was 16 and loved to visit this mansion. I was completely fascinated with the tour and learning all the crazy facts about Mrs. Winchester. What a sad life it must have been for her feeling she had to placate the ghosts of all those killed by her husband's rifles. She was in her unfinished ballroom during the 1906 earthquake and was so upset with the destruction, she sealed it up, never to be used. It would have been quite magnificent. Thanks for all the wonderful photos!
ReplyDeleteBest regards, Cookie Ziemba