As we gear up for our 33rd Christmas season, we reflect on the incredible growth in admissions and development in 2016 thus far. We have already seen a total of 27,346 people this year from May 1 to October 31, an increase of about 22% or 6,500 people as of the end of the regular [...]
Work is already underway on our most ambitious interior conservation effort yet undertaken in the Mansion. With every inch of the walls and ceilings elaborately decorated, the Reception Suite is arguably the most impressive space in the house. In preparation for the paint conservation project, we have taken away all the furnishings and placed the portraits [...]
Museum Shop Manager Patti Chase has been giving visitors a sneak peek and early opportunity to purchase some of the lovely ornaments, decorations, and gifts curated by our buyer Alice Dwyer Ross for this holiday season. Stopping by the Carriage House Museum Shop has become a tradition for many, and we can't wait to show [...]
Visitors to the Mansion are now enjoying an exhibit recently installed by Curator Arlene Palmer Schwind in a new lighted case under the stairs in the back of the stair hall. It features the dazzling silk passementerie (trimmings) that originally embellished the window hangings in the Parlor. Believed to have been made in Paris, these [...]
Our second annual "Mourning in the Mansion," once again captivated crowds with a themed tour about Victorian death practices accompanied by excerpts from Portland Ballet's production The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The event combined historical information on traditional mourning customs of the nineteenth century, as well as details about the several deaths and funerals that took [...]
In September, the Mansion was awarded a prestigious IMLS grant for the Museums of America program. The grant will partially fund the restoration of the original painted finishes of the walls and ceilings of the Reception Room, part of the only extant architectural commission by artist Giuseppe Guidicini. The project will also encompass photographic documentation and paint sampling [...]
Ellen Libby Lawrence, the sole surviving grandchild of J.R. Libby, visited the Mansion in late August with her son Franklin, a former Mansion trustee. A generous supporter of Victoria Mansion for decades, Ellen has donated original Morse and Libby objects and provided information about the Libby family that is critical to our interpretation of the [...]
It's never too early to start planning for Christmas here at the Mansion! Plans began in March to create a nostalgic wonderland for this year's Christmas season. Look forward to designs inspired by the illustrious nineteenth-century print-makers and complimenting the Mansion's original interiors. In addition to the fabulous decorations, the Mansion will offer a slate [...]
It's that time of year again when Portland welcomes thousands of international visitors and the cruise ship season kicks into high gear. This year, the city will host 28 ships in September and 18 ships in October, with a and total of 76 cruise ships before the season's end. The city estimates that about 100,000 [...]
We are very excited to be hosting the National Garden Club from September 23-25! These talented florists and designers from all over the country will be using the Mansion as their inspiration, creating fresh and dried arrangements to be placed throughout the house. The arrangements will be on display all weekend for the visitors to enjoy as [...]
