As a photographer, I practically live for these opportunities: historic mansions opening up their doors and gardens for the general public to nose around for the day. There's an annual fundraising event in northern New Jersey presented by the Women's Association for Morristown Medical Center called "Mansion in May." Each year, a different historic mansion in the area is selected as a showhouse for local designers and garden experts. Basically, they clear out whatever is inside and reimagine all of the rooms, taking them to a style I can only describe as "modern-day posh."
This year's Mansion in May was (and still is, for a few more days) Alnwick Hall (pronounced "ann-ick"), also called the Abbey, located in Morristown, New Jersey. Built between 1903 and 1904, it was the private residence of Edward Peter Meany, who became a millionaire during the late 1800's as a general counsel for the emerging telephone industry. His home is a well-preserved example of "Morristown's Golden Age."
Okay, history lesson aside, let me be honest with you: I wasn't there for the designer showhouse. While the rooms were all gorgeously dressed to the nines, I secretly wished they had just left the mansion as it was "back in the day." (I think this is what happens when you read too many novels by Edith Wharton and Henry James!) It was a little jarring to walk into this turn-of-the-century home and see a state-of-the-art foosball table and megasize flat-screen TV. But, that's just me. The place was overflowing with ooh-ing and ahh-ing designers and shoppers (there were boutiques set up on-site) who were obviously loving the mansion all dressed up for this festive May party.
Although I enjoyed looking up at the original ornate ceilings and stained glass windows, I couldn't wait to be done with the house tour so I could get outside to the gardens with my camera.
Let's face it, friends: I'm just a nature hippy, and flowers are much more my style!
Happy long holiday weekend to my stateside friends, and happy regular-sized weekend to my friends abroad!
P.S. If you haven't yet gotten your free, downloadable guide, Hey, How Did You Do That?! 20 Apps to Totally Transform Your Phone Photos, you still have time! It's the free gift when you sign up below for my monthly-ish photography letter, Writing with Light. That's also free, no spam ever, and you can unsubscribe whenever! Win all around...
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