This past weekend a good friend of mine married a gorgeous, artisitic, and truly unique woman that I am sure is going to keep a smile on his face for years to come – and I was lucky enough to witness it. It was an honor to be a part of their wedding celebration; they’re obviously madly in love. I had a great time, and came home with plenty of photos to prove it. And because I am obsessed, I couldn’t help but bring home a few house-related ones to share with all of you!
The ceremony and reception took place at a beautiful Tudor-style mansion in Baltimore, Maryland. So while other people were snapping photos of the bride and groom, I was snapping photos of the tile…. but just look at this stuff, would you? It was about 10″ tall, if I’m remembering right, and the colors were amazing!!
Below is a photo of the exterior, stolen from their website. As you can see, they had beautiful gardens and grounds to explore:
A bit of history, also stolen from their website:
Built in 1902 by Alexander J. Cassatt, owner of the Pennsylvania Railroad and brother of the American Impressionist painter, Mary Cassatt, Gramercy Mansion was presented as a wedding gift to his daughter, Eliza. Later owners included the prominent Brewster family, descendants of Benjamin Franklin, from whom a grandson became a Senator from Maryland. In the 1950’s the estate became home to the Koinonia Foundation, a predecessor of the Peace Corps, before being bought and restored by Dr. & Mrs. Pomykala in 1985.
This is the foyer – complete with fancy furniture, a grand staircase and beautiful dark wood trim:
The entire place was so well-decorated and decadent, it literally left me feeling like I had gone back in time. If you ever happen to find yourself in Baltimore in need of a swanky place to crash, this would be a great place to stay!
Comments, Thoughts, and Feedback
Wow! That tile is exquisite!
Those tiles looks very much like they’re probably/possibly from the Moravian Tile works in Doylestown, PA
http://www.buckscounty.org/government/departments/tileworks/index.aspx
who still operates as a living museum. They have gorgous tiles and were used all over PA and I’m guessing the tri-state area as well. I lived in a house built for Henry Frick’s lawyer out in Pittsburgh and the foyer looked just like the one in the picture, but as if it belonged to Miss Hvasham in Great Expectations. The room was empty but for a decrepit Steinway grand piano (not baby grand, fully grand) and an exquisite tile fireplace surround from the Moravian tile works with a renaissance theme, if i rememebr correctly. There were leaded glass tiffany windows which were actually stolen out of the windows in the 5 story staircase while we lived there. Eventually it burned in an electrical fire. Such a sin. Here’s a link i found:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04220/357885.stm
Maybe someday i’ll find time to start my own blog and post pictures. Thanks for your great blog!
I’ve been checking in on you guys on a regular basis for the past two years and living vicariously through you. I work in Baltimore and have lived in the area for basically my entire life. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of the Gramercy Mansion. I will be looking in to it for sure and dragging my husband along with me. Thanks so much for the post and the site!
We love to hear from you, dear readers.