Thursday Doors: Acorn Hall

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Acorn Hall, architecture, doors, History, Morris County, Morristown, New Jersey, Thursday Doors

The other evening my husband and I were out gathering photos at the arboretum and he wanted to show me Acorn Hall. It wasn’t open, but we had a walk around the grounds. The weather was kind of stormy and the sky was gorgeous.

It is a very attractive building and I hope to see the inside soon. I’m guessing there are some lovely doors inside, too.

To see more photographs of doors and the stories behind them check out Norm 2.0.

New York Botanical Garden: Thursday Doors

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architecture, Chihuly, flowers, glass, New York, New York Botanical Garden, NYBC, photos

We went to the New York Botanical Garden (NYBC) yesterday and it was glorious. This is a small, unidentified (as far as we could see) building at the rose garden tram stop. I will probably have more than one post about the rose garden. It was a sensual feast. So beautiful and fragrant!

Here is my rose garden teaser. This isn’t exactly a door, but it is a lovely passageway.

There is a Chihuly installation going on all summer so the conservatory door is hidden. I’m ok with that. He is a glass genius. If you can see his work in person, go. To watch the light and environment interact with his work is such a beautiful experience.

Here are one of the side doors to the conservatory and the library door. If you are a door enthusiast or are just curious about the world check out Norm 2.0 for the Thursday Doors challenge.

The Breakers: Newport, Rhode Island

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architecture, Breakers, doors, Norm 2.0, ornate, Rhode Island, Stone building, Thursday Doors

Side gardens and entrance to the Breakers

This week I’m sharing my photos of the Breakers in Newport for my Thursday Doors post. While I love taking pictures of so many parts of fancy houses and buildings, I’m quite enchanted by doors. I’m so grateful to have found some like minded people who also like to share photos of doors. I hope you enjoy my tour of this “cottage.”

Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. It is hosted by Norm 2.0.

“The Breakers is the grandest of Newport’s summer “cottages” and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family’s social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America.

Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) established the family fortune in steamships and later in the New York Central Railroad, which was a pivotal development in the industrial growth of the nation during the late 19th century.” from the Newport Mansions Preservation Society.

This house had so many beautifully crafted features. Each room had magnificent doors and the views from one set of doors into the other rooms was very interesting. Some of the rooms had very distinctive styles. The first floor was extremely ornate. The second floor was comparatively simple, but probably my favorite rooms were there. The bathrooms were fantastic. I would love to have such a bathroom today! Here are the doors and doorways of the first floor.

The second floor doors were simpler.

There were secret doors that the servants could use to unobtrusively go about their business. There was a servant who’s job it was to go throughout the house and close and open window shades and shutters as the day progressed. That was the whole job, but I’m sure it kept him super busy! Old fashioned air conditioning. The pantry and the closets were amazing.

These are the rooms of the first floor. The details amazed me. The skylight is by Tiffany and it is so beautifully framed by the staircase. One of the rooms had portions of the wall “painted” with platinum. The floors and ceilings were all exquisite.

I really loved the comparative simplicity of the bedrooms and bathrooms. The kitchen was a wonder. It was fascinating to see how they used materials and design to make the work of the kitchen more efficient. The zinc and marble were utilitarian rather than a matter of style.

There was one tree on the grounds that I found particularly beautiful. I’m not sure what kind of tree it is.

I hope you have a beautiful day. For more door photos check out Norm 2.0.

 

Baha’i House of Worship

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architecture, Baha'i House of Worship, Chicago, Door, Norm 2.0, Stone building, Stone church, Thursday Doors

On our way to Wisconsin last week we stopped at the Baha’i House of Worship in Chicago. I had wanted to go there for ages and I’m so glad we did.

Here is a photo with a robin and a security guard and a reflection in the fountain.

The details of the building are so beautiful. And so are the doorways.

If you want to see more beautiful and interesting doors, check out Thursday Doors at Norm 2.0.

I hope you have a beautiful day.

Doors of Morristown, NJ: Part 1

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architecture, doors, Library, Morristown, New Jersey, Norm 2.0, photos, Thursday Doors, Wordsworth

I have a whole bunch of lovely door photos to share with you all! Thanks Norm 2.0 for providing us with a venue and community of fellow door lovers. I have been admiring quite a few of these doors since we were first looking for a house in this neck of the woods. I’m happy to report that I got some mid-day pictures and hope to go back for some golden hour photos in different seasons.

I’m going to start with one of my favorite places in Morristown, the library. The main entrance is a little mundane, but it has some wonderful alternatives.

It doesn’t look like much from the street, but there is a vestibule before the door that has some interesting views.

Here is a view of the whole building. The older part of the building dates back to Dec. 13, 1917. It has an interesting history if you want to know more click here.

The sunny side of the building has a really wonderful door. I took some closeups so you can really appreciate it.

The quote on the door is from Wordsworth:

“Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know,
Are a substantial world, both pure and good:
Round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood,
Our pastime and our happiness will grow.”
― William Wordsworth

Did you go somewhere beautiful recently?