Christmas Jar Memories-Holiday Open House

Pictures with a phone do not cut it for this house!

As a little girl we passed this house often.  It was right across the street from our church. I always tried to imagine what it looked like inside. Finally in 1981 it was open to the public for tours.  I have been in it at least three times that I can remember and see something new and different every tour.

Last night we took the boys to the Stark house. At Christmas time the house is open for complimentary first floor tours of holiday decorations, live music (in the homes' music room) and refreshments served in the adjacent Carriage House. Although we only got to see the first floor it was amazing.  And being Brant and the boys' first time they were in awe of what they saw.  During this special holiday open house children are allowed to see the first floor with a parent, but regular tours you must be 10 years of age. Brant and I plan to take a tour very soon without the boys. 

A little history........the W.H. Stark House is as impressive as the landmark itself. The 14,000 square-foot home was built in 1894 by William Henry Stark and his wife, Miriam M. Lutcher Stark, prominent philanthropists who occupied the home until their respective deaths 1936. The home remained vacant until 1971, at which time a major ten-year restoration was commenced. The restored Stark House opened for public tours on February 10, 1981, and it remains open currently for public tours, allowing visitors to view the Stark family’s original furnishings and personal effects, as well as rare 18th and 19th century decorative arts. As the only surviving structure of many that once lined the tree-shaded, residential neighborhood, The W.H. Stark House is a unique testament to Texas’ social history and a point of interest to residents and visitors alike.

Designed in the Queen Anne architectural style, the house features a distinctive turret, stained glass windows, and ornate woodwork in cypress and long leaf yellow pine.
Today, the three-story structure stands much as it did at the turn of the 20th century, with fifteen rooms of original family furnishings, personal effects and decorative arts, including antique rugs, original textiles, silver, cut glass, and antique porcelain. Also featured are the Stark family’s impressive collections of American Brilliant Period cut glass, pressed and pattern glass, milk glass, porcelains, and other 18th and 19th century decorative accessories. The interior of both the W.H. Stark House and its adjacent Carriage House depicts the home life of the Starks in the early 1900s and provides an extraordinary statement of Texas’ social history.
The W.H. Stark House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission. It is operated as a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, a private foundation established in 1961 by H.J. Lutcher Stark, the only surviving child of W.H. and Miriam Stark.

The boys' favorite part of the tour was going back to the carriage house for not just one, but two rooms with tables full of Christmas cookies and yummy treats.

And I learned something new last night........the house was practically painted by hand due to the intricate details.  These pictures do not show the up close details, but you may be able to get an idea. 

I think we have another memory for the Christmas jar again next year!!!

What's in your jar this week?