On Thursday, we traveled with Jack and Shirlee to Flagstaff where we met up with Jack's brother, Paul, to explore a state historic park and home. The tour of the home that is filled with original furnishings and clothing from the early 1900's was fascinating. Perhaps even more so since this home was built the same year as our home in Live Oak.
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| The Riordan Mansion State Historic Park stands tucked away among the Ponderosa pines of Kinlichi Knoll in Flagstaff, Arizona. This five-acre park, which borders Northern Arizona University, showcases the remarkable home of Timothy and Michael Riordan, lumber baron brothers who married sisters, Caroline and Elizabeth Metz. |
Together, the Riordan brothers built their thirteen thousand square foot duplex in 1904 while Arizona Territory still struggled toward statehood. The rustic mansion, built from rough, log-slab siding, hand-split wooden shingles and volcanic rock, blends perfectly with the rugged Flagstaff landscape. The home, designed in American Arts and Crafts style by Charles Whittlesey, who also planned El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon, contains forty rooms, including six bathrooms called "indoor necessaries."The startlingly luxurious home consisted of two similar six thousand square foot wings, one for each family, connected by a large billiard room. Both families used the long Billiard Room, with its overhead log beams, as a recreation room. How is this for a SUPER DUPER DUPLEX!
Most of the art deco and craftsman structure/furnishings and artwork were original to the home. In the less formal living room, they actually had a long wicker swing hanging in front of the fireplace....I really liked that. Such an interesting home to tour!
Another really interesting item in the house were photographs taken by Grand Canyon
explorer John Wesley Powell's expedition photographer John (Jack) Hiller's actually printed on the glass window panes in the Billiard Room. These unique photos provide a glimpse of early Arizona. Here is one of the windows:
The home was filled with many of the original furnishings, dishes, and artwork. The owners filled their homes with art deco and craftsman furnishings and lots of Tiffany style windows.
The rustic exterior blended in beautifully with the wooded grounds.
As always, I love discovering the local flowers on the property.
Following our tour, we headed downtown for a yummy lunch at the Diablo Burger.
I was quite intriqued by how they have honored their history by preserving so many of the downtown buildings. Get a load of this thermometer that has been up since 1882!
Don't you just love this funky bench?
There were several on the plaza - each one just a little different in design.
This is a view of the landscape as we drove back down to Munds Park. What a beautiful day!
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