Hat Boxes and the Past in Rochester, N.Y. Should visitors to Kodak founder George Eastman’s house in Rochester, N.Y. feel nosy upon peeking into closets at the old place? What would someone find if she were to glance into mine? Unfolded laundry, racks packed with too many clothes, wire hangers. Looking into George’s mother’s…
Category: Big Houses
Boscobel for the Holidays
Planning to stay for a few days at the Hudson House Inn in Cold Spring, the Brawny Sherpa and I stop on a snowy Wednesday at Boscobel, an historic house in nearby Garrison. It’s the perfect time for a visit because the snow deters all other tourists; we are treated to our own personal tour…
Make Memories at Rochester’s George Eastman House
A visit to the home of Kodak’s founder never disappoints I know I am going to like my visit to the George Eastman House in Rochester, N.Y. just as soon as the docent makes a request: “Please do take pictures.” We’re in a mansion as grand as those in Newport, R.I., but here we are…
The Takeaway from Boscobel
During my nonblogging hours, I spend a fair amount of time thinking about what educators intend to teach students and whether and to what extent students are actually learning what their instructors intend. I can’t help but wonder whether I’ve ever mastered any of the learning outcomes established by an historic institution. I suspect I’m…
A Mind-Altering Mansion Crawl
No matter how many houses of the rich and famous I visit (with the George Eastman house in Rochester, N.Y. probably being my favorite), I still feel a little strange traipsing through someone else’s home, no matter how long ago it was abandoned or ‘donated’ to a historical society. Do I really need to know…