The music room.
Photos were not allowed to be taken inside the house so I don't know how these ended up in my camera. The flash was turned off so they are not as good as they might have been...but they give a clue as to the incredible decor and design of the house...er....mansion.
That wonderful inner courtyard. When I win the lottery I am going to build a house with an inner courtyard. First of all I think I better buy a lottery ticket.
I lost track of how many bedrooms there were. The furnishings are the original.
This was actually one of the suites of rooms--for visiting dignitaries. I kept thinking, "What a great Bed and Breakfast this would make."
The view from the windows of this room looked out over the Bay. Once again I noticed that the antique beds were much shorter than the standard bed of today. Have we really gotten that much taller?
This was the servants staircase--one of two. There was also a large main staircase and a very elaborately appointed elevator. Deering made sure that the house..er..estate had every modern convenience. The chandeliers were electric (very new for 1915), there were phones with small elegant phone booths, a dumb waiter that covered three floors, a swimming pool in the basement, an intercom system, and a kitchen that could equip a modern gourmet restaurant.
And, of course, I had to discover something that brought out the cynic in me...the lions holding up that bench in the picture above were taken from the Pompeii ruins in Italy. Several years ago when I was in Italy I learned that the statuary that was left in Pompeii had to be removed and put in the museum because so much was being carried away and sold....to wealthy collectors like Deering.
So I left the house..er..robber's den and went looking for a place to spend the night. Next stop--Ft. Lauderdale.
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