Christmas at Fountain Elms in Utica, NY

I wrote a previous post that presented a Christmas decoration showcase of the formal rooms at Fountain Elms, here. Fountain Elms is a living museum in Utica, NY; it was once the home of Maria Munson Proctor. Her parents, Alfred Munson (a millionaire in the early 1800s) and Helen Watson Williams, built this house for Maria and her husband, Thomas Proctor. Maria and Thomas had no children and left their house and belongings for a museum after their deaths. The Proctors were world travelers and eclectic collectors of art and trinkets, so the house is a veritable jackpot of quirky 19th century treasures.

The downstairs of the home is set up as if the old family would walk through the doors at any moment. Family furniture (and some pieces purchased by the museum) are arranged, with dishes and toys and other household items displayed on the tables, chairs, and beds. Upstairs, the house is more like a museum, with displays cases and paintings on the walls. Some items are truly very valuable (like a Ming vase) and others are just quirky little things from the family’s everyday life.

I love these Queen Victoria playing cards.

There were a few display cases filled with pocket watches from the family’s world travels. Read more

Christmas Displays at Fountain Elms

Fountain Elms is the name of a lovely “living museum”: an historic house displaying the life of a wealthy patrician family who lived in Upstate New York in the late 1800s. There is no admission fee, and the home is open year-round. Next to Fountain Elms is Utica’s art museum, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, named for the family that lived at Fountain Elms. We have visited both Fountain Elms and the MWPI several times in the past. I wrote on the history of the building and of the family that lived there.

Fountain Elms usually all decked out for Christmas. I decided to go this time. The house is so beautiful, and the displays are very well done. You almost expect Maria or Rachel to walk into the front hall and invite you in for tea.

Read more

The Antique and Classic Car Show in Utica, Pt2

This is part two of my previous post about a terrific car show we went to earlier in July. I snapped dozens of photos, but have reserved the best for you.

The winner of the event was a man from Pennsylvania. He owned this car, the amazing 1928 Isotta Fraschini. What a slick car.

Read more

Antique and Classic Car Show in Utica

We attended the marvelous Antique & Classic Car Show in Utica on July 5th, at the beautiful Fountain Elms historic site. I’d never been to a car show, and it was extremely festive! Some of the cars are so beautiful. I do believe all of them are operating machines, too. They are owned by people all across the United States, all come to compete for the trophy. Here are some of the cars I liked best. (Please forgive me if I don’t get the car names just right! There were dozens of them everywhere, and I am TERRIBLE with cars).

This Auburn was my favorite. Such a classy car!

Ever wonder where “REO Speedwagon” came from? Wonder no more. Beautiful wood! This was all handmade.

Ever wonder why they call it a trunk?

Read more

Fountain Elms Historic Site, Utica

Over the summer of 2007, we visited Utica, NY, to have a look at Fountain Elms on Genesee Street. The Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute was also having their July Arts Festival. Fountain Elms is a lovely Victorian Italianate home built by a prominent Utica family. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Houses. The MWP Institute beside it was designed by architect Phillip Johnson.

We’ve been through Fountain Elms several times in the past, I just never had my camera with me. Yet even with my camera, the home’s rooms were far too dark for any quality photos my WalMart special could snap. Better interior pictures are found here and here. Strikeslip from Faultlines has a lovely
Fountain Elms photo in his online portfolio, here.

Fountain Elms is now a misnomer. There are no more elms. Once, streets of America were lined with these arching giants. The beautiful elm tree, nurtured here in the Northeast for hundreds of years, fell to Dutch elm disease in the 50s. A tiny Asian beetle with a fungus devastated one of our most beautiful trees, and laid waste our towns’ streets.

An old newspaper clipping from the 40s that I own has a photograph of one of the largest elm trees in town, on the property I own. The trunk’s diameter was over 7 feet wide. A girl, her bicycle, and her young brother are dwarfed by the massive tree. All that remains of the tree is it’s mossy footprint in my front yard where it once stood.Fountain Elms of Utica lost its elm trees, too. Valiant efforts have been made to plant locust and ash trees around the property.

Fountain Elms was the dwelling of one of the most wealthy and philanthropic families of Utica. It was purchased by James and Helen (Munson) Williams for their daughter, Maria, as a wedding gift for her marriage to Thomas Proctor. Helen’s sister Rachel and her husband Frederick Proctor (Thomas’ half-brother) lived in a house next door, but that house is demolished now. A museum, the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute is built adjoining Fountain Elms. A glass walkway connects the two buildings.

The museum houses one of my favorite works of art, Thomas Cole’s “Voyage of Life” series. Unfortunately, the museum now has a more modernistic bent in its art, and, IMHO, the museum is a warehouse of mostly clunky and indecent projects. Surely there remain some beautiful and uplifting works of elegance, but I am dissatisfied with what is has become, overall.

Displayed outside during the Art Festival, we saw some lovely paintings and photographs. I especially liked this watercolor:

and this acrylic:

Fountain Elms houses some beautiful pieces that were part of the Proctors’ collections. The two ladies and their husbands traveled abroad extensively, and amassed a large collection– enough to fill a, well, a museum! Here’s a sweet painting of Rachel and Maria when they were young:

The Proctor men had a nice watch collection, too. The trinkets and knick-knacks are truly exquisite. This website has an informative essay on the watch collection and more on the history of the family.

The furniture of the house is breath-takingly beautiful. No indeed, they don’t make things like these anymore!

A display of handmade quilts had me wowed. Imagine sewing these by hand! I loved the indigo colors of this one:

The museum has a lovely backyard, replete with park benches, trees, and quaint outbuildings (which are now academies for the museum’s art students). The portico of Fountain Elms is lovely. I can see the Victorian ladies in their swishing bustles, sipping tea in the afternoon shade.

Most of the house seemed historically accurate, except I did wonder if the window awnings were a modern inclusion, perhaps to keep the destructive sun rays off the artifacts. in the olden days, people used things like blinds and exterior shutters. I was also fascinated by the architectural features of the skinny chimney.

The Proctors saved the city during times of financial panic. They also donated some of their property for the Utica Public Library, one of my favorite libraries (for it has a terrific collection). Fountain Elms is well worth seeing. We like it because it is free, nearby, and has a little bit of something for everyone. No doubt we will return again!