Office buildings, strip malls and condos are going up everywhere. The days of driving by big empty fields is getting less and less common. It’s refreshing to see something historic and beautiful still standing and being preserved. We visited the Cuneo Museum this weekend and took the “Holiday Tour of the Mansion”.

I had never been to the museum, however, I had heard about how beautiful it was. That was the feeling we had as we drove through the winding drive and saw the house and yard. Even with all of the snow and slush, it was still evident that this was a gorgeous estate.

The house was owned by the Cuneo family. John Cuneo, Sr. was a successful businessman and farmer. We were told that his kids grew up in the home and some of them now live in nearby areas and still visit occasionally.

The tour begins in The Great Hall. They have a huge Christmas tree set-up with a lot of lights and ornaments. As our guide began the tour, it was evident we were about to learn a lot about the Cuneo family just by seeing their decorations, tastes and furniture. It is apparent that a lot of thought and detail went into each room in the house. It was neat to enter the home and go through the great hall into the dining area and be able to imagine how guests would have felt arriving for a party or event.

We were most surprised to see a chapel inside the home, evidently the Cuneo family was very religious! The chapel is equipped with pews, stained glass windows and other decorative ambiance typically seen in Catholic churches.

The home is very open; the second floor overlooks the Great Hall. There are several bedrooms and bathrooms on the second floor. We loved seeing the bedrooms and imagining the personalities that went along with each of the people who lived there.

The whole house was decorated for the holidays. We learned that one of the trees decorated in a circus theme was actually done by one of the Cuneo’s themselves who comes in to set this up every year, which added a realism to our experience.

We finished the tour and left the house feeling like we had a better understanding about how this family had lived. It’s amazing how much things have changed. This home had so much character and history behind it. The architectural beauty, ancient artwork on the walls and holiday theme made this a memorable experience for us.

[+/-] click to show/hide this post