I recently shared with you some places to get vegan food in Des Moines, Iowa. Now I will share with you something interesting to do while you are there.
I am someone who likes to tour old mansions, castles, etc...I have found that all the books, all the websites and all the museums are wonderful but they do little to demonstrate to you what everyday life was like for people. Even wealthy people. Of course another reason to tour these big old houses is to see art and artifacts that no one even knows is out there half the time. I will say at this point in the post that I draw a line at plantations. I will not tour historic plantations. I just cannot bring myself to do it. There is nothing beautiful about them to me. I have toured places where slaves were held and forced to live and since that point I just cannot romanticize in any way living like a "southern belle" on a large piece of land and in a mansion built on human bondage. Believe me, I am aware of the dark stories of many of the historical properties of the world but for my own personal being, the stain of slavery in America is one that I cannot ignore particularly well.
I also am starting to wonder at this point in my life to the wisdom of all these old, empty properties when so many live without in this world of plenty. And there are a lot of them. I have often joked whenever I know I will be near a small town to look up the "the jackass who moved away, made money and moved back to show off how much better he was than everyone else" and this is pretty much true everywhere.
The one thing that seems to be good about some of these places is that they do host charitable events, community events, field trips for children, etc...Versailles now belongs to the people of France, for example and all the lands are parks open to everyone.
Salisbury House is such a place. Built in five years for $1.5 million and furnished for another $1.5 million dollars between 1923-1928, the Weeks family who owned the now defunct Armand Make Up Company acquired some 10,000 objects, books and antiquities to furnish the 42 room 22,000 sq. ft. home. As is often the case, a downturn in economics as well as family tragedy cost them their fortune. Including one of the sons being in a car accident that killed someone. The house is an odd mashup of styles which is not often how they are decorated. Usually one style will be chosen and it will be demonstrated throughout the house. This one has Italian influence, Gothic Tudor, the eldest daughter's room was fashioned after a room at Versailles (of course-pretty common for the well-to-do), etc...The outside of the house is modeled after Salisbury House in England which was built in the 15th century.
Many of the objects have been sold to pay the bills but they are slowly being reacquired.
I recently found two pieces of Armand makeup that I have added to my historical collection of objects. They are nearly a 100 years old and since I have a book by the name of Armand El Dorado-
Well, it seemed fitting.
