Carson Mansion

143 M Street

Eureka, California

"considered the most grand Victorian home in America"

"one of the most written about and photographed Victorian houses in California and possibly in the United States"

Circa 2018

This Victorian mansion was constructed in 1884 and was completed in 1886.  The cost to build it was $80,000 (equivalent to $2,866,667 in 2025).  The architects were Samuel Newsom and Joseph Cather Newsom. 

The mansion is a mix of every major style of Victorian architecture, including but not limited to Italianate and Queen Anne.  

Originally the home of William Carson, one of the Northern California's first major lumber barons.  The house and grounds are not open to the public as it is owned and occupied by the private Ingomar Club.

The Ingomar Club is a private club that owns the home being formed in May 1950 by J. H. Crothers and Carl Gustafson.  According to researcher Wally Graves, the club was founded "to own and maintain a club headquarters for the meetings and enjoyment of its members.

In the late 1940s, two Eureka businessmen, Crothers and Gustafson came up with the idea for what is now the Ingomar Club.  Modeling this vision after an established organization, the Humboldt Club, they and other prominent members of local society began meeting and looking for a physical location to house the club.  In particular, they focused on a vacant mansion that had been built by lumber baron, William Carson, who had been a member of the Humboldt Club.  Since his heirs had moved to San Francisco, the club founders were able to negotiate a price of $35,000. 

Originally a men's club, the club has since admitted women in the early 2000s with equal access as men. The club was named in tribute to the historic Ingomar Theatre which was once located in downtown Eureka's Carson Block Buiilding and named after William Carson's favorite play, Ingomar the Barbarian. Members enjoy upscale lulnch and dinner offerings featuring stellar cuisine paired with views overlooking Humboldt Bay.  

The Carson Mansion 

Circa 1902

The Pink Lady

Located directly across the street from the Carson Mansion is the Pink Lady Mansion.  It was built in 1889 by William Carson as a wedding gift for his daughter.  It has been beautifully restored and functions today as a boutique hotel and bed-and-breakfast.

The Carter House Inn

This Eureka landmark is a masterful 1980s replica of a grand San Francisco Victorian mansion designed originally by the Newsom brothers in the late 19th century.  Today, it operates as an upscale inn and restaurant. 

Hillsdale Street Neighborhood

For a quiet walk among residential "Painted Ladies", head to the historic streets between 12th & 13th Streets and E & C Streets.  This neighborhood contains some of Eureka's best-preserved private Queen Anne Victorian homes.

Mowry House

220 Hillsdale Street

Circa 1893

A. W. Torrey House

216 Hillsdale Street

Circa 1893

John A. Cottrell Home

1228 C Street

Circa 1902

 Mr. Cottrell was a lumberman. He arrived in Eureka in 1884 and became foreman at William Carson's Lincoln Mill.  Around 1889, he co-founded a moulding and sash mill then constructed this Queen Anne as a showpiece for products from his mill such as windows, doors, porch details, railings, cabinets and interior trim.

A car show on Main Street

Ferndale, California

Ferndale, California is an historic city in Humboldt County known as the "Victorian Village" for its exceptionally well-preserved 19th-century architecture.  Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1893, the town grew prosperous through a thriving dairy industry.  Wealthy dairy farmers built ornate Queen Anne homes and storefronts earning th etown its "Butterfat Palace" and "Cream City" nicknames. The entire city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as California Historical Landmark #883. 

The Victorian Inn

400 Ocean Avenue

Ferndale, California

Banker Ira C. Russ, charmed by the area and with family in the area returned to Ferndale in 1800 and created this detailed monumnet.  His magnificent tribute to luxury, comfort and crafsmanship is built entirely of native redwood and remains an historic and notable architectural testament of its time. One of the most photographed buildings in Northern California, the Inn embodies the elegance and romance of the timber boom era, as every room has a unique story to tell in the heart of California Redwoods. 

 

Lenox Hotel

61 Exeter Street 

Back Bay neighborhood

Boston, Massachusetts 

(the Lenox is located about 132 steps from the official Boston Marathon finish line)

At 11 stories high, this hotel stood as the tallest building in Boston when it was built in 1889 by hotelier Lucius Boomer at a cost of $1.1 million.  It opened in the fall of 1900 and was Boston's first "boutique" hotel located at the historic epicenter of Copley Square. The Boston Post prior to the name Boston Herald called it "the Waldorf-Astoria of Boston", a reference to its owner who also owned the famous Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. 

 The Lenox was named after the family of Lady Sarah Lennox, a courtier of King George III, to honor an anniversary of peace between England and North America.

It was designed by architect Arthur H. Bowditch in the Beaux-Arts style, featuring red and white terra-cotta bricks. Some of the rooms still have functioning wood-burning fireplaces and the hotel is one of few known buildings in the world with a functioning Cutler Mail Chute. 

The Cutler Mail Chute (1848-1927) is an architectural invention patented in 1883 by Rochester architect James Goold Cutler, allowing occupants of multi-story skyscrapers, hotels and office buildings to drop mail into a vertical glass-and-metal shaft from any floor straight down to a central lobby collection box.  The first operational system was installed in 1884 at the Elwood Building in Rochester, New York.  Tenants slid letters into a slot on their respective floor and gravity carried the mail down the internal glass-fronted chute to a locked metal receiving box in the ground-floor lobby for postal collection. 

On September 11, 1883 Cutler received U.S. patent 284,951 for the mail chute.

Empire State Building mail chutes

circa 2007

Legendary singer, Judy Garland called the hotel her home away from home and famously stayed for over three months in 1965. The hotel dedicated Room 423 as the Judy Garland Suite in her honor.  Red Auerbach, the legendary Boston Celtics coach and executive lived in Suite 900 during the basketball season.  Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal stayed at the hotel while filming the classic movie Love Story. And Baseball legend, Babe Ruth was known to frequent The Lenox.  

Lobby Legends

Jimmy Fisher

The hotel is famous for its deep loyalty to long-running staff such as bellman Jimmy Fisher, who greeted guests curbside for 60 years.  He began his career February 21, 1949. At the time, the hotel was only 49 years old.  When The Lenox celebrated their 125th anniversary, Jimmy was there through nearly all of it.  

On May 8, 2009 the Lenox Hotel honored its longest running employee.  The Lenox dedicated their bell closet, Jimmy's office for 60 years. 

The "Jimmy Fisher Suite" was unveiled as a tribute to the then 84-year-old bellman who was as much a fixture and as recognizable as the Lenox's iconic, red rooftop sign. 

Jimmy Fisher, after 60 years as a Lenox bellman, greeted each day and each guest with a sparkle in his eye and a spring to his step. The Saunders family has operated the hotel for over 50 years and Jimmy's hospitality and enthusiasm through our ownership is memorable to travelers from around the world. Always a class act, he is a Lenox legend."

At Your Service

Jimmy literally witnessed a slice of Beantown history pass through The Lenox's doors. The Lenox proudly bestowed the highest honor to Mr. Fisher for his loyal service to the Lenox and to the community, at large.  

The sign was erected during the early 1900s boom of "sky-signs" or "scaffold signs".  It has served as a fixture of the city's skyline for over a century.  While it retains its classic vintage aesthetic, the structure has been modernized over the years.  The original illumination setup has been retrofitted with energy-efficient red LED bulbs. The glowing red letters are heavily associated with the historic charm of Copley Square and are frequently photographed from the hotel's private rooftop deck. This unique space provides sweeping views of downtown Boston and the Prudential Tower, making it one of the city's most exclusive and sought-after backdrops.

The Lenox at Christmas

..this iconic red, glowing neon landmark has towered over the city skyline 

since the early 1900s..

The Lenox lobby at Christmas

Sweeney's on Boylston is a lively, contemporary-traditional Irish pub located inside The Lenox Hotel in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. In 1966, owner Roger Saunders shipped an exact replica of a British pub piece-by-piece from Liverpool to install inside the hotel. 

 

The New Highmark Stadium

September 16, 2026

First Game of the Season in the New Highmark Stadium

Highmark Stadium is a brand-new $2.2 billion open-air sports venue in Orchard Park, New York serving as the home field for the Buffalo Bills. The facility officially opened in June 2026.  It replaces team's old 1973 stadium and sits just across the road from the original site.  It holds 60,000 fans in an energetic, open-air bowl and features a heated natural grass field which is a major upgrade from old synthetic turf. A partial roof structure shields fans from harsh winds and traps loud crowd noise.

The public art are the displays of giant stainless steel buffalo sculptures and architectural elements that honor local industrial history.  The three bison at the stadium are the Bull which stands 27 feet tall, is 29 feet long and weighs over 23,000 pounds, the Cow stands 22 feet tall and is 23 feet long and the Calf stands 12 feet tall and is 13 feet long representing the next generation of fans. The Bull and the Cow can release smoke from their nostrils to look like they are breathing on cold Western NY winter nights.  Five programmable lighting systems illuminate the statues at night.  Each sculpture features an illuminated charge from the Bills logo. The Family Circle plaza is shaped like a giant bison hoof print. The area also includes plaques honoring great players in team history and the story of Western New York.

After years of anticipation, the herd is finally here!

Internationally recognized sculptor, Blessing Hancock designed these sculptures to represent family, strength, resilience and Western New York's enduring spirit.  ART Research Enterprises in Lancaster, PA fabricated and installed the bison.

"Faceted stainless-steel surfaces catch and reflect shifting light, revealing new angles as people pass by.  The bison hold their ground as one, their shapes suggesting both momentum and togetherness.  Bull, cow and calf, each distinct, yet all part of Buffalo's enduring strength, generation to generation."

Blessing Hancock

Our Neighbors, Our Fellow Fans

 

The Don CeSar Hotel

3400 Gulf Blvd

St. Petersburg Beach, Florida 

"The Pink Palace"

A plaque in the lobby of the Don CeSar greets guests.

An Appropriate Arrival 

An Appropriate Sunset

The Don CeSar opened in the heyday of the Gatsby Era in 1928.  The Don CeSar has been welcoming travelers for nearly a century.  From high society's playground to starring on the silver screen to being a Gulf Coast icon, the Don CeSar boasts a rich and glamorous history.

Lore and local history state that Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio stayed at the hotel. Stories often claim they visited or honeymooned there during Joe DiMaggio's spring training days with the New York Yankees. 

Research also mentions Lou Gehrig and Al Capone where guests of the hotel.

Over its history, the resort has served as a celebrity playground, a military hospital and government offices.  A community effort saved the hotel from demolition in the late 1960s, leading to its reopening in 1973.  

 

Bob Mackie

(1939-2026)

Robert Gordon Mackie, Jr. was an American fashion designer best known for his dressing of numerous entertainment personalities for television, movies, concerts and live stage shows.  He was referred to as the "Sultan of Sequins" for his sparkling and imaginative designs.

"A woman who wears my clothes is not afraid to be noticed."

Bob Mackie

Ann-Margret

Tina Turner

Diana!

And, of course!

CHER

Bob Mackie and Cher shared a legendary decades-long partnership and close friendship that transformed modern pop culture and red-carpet fashion.  They met in 1967 when Cher guest-starred on The Carol Burnett Show and Mackie was the lead costume designer.  Cher remarked that Mackie was much younger than she expected, while Mackie thought she was much thinner, starting an instant bond.  On The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, Mackie initially used clothes from Carol Burnett's closet to dress Cher because the show had no budget.  

Mackie became the creative mastermind behind Cher's most provocative, glamorous and skin-baring looks. Mackie credied Cher with making the halter dress mainstream after she wore his daring designs on television.  He designed her famous sheer, sequined-and-feathered 1974 Met Gala dress, the midriff-baring 1986 Oscar outfit with a giant feathered headpiece and her 2015 and 2017 award show looks. 

Cher frequently called their creative pairing a "match made in heaven" and the two remained close friends for nearly six decades.

Bob Mackie dressed many other legends .. Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler, Elton John, Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand, Rachel Welch and Carol Burnett among them. 

Streisand in Funny Lady

Circa 1975

Marilyn Monroe

"Happy Birthday Mr. President"

Circa 1962

The legendary costume designer Jean Louis designed Marilyn Monroe's famous "Happy Birthday, Mr. Presdent" dress, but a young 23-year-old Bob Mackie drew the iconic initial stretch for it. Monroe asked Louis for a sheer, skin-tight gown that made her look like she was wearaing a "second skin".  As Entertainment Weekly reported, Mackie later gained widespread attention when he criticized modern attempts to re-wear the legendary $5 million gown, noting it was custom-make exclusively for Marilyn Monroe.  It was Kim Kardashian who wore the gown to a Met Gala in 2022.  It provoked a polarizing response. 

Kardashian wore the original gown for approximately 5 minutes on the red carpet only to walk up the runway and then changed into an exact replica for the rest of the evening so as to not cause any more unnecessary strain to the 60-year-old dress, at the time. Kardashian used a private fitting room with white-gloved handlers near the Met Gala steps. 

Sidenote:   The fragile, un-stretchable crystal-covered gown did not fit Kardashian initially, prompting her to lose 16 pounds in three weeks to squeeze into it. 

May 19, 1962

Madison Square Gardens

New York City

"It was designed for her.  I thought it was a big mistake. Marilyn was a goddess.  A crazy goddess, but a goddess.  She was just fabulous.  Nobody photographs like that.  And it was done for her.  It was designed for her.  Nobody else should be seen in that dress." 

Bob Mackie

"There are all the issues with the actual preservation of the dress and things like oxygen can affect a dress. Usually, these outfits are kept very much in controlled environments.  So, it was quite alarming that she was able to wear it.  I personally wish she wore a replica instead of the real thing."

Alicia Malone, host for Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

Madonna

Rachel Welch and Cher

Carol Burnett and Cher

Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball

The infamous curtain rod dress 

Carol Burnett's iconic curtain rod dress was created for a November 13, 1976 The Carol Burnett Show sketch titled "Went with the Wind!" which spoofed the famous green velvet drapery dress scene from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind. 

Legendary Bob Mackie crafted the green velvet gown, complete with a hat made from a window valance and an actual brass curtain rod balanced across the shoulders.  When Burnett first saw the finished costume with the curtain rod still attached during a fitting, she fell on the floor laughing and called it the most brilliant visual sight gag in television history. When Burnett descended the staircase in the outfit and delivered the deadpan line, "I saw it in a window and just couldn't resist it", the studio audience erupted! The live audience's laughter lasted so long, stretching over several minutes, it holds the record for the longest sustained laugh in the entire ten-year run of the show and had to be edited down for broadcast.

The complete original costume, curtain rod and all is safely preserved in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

On March 3 1995, Carol Burnett appeared on Today to discuss the curtain dress sketch from The Carole Burnett Show.  In the interview, Burnett shared the inspiration for the sketch and how Bob mackie designed the dress.  

"I have an idea."

Bob Mackie

"It's absolute genius."

Carol Burnett 

Mattel partnered with him to produce outfits for collectable Barbie dolls and he introduced cultural diversity to their features and outfits to reflect the heritage of real-life women.  Mackie received ten Emmy Awards, a Tony Award and three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for his work. 

Following Mackie's death on September 14, 2026, Cher paid a loving tribute on social media calling him a "sweet prince" and later shared fond memories of laughing and talking with him during his final days. 

RIP Bob Mackie

He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a fashion and costume designer, which is all he ever wanted to be.  His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world. 

"The angels will be getting a new wardrobe now!"