George Eastman House

 

George Eastman may not be a name very familiar to you but have you heard of Kodak? That's the company he founded after inventing roll film.  From November to mid-December, the George Eastman House displays gingerbread houses  and has a festival of Christmas trees (both of which are up for auction with the proceeds being donated to the museum). 

I'm not entirely sure why this estate is referred to as a house rather than a mansion at the very least (it does have 50 rooms).  Regardless of what it is called, I really enjoyed my visit and I would love to visit the gardens when the flowers are in bloom.

Another view of the front

   This house is made with reinforced concrete in the Colonial Revival style.   If you were to enter through the elaborate front doors, this is the grand staircase that you'd see.  I can imagine the flurry of activity that must of gone on through these doors and hallways in the years past.

Not sure if you're a fan of Downtown Abbey (it's starts back up on January 6th! ) but I was especially fascinated with the dining and entertaining rooms as that is where you see how different society was back then.  There was so much detail in the moldings on the walls and ceilings. 

Unfortunately, only members get to see the basement (where the main kitchen and wine cellar is) and they've done some unfortunate renovations where some of the rooms have been turned into business offices and such.  It would have been amazing to see the entire house restored and intact.  

Here is the conservatory with the beautiful wrought iron and glass ceilings.  I love that this is located almost centrally in the house rather than in a separate building outside.  Rochester, NY is known for long cold winters so this must have been quite a treat.

 

This is another conservatory housing the Festival of Trees.

Here is the only bedroom available to the general public to see.  It is not the bedroom of George Eastman but it does give a glimpse into the world at that time (house was built in early 1900s).

This isn't all there is to see of the George Eastman House as there is a billiards room, library and a beautiful garden (which would be really lovely in Spring).  These are just some of the highlights of my visit.