Old World Grandeur and New Ideas for New Albany, Indiana

I have lived in New Albany, Indiana since 2002, but it wasn't until January of 2014 that I discovered a true, understated treasure in Culbertson Mansion, 914 East Main Street, New Albany, IN. I was told numerous times by my New Albany neighbors to visit the Mansion, but as I was knee deep in my own restoration project on my 90 year old bungalow I never seems to have time to view the property.

Last year my friend Lynn Bradley and I were attending an arts and music event near the mansion and I mentioned that we should walk across the street and view the property. Being as it was the weekend the mansion was not open. We looked at the exterior and read the historical plaques that were outside the property for more information on the home. Since I am an avid gardener we both commented on how sparse the landscaping was and that the grounds could really use some work to make the site more attractive to visitors traveling along Main Street in New Albany.

Last month as I was making some plans for 2014 I placed visit Culbertson Mansion on my list of things I wanted to accomplish this year. On January 14 I rang the doorbell of the Mansion and waited with anticipation as to what I might see in this 19^th Century home built in 1867 for William S. Culbertson for $120,000 by builders James and William Banes.

I was greeted at the door by a beautiful and very knowledgeable lady who said her name was Jan. After a few pleasantries Jan began the tour right there on the first floor. The home as you can imagine has had several owners since Mr. Culbertson and his family moved there in 1869. Since 1976 the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Division of Museums and Historic Sites has owned the property, they have been renovating the home since 1979.

Jan explained that the Mansion has 20,000 square feet and contains 25 rooms on three floors with a basement. The first floor has been completely renovated and is comprised of a formal parlor and dining room, library, foyer and grand staircase. This first floor is the “public” face of the Mansion and has to be seen to believed the detail of this floor is truly incredible!

The second floor is where the family lived and includes a morning sitting room, a sewing room, a private family parlor and bedrooms. While I was there Jan and I were treated to a natural “light” show by the mid-morning sunshine. The Mansion has a four, color pane window on the third floor; while we were talking about the contents of the second floor the sun was putting on a beautiful kaleidoscopic light show of colors circling around the main hallway of the second floor.

While the first floor has been completely renovated some of the ceilings on the second floor are still in the process of being transformed to their original design. In fact, Jan mentioned that the site is constantly being renovated room by room and the details of how they are doing this are depicted in the basement of the property.

The third floor is under renovation but you can still view the children's bedrooms, storage areas and grand ballroom and well as the servants bedrooms which are located on the west side of the mansion. For a 20,000 square foot home the only original bathroom in the house is located on the servant's side of the third floor.

While the interior of the Mansion is quite impressive, the landscaping of the property leaves something to be desired especially from the Main Street entrance. I'm preparing a proposal to the Culbertson Mansion Board of Directors to enhance the “curb” appeal of the property by planting blue and purple lavender up the two serpentine sidewalks that lead to the Mansion's front steps. There is a large concrete urn that stands approximately five feet high in the center of the front yard which I hope to plant mixed Dahlias of various colors. Directly in front of the Mansion’s front steps I would place purple and blue Cat Mint which would produce an aroma and attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

The right-side of the Mansion has plants and shrubs contained in it but the left-side as far as I can tell has only a few Liriope in it. I propose planting two Rhododendrons next to the windows in the left-side garden next to the Mansion; these plants will add winter color to the property and maintain floral symmetry with the right-side garden. In addition, I'm proposing erecting a trellis in the left-side garden, growing up the trellis would be two large flowering Clematis (purple/blue). Additional plants of various sizes would be planted in the left-side garden to attract the passerby to the home.

Next to the home at the front door entrance stands two (2) smaller urns, in those I’d propose planting red and white fragrant Begonias. Finally the Mansion has a second floor landing which would be an excellent place to attract the driving public passing by on Main Street with a combination of red begonias and green and white Alocasia or “Elephants Ears”.

I will be making my proposal to the Culbertson Mansion Board on March 4, after which the proposal will be sent to Indianapolis for official approval. Should I get the project I'll keep you informed of the details of the project in a later blog post. Should you wish to learn more about Culbertson Mansion please visit their website at http://www.indianamuseum.org/explore/culbertson. Thanks for reading and

remember that your comments are welcome. Until next time this is Jer saying “keep the faith”!