Thursday, August 20, 2015

July 26 2014: Pittock Mansion Tour

July 26, 2014: Mom and I had the opportunity to go on a rare "Backstage Tour" of the Pittock Mansion, where you get to go into parts of the mansion that are generally closed to the public.  It was definitely neat to see the mansion in it's entirety.  Thanks Mom!  I really enjoyed learning more about the Pittock's and their home.
 The Coach House
 Pittock Mansion
 The grand staircase: the detail is amazing.

I love the wood floor of the Smoking Room.



 The Living Room

 Most of the bedrooms also have an attached enclosed porch, which also includes a bed.
 Mr. and Mrs. Pittock's personal bedrooms:
They each had their own room

 In between the center of Mr. and Mrs. Pittock's rooms is the master bath, with his and her closets.
 The nursery: used by Mr. and Mrs. Pittock's grandchildren.
 The Kitchen.

 The view from the kitchen is amazing!
***
...And now for the "Backstage Tour": The Basement
 On a usual tour, you can glance through a glass window to the laundry and get just a glimpse of the room.  On this tour, we walked through the laundry, which also has a service area that is used by caterers during mansion events.
 Next we saw the original electrical panel, which is still fully functional.
 Also in the basement, is the motor for the elevator, the steam room for heating, the mansion's central vacuum system and the "valuables" room.  The walls are about 1 foot thick.
 As a youth, I have toured the mansion on several different occasions and I had heard that the maid's quarters were in the very upstairs.  I have always wanted to climb these stairs and see what it was like.
 Today, the "maid's rooms" are used as offices by the current mansion staff, so they no longer have beds or period items in them.  However, this is the view from one of the rooms.  Pretty amazing really.
 A closer look at the view of Mt. Hood from the window.
 The Servant's Bath: very spacious.
 The cedar lined linen closet.  Just beautiful!
 Also, the top floor of the mansion housed Mr. Henry Pittock's personal office.  I love the built-in cabinets.
 The entire roof of the mansion is made of concrete tiles.
And the window sills are made of copper.

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