The Spider-Webbed Window showcases the repeating motifs of spider webs and the number 13 ©2021 The Winchester Mystery House Many glass pieces were uninstalled and held in storage ©2021 The Winchester Mystery House Interior Finishes and Furnishes Some windows were repurposed into skylights, to allow light into the deeper areas of the house. In total, 10,000 panes of glass were created for the house, though most are held in storage when the windows they were meant for were modified. ![]() ![]() However, many of the windows were installed in rooms that today are within the house, away from the light, and so their full effect cannot be appreciated. The beautiful stained glass was originally thought to be a creation of Tiffany, but recent renovations have revealed that they were custom-designed by the Pacific American Decorative Company, based on her own designs. In keeping with the architectural style, most of the windows in the Winchester Mystery House were carefully detailed. The famous staircase to nowhere ©2021 The Winchester Mystery House A Door to Nowhere that opens out to thin air ©2021 The Winchester Mystery House Fenestration Forced air heating and indoor plumbing, both features of the house were rare at the time. Though 47 fireplaces exist, there are only 17 chimneys, not all who open to the outside. The conservatory had automatic devices to water plants and recycle water. It had 3 lifts, one of which was horizontal, and 13 bathrooms, though most were decoys and were not connected to the water systems. The house had its own water, sewer, gas, and electrical systems. ![]() The 47 staircases within the house were specially designed, possibly due to Sarah Winchester’s debilitating arthritis. The house had a floating or compensated foundation that lent itself to sustain the weight of constant addition that the house underwent, and is probably what saved the house from total collapse during the 1906 earthquake. Many features of the Winchester Mystery House were well ahead of its time. Many houses in the neighborhood displayed similar styles, and future additions to the house all maintained the same architectural language.īuttresses in the Queen Anne Revival Style with a Winchester House twist ©2021 The Winchester Mystery House Carved wooden screen with Ball-and-spindle fretwork ©William Wright Structural Features The Winchester Mystery House is a prominent example of this style, known as the Queen Anne Revival Style, featuring the picturesque, embellished and irregular features characteristic of the style, such as towers, patterned colored glass windows, and ornamental carving and textures. The movement was created in response to the rigidity of classical Victorian art and architecture, and invited art and design focused on aesthetical expression, rather than functionality. In 1884, when construction first started, the Aesthetic movement was at its peak. The Winchester Mystery House before the 1906 Earthquake with seven stories ©2021 The Winchester Mystery House The Winchester Mystery House in the present ©2021 The Winchester Mystery House An Eclectic mix of Elements Architectural Style The number 13 and spider webs are recurring motifs in the design – rooms had 13 windows, ceilings had 13 panels, and so on. Today, the mansion has grown from its original eight-room farmhouse to a sprawling 161 room mansion containing a bizarre collection of architectural features, such as staircases that lead to walls and ceilings, doors that open out into nothing, and even a room designed specifically for seances. Sarah was convinced that the only way to protect herself was to build a house for herself and her spirits, and that if “the hammers ever ceased”, she would die. The story goes that after Sarah lost her daughter to marasmus, and then her husband to tuberculosis, she consulted a medium, who told her that her family was being haunted by all the people who had been victims of the Winchester rifles. The history of the house is deeply tied to its owner, Sarah Winchester, whose husband William Winchester was the heir to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Pergola in the gardens of the Winchester House_©2021 The Winchester Mystery House The Tragic Tale of Sarah Winchester The house has been designated as a California historic landmark and serves as a popular tourist attraction, enough that it has featured in books, movies, plays and even serves as the inspiration for a ride at Disneyland. ![]() The Queen Anne style mansion features an eclectic collection of architectural elements that create what is essentially a Victorian maze within the externally unassuming house. Situated in San Jose, California, the Llanada Villa is famously referred to as the Winchester Mystery house due to its owner, Sarah Winchester, and the intriguing circumstances that led to the creation of the house as it is seen today.
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