FENWICK HALL.
In the infancy of this Republic, when its government was looking about
for a permanent home, Gen. Washington was moved to found and lay out the
City of Washington as its Capitol. With a marvelous prescience he
foresaw the coming needs and future greatness of the newly-united
states. Impressed with visions of the glorious destiny awaiting his
beloved people, his cherished republic, he wisely concluded to provide
generously for the growth of a magnificent city which, a century later,
should reflect credit as the capital of a mighty nation. Careless of the
gibes and sneers of many of his most intimate friends, Washington, the
far-seeing statesman, the invincible soldier, deliberately planned,
platted and surveyed through the wilderness of forest at that time
covering the great triangular basin lying between the Heights of
Columbia and the waters of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers; such a
bewildering array of broad streets, wide avenues, and roomy public
parks, as would be ample and suitable for a brilliant city like Paris,
(whose system of streets he had taken as a model,) at least sufficient
for the wants of a population of a half million. The dawn of the
twentieth century saw a complete realization of General Washington's
brightest hopes, a verification of his prophetic visions. The wand of
progress had transformed the straggling village of "magnificent
distances," into the most royally beautiful city on the continent. A
city which had become the pride and delight of one hundred millions of
free people, who individually felt a personal interest in the vastness,
the beauty and the imposing grandeur of its magnificent public
buildings, which represented the crowning loveliness of architectural
design, the highest artistic expression of American genius; altogether
most perfectly and fittingly adorning the unrivaled capitol city of the
most progressive, powerful, and meritoriously dominant republic on the
face of the planet! To this Mecca of republics, as the social and
political center of the western hemisphere, came the great thinkers,
scientists, artists, orators and statesmen of the world.
Commandingly situated on Columbia Heights, overlooking this surpassingly
beautiful city, was Fenwick Hall, the home of Fern Fenwick. The Hall was
a large quadrangular structure of imposing appearance, erected in the
center of spacious grounds, most charmingly laid out, with a rare
combination of lawn, flowers and shrubbery. The material used in its
construction was Seneca sandstone, in color a rich dark red, and was
trimmed with a pale mottled green stone, quite as beautiful as
serpentine. The effect of the combination was as harmonious as it was
ornamental. The main building was four full stories in height above the
deep basement. It was made more conspicuous and more picturesque by the
four octagonal towers, one-half of which projected from each corner of
the building. These beautiful towers of a uniform size, rose thirty
feet above the roof of the building itself. The basement and towers were
of rough green stone; the caps and sills of the long, deep windows,
together with the arcade, were of green stone, beautifully carved and
polished. The arcade, which served both as a covered way, and a portico
over the main entrance, was at once artistic and unique. It was formed
by a picturesque combination of four Moorish arches. These arches were
uniformly twenty-five feet in height and twenty-five feet in width: the
openings of the double arch were placed in front with the single
openings at either side. By this arrangement the beauty of the entire
structure was greatly enhanced, while a very appropriate entrance to
Fenwick Hall was the result.
At the rear of the grounds, on a line with the center of the mansion,
were the roomy stables. They were built of rough Seneca sandstone. Like
Swiss cottages, they were made more beautiful by a profusion of richly
colored slates which covered the broad, steep roof and the wide eaves.
Between the mansion and the stables, on the same line, twenty-five feet
distant from the former, was the pretty two story building, of the same
material, devoted to the kitchen, the heating and the lighting plants.
Both buildings were connected with each other and with the main building
by a long colonnade of harmonious proportions; its heavy cornice,
narrow, steep roof, and long double line of slender supporting pillars,
were all of the same red stone. The color effects offered by the lovely
contrast between the velvety green of the broad, smoothly shaven lawns
and the rich reds of the Seneca stone, were simply delightful!
Architecturally considered, the combined effect of the group of
buildings, arcade and colonnade, was as artistic as it was excellent.
Under the arcade, just inside the double arch, a broad flight of stone
steps led up to the heavy oak doors opening into the wide hall on the
main floor. This hall was remarkable for its unusual size; it was thirty
feet wide and of a proportionate height, fifteen feet from floor to
ceiling. In connection with a cross hall twenty feet in width, it served
to divide the entire space on this floor--one hundred and sixty feet by
ninety--into four very large rooms; the two parlors, the library, and
the dining room: each one thirty feet in width by seventy feet in
length, with fifteen foot ceilings.
The grand proportions of these magnificent rooms and stately halls,
excited universal admiration; they impressed the beholder with a
dominant idea of the spacious luxury which marked the interior
appointments of Fenwick Hall. In the center of the main hall, thirty
feet from the front entrance, began the flight of the grand stairway.
The general design of this stairway was boldly unique. It was in harmony
with the scale of magnificence which characterized the halls and
parlors. In three long flights of twenty-five steps each, it rose to the
fourth floor. Counting the fifteen-foot landings on the second and third
floors, it was practically one structure with a generous breadth of
fifteen feet. It was built of the same material--American mahogany--with
casings, cornices, banisters and newels of the same pattern and finish,
all highly polished and rich with ornamental carving. The beautiful
color effects of the polished mahogany, were brought out more vividly by
the pale neutral tint of the heavy velvet carpet, which covered the
stairs and landings. As an illustration of the great space occupied by
this grand stairway of such ideal proportions, each one of its
seventy-five broad steps would afford a comfortable seat for eight
persons--a goodly company of six hundred, all told. This royal trinity
of stairways ranked as the distinguishing feature of the mansion. They
gave it an air of stately elegance, tempered with the glow and warmth of
a generous hospitality.
The halls on the second and third floors were counterparts of the main
hall in size and style. The hall on the fourth floor was fifty feet wide
by one hundred and sixty feet long. It was arranged to be used as a ball
room, or for concerts, lectures, operas and theatricals. For such
events, it would comfortably seat an audience of one thousand people.
The roomy stage was furnished with the latest and most approved
appliances; it was also equipped with a remarkable series of twelve drop
curtains for the lectures. Number one of the series, was a twelve by
twenty-four foot map of the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii,
Porto Rico and other territorial possessions. This map was accurately
drawn to a large scale, it was artistically colored and marked in such a
way as to show at a glance the boundaries of original territory; the
ceded territory, the date of cession, and from whom acquired; the
dividing lines between states and between counties; the location of all
cities and towns having a population of one thousand or over; the
principal state and county roads, all railroads, lakes, rivers,
mountains, public parks, valuable forests, arid lands, irrigable lands,
mineral deposits; all noted mines of coal, iron, gold, silver, copper,
etc., together with a great variety of important items: all of which
proved exceedingly valuable as an added means by which to illustrate in
an interesting and comprehensive way, lectures on geographical,
geological and historical subjects, together with lectures on the
natural wealth and resources of our country; its manufacturing, mining,
commercial and agricultural interests, with a great number of kindred
topics as well. The second curtain was uniform in size with the first
and with the entire series. On the same large scale, it gave a
magnificent illustration of the solar system. The background was a pale
bluish gray. The sun appeared as the central figure, surrounded by the
planets in their orbits, carefully drawn as to comparative size and
position. The whole map was colored with exquisite taste in perfect
harmony with the beautiful sky effects of the background. The skillful
work of the map maker proved especially strong in furnishing a lesson of
wholesome humility for the over-proud denizens of the little planet
Earth who, puffed up with much vanity, have for ages proclaimed the
Earth as the pivotal center of all creation. The third curtain was
simply a heavy, plain white one, perfectly fitted for the display of
stereopticon views, and more especially for the moving panoramic views
of the kinetescope, the vitascope and the biograph, which have proved
such attractive and entertaining aids to the general lecturer, dealing
with any special subject capable of such profuse illustration. The
remaining nine curtains were devoted to outline maps of the world, and
to illustrated object-lessons in the most important and interesting
departments of nature.
The side walls of this remarkable hall were wainscoted in polished hard
wood, for a distance of five feet above the floor: the remaining wall
space was divided into large ornamental panels, with beautifully
scrolled historical borders. In these panels were painted, one in each,
large maps of the States and Territories, which were drawn to uniform
scale, minutely accurate, with every post office, post road, wagon road
or cycle path plainly marked. In addition, at least twice the number of
details usual to large maps showing counties and townships, were
carefully noted. The effect of this unique educational system of
ornamentation was as interesting as it was fascinating. In harmony with
this idea, the entire length of the broad ceiling overhead was painted a
pale blue; it was divided into two large panels with ornate borders;
each panel was dotted with stars and planets in such a methodical way as
to form a complete astronomical map of the visible heavens, both
northern and southern hemispheres. This, with several of the large drop
curtains, served as adjuncts to the well equipped observatory which was
located in one of the large towers at the rear of the mansion.
On the main floor, on each side of the front hall, were the two grand
parlors, whose exact dimensions have been stated heretofore. They were
carpeted and furnished with all the art and luxury that skill could
devise, or wealth could procure. Two wide archways of Moorish style and
majestic proportions, opened from each parlor into the main hall. The
chief adornments which marked these fine parlors as unapproachably
superb, were two immense mirrors, alike in every way, mounted in heavy
frames, rich with leaf gold. They occupied the entire wall space at the
rear end of these enchanting saloons of artistic luxury. When
distinguished groups of brave men and beautiful women were assembled
here, the magical effect of these mirrors in reproducing the brilliant
company as one magnificently framed panoramic picture, was ever the
source of perpetual admiration and delight. On such occasions the
thirty feet of the main hall in front of the stairway, served as the
third or reception parlor. The grand stairway shone resplendent as one
magnificent centerpiece of loveliness. Up the long flight on either
side, it was banked by a wealth of potted flowers, ferns and palms,
festooned with wreaths of lovely smilax. Just in front of this unrivaled
background of beauty, standing alone upon the movable reception
platform, which was merely a small circular extension of the first step
of the grand stairway, the charming young hostess of Fenwick Hall, with
the grace and courtesy of a born princess, gave a greeting of welcome to
her delighted guests, or dismissed them with a gracious smile as they
entered or retired.
The library, in the rear of the parlor at the left of the main hall and
separated from it by the cross hall, was an exceedingly imposing and
attractive room. With its quiet array of costly appointments, it seemed
to possess some hidden charm. Its mahogany shelves were laden with a
rare collection of choice books, elegantly bound, skillfully arranged
and classified. The assortment of scientific books was a remarkably
large one. Marble statues, and exquisitely painted portraits of a host
of famous authors and artists, whose works had enriched the literature
of the world, fittingly adorned this ideal realm of drowsy quiet, where
both lore and luxury reigned supreme.
The dining room was uniform in size with the parlors and the library.
Its walls and ceiling were frescoed with groups of graceful figures,
which represented the merry sprites of pleasure in carnivals of
feasting, song and dancing. Each figure was a carefully studied type of
beauty; each group a perfect expression of grace and gaiety. Studied
singly or as parts of the entire composition, they were exquisite as
works of art, charming the attention of the beholder with a bewildering
fascination. The floor was one vast mosaic of superbly colored tiles.
The heavy mahogany tables and sideboards were glittering with their
costly equipments of shining silver, sparkling cut glass, and rare,
translucent china. Large oval mirrors in heavy carved frames, duplicated
the lovely adornments of this brilliant room from a dozen points of
vantage. The dazzling effect of this home of the feast, was intensified
by cascades of light from the two unrivaled chandeliers. They supported
a great number of slender bulbs containing the electric lights, which
were arranged in the form of a mass of drooping fern leaves, rising like
a pyramid of soft radiance, into the perfect shape of two superb
fountains. Tiny streams of short prisms, clear, flashing, crystal,
pendant and vibrating, formed the tip of each fern leaf. This skillful
combination seemed to complete the startling illusion of this rare
vision of loveliness, until one could almost hear the musical tinkle of
falling water.
The three halls on the main, second and third floors, were really
galleries of art "par excellence," they were so profusely adorned with
choice collections of photographs, etchings, water colors, paintings and
statuary. On entering the main hall, two very large paintings of
extraordinary significance and rare merit claimed instant admiration.
Companion pictures, each with a canopy and background of crossed
American flags, from whose voluminous folds shone the blazing glory of
color in the matchless beauty of the stars and stripes. In each picture
under these flags, the dominant spirit of the republic breathed in the
noble figures so exquisitely painted; typifying in the one on the right,
the Goddess of Liberty watching over the destiny of the republic. In the
one on the left, Liberty with her torch lighting the world. So perfectly
did the painter's art portray the "Spirit of '76," that a new tide of
patriotic devotion to the republic and its glorious flag, swelled the
hearts of all who saw these justly famous pictures.
The well lighted, well ventilated rooms in the basement were used as
store rooms, a suitable number being set apart for the servants, as
dressing rooms, dining room and sitting room. In a large bay window
extension at the rear of the main hall, a sumptuously furnished elevator
connected the basement with all of the halls, the roof and the towers.
The rooms on the second and third floors were arranged in suites of
three: reception, sleeping and bath. In size, fittings and furnishings,
they were models of comfort and luxury.
The four octagonal tower rooms were uniformly twenty-five feet in
diameter, with lofty dome ceilings. The right front tower was occupied
by Fern Fenwick as her private study and work room. It was fitted and
furnished much the same as the library. The left front tower was
arranged as a seance room for spiritual manifestations, and more
especially for the different phases of mediumship possessed by Mrs.
Bainbridge, including materialization. As before stated, the right hand
tower at the rear was perfectly equipped as an observatory, while the
rooms under it were devoted to the demonstration of kindred sciences.
The left tower at the rear was furnished and arranged as a laboratory.
The rooms under it were set apart for experiment and demonstrations in
chemistry, metallurgy, photography and several other sciences of like
nature.
An able corps of carefully trained servants, under the direction of Mrs.
Bainbridge, the housekeeper, made it easy to keep this remarkable
establishment in perfect order. One and all, these model servants were
devoted to their lovely young mistress, and this devotion was based on
their keen appreciation of her noble ideas in regard to the true purpose
of human life, to her high estimation of its sacredness. They were eager
to serve her faithfully and well for less than ordinary wages, contented
and confident in the knowledge that, in accordance with her clear sense
of justice, they were sure of being retired on half pay after having
reached the age of fifty-five. This brief description of the exterior
and interior of Fenwick Hall, its equipment, its lovely mistress and its
people, will but faintly suggest its extraordinary possibilities as a
potent factor in the upper circles of Washington life. Almost three
years have passed since the transition of Fennimore Fenwick, which left
his only daughter, Fern Fenwick, as the sole heir to his vast wealth.
With the exception of three months each summer, spent at Fairy Fern
Cottage, or some mountain resort near it, she had remained quietly at
Fenwick Hall, busily engaged in rebuilding and refitting it. Meanwhile
under the instruction of able teachers, she had been hard at work in
efforts to supplement her excellent collegiate education with a better
knowledge of history and by a more complete mastery of the subtle
secrets of the higher sciences, as exponents of the powers, properties
and purposes of the inherent forces belonging to the various
departments of Nature's vast domain.
After much deliberation she had undertaken this work to enable her to
wisely prepare and plan for a life work in harmony with her lofty ideas
on the subject--ideas which had been slowly ripening in her mind for
many months. Having passed the ordeal of this severe post graduate
course of general study, she felt herself prepared to commence the work
contemplated by her general plan, which embraced a skillful use of the
great educational and social advantages of Fenwick Hall, in her
endeavors to bring to the leading minds of the political and social
circles of Washington a clear conception of the importance and
significance of the real purpose of human life; with a view to reforming
ethical, social, industrial and political organizations on the true
basis of the unselfishness of the individual for the advancement of the
race; thus bringing these organizations into exact and co-operative
harmony with the object and purpose of the existence of the planet.
Systems so organized, would then be in line with a true conception of
the functions of an ideal republic--a government for the people, of the
people and by the people; conducted for the benefit, protection and
development of all the people. With the world organized into families of
such republics, the advent of the millennium could be predicted, and the
advancement of the race to the point of perfection would be insured.