A Very Victorian Christmas

Victoria Mansion after last year's first snowstorm.

The Grand Dining Room, decked out for Christmas.

The beautiful wood-paneled library.  Imagine reading a book in here!

The Turkish Smoking Room.

An ornate parlor complete with musical accompaniment.

Another lovely parlor, decorated for Christmas, including the ornately-carved mantlepiece with a beautiful array of Poinsettia plants as garnish.

The Grand Ballroom.  This panorama took over 50 single images to capture every detail.

A sweeping staircase in the main hall leads you to the second floor.

The top of the stairs, looking across the second floor, with a huge skylight above.

The Red Bedroom with yet another incredible mantle piece/fireplace!  I'm not sure how comfortable it would have been to sleep in this bed, but it sure would have looked good!

Another lavish bedroom on the second floor. 

This is the ceiling of the Turkish Smoking Room.  Incredible details and so much gold leaf!

Last December, I was asked by Portland Magazine to photograph the Victoria Mansion what many consider to be Portland's finest historical home that one can tour.  It is always a pleasure to visit the mansion, but at Christmas, it really comes to life, as what could be more of a Victorian holiday than Christmas?  Various designers and floral companies from the area decorate the different rooms each year in fabulously lavish ways, which makes it even more fun to tour through and discover what lifestyles of the rich and famous of the Victorian Era were like. 

The decorations are different every year, and the tour is always great and worth every penny.  According to their website, they're open daily 11-4:30 pm.  

You can click on any of these pictures (above) to see a slightly larger version, or you can visit my architectural gallery to see them even larger on a black background by hovering your cursor or pointer over each large picture until a vertical box pops up allowing you to click on the various sizes you may want to view the pictures in. 

Some of you may have seen these photos before in Portland Magazine, but I thought that since it is that time of the year again, and many of you hadn't seen them, now might be a nice time. 

I'd love to hear what you think about the pictures, so feel free to either comment at the end of the post or on my website at the bottom of the page.  Or as always, you can send me an email. 

Happy Holidays to you all!  Cindy