I don't know when the mansion used for Collinwood was built, but I wouldn't have any other one as my Collinwood.I hear you BC - I feel the same way about the old place! Here's an interesting little run down on the history - it's even younger than I once suspected...
Think of it this way--if the Kennedies or Rockefellers decided to built a palatial home for themselves, would they do so in Moose Neck, Alaska with a population of maybe fifty people on an especially busy day? And with no easy means of transport to and from the place?Ah, yes but, you see a Kennedy, a Rockefeller or even a Vanderbilt has nothing on a Collins for reclusive anti-social tendencies and the ability to come up with weird ideas and schemes. All the other old money mentioned may all have their various skeletons and attic dwelling nut cases but, not one of them can claim a vampire or werewolf as part of their incestry. Any family that would beget that kind of supernatural offspring would have to start off with an unusual mindset. [hall2_wink]
.we never even get to see where that funky louvered door leads to. [hall2_tongue]
Then, in PT 1692 (?)... !! Brutus just looked ridiculous sitting there in the Drawing Room.
He was probably shown in Collinwood because I think the set for the Old House got thrown out or burned or something so they didn't have it anymore. That sucks.
over at the old house despite it's massive scale the only rooms we ever see are the foyer/drawing room,josette's room and the basement which seems to alternate between being barnabas' coffin chamber and julia's lab.we never even get to see where that funky louvered door leads to.
over at the old house.....we never even get to see where that funky louvered door leads to. [hall2_tongue]I always wondered what was back there, too.
Perhaps its a walk-in gun closet?
.we never even get to see where that funky louvered door leads to. [hall2_tongue]My guess was that it as a small sitting area that led to other rooms on that side of the house. (I thought of the kitchen as being off camera or more or less to the right and straight ahead as you face the fireplace.) I think that one of the DS books refers to the room behind the louvered doors as being a study.
.we never even get to see where that funky louvered door leads to. [hall2_tongue]
I always thought it was the kitchen.....[lghy]
.we never even get to see where that funky louvered door leads to. [hall2_tongue]
That makes more sense than having the basement door within viewing range of the front door, as it was by the time Nicholas showed up.That's one of my extreme pet peeves about the Old House - that totally FUGLY basement door which ended up being the focal point of the foyer. I can't imagine this in an otherwise elegant 18th century house. I remember at first there appeared to be a long hallway and maybe even a few twists and turns that led to that door - which makes way more sense to me.[/size]
That's one of my extreme pet peeves about the Old House - that totally FUGLY basement door which ended up being the focal point of the foyer. I can't imagine this in an otherwise elegant 18th century house. I remember at first there appeared to be a long hallway and maybe even a few twists and turns that led to that door - which makes way more sense to me.
That makes more sense than having the basement door within viewing range of the front door, as it was by the time Nicholas showed up.That's one of my extreme pet peeves about the Old House - that totally FUGLY basement door which ended up being the focal point of the foyer. I can't imagine this in an otherwise elegant 18th century house. I remember at first there appeared to be a long hallway and maybe even a few twists and turns that led to that door - which makes way more sense to me.[/size]
OMG! Isn't that door horrible? I always wondered why the damn thing was SO CLOSE to the front door. It's so out of place, and wouldn't people question why you needed a steel door with bars on it to keep people out of your basement? And for that matter why are there so many damn jail-esque cells built into the house?
The size of Collinwood is a mystery... I wonder if Maine has any mansions going back that far. Come to think of it, that's the biggest damn house i've ever seen in my life, and in any era, only a handful of people live there, and they all hang out in one small room right next to the front door. They keep both wings closed and just use the middle bit.
Thirdly you have the need for TONS AND TONS of SERVANTS. Especially with a houseful of guests, the guests would be bringing along THEIR servants, as we see with Josette and Angelique. NOt to mention that in those days food preparation, housework and the other functions of running the house were done with people power not labor saving devices.Gosford Park is a very good example of this: A Huge house just crawling with servants, not only the Master's staff but all the servants brought by the guests. The downstairs kitchens and laundry etc. is a virtual rabbit warren.
vicki beats a hasty retreat from this room,locates mrs.johnson,returns and reports to willie that she's fixing him breakfast as they speak...in some other room.
so perhaps i'll refer to this space as the "solarium/breakfast room" i honor of that funky greenhouse area.
While living in that style may have been Joshua's intent when having Collinwood built, sadly, the events of 1795 certainly cast a pall on those dreams, by the end of storyline [spoiler]the only truly "living" Collinses were Joshua, Millicent (mad), and her brother (?) Daniel, IIRC.[/spoiler]