On Sunday afternoon, Bettie and I tried to go see some Barbershop Quartets.  We missed them.  And we’re happy.

Cincinnati’s Fine Arts Fund sponsors a big weekend to get people to enjoy the arts and contribute from their paychecks.  Over the years, Bettie and I have gone to see an Ansel Adams print collection (with chamber music) and participated in klezmer music (we actually can dance a bit!).  This year, there was a Barbershop Quartet exhibition near the church.  There was also a meal after church.  We went to the meal and missed the quartets.

That’s where it gets good.

We got to see the house where the quartets sang. It’s a garden center thingie now. Here it is:

sorry – wrong pic. That was the driver’s house. Here you go:

Ooops – wrong again! That is the garage. What could I have been thinking of? Here’s the real house:

These folks knew how to live. The big room on the left is the salon. It has an organ in it. A player organ, just like player pianos.

The house was built in 1925. It has radiator heat – but with wooden barriers so the kids don’t accidentally get burned.

Yes, they had kids. This is one of their rooms. The wide-screen TV is new, but the iron barriers over the windows were original.

Decorative, but functional. The Lindbergh kidnapping happened only seven years after the house was built – these were probably added then.

The whole place was magnificent. Custom woodwork in the floors:

The attic had a cement floor. The attic!

The kitchen has a place to keep the silver safe:

(yes, that’s a combination safe she’s opening.) Our guide showed us a pantry that was really a door.

Here’s what was behind the door:

Another door – to a safe! Here’s what was inside the safe:

Yes, this house was built during the prohibition. I haven’t shown the hand-carved plaster ceilings, the stone staircases, the indoor pool. After a while I was more or less stunned.

We went outside to see the courtyard and fountains. The gutters, that we consider an afterthought, looked custom-made.

The roof is slate.

Thick slate.

And I want to claim it as mine. That little house for the driver?

Check out the little wishing well in front of it.

Proof positive: it’s all mine!

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