Lockwood-Mathews Mansion

Thursday, 17 June 2010 00:00

A good number of 18th Century farmhouses have been preserved as museums, but relatively few of the huge 19th Century Victorian mansions that reflect the wealth of the area are available for public viewing. A noteworthy exception is Norwalk’s Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum. Built by LeGrand Lockwood, a railroad magnate, starting in 1864 and called “America’s first chateau,” the 50-room Second Empire-style mansion features stenciled walls, inlaid woodwork, a skylit rotunda, a solarium, and many other elegant rooms. The mansion was used in the 2003 filming of The Stepford Wives. The 4,000-plus items in its collection include textiles, decorative arts, furniture, and household implements.

Tours are offered at 12, 1, 2 and 3, Wednesday to Sunday. The museum closes in January, February, and March. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for seniors, $6 for youth 8-18 and free for those under 8 years. Special exhibits this season include Mansion Fragments: Innovations in Architecture, Design and Technology from the Civil War Era, which will be open from April 8 to Oct. 8. An Old Fashioned Flea Market is planned for Sunday, Aug. 21.

Details

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is at 295 West Avenue in Norwalk, just beyond the I-95 exit for South Norwalk. For information, 203-838-9799; www.lockwoodmathews.org.