George Eastman House

Today is my regular day for working the evening shift. I am happy to have the morning off, and Mom and I have planned to visit the George Eastman House. I have only been there a few times for events and never took the tour or heard the history of the place. The bits and pieces I have heard about George have been mostly hearsay. So I am happy to get the official spiel.

What a beautiful place it is. George was a unique individual and quite ahead of his time. We were fascinated by bits of information such as George was terrible at backing up his car. He hit things often, so he had a turntable installed in his garage. He would pull in, then the car would be turned to face out so he didn't have to back out. Interesting. And not a bad idea.

George also took excellent care of his Mother, having an elevator installed so she could get to her bedroom despite being in a wheelchair, quite the novelty in his day and age. We caught glimpses of the extraordinary gardens surrounding the house and the international museum of photography, but the house offered enough to keep us occupied for the entire morning.

Both Mom and I could see ourselves living in such a well designed and decorated home. Mom loved the china on the dining room table and the fact that George preferred his bouquets of flowers to be all one color. We were alike dismayed that when the Presidents of the University of Rochester lived in George's house after he died, their wives got rid of all his furniture and many of the decorations. Fortunately, George had stapled his initials to his things and almost all of the pieces have been returned to the house.

It was a wonderful morning and we ended up in the gift shop where Mom purchased the book showing all the elegant rooms and giving the history of the man and the place. We have promised ourselves to return next time Mom visits for the garden tour and maybe even the museum part. Meanwhile, I am plotting to take a trip to Hyde Park so we can see Roosevelt's home. I bet its every bit as fascinating as George's.