The Birth of Christ

Luke 1 in the Amplified Version
Since [as is well known] many have undertaken to put in order and draw up a [thorough] narrative of the surely established deeds which have been accomplished and fulfilled in and among us. Exactly as they were handed down to us by those who from the [official] beginning of [Jesus' ministry] were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word [that is, of the doctrine concerning the attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God]. It seemed good and desirable to me, [and so I have determined] also after having searched out diligently and followed all things closely and traced accurately the course from the highest to the minutest detail from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus. [My purpose is] that you may know the full truth and understand with certainty and security against error the accounts (histories) and doctrines of the faith of which you have been informed and in which you have been orally instructed. In the days when Herod was king of Judea there was a certain priest whose name was Zachariah, of the daily service (the division) of Abia; and his wife was also a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they both were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. But they had no child, for Elizabeth was barren; and both were far advanced in years. Now while on duty, serving as priest before God in the order of his division, as was the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter [the sanctuary of] the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And all the throng of people were praying outside [in the court] at the hour of incense [burning]. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zachariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear took possession of him. But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zachariah, because your petition was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must call his name John [God is favorable]. And you shall have joy and exultant delight, and many will rejoice over his birth. For he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord. And he must drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit even in and from his mother's womb. And he will turn back and cause to return many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, And he will [himself] go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient and incredulous and unpersuadable to the wisdom of the upright [which is the knowledge and holy love of the will of God]-in order to make ready for the Lord a people [perfectly] prepared [in spirit, adjusted and disposed and placed in the right moral state]. And Zachariah said to the angel, By what shall I know and be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years. And the angel replied to him, I am Gabriel. I stand in the [very] presence of God, and I have been sent to talk to you and to bring you this good news. Now behold, you will be and will continue to be silent and not able to speak till the day when these things take place, because you have not believed what I told you; but my words are of a kind which will be fulfilled in the appointed and proper time. Now the people kept waiting for Zachariah, and they wondered at his delaying [so long] in the sanctuary. But when he did come out, he was unable to speak to them; and they [clearly] perceived that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary; and he kept making signs to them, still he remained dumb. And when his time of performing priestly functions was ended, he returned to his [own] house. Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself entirely, saying, [I have hid myself] because thus the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He deigned to look on me to take away my reproach among men.


Now in the sixth month [after that], the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, to a girl never having been married and a virgin engaged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Hail, O favored one [endued with grace]! The Lord is with you! Blessed (favored of God) are you before all other women! But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled and disturbed and confused at what he said and kept revolving in her mind what such a greeting might mean. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace (free, spontaneous, absolute favor and loving-kindness) with God. And listen! You will become pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great (eminent) and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob throughout the ages; and of His reign there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I have no [intimacy with any man as a] husband? Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud], and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God. And listen! Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is now the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left her. And at that time Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country to a town of Judah. And she went to the house of Zachariah and, entering it, saluted Elizabeth. And it occurred that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud cry, and then exclaimed, Blessed (favored of God) above all other women are you! And blessed (favored of God) is the Fruit of your womb! And how [have I deserved that this honor should] be granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the instant the sound of your salutation reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed (happy, to be envied) is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord.

The Visitation, Juan Correa De Vivar(1539 -1552), The Museum Del Prado
Mary's Magnificat

Performed by Koiné from album Emmanuel Lux.

And Mary said,
My soul magnifies and extols the Lord.
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked upon the low station and humiliation of His handmaiden.
For behold, from now on all generations [of all ages] will call me blessed and declare me happy and to be envied!
For He Who is almighty has done great things for me-and holy is His name [to be venerated in His purity, majesty and glory]!
And His mercy (His compassion and kindness toward the miserable and afflicted) is on those who fear Him with godly reverence,
From generation to generation and age to age.
He has shown strength and made might with His arm;
He has scattered the proud and haughty in and by the imagination and purpose and designs of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled and satisfied the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty-handed [without a gift].
He has laid hold on His servant Israel [to help him, to espouse his cause], in remembrance of His mercy.
Even as He promised to our forefathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] for about three months and [then] returned to her [own] home. Now the time that Elizabeth should be delivered came, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy on her, and they rejoiced with her. And it occurred that on the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were intending to call him Zachariah after his father. But his mother answered, Not so! But he shall be called John. And they said to her, None of the your relatives is called by that name. And they inquired with signs to his father [as to] what he wanted to have him called. Then Zachariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, His name is John. And they were all astonished. And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, blessing and praising and thanking God. And awe and reverential fear came on all their neighbors; and all these things were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying Whatever will this little boy be then? For the hand of the Lord was [so evidently] with him [protecting and aiding him].

Zachariah's Benedictus
Now Zachariah his father was filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

Benedictus (Blessed be the Lord God of Israel) Quadruple chant by Sir Herbert S. Oakeley (1830-1903)

"Blessed (praised and extolled and thanked) be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has come and brought deliverance and redemption to His people!
And He has raised up a Horn of salvation [a mighty and valiant Helper, the Author of salvation] for us in the house of David His servant-
This is as He promised by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times [in the memory of man]-
That we should have deliverance and be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who detest and pursue us with hatred;
To make true and show the mercy and compassion and kindness [promised] to our forefathers and to remember and carry out His holy covenant [to bless, which is all the more sacred because it is made by God Himself].
That covenant He sealed by oath to our forefather Abraham:
To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our foes, might serve Him fearlessly in holiness (divine consecration) and righteousness (in accordance with the everlasting principles of right] within His presence all the days of our lives.

And you, little one, shall be called a prophet of the Most High;
For you shall go on before the face of the Lord to make ready His ways,
To bring and give the knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness and remission of their sins.
Because of and through the heart of tender mercy and loving-kindness of our God,
A Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit [us] to shine upon and give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
To direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace. "

And the little boy grew and became strong in spirit; and he was in the deserts (wilderness) until the day of his appearing to Israel [the commencement of his public ministry].

Matthew Chapter 1: 19-25 in the Amplified Version
And her [promised] husband Joseph, being a just and upright man and not willing to expose her publicly and to shame and disgrace her, decided to repudiate and dismiss (divorce) her quietly and secretly.

But as he was thinking this over behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of (from out of) the Holy spirit. She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior], for He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God]. All this took place that it might be fulfilled which the Lord had spoken through the prophet, Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel-which, when translated, means, God with us. Then Joseph, being aroused from his sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him; he took [her to his side as] his wife. But he had no union with her as her husband until she had borne her firstborn Son, and he called His name Jesus.

Luke Chapter 2 in the Amplified Version
In those days it occurred that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole Roman empire should be registered. This was the first enrollment, and it was made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all the people were going to be registered, each to his own city or town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David. To be enrolled with Mary, his espoused (married) wife, who was about to become a mother.

And while they were there, the time came for her delivery, And she gave birth to her Son, her Firstborn; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room or place for them in the inn.

And in that vicinity there were shepherds living [out under the open sky] in the field watching [in shifts] over their flock by night.

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid;
"For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people.
"For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior,
"Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord!
"And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]:
"You will find [after searching] a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

Then suddenly there appeared with the angel an army of the troops of heaven (a heavenly knighthood), praising God and saying,

Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, Sydney Opera House

"Glory to God in the highest [heaven], and on earth peace among men with whom He is well pleased [men of goodwill, of His favor]."

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing (saying) that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and [by searching] found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger.

And when they saw it, they made known what had been told them concerning this Child. And all who heard it were astounded and marveled at what the shepherds told them. But Mary was keeping within herself all these things (sayings) weighing and pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

Matthew 2:1-16 in the Amplified Version
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men [astrologers] from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east at it's rising and have come to worship Him.

When Herod the king heard this, he was disturbed and troubled, and the whole of Jerusalem with him. So he called together all the chief priests and learned men (scribes) of the people and anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born. They replied to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are not in any way least or insignificant among the chief cities of Judah; for from you shall come a Ruler (Leader) Who will govern and shepherd My people Israel. Then Herod sent for the wise men [astrologers] secretly, and accurately to the last point ascertained from them the time of the appearing of the star [that is, how long the star had made itself visible since its rising in the east]. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search for the Child carefully and diligently, and when you have found Him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him. When they had listened to the king, they went their way, and behold, the star which had been seen in the east in its rising went before them until it came and stood over the place where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they were thrilled with ecstatic joy.

And on going into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him.

Then opening their treasure bags, they presented to Him gifts-gold and frankincense and myrrh. And receiving an answer to their asking, they were divinely instructed and warned in a dream not to go back to Herod; so they departed to their own country by a different way. Now after they had gone, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Get up! [Tenderly] take unto you the young child and His mother and flee to Egypt; and remain there till I tell you [otherwise], for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him. And having risen, he took the Child and His mother by night and withdrew to Egypt and remained there until Herod's death. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, Out of Egypt have I called My Son. Then Herod, when he realized that he had been misled by the wise men, was furiously enraged, and he sent and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that territory who were two years old and under, reckoning according to the date which he had investigated diligently and had learned exactly from the wise men.

 

Biltmore House At Christmas in 2018

 George Washington Vanderbilt III (November 14, 1862 – March 6, 1914) was the youngest child of William "Billy" Henry Vanderbilt (5/8/1821–12/8/1885) and Maria Louisa Kissam. He had two uncles with the same name, one of which died at only 4 yrs old. So he is the third of that name.

As the youngest of William's children, George was said to be his father's favorite and his constant companion. Relatives described him as slender, dark-haired, and pale-complexioned. Shy and introverted, his interests ran to philosophy, books, and the collection of paintings in his father's large art gallery.

William "Billy" Henry Vanderbilt was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the eldest son of "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt (5/27/1794-1/4/1877), Commodore was a nickname). Cornelius Vanderbilt was the son of Cornelius van Derbilt and Phebe Hand.

Cornelius Vanderbilt's great-great-grandfather, Jan Aertson or Aertszoon ("Aert's son"), was a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt in Utrecht, Netherlands, who emigrated to New Amsterdam (later New York) as an indentured servant in 1650. The Dutch van der ("of the") was eventually added to Aertson's village name to create "van der Bilt" ("of the Bilt"). This was eventually condensed to Vanderbilt.

Cornelius Vanderbilt was born in Staten Island, New York. He began working on his father's ferry in New York Harbor as a boy, quitting school at the age of 11. At the age of 16, Vanderbilt decided to start his own ferry service. He began his business by ferrying freight and passengers on a ferry between Staten Island and Manhattan. Such was his energy and eagerness in his trade that other captains nearby took to calling him The Commodore in jest – a nickname that stuck with him all his life. On December 19, 1813, at age 19 Vanderbilt married his first cousin, Sophia Johnson, daughter of Nathaniel Johnson and Elizabeth Hand. They moved into a boarding house on Broad Street in Manhattan. They had 13 children. In addition to running his ferry, Vanderbilt bought his brother-in-law John De Forest's schooner and traded in food and merchandise in partnership with his father and others. But on November 24, 1817, a ferry entrepreneur named Thomas Gibbons asked Vanderbilt to captain his steamboat between New Jersey and New York. Although Vanderbilt kept his own businesses running, he became Gibbons's business manager. Working for Gibbons, Vanderbilt learned to operate a large and complicated business. He moved with his family to New Brunswick, New Jersey, a stop on Gibbons' line between New York and Philadelphia. There his wife Sophia operated a very profitable inn, using the proceeds to feed, clothe and educate their children. Vanderbilt also proved a quick study in legal matters working with Gibbon's lawyers against a ferry monopoly. After Thomas Gibbons died in 1826, Vanderbilt worked for Gibbons' son William until 1829. Though he had always run his own businesses on the side, he now worked entirely for himself. Step by step, he started lines between New York and the surrounding region. First he took over Gibbons' ferry to New Jersey, then switched to western Long Island Sound. In 1831, he took over his brother Jacob's line to Peekskill, New York, on the lower Hudson River. That year he faced opposition by a steamboat operated by Daniel Drew, who forced Vanderbilt to buy him out. Impressed, Vanderbilt became a secret partner with Drew for the next thirty years, so that the two men would have an incentive to avoid competing with each other. During the 1830s, textile mills were built in large numbers in New England as the United States developed its manufacturing base. They processed cotton from the Deep South, so were directly tied to the slave societies. Some of the first railroads in the United States were built from Boston to Long Island Sound, to connect with steamboats that ran to New York. By the end of the decade, Vanderbilt dominated the steamboat business on the Sound, and began to take over management of the connecting railroads. When the California gold rush began in 1849, Vanderbilt switched from regional steamboat lines to ocean-going steamships. Many of the migrants to California, and almost all of the gold returning to the East Coast, went by steamship to Panama, where mule trains and canoes provided transportation across the isthmus. (The Panama Railroad was soon built to provide a faster crossing.) He then turned to transatlantic steamship lines. He took an interest in several railroads during the 1850s. Vanderbilt brought his eldest son, Billy, in as vice-president of the Harlem. Billy had had a nervous breakdown early in life, and his father had sent him to a farm on Staten Island. But he proved himself a good businessman, and eventually became the head of the Staten Island Railway. Though the Commodore had once scorned Billy, he was impressed by his son's success. Eventually he promoted him to operational manager of all his railroad lines. In 1864, the Commodore sold his last ships, in order to concentrate on the railroads. Following his wife Sophia's death in 1868, Vanderbilt went to Canada. On August 21, 1869, in London, Ontario, he married a cousin from Mobile, Alabama with the unusual of Frank Armstrong Crawford. Under her influence he began making large donations, especially to start Vanderbilt University and favored churches. The immediate cause of his death at 82 was exhaustion, brought on by long suffering from a complication of chronic disorders. Vanderbilt had a fortune estimated at $100 million. In his will, he left 95% of his $100 million estate to his son William (Billy) and to William's four sons ($5 million to Cornelius, and $2 million apiece to William, Frederick, and George). He gave his wife $500,000 and some stock, his daughters received $250,000@-$500,000@ and his youngest son, whom he considered a "wastrel", the income from a $200,000 trust fund. The Commodore said that he believed William was the only heir capable of maintaining the business empire. The Commodore had lived in relative modesty considering his nearly unlimited means, splurging only on race horses. His descendants were the ones who built the Vanderbilt houses that characterize America's Gilded Age. Three of his daughters and son, Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt, contested the will on the grounds that their father was of unsound mind and under the influence of his son Billy and of spiritualists whom he consulted on a regular basis. The court battle lasted more than a year and was ultimately won outright by Billy, who increased the bequests to his siblings and paid their legal fees. A living descendant is his great-great-granddaughter Gloria Vanderbilt, a renowned fashion designer. Her youngest son is Anderson Cooper, a television news anchor. Through Billy's daughter Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, another descendant is actor Timothy Olyphant.

William Henry "Billy" Vanderbilt was the richest American after he took over his father's fortune in 1877 until his own death in 1885, passing on a substantial part of the fortune to his wife and children, particularly to his sons Cornelius II and William. He inherited nearly $100 million from his father. The fortune had doubled when he died less than nine years later. Billy was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on May 8, 1821. Cornelius frequently berated and criticized his eldest son calling him a "blockhead" and a "blatherskite". Billy longed to show his father that he was capable but never dared stand up to the Commodore. A major turning point in their relationship occurred on the family trip to Europe on the steamship Vanderbilt in 1860, after which, the two became very close and Billy was given a greater role in business matters. His father carefully oversaw his business training, starting him out at age 19 as a clerk in a New York banking house. After joining as an executive of the Staten Island Railway, he was made its president in 1862. He continued to rise and take on more responsibility from his father until Cornelius' death in 1877. Billy owned elegant mansions in New York City and Newport and an 800-acre country estate on Long Island.

In 1884 the firm Grant and Ward, Grant being Ulysses S. Grant, went bankrupt and ruined the investments of many including Vanderbilt, whom Grant had convinced to invest $150,000. Ferdinand Ward, known as the Napoleon of Wall Street, had operated the company as a Ponzi scheme that resulted in financial ruin for many. Ward was later prosecuted. To pay Vanderbilt back, Grant mortgaged his Civil War memorabilia, including his sword. Although this did not fully cover the $150,000 debt, Vanderbilt accepted the memorabilia as payment in full. Vanderbilt later recouped Grant's other mortgaged war memorabilia, including the memorabilia given by Grant, and returned them to Grant's wife, Julia Grant, after Grant's death in 1885.

In 1841, Billy married Maria Louisa Kissam (1821–1896), daughter of the Reverend Samuel Kissam and Margaret Hamilton Adams. They had eight children. In 1883, he resigned all his company presidencies and had his sons appointed as important chairmen but left the day-to-day running of the businesses to experienced men appointed president. He died on December 8, 1885 in Manhattan, New York City of a stroke, he left a fortune of approximately $200 million. His estate was divided amongst his 8 children and his wife, the bulk of the estate going to his eldest two sons, Cornelius and William. He was an active philanthropist and an avid art enthusiast; his collection included some of the most valuable works of the Old Masters, and over his lifetime Vanderbilt acquired more than 200 paintings.

George Washington Vanderbilt III inherited $2 million from his grandfather and received another million on his 21st birthday from his father. Upon his father's death, he inherited $5 million more, as well as the income from a $5 million trust fund. The Vanderbilt family business was operated by his older brothers. He ran the family farm at New Dorp and Woodland Beach, now the neighborhood of Midland Beach on Staten Island, New York. He acquired a private library of more than twenty thousand volumes. In addition to frequent visits to Paris, France, where several Vanderbilts kept a home, George Vanderbilt traveled extensively, becoming fluent in several foreign languages.

Living in one or another of his family residences well into adulthood, Vanderbilt decided to construct his own country mansion and estate in 1888. For this purpose he acquired 125,000 acres of woodland in North Carolina, employing the architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a limestone house modeled on the Chateau de Blois, Chenonceau and Chambord in France and Waddesdon Manor in England. With up to four acres of floor space this is believed to be the largest domestic dwelling ever constructed in the United States. On June 1, 1898, Vanderbilt married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser (1/17/1873 – 12/21/1958) at the American Cathedral in Paris, France. They had one daughter, Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (8/22/1900 - 2/7/1976).

Vanderbilt led the life of a country gentleman. Having a great interest in horticulture and agriscience, he oversaw experiments in scientific farming, animal bloodline breeding, and silviculture (forestry). His goal was to run Biltmore as a self-sustaining estate. In 1892, Olmsted suggested that Vanderbilt hire Gifford Pinchot to manage the forests on the estate. According to Pinchot, who went on to be the first Chief of the United States Forest Service, Biltmore was the first professionally managed forest in the U.S; it was also the site of the Biltmore School of Forestry, the first such school in North America, established in 1898 by Dr. Carl A. Schenck.

He died on March 6, 1914 due to complications following an appendectomy in Washington, D.C. After his death, Vanderbilt's widow sold approximately 86,000 acres of the Biltmore property to the United States Forest Service at $5 an acre, fulfilling her husband's wishes to create the core of Pisgah National Forest. She sold additional land as finances demanded. Edith Dresser Vanderbilt later married Peter Goelet Gerry (1879–1957), a United States Senator from Rhode Island. Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (George and Edith Vanderbilt's only child) married British aristocrat, John Francis Amherst Cecil in 1924. Her sons, George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil (2/27/1925-?) and William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (8/17/1928-10/31/2017), eventually inherited the property. George Cecil, the older of the two sons, chose to inherit the majority of the estate's land and the Biltmore Farms Company, which was more profitable than the house at the time. He ran the dairy and built the profitable winery on the grounds. William Cecil was thus left with Biltmore House, and is credited with preserving the chateau and making it the tourist attraction. It is still privately owned but opened to the public. George Cecil married Nancy Owen and they had six children. William Cecil married Mary Lee Ryan and they had two children.

In the 1880's, George began making trips with his mother to Asheville, NC. He loved the scenery and climate and decided to build his summer retreat there. The name Biltmore was derived from "Bildt", Vanderbilt's ancestors' place of origin in Holland, and "More", Anglo-Saxon for open, rolling land. The Biltmore House was built between 1889 and 1896. In order to facilitate such a large project, a woodworking factory and brick kiln, which produced 32,000 bricks a day, were built onsite, and a three-mile railroad spur was constructed to bring materials to the building site. Construction on the main house required the labor of well over 1,000 workers and 60 stonemasons. Vanderbilt went on extensive buying trips overseas as construction on the house was in progress. He returned to North Carolina with thousands of furnishings for his newly built home including tapestries, hundreds of carpets, prints, linens, and decorative objects, all dating between the 15th century and the late 19th century. George Vanderbilt opened his opulent estate on Christmas Eve 1895 to invited family and friends from across the country, who were encouraged to enjoy leisure and country pursuits. Their only child, Cornelia, was born at Biltmore in the Louis XV room in 1900, and grew up at the estate. Driven by the impact of the newly imposed income taxes, and the fact that the estate was getting harder to manage economically, Vanderbilt initiated the sale of 87,000 acres to the federal government. His widow completed the sale. In an attempt to bolster the estate's financial situation during the Great Depression, Cornelia and her husband opened Biltmore to the public in March 1930 at the request of the City of Asheville, which hoped the attraction would revitalize the area with tourism. Biltmore closed during World War II and in 1942, 62 paintings and 17 sculptures were moved to the estate by train from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. to protect them in the event of an attack on the United States. After the divorce of the Cecils in 1934, Cornelia left the estate never to return; however, John Cecil maintained his residence in the Bachelors' Wing until his death in 1954. Their eldest son, George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil, occupied rooms in the wing until 1956. The estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963. It is built of Indiana limestone with carved decorations include trefoils, flowing tracery, rosettes, gargoyles, and at prominent lookouts, grotesques. On the north end of the house, Hunt placed the attached stables, carriage house and its courtyard to protect the house and gardens from the wind. The 12,000-square-foot complex housed Vanderbilt's prized driving horses and the carriage house opposite the stables stored his 20 carriages in addition to any of his guest's carriages. Biltmore House had electricity from the time it was built. With electricity less safe and fire more of a danger at the time, the house had six separate sections divided by brick fire walls. It has a total of 250 rooms in the house including 35 bedrooms for family and guests, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, three kitchens and 19th-century novelties such as electric elevators, forced-air heating, centrally controlled clocks, fire alarms, and a call-bell system. It cost about $6 million when it was built but in 2018 dollars that would be closer to $1.6 billion. The two-story Library contains over 10,000 volumes in eight languages, reflecting George Vanderbilt's broad interests in classic literature as well as works on art, history, architecture, and gardening. The second-floor balcony is accessed by an ornate walnut spiral staircase. The baroque detailing of the room is enhanced by the rich walnut paneling and the ceiling painting, The Chariot of Aurora, brought to Biltmore by Vanderbilt from the Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice, Italy. The painting by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini is the most important work by the artist still in existence. The third floor has a number of guest rooms with names that describe the furnishing or artist that they were decorated with. The fourth floor has 21 bedrooms that were inhabited by housemaids, laundresses, and other female servants. Also included on the fourth floor is an Observatory with a circular staircase that leads to a wrought iron balcony with doorways to the rooftop where Vanderbilt could view his estate. Male servants were not housed here, however, but instead resided in rooms above the stable and complex. In the Bachelor's Wing is the Billiard Room which is decorated with an ornamental plaster ceiling and rich oak paneling and was equipped with both a custom-made pool table and a carom table (table without pockets). The room was mainly frequented by men, but ladies were welcome to enter as well. Secret door panels on either side of the fireplace led to the private quarters of the Bachelors' Wing where female guests and staff members were not allowed. The wing includes the Smoking Room, which was fashionable for country houses, and the Gun Room, which held mounted trophies and displayed George Vanderbilt's gun collection. Guests of the estate could enjoy other activities that were found on the basement level, including an indoor 70,000-gallon heated swimming pool with underwater lighting, one of the nation's first bowling alleys installed in a private residence, and a gymnasium with once state-of-the-art fitness equipment. The service hub of the house is also found in the largest basement in the US, as the location for the main kitchen, pastry kitchen, rotisserie kitchen, walk-in refrigerators that provided an early form of mechanical refrigeration, the servants' dining hall, laundry rooms and additional bedrooms for staff. Olmsted made sure to incorporate 75 acres of formal gardens requested by Vanderbilt for the grounds directly surrounding the house. He constructed an Italian formal garden, a walled garden, a shrub and rose garden, fountains, and a conservatory with individual rooms for palms and orchids. There was also a bowling green, an outdoor tea room, and a terrace to incorporate the European statuary that Vanderbilt had brought back from his travels. At the opposite end of the Esplanade is the Rampe Douce, a graduated stairway zigzagging along a rough-cut limestone wall that leads to the grassy slope known as the Vista, topped with a statue of Diana, the goddess of the hunt. Water features were an important aspect of Victorian landscaping and Olmsted incorporated two for the estate: the Bass Pond created from an old creek-fed millpond and the Lagoon. Each was used for guest recreation like fishing and rowing. To supply water for the estate, Olmsted engineered two reservoirs. One was a spring-fed man-made lake on nearby Busbee Mountain. The other was a man-made, brick-lined reservoir, located behind the statue of Diana in the Vista, at an elevation of approximately 266 feet above the Esplanade. The estate today covers approximately 8,000 acres and is split in half by the French Broad River, overseen by The Biltmore Company, a trust set up by the family. The company is a large enterprise that is one of the largest employers in the Asheville area. Source: Wikipedia

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Restaurants were opened in 1979 and 1987 as well as four gifts shops in 1993. The former dairy barn was converted into the popular Biltmore Winery in 1985. We used to go to the onsite dairy bar for ice cream before they closed it. The AAA four-diamond 210-room Inn on Biltmore Estate opened in 2001, and in 2010, the estate debuted Antler Hill Village, as well as a remodeled winery, and connected farmyard.

We first visited Biltmore after we moved to Spartanburg, SC in 1967. So it would have been in the late 1960's. My husband and I got to go about once a year until the ticket prices got so expensive. We've enjoyed it every time except for once when we went to the Candlelight Christmas Tour and it was wall-to-wall people. I don't enjoy crowds like that.

This year, our niece and her family are finally living close enough for us to plan another trip. Her husband is career Air Force and they got transferred to Columbia, SC just this Fall. We are so happy and thankful to have them close to home. They have 4 children, two boys and two girls. The baby girl is not a year old yet. But this Christmas will be their oldest child's last chance to tour for free and the older 3 are old enough to remember so it was on our Christmas bucket list this year.

Let me give you some hints based on our experience. Biltmore website.

The tickets are expensive. As of 2018, normal ticket prices are $75/adult, $37.50 per child (age 10-16), children younger than 10 are free. The Christmas Tours are more expensive and the Candlelight Tours at night are the highest and they get taken pretty quickly so it's good to plan a Christmas visit in advance and order your tickets online. The evening Candlelight Christmas Tours are reservation only. You can get $10 off per adult with seven-day advance purchase, and free admission for kids 16 and under! Seniors and US Military can also get a $10 discount. If you want to do a 2 day visit, it's $25@ for second day. The hours are 9-5 normally. They are open later for Christmas Candlelight Tours and Summer schedule. Check their website. Summer at Biltmore offers outdoor activities. Enjoy the gardens, bring a picnic, and relax in a quiet spot. There is an Outdoor Adventure Center in Antler Village. They offer: BIKING, CARRIAGE RIDES, FLY-FISHING, HIKING, HORSEBACK RIDING, LAND ROVER, RIVER FLOAT TRIPS, SEGWAY TOURS, SPORTING CLAYS, OUTRIDER USA ADVENTURE, FALCONRY.

Once you have your tickets (there is a ticket office, but you can order online and I pd a little extra to have hardcopy tickets mailed to us), you can go to the parking lots nearer the mansion and walk or you can park in the parking lots further away but take a bus or trolly that run continuously from the parking lot to the mansion. Saves you a lot of walking and you might need your energy for the house and garden tours. The buses had wheelchair lifts but that was a lot of trouble for just a stroller so we ended up having to lift the stroller up the 3 steep steps into the bus. If you are like most people, strollers have baby and are stuffed with diaper bag, purse, jackets, paraphernalia. So taking all that out of the stroller to fold it up was a pain so we just tried to lift it up the steps. The path between the seats was about too narrow for a single stroller. Also there are parts of the house where the stroller won't go and you have to leave it and hold baby anyway. So the whole stroller thing is not a good idea and carrying baby all over isn't either. We had no choice so we struggled with the stroller. But if it's possible, it's best not to take a stroller baby, or a child who is too young to walk a lot, at all.

I'm not wheelchair bound but I'm disabled so I was noticing how difficult it was to walk and get up and down stairs, etc. They have the house roped in a tour so people can easily follow their way in the right directions. But the path included steps on the upper floors. There is an elevator near the front door but it only goes to the upper floors. It does NOT go to the basement which has the indoor pool, servant's quarters, kitchen and work areas. Back to the upper floor tour, I'm not sure what they do for wheel chair people when it came to those stairs? They have attendants posted and they took the stroller and we had to carry the baby and then pick up the stroller on the other end. So I don't know if they have to push a wheel chair person in a different direction, and they miss part of the upper floor tours, or what? It was cold (not really bad cold, but cold enough for jackets) outside since it's December and I get stiff and achy in the cold. So doing the steps on the bus and in the house was hard. I managed to do it but if you have physical disabilities, keep that in mind. Halfway through, the kids, who are all healthy and skinny, were getting tired! So that's another gauge to be aware of. Can your group handle all the walking and staircases? And that's not counting the immediate gardens, any shopping, etc?

I gave out after the main floor and upper floor tours so I stayed with the stroller and let her take the children down to do the basement tour. I met them out front when they were finished. They allow bottled water inside the house but not any other food or drink. So you can't take a coffee or hot chocolate inside. I'm severely hypoglycemic and with the extra exercise I was concerned my sugar would drop and what would I do. It happens very quickly for me and walking expends more energy and makes it drop faster. I made sure to eat a lot of protein grams before we got on the grounds but that doesn't always work. This time it did, thank God! But if I'd been on the upper floor and had to get down and to the Stables and in line and pay before I could get a drink or food, I wouldn't have made it. Let's hope they allow for that. Either by letting someone carry a protein drink in their purse or all attendants carry candy and a protein for emergencies. When your sugar begins to drop, sucking on hard candy is better than nothing but not always safe. I've passed out with a piece of candy in my mouth and I could have choked.

They also don't allow food or drink on the bus or trolly. So the kids had to finish their ice cream before we could get on the trolly headed back to the car. That might not be a problem in the summer but sitting in the cold, eating ice cream (their choice!) made them pretty chilly. But they really needed something for a pickup after all the walking.

Now, is it worth it? I would say YES! If you can afford to go and you meet the physical demands, it's a beautiful place to visit! They have kept it in beautiful shape. Sometimes I've been to historical places and you are a little disappointed. I mean, it's old; it's open to the public and it gets dusty, faded, dilapidated, furnishings and decorations get wilted and it's sort of sad. But I have to say the Biltmore Estate was not that way. It wasn't dusty or faded. It looks like it's kept clean and repaired. The furnishings and accessories seemed to be up to standard. The Christmas decorations were beautiful and well worth seeing. The fresh floral arrangements and orchids everywhere were not wilting. We did not do the gardens around the house as it was getting dark when we finished the house and we weren't physically able to keep going. But I've been in the past and always been impressed. The views are gorgeous. The estate grounds are well kept. The shops are expensive but held beautiful items which I enjoyed looking at. We have not mustered up the money to eat at any of the restaurants so I can't make a judgment on them.

Our Christmas Tour, taken in an afternoon with low crowds (thank God!) took about 2 1/2 hours.

Outside food and beverage is not permitted in estate dining locations, Antler Hill Village or Biltmore House areas, including the Front Lawn area of Biltmore House, Stable Courtyard, and South Terrace and Walled Garden. But with lots to explore, there are options for picnics. While there is not an official "picnic" area, you can spread a blanket along one of the hiking trails, along the river, or in gardens (except the Walled Garden). For a more secluded picnic, take the Deer Park Trail that begins by the South Terrace. Other great spots include the Lagoon, the Diana statue atop the hill facing the house, and the gazebo on Bass Lake. Tailgating, grilling, large coolers and outside alcoholic beverages are not allowed. They don't make picnicking easy in order to force you to eat at their restaurants. But it's not terribly hard if you plan and know these things in advance. I would like to suggest to Biltmore to have a picnic pavilion near the car parks. A shed roof, picnic tables, benches would help a lot.

I would suggest something easy like sandwiches or cold fried chicken, bottled drinks, fruit, nuts, fresh veggies. Sort of like heavy finger foods. Keep them in a cooler in your car. Decide on a place to picnic and take it then. Put it back in your car and do what you want next. Just don't expect to find picnic tables and you can't take it to the house.

Their website has estate maps so check them out.

For security, they had tents in front with an xray machine to walk through and they can check your bags. Weapons are not allowed even with concealed carry permits. All of the staff we encountered were courteous. Pets are allowed on leash on the grounds but not in any of the buildings unless they are service dogs.

Still photography is allowed but turn off your flash inside the home. Without the flash, the pictures are a little grainy and not as clear.

Genealogy - LuLa Vinson and Jesse K. Burton

 Jesse K. Burton, Sr. was born Abt. 1863 in Union County, SC to Jesse Cleveland Burton and Martha Wall. Jesse K. Burton married F. Lula Vinson in 1897 in SC. Lula Vinson was born 1/1872 in SC to William G. Vinson (DOB 1/1846 in SC; DOD 1/15/1886 in SC) and Mary Ann Harris (DOB Abt. 1844 in Union County, SC to James Coger Harris and Frances Logan Shell; DOD 12/6/1911 in SC).

Jesse K. Burton and Lulu Vinson had 4 children:

1. Clara Idell Burton (DOB 11/23/1898 in SC; DOD 3/27/1986 in Richland County, SC) married Eugene Ryan Crow (DOB 10/30/1894 in SC; DOD 11/13/1966 in Columbia, Richland County, SC)
2. Charles Cleveland Burton (DOB 9/9/1903 in Union County, SC; DOD 7/29/1977 in Susquehanna, PA) married Janet Mason Bramham (DOB 12/14/1906 in Wood County, WI; DOD 12/11/1967 in San Mateo County, CA). For more, see below.
3. Vada Willa Burton (DOB 9/9/1903 in Union, Union County, SC; DOD 7/4/1952 in Miami, Dade County, FL) married Walter Wright Goldsmith (DOB 1/22/1897 in SC; DOD 10/3/1985 in Greenville, Greenville County, SC) and William Franklin Hutchings (DOB 11/1/1922 in Simpsonville, Greenville County, SC; DOD 1/12/1983 in Miami, Dade County, FL). For more, see below.
4. Jesse K. Burton (DOB Abt. 1906 in SC; DOD ? in ? )

Lula Vinson Burton died 6/15/1910 in El Paso, TX.

21 June 1910- Mrs. Loula V. Burton, w/o J.K. Burton, died at her home in El Paso, TX, June 15. Mr. Burton & family left here only a few weeks ago for El Paso to regain their health, both being in quite critical condition on leaving Union. Mrs. Burton was born & reared in Union & was the d/o Mr. & Mrs. W. G. Vinson. She was about 40 years old, a member of Grace Methodist Church, & is survived by her husband, 4 children, mother & father, 2 brothers: James I. & Wallace Vinson, & 2 sisters: Mrs. W.D. Harris & Mrs. C.L. Bryant. Funeral services were conducted this A. M., by Rev. S.A. Donahoe, pastor of Grace Church, and the remains laid to rest in the Methodist Cemetery.
(Information from Union County, SC Death Notices, from early newspapers, 1852-1914)

Jesse K. Burton died a few months later on 11/30/1910 leaving their 4 children orphans.

2 Dec 1910 – J.K. Burton, who has been ill several months, died at the home of Mrs. W.G. Vinson, on North Gadberry St. Wednesday A.M. [30 Nov]. He was 46 years old & is survived by 4 small children. Mr. Burton & his wife went to Texas several months ago to regain their health, & while there Mrs. Burton died & her remains were sent to Union for burial. Shortly afterward Mr. Burton & the children returned to Union & since then his condition worsened. Funeral services were held yesterday A.M. at the grave in the Methodist Churchyard.
(Information from Union CO., SC Death Notices, from early newspapers, 1852-1914)

The 3 youngest children were in the Eppsworth Orphanage in the 1920 U.S. Census. The eldest, Clara Idell Burton, was already married.

In 1924, a city directory shows Vada Burton working as a stenographer in Greenville, SC. Vada Willa Burton married Walter Wright Goldsmith 5/1928 in Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, SC. He worked as a real estate agent, insurance agent and for his family businesses – Vice President-Manager Real Estate Dept The Wm Goldsmith Co. and Sec Lullwater Syndicate, Inc.

1930 U.S. Census of 279 Grove Rd, Greenville, Greenville, South Carolina; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0062; FHL microfilm: 2341933, Lines 61-62, “Walter Goldsmith”
Walter Goldsmith, Head, Owns home valued at $4,500, M(ale), W(hite), 32 yrs old, , Married at age 30, Can read and write, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC, Real Estate
Vada Goldsmith, Wife, F, W, 22 yrs old, Can read and write, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC

In the city directory, Vada and Walter were still living on Grove Rd in Greenville. But something happened.

1940 U.S. Census of SC State Penitentiary, Columbia, Richland, South Carolina; Roll: m-t0627-03832; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 40-15, Line 45, “Vada Goldsmith”
Vada Goldsmith, F(emale), W(hite), 37 yrs old, Married, Attended college 4 yrs, Born in SC, Lived in Greenville, SC in 1935

1940 U.S. Census of Aberdeen Drive, Greenville, Greenville, South Carolina; Roll: m-t0627-03813; Page: 61B; Enumeration District: 23-83, Lines 53-57, “William Goldsmith”
William Goldsmith, Head, M(ale), W(hite), 78 yrs old, Married, Attended high school 4 yrs, Born in SC, Lived in same place in 1935, Manager Insurance
Janie W. Goldsmith, Wife, F, W, 69 yrs old, Married, Did not attend school, Born in SC, Lived in the same place in 1935
Walter Goldsmith, Son, M, W, 42 yrs old, Single, Attended college 4 yrs, Born in SC, Lived in the same place in 1935, Salesman insurance
Morgan Goldsmith, Son, M, W, 28 yrs old, Single, Attended college 4 yrs, Born in SC, Lived in the same place in 1935, Salesman insurance
Ebb M. Wright, Brother-in-law, M, W, 68 yrs old, Widowed, Attended high school 3 yrs, Born in SC, Lived in the same place in 1935, Night watchman airport

Walter Goldsmith died 10/3/1985 in Greenville, Greenville County, SC

Vada Burton married her second husband, William Franklin Hutchings, by 1942 as she is listed as his wife on his WWII Draft Card. He was born 11/1/1922 in Simpsonville, Greenville County, SC. In 1942 he and Vada are living in Cleveland, Bradley County, TN where he was working for T.V.A. (Tennessee Valley Authority).

I did not find divorce records for Vada’s first marriage. Vada died 7/4/1952 in Miami, Dade County, FL. William Franklin Hutchings married his second wife, Marcella Josephine “Jo” Coleman in August, 1956 in Dade County, FL and divorced her in Dec, 1960 in Dade County, FL. Hutchings married her again in March, 1962 and divorced her again on 11/1965 in Dade County, FL. He died 1/12/1983 in Miami, Dade County, FL.

Now let’s look at Charles Cleveland Burton. Earlier we left him in the orphanage in 1920. In the 1930 U.S. Census he was living in New York City as an architect.

1930 U.S. Census of 333 East 43rd Street, Manhattan, New York, New York; Page: 23A; Enumeration District: 0619; FHL microfilm: 2341297, Line 21, “Charles C. Burton” (rooming with Earl Sheppard)
Charles C. Burton, Roomer, M(ale), W(hite), 28 yrs old, Single, Born in OH, Father born in OH, Mother born in LA (sic), Architect

I looked up his address and found he was living in a new and famous building.

333 East 43rd Street, New York, The Manor

On 10/24/1931 in Manhattan, NY, he married Janet Mason Bramham. Miss Bramham was born 12/14/1906 in Wood County, WI. They had one son, Robert Mason Burton.

Charles C. Burton was an architect and engineer and his projects were theaters. He was the architect for the famous Paramount Theater in New York!

Paramount Theatre, 1501 Broadway, New York, NY 10036

The Paramount Theatre on Times Square opened on November 19, 1926 with Lois Moran in the Paramount Picture “God Gave Me Twenty Cents”, plus a stage show. The Paramount Theatre lobby was modeled after the Paris Opera House with white marble columns, balustrades and an opening arms grand staircase. Inside, drapes were red velvet, the rugs were a similar red. The theatre also had a Wurlitzer 4 manual 36 ranks organ, made famous by organist Jesse L. Crawford and later by Don Baker. There was also an orchestra pit that rose up to the stage level. The ceilings were fresco and gilt. The railings were brass, and the seats plush. There were Greek statues and busts in wall niches. The rest rooms and waiting rooms were as grand as any cathedral. In the main lobby there was an enormous crystal chandelier.

Over the years, many of the top stars performed there, including Frank Sinatra and dozens of the era’s luminaries. After years of showing movies and shows, the Paramount Theatre was closed on February 21, 1966 with the James Bond movie “Thunderball”. The auditorium was destroyed and converted into office space, and the entrance and lobby areas were gutted to make way for office and retail space. The Paramount Office Building also contained two Preview Theatre’s which were designed by architect Charles C. Burton in an Art Deco style. They were in use between 1938 & 1969.

Today, the Paramount Building is occupied in part by the Times Square location of the Hard Rock Cafe.

Contributed by William Gabel

Paramount Theater, NY

Here is the obituary for his secretary:

Obituary of Helen Blauvelt Inglis, a Descendant of pioneer and inventor, 96 Helen Blauvelt Inglis, 96, of Little Falls died Sunday. Private funeral services were held under the supervision of the Bizub-Parker Funeral Home, 47 Main St., Little Falls. Visit http://www.bizub.com for online condolences. Helen was the former wife of the late Roger W. Inglis of Upper Montclair, whom she married in 1981 and who predeceased her in 1988. Born in East Orange in 1911, Helen lived her earlier years in Glen Ridge and spent 34 years in Upper Montclair and 20 years in North Caldwell before moving to Little Falls in 1979. In occupation, Helen chose to go on secretarial assignments with many midtown New York companies through a service for a number of years. She also went on paid campaign jobs during the war years. Most interesting and rewarding was her secretarial work with Charles C. Burton, AIA, Architect and Engineer, of Montclair, in the mid-1950s. Mr. Burton was a former national architect in the 1930s for Paramount Pictures, designing and constructing theatres across the United States.

1940 U.S. Census of 1 Garrett Place, Yonkers, Westchester, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02867; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 68-124A, Lines 53-54, “Charles Burton“
Charles Burton, Head, M(ale), W(hite), 39 yrs old, Married, Attended college 5 yrs, Born in SC, Lived in New York in 1935, Architect theatrical, Income over $5,000
Janette Burton (sic), Wife, F, W, 33 yrs old, Married, Attended college 2 yrs, Born in WI, Lived in New York in 1935

1 Garrett Place, Yonkers, New York

According to the 1957 City Directory C.C. Burton and Janet Bramham Burton were living at 87 Gordonhurst Drive, Montclair, New Jersey.

87 Gordonhurst Ave, Montclair, NJ

Architectural Record, September, 1940, Pgs 47-49

FLORIDA THEATER IS REJUVENATED

In modernizing Miami’s Paramount Theater, Architect ROBERT LAW WEED and CHARLES C. BURTON, Consultant, have turned an old-style movie house into a dramatic modern theater. Principal changes were simplification of surfaces and opening up of the foyer-lounge area. 

AT THE THEATER ENTRANCE, above the marquee, are three floors of hotel rooms. The desire was to emphasize this entrance area for the full height of the building, yet in no way block out the hotel-room windows. The solution consists of a vertical panel, with adjustable jalousies inserted where windows occur.

The basic plan of the auditorium was changed very little. Its shape and size were fixed, and the sight lines were acceptable. Therefore, remodeling of this area consisted largely of elimination of ornamentation, smoothing of contour lines, simplification of treatment around the proscenium, and installation of new equipment.

Against the side walls of the auditorium, painted a soft beige tint, are white fluted columns, with concealed illumination behind them. These are capped by diverting, life-size dancing figures. The ceiling

is gray blue. Around the proscenium, the huge air-brush mural of tropical foliage is executed in white against a vermilion background.

REMODELED FLORIDA THEATER ROBERT LAW WEED, Architect

EQUIPMENT HAS been replaced throughout the remodeled theater. Comfortable new modern seating is arranged with an unusual amount of space. The air-conditioning system has been renovated and improved.

The acoustical treatment of the auditorium has met the most rigid tests and is complemented by mechanical projection and sound equipment of the latest type. All new lighting is concealed and indirect. Modernization has been extended even to such details as the drinking fountains, which are of the beam-controlled type.

A sizable structural alteration was made in the foyer and lounge area. Previously the lounge was in two parts. Removal of partitions threw these together, forming a single large room. To increase apparent as well as actual space, one wall of the new lounge is surfaced with mirror. Facing this mirror wall is the clever photomural of the Miami skyline shown below on the opposite page. By setting a balcony rail and columns in front of the mural, the surprisingly realistic effect is that of one whole side of the room opening out onto an inviting verandah. 

Janet Bramham Burton died 12/11/1967 in San Mateo County, CA. Charles C. Burton died 7/29/1977 in Susquehanna, PA. They are buried in Keene, Essex County, NY.

Fall Pictures And Scrapbook Pages

Our niece, Jenny, got some great photos of the kids one day last month. Here are the digital scrapbook pages I made of these pretty Fall pictures. They live in Florida so the photos aren’t your normal Autumn photos but I think the scrapbook pages turned out well. 

Brooke, Fall 2021

Brett, Fall 2021

Natalie, Fall 2021