Felt Estate, Part 2
During the same trip that I visited the Grand Rapids Public Museum, I took a holiday tour of Felt Estate in Holland, MI. This three-story, early 20th century estate was home to the Felt family, led by self-made millionaire inventor Dorr Felt. The tour covered two floors of the three-story mansion and was festively decorated for Christmas. Both the story of the property and its decor are fascinating, so I am dividing the blog into two parts. The first part covered the history of the property, and this second part will cover its design.
Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the stone Classical Revival style mansion was constructed by Frank P. Allen & Son between 1925 and 1927. Named Frank Payne Allen and Frank Phillip Allen respectively, the father-son duo from Grand Rapids, MI built houses together beginning 1899. Frank Jr. was more prolific than his father and known for designing expositions, including the Lewis and Clark Centennial in Portland, OR from 1904 to 1905; the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific in Seattle, WA from 1907 to 1909; and the Panama-California International in San Diego, CA from 1912 to 1915. Their work on Felt Estate showed how wealthy Dorr Felt had become, as his private property was equivalent to an internationally acclaimed fairground.
Before entering Felt Mansion, I took a quick stop at the little white chapel on the property. Originally called Gibson Church, the building was moved to its current location in 2010. It had served as the wedding venue for youngest daughter Dorothea Felt when she married John High Noyes in 1927. Upon entering the Felt Mansion through its neoclassical front entrance, visitors walk through a Hall with a staircase leading to the second floor. To the left were parlors, one of which contained a collection of Comptometers and patents. A small upright piano sat in the corner of one room, decorated with a festive garland for the holidays. Family movies were projected on a large screen, giving visitors a better idea for how the Felt family used the property. On the opposite side of the Hall was a small Library and an adjoining dining room. Besides the customary long dining table decorated for the holidays, the walls were covered in hand-painted wallpaper depicting the ruins of medieval castles and modern horseback riders. Also on this floor was the kitchen featuring a large triple window over the sink, giving the dishwasher a beautiful view of the property.
The landing between the first and second floor featured the portrait of Pope Leo XIV, as he had attended the St. Augustinian Seminary hosted on the property when he was known as Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago. On the second floor were the family’s private living quarters, including several bedrooms and bathrooms, all festooned with Christmas decorations. My favorite was the blue and white Christmas tree in the bathtub of a bathroom covered in blue and white tiles. While grand in scale, the materials used within the house were fairly standard for the time. The Felt family was interested in comfort rather than flaunting wealth. On the top floor was a ballroom, a common luxury for wealthy families at the time; the Barrett family of New Ipswich, NH put a ballroom on the top story of their own rural mansion, now a property of Historic New England.
The grounds of the mansion are open from dawn to dusk all year. Because of its electricity, heating, and indoor plumbing, Felt Mansion is open for much of the year, although the building closes in January through March for restoration projects. Unfortunately, times of availability are not convenient. Self-guided tours are on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and cost $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $5 for older children, and $0 for younger children. Guided tours are every other Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., last for 90 minutes, and cost $20 per person. The first Sunday of the month, the mansion is open from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is free to the public. If you are visiting Grand Rapids and want to spend a day in the Holland, MI area, this is a great stop to see early 20th century architecture in an area without many mansions to visit.
