Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Sep 19 Glensheen Fireplaces

 


Glensheen is the home built 1905-08 by Chester and Clara Congdon of Duluth MN. Chester had amassed  a fortune in the mining business. He built this estate which has an "institutional" look in my opinion. It served as the family home for the Congdons until daughter Elizabeth's death in 1977. Tour guides are not permitted to talk of the circumstances of her death. She was murdered along with her nurse by her adopted daughter and husband who stood to gain financially from Elizabeth's death. 


Although, in 1908, you didn't need fireplaces for warming in a house like this, they were mostly for show. Each fireplace is unique and made from different material and styles. Each one had a story of where the tiles or stone came from. The andirons were quite unique as well. 














Vaseline or Uranium glass was a popular oddity of the 1930s. Glass covered with uranium glows green in UV light. The fad ran out of steam in the early 1940s when the government confiscated all uranium for the Manhattan Project.  




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