|
Cape May County,
New Jersey
Stained Glass,
Doors & Porches
Although some of the most
beautiful dowagers in this seaside resort are
starting to show their age, they still have the
power to turn heads and make people stop to
admire their exquisite images.
Cape May has literally
hundreds of stained glass windows in expected,
and some unexpected, places around town
including a Louis Comfort Tiffany window in a
private home on Washington Street.
Especially beautiful are stained glass
windows in Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic
Church on the Washington Street Mall and the
First Presbyterian Church at Hughes and Decatur
streets. Both are about a hundred years
old – a bit more at the Presbyterian church –
but the beauty of the Biblical depictions in the
huge panels of stained glass are still
magnificent.
Indeed, around town in
private homes, bed and breakfast inns and even
businesses, the royal blues, the ruby reds and
deep greens of stained glass - most of
them old but with a few reproductions – continue
to intrigue anyone who enjoys strolling the
streets of
America’s
first seaside resort.
Walk around town just after
dark and marvel how these windows and transoms
filter and reflect the light, casting
kaleidoscope-style shadows that offer just a
hint of how much history those windows have
witnessed.
While you’re enjoying the
ambiance of Victorian resort, have you ever
wondered about the phrase “in the red” or “in
the black” – and what the connection might be to
Cape May?
One story that might be true
says that years ago when families had a red
front door it meant they had a mortgage on their
home so they were in the red. Those with a black
front door owned their property and were in the
black. Sounds pretty good.
But that was then and this is
now. Today, the color of a home’s front door
says more about the decorating choices of the
owners than it does about their financial
status.
Walk along Hughes Street in
Cape May – or most streets in the Historic
District of America’s First Seaside Resort - and
marvel at the plethora of entranceways that
complement magnificent homes, cottages and
mansions. Although a few red or black doors -
the Memucan Hughes house for example - can still
be found in town, most of the doors, frames and
other exterior details are vibrant and
eye-catching, adding the perfect architectural
touch with hardware and woodworking as ornate
and intricate as what awaits inside.
Then there are the porches –
or the verandahs. Call them what you like,
a sprawling home in this National Historic
Landmark City just has to have a porch, with a
rocking chair or a hammock to provide that
quintessential feel of welcome that bids guests
sit a spell, sip an iced tea or catch up on the
latest gossip.
Colorful brackets,
carpenter's lace and gingerbread trim cast their
intricate afternoon shadows across the porch
floor while above, some owners have continued a
Victorian tradition of painting the porch
ceiling blue to simulate the sky. Leafy ferns
and wicker planters filled with colorful summer
flowers complement the peaceful beauty of the
porches that spread across the fronts and sides
of these seaside homes.
The wraparound porch at the
historic Chalfonte Hotel – just a block from the
ocean - is the perfect place to rock, read or
relax with the cool ocean breezes providing
companionship.
Many bed and breakfast inns,
with their welcoming porches, participate in
East Lynne Theater Company’s Tales of the
Victorians, a delightful pastime for a summer or
fall afternoon. Listen to the Tales of the
Victorians, short stories read by professional
actors, sip your ice tea and let your
imagination take flight.
|
