A wood lovers castle to visit!

[ossaguy]

I was going through some pictures here,and came across these from our visit to the Gillette Castle in East Haddam,Ct. back in '09.

I was just getting into woodworking back then,so I could really appreciate the craftsmanship that went into the interior wooden features,that were all handmade.Lots of cool details.

We rode the Essex Steamtrain too,that was fun.

So if you are in the Ct.area this fall,and have not seen it,it's a fun day trip.

Here's a link,plus our pics.Fun memories!

Thanks,
Steve

DEEP: Gillette Castle State Park

 

[mark james]

Nice pics Steve.

Be well!

 

[jttheclockman]

Love the view out the window.

I read the title and a host of memories came rushing back to me. I do not want to hijack your thread but would like to also share a thought. Whenever I read about or hear the word castle and the ornate woodwork that usually accompany them I think back to a job I worked on in NY city. It was The Republic National Bank of New York on the corner of 40th and 5th avenues across from the New York Public library. What ties this to your story is the fact that the owner of the bank had 2 top floors in this bank and it was furnished with woodwork from a castle in New England. They renovated a castle there and brought the wood and all the trimings back to NY and installed them in the 2 floors of this bank. They actually had the same carpenters who dismantled it there come here to fit it out in the bank. I was fortunate enough to witness this first hand because I as an electrician was working on all the fire alarm and security systems in the bank.

Being a woodworking junky I appreciated the quality of the wood, the craftsmanship of the wood and the style. I got to see different techniques used by their carpenters that I was not used to. Their finishing techniques was the use of wax on the wood as opposed to staining and top coating with a finish as we do here. Made for some great looking finishes that just screamed touch and feel me.

Oh the stories I could tell from that job!!!! I will say this, he the owner sure was security paranoid. There was hidden rooms built into this woodwork with lead lined rooms. Security cameras hidden every place possible including in the trim work. Real gold bathroom fixtures and lighting fixtures that that were a nightmare to install.

Probably the most memorable thing that still sticks out in my mind from that job was the fact that I got to see and hold gold and silver bars. I even stood on top of millions and millions of dollars of gold and silver bars to work on light fixtures in the vault. To be around that much money was mindboggling.

I now wish I had saved some of that wood for pens. I never ever thought I would be making pens back then. Sorry for taking a left turn on your thread but I could not help myself. The good old days of yesteryears.

 

[ossaguy]

Wow John,that's really cool!

What was the purpose of lead-lined walls? Wouldn't that be really hazardous to be in,or for the installers?

That would have been neat to present the banker with a pen made with the same wood,maybe something like a Knights Armor kit.

Too bad you couldn't have gotten some pics of it,but I'm sure he wouldn't have liked that!

That's a neat story,thanks for sharing it with us.It would be fun to be around that much money.


Steve

 

[jttheclockman]

Wow John,that's really cool!

What was the purpose of lead-lined walls? Wouldn't that be really hazardous to be in,or for the installers?

That would have been neat to present the banker with a pen made with the same wood,maybe something like a Knights Armor kit.

Too bad you couldn't have gotten some pics of it,but I'm sure he wouldn't have liked that!

That's a neat story,thanks for sharing it with us.It would be fun to be around that much money.


Steve

Well Steve the material I am sure had other metals in it to make it bullet proof and axe proof. I do know it was one huge pain in the butt to install switches and fixtures and speakers and phones and this was in a bathroom. It was cool how the door blended into the wall and unless you knew it was there it was undetectable. There were a couple of these rooms. In his office the hidden room had the door built into the bookcase. Sounds like scenes from a movie but I seen it with my own 2 eyes and worked on it.

This was back in 1980's so I was not into pens and cell phones were not in vogue

Money!!!!! man there was so much money in that bank. They used to get money that was taken out of circulation to be counted and recorded before it was sent off to the incinerators. They had special rooms set up for this. When they would get a shipment in of this money it would come in a cart that had clear walls to it and there were security guards that roll it to the room. Whenever they would pass us we had to stop work and stand to the side and let it pass. To see all those bills just stacked. Each cart had 1 million dollars in it and it better have the same when it left.

I wish I had taken photos of the desk they made for this guy. The carpenters were real craftsman. The board room tables that they brought over were also extremely well crafted and huge.