Contact:

Patsy Herrington, Managing Director of The W.H. Stark House

409.883.0871

 

 

 

ORANGE, Texas, January 28 – As one of the last recovery efforts from Hurricane Ike, The W.H. Stark House is re-opening the Carriage House. Only closed twice since it opening on February 10, 1981, both times due to hurricanes, the Carriage House is re-opening for the second time on February 9 at 10 a.m. and will become the starting point for W.H. Stark House Tours.

After suffering extensive flood damage from Hurricane Ike, the Carriage House is opening with a revamped collection but also some much needed renovations. There is a new entry way and reception desk to greet visitors and new handicap accessible bathrooms.

 

Upstairs, the Carriage House includes of one of the finest American Cut Class collections displayed in cabinets that allow close-up viewing by the public. With an emphasis on American Decorative Arts, the collection has been edited and themed by country of origin including England, France, various Germanic countries and the Orient. Many pieces never seen by the public are now on display including Hollowware Silver and a Texas Campaign Platter that was commissioned as a result of the United States War with Mexico.

 

In addition, several decorative objects from The W.H. Stark House have been moved to the Carriage House allowing for close-up viewing that’s not possible during house tours. Visitors can now see up-close the bronze Crest of Wave sculpture (circa 1920 by American artist Harriet Whitney Frishmuth), the Panoma Green colored table service from the Steuben Glass Works, and personal items and correspondence from W.H. Stark’s desk. An American Pine table, settle, chairs and cupboard, believed to have been used in the Stark’s kitchen, are also now on display at the Carriage House.

 

“After eighteen months of extensive restoration we are excited to have the Carriage House opened, once again for our visitors.  The expanded and improved plan of the First Floor is very visitor friendly allowing our visitors an opportunity to learn more about the William Henry Stark family and their home.  The collections on the Second Floor have been edited and themed to show the various countries the Stark family’s outstanding collection of decorative arts originated,” said Patsy Herrington, Managing Director of the W.H. Stark House.

 

The Carriage House staff will open the restored Carriage House to the public on Tuesday, February 9 at 10 a.m. The Carriage House will become the starting point for all W.H. Stark House Tours, which is open to visitors ages ten and older for guided tours Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Reservations are recommended for house tours and admission is $5 per adult (18-64), $2 per senior (65 and older) and $2 per youth (10-17). The climbing of stairs is an essential part of the hour-long tour. Entrance to the Carriage House is free and reservations are not required. The entrance to the Carriage House is at 610 West Main Avenue in Orange, Texas.  For more information call 409.883.0871 or visit web site www.whstarkhouse.org.

 

About The W.H. Stark House
The W.H. Stark House is a Victorian landmark in Orange, Texas, which has been restored to its original splendor.
 
The 14,000 square-foot home was completed in 1894 in Orange, Texas, by William Henry Stark and his wife, Miriam M. Lutcher Stark, prominent philanthropists who occupied the home until 1936. Designed in the Queen Anne architectural style, the house features a distinctive turret, stained glass windows, and ornate woodwork in cypress and long leaf yellow pine.

Today, the three-story structure stands much as it did at the turn of the 20th century, with fifteen rooms of original family furnishings, personal effects and decorative arts, including antique rugs, original textiles, silver, cut glass and antique porcelain. Also featured are the W.H. Stark family's impressive collections of American Brilliant Period cut glass, pressed and pattern glass, milk glass, porcelains, and other 18th and 19th century decorative accessories. The interior of both The W.H. Stark House and its adjacent Carriage House depicts the home life of the W.H. Starks in the early 1900s and provides an extraordinary statement of Texas' social history.
 
The W.H. Stark House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Record Texas Historic Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission. The W.H. Stark House is a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, a private operating foundation, whose other programs include the Stark Museum of Art, the Frances Ann Lutcher Theater for the Performing Arts, and Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center.

 Back of Carriage House 

  The W.H. Stark House

 Damage inside Carriage House