W.H. Stark House To Host Annual Holiday Open House Event
December 2, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Patsy Herrington
The W.H. Stark House Director
pherrington@whstarkhouse.org
409.883.0871
Includes Door Prizes, First Floor Tours
ORANGE, Texas, December 2, 2008 – Get into the holiday spirit with the annual Holiday Open House hosted by The W.H. Stark House Tuesday, December 16 and Thursday, December 18 from 5-8 p.m. The event is open to visitors of all ages and includes complimentary admission, first floor tours, door prizes, holiday music and décor, and a gift box for each visitor.
“The annual Holiday Open House is always a special way of enjoying the holiday season,” said Patsy Herrington, Director of The W.H. Stark House. “With all that we and our community have endured with Hurricane Ike, these festive evenings at the Stark House represent a deeper meaning. We encourage families and friends to join us, enjoy the holiday decorations and music, and celebrate the blessings that we all share.”
Because the Carriage House remains closed due to damage sustained by the hurricane, the Stark House Holiday Open House will begin at the side gate located at 6th Street and Green Avenue. The front walkway and porches of the Stark House will be lit with electric candles, which visitors will follow to the front door for the start of the first floor tour. Inside the foyer area will be a Christmas tree decorated by Stark House staff with ornaments made of vintage lace, silk flowers and ribbons. Fireplace mantels throughout the first floor will be decorated with greenery, and the dining and breakfast room tables will be set for holiday meals using the W.H. Stark family’s original china, crystal and silver.
In addition to the holiday décor, The W.H. Stark House will be filled with the sounds of holiday music played by musicians on original family instruments.
Stark House staff will give away door prizes throughout each night of the Open House, and visitors will each receive a small gift box as they leave the event. In addition, a limited edition, keepsake brass ornament of The W.H. Stark House will be available for purchase. The ornament was created by ChemArt, which is known for their iconic White House ornaments, and it may be purchased by cash or check during the Open House event, while supplies last. The ornament will also be available for purchase by cash, check or credit card at the bookstore located inside the Stark Museum of Art, 712 Green Avenue, during normal business hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Full tours of all three floors of The W.H. Stark House are available Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with regular admission. Special group pricing is available for group tours that are scheduled in advance. Tour participants must be 10 years of age or older, with the exception of the Holiday Open House event. All tours for the Stark House (other than the Open House event) begin in the lobby of the Stark Museum of Art, which is located one block west of the Stark House in downtown Orange.
For more information, please visit whstarkhouse.org or call 409.883.0871.
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. It is operated as a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, a private foundation established in 1961 by H.J. Lutcher Stark -- the only surviving child of Miriam M. and W.H. Stark – and his wife, Nelda C. Stark.
For image files, contact Patsy Herrington at 409.883.0871 or pherrington@whstarkhouse.org.
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| The W.H. Stark House |
Ellen Rienstra and Ed Wilson at the 2007 Open House |