The Hermitage Museum and Gardens

Last week, Anne and I met up with some friends and visited the Hermitage Museum and Gardens. I had heard of the Hermitage many times growing up, but this was my first visit, and I really wasn't prepared for how gorgeous it would be. The Hermitage, an Arts and Crafts style house, was built in the early 1900s by the a family from New York, and at points over the next hundred years served as their summer retreat, a soldiers' home, and finally, a hub for the local arts community in the Hampton Roads area. Currently, it houses a collection of fine, decorative, and student art.

The house is surrounded by a whopping 12 acres of gardens, which slope down to the Lafayette River on three sides. After exploring some of the house, the kids ran outside to play in the grotto, jump from stone to stone in the millstone courtyard, and exclaim over the fountains and the crenelated wall in the large, circular East Garden. We followed a series of winding paths that crossed over the river wetlands area and finally led us to a sweet little English garden surrounding a beautiful old water tower -- definitely the prettiest water tower I'd ever seen.

I think that was my favorite thing about the Hermitage -- the fact that everything was so thoughtfully useful and decorative. The window-panes featured tiny stained-glass insets, the crown mouldings were set with jaunty inscriptions, and even the roof joists were carved with patterns of fruits and flowers.  Everywhere we turned, there was something to discover, and if you looked closer, something else in that to discover, too. It was shocking how much attention the designer (Mrs. Sloane -- you can see her hand-drawn plans in the Hermitage's library) paid to all of the small stuff. It made me very aware of how people don't do that so much anymore.

I also have to say that I really didn't expect the kids to love the house nearly as much as the gardens, but they did. Pretty early on, Z., the oldest of the three, pronounced it a castle, and they were enthralled from then on out. They were fascinated by the grandness of everything and the little whimsical touches (the pipe organ, the small doors, the old-fashioned, bubbly windows). Unfortunately, photos weren't allowed inside the museum or else I would have taken about a hundred.

Admission to the Hermitage is $5 for adults, and free for children under 6 and to all active duty military personnel. A great bargain, especially considering the wide variety of programs and events they have happening on a regular basis. You can check out their calendar here. FYI -- registration for the Hermitage's summer arts camp starts April 8! (Click here for more details on that).