If you have driven down Main Street in New Albany, I am
sure you have seen the grandest of mansions – towering
over 50 feet – with its warm, buttery pumpkin hue. Te sign
out front reads, "A Masterpiece of Victorian Artistry," but I
doubt you noticed. If you are anything like me, you were
too busy straining your neck, looking up at the majestic
structure that is Culbertson Mansion.
Recently, I arrived at the corner of Main and Tenth Streets to
meet Site Manager Jessica Stavros for a guided tour. Culbertson
is one of 11 nationally registered historic sites and is an Indiana
State Museum. Tours are given every hour, on the hour; I had just
enough time to look down to navigate the front steps to the grand
porch and ring the doorbell. Tere is a sign posted on the porch
asking patrons to ring the bell only once. It states that the house
is quite large, so it could take a moment for someone to answer
the door. I did not mind the wait and went back to looking up and
admiring the fresco painting of a nature scene with a red cardinal
on the ceiling of the porch. If I knew this was a tiny pre-cursor
to what I was about to see inside of the mansion, I would have
brought my travel neck pillow.
BY STACY THOMAS
Photographs by Tony Bennett
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EXTOL • 2|15