While the (original) tea party was brewing, another beverage was fueling the American Revolution in 1775. XXXX Old Medford Rum was distilled in the shipbuilding city of the same name on the Mystic River, a few miles north of Boston Massachusetts. The Hall family operated this famous distillery for three generations. Other brands of rum were made in […]

Using a giant cauldron for boiling water in an oversized hearth was old-school equipment. Early-adopters in the 18th century worked on kitchen technology at Cedar Grove in Fairmount Park, Pennsylvania. Cedar Grove farmhouse In this historic house, the owners experimented with prototypes of cutting-edge gadgets to make life easier in the kitchen. Next to the hearth is a

 Front elevation drawing – Woodford Mansion Woodford Mansion is one of the Schuylkill River Villas that predate the American War of Independence. The story of this historic house is filled with the intrigue of a new nation breaking ties to the monarchy encamped in Philadelphia. Later, the building served as a traffic court and prison until

Bath room interior illustrated in picure. – ID: 486539 – NYPL Digital Gallery 82 page catalog by the J. L. Mott Iron Works published in 1884 with ponderous Victorian plumbing fixtures with “Elizabethan” style cabinets furnished in mahogany. The captions with the pictures are not enough to guess why there’s so many fixtures packed in

Historic Hotels of America – National Trust for Historic Preservation Members Members of the National Trust can get up to 50% off their stay at 195 historic hotels across America. From the El Convento Hotel in Puerto Rico (converted from an former convent) to The Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu. Sort the list of hotels, resorts, historic

Noted as a fine example of Flemish bond brickwork, Belleair Manor (completed 1750) is a Georgian house that stands apart in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park at 2000 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia. Called “The Lakes”, the park is located near the Navy facility and cut-off by the elevated highway, making for a perfect enclave to get away from the

A truly great book should be read in youth, middle age and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight. —Robertson Davies Book of Quotable Quotes on my Kindle. ((Quotable Quotes: Wit & Wisdom for Every Occasion 1997 Readers Digest.))