Vacation Day Two

Gillette Castle- Not the razors but the actor.


William Hooker Gillette, noted actor, director, and playwright, built this one hundred and eighty-four acre estate, the Seventh Sister. The focal point of his effort was a twenty four room mansion reminiscent of a medieval castle.


Gillette Castle Website

Gillette was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1853, the son of former U.S. Senator Francis Gillette and his wife Elizabeth Daggett Hooker Gillette, a descendent of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford.


Go to the website for more interesting facts!  Parking is free and it's $6 for kids and $8 for adults, I think, to tour the castle.  Magnets are $2.  I forgot my $2, so I'm sad.  But we will go back and walk the grounds instead of tour the castle, which is free.  Excepting gas.

Mr Gillette gave Sherlock Holmes his particularities that everyone thinks of when they think of Sherlock Holmes.  Things like, "Elementary, my dear Watson." and the pipe.  


You can't touch anything while inside the castle, but it is still interesting.  The guy was a real jokester too!  He had a special lock on his liquor cabinet.  He'd lock it up, then retire to bed, letting his guests know that they can go ahead and have another drink.  He'd go to his room and watch, from a mirror in the wall, his guests struggle to figure out the invisible lock!  After a time he'd go down stairs and ask why they hadn't made themselves a drink.  Then he'd just open the cabinet as if it were nothing.  
The attendants will show you the secret to the lock and the story.  Then you can go and stand at his bedroom doorway and see the liquor cabinet.  

This really pretty arch leads to a building in the bottom right corner.  That building is the composting building.  There are no animals large enough to leave droppings for fertilizer, other than the humans.  Thankfully, the bathrooms didn't smell but it was still gross.


I washed my hand through two verses of Happy Birthday and then had try to dry my hands with an air dryer!  So I had to touch the door with my bare hands.  Just adding to the Eww factor.  Bring hand sanitizing wipes!

Here is a side view of the castle.  


I have many more pictures, but I don't want to spoil the tour for anyone.  But as a hint to anyone interested.  The light switches, the window latches, the doors and all the locks, even for the liquor cabinet are all wood!


On our way to lunch we decided to take a ferry ride. It was only $3!  But it was plenty of fun!  We got to get out of the car and look over the edge.  It was neat feeling the salty spray and smell of the ocean water that is mixing with the fresh water.