Grand Island Mansion Moser Ranch 11
by Joyce Dickens
Title
Grand Island Mansion Moser Ranch 11
Artist
Joyce Dickens
Medium
Photograph - Fine Art Photography
Description
Captured October 29, 2016 on a recent trip to the Sacramento Delta, CA.
Grand Island Mansion Per USA Today:
Known throughout northern California as one of the most spectacular mansions and guesthouses, the Grand Island Mansion has a storied past that makes for a memorable sleeping experience. Situated just north of the California Delta, the Grand Island Mansion takes guests back to a more elegant time, to an age of steamboats and romantic countrysides. The Grand Island Mansion is a landmark and must-see when visiting the California Delta area.
History
The Italian Renaissance-styled Grand Island Mansion dates back to 1917. J.W. Dolliver designed the mansion for Louis and Audrey Meyers. Mr. Meyers had the house centrally built on his expansive and profitable orchards. He used the house to entertain his friends and guests from high society. The mansion has been renovated to restore it to its original splendor.
Accommodations
The Grand Island Mansion offers many bedroom and penthouse suites on the third and fourth floors of the house. The bedroom suites are named after famous composers and have all-marble private baths; some rooms have dressing rooms, sun porches and spa tubs. The penthouse suites are named after famous artists, and they feature large separate bedrooms and private baths; some suites have separate sitting rooms and private porches. All rooms have been furnished in the style of the day. Like the rest of the mansion, art adorns the walls of all rooms.
Weddings
Since the renovation, the Grand Island Mansion began hosting private wedding ceremonies and receptions. The elegant surroundings create a classical atmosphere. Couples can marry in either the Chandelier Ballroom or outdoor garden. Beverages and meals are part of the cost and include five hours' use of the mansion's first and second floors, chair set-up, silverware, china, glassware and the serving staff. The mansion is available for weddings every day of the week.
Surrounding Area
The California Delta, also known as the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, is a wetlands area in northern California, between Antioch and Stockton, just northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area. The delta's natural and man-made channels allow for boats to travel up the rivers from the bay inland. The delta is a popular recreation area for water sports, such as water-skiing and boating, during the summer and hunting in the winter; fishing is popular all year-round. Walnut Grove is a quaint town of just under 700 people directly off of the Sacramento River and has immediate access to the Delta Meadows State Recreation Area.
Practical Information
The mansion is just off of Scenic Delta Highway 160 on Grand Island Road, less than 30 miles from both Stockton and Sacramento; San Francisco is approximately 75 miles southwest, about an hour and a half by car. Grand Island Mansion & Spa 13415 Grand Island Road Walnut Grove, CA 95690-9765 916-775-1705 grandislandmansion.com
Per: ThePress.net
To boaters on the Sacramento River, it�s a sight to behold - behind towering cypress trees, shaped hedges, a gilded fountain and Greek statues, lies Grand Island Mansion, an opulent riverfront estate and private-event center in Walnut Grove.
Visitors don�t rush when they enter the grounds, and they often pause before walking up red brick steps that lead to the mansion. Perhaps it�s to acknowledge the mansion�s guards, two twin lion statues that sit on each side of the entry. Passing between the immense Italian columns and stepping into the mansion is indeed like stepping back in time, which is part of what draws so many people to the estate.
�People�s imaginations run wild with estates like this, because they are over-the-top, extravagant and gorgeous, like the old Spreckles� mansion in San Francisco or even Hearst Castle,� said Delta historian J�aime Rubio.
Grand Island Mansion�s history dates back to 1917, when President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany. Americans found reprieve from the war at the theater, where they silently watched Charlie Chaplin, with his toothbrush mustache, bowler hat, bamboo cane and funny walk, or Mary Pickford, the girl with curls and the queen of silent movies.
The glamour of Hollywood was born, and with it came the desire to emulate the homes, cars and clothing shown in films, even in small towns like Grand Island, California.
Louis Myers, the original owner of the mansion, was an orchardist, who purchased 865 acres on Grand Island, including a fruit orchard devoted to pears. Myers would ship pears to large cities across the country, directly from the L.W. Myers landing, which still sits in front of the hotel on Steamboat Slough. In l917, Myers broke ground on his land to build a mansion for his wife.
Rumors abound surrounding the name of Myers� wife. Countless newspaper and magazine articles, including the mansion�s own website, list Audrey Lubin as Louis� wife, but extensive research has revealed there was no Audrey Lubin. Louis� wife�s name was Henrietta.
Louis married Henrietta de Back on Aug. 31, 1874. According to the 1910 U.S. Census records, the Myers� had six children by 1910. By 1920, that number rose to eight: Louis John, Dora Sophia, Henry William, Petronella Cato, Paul de Back ,Theodore Edward, Hendrieka Dora and Mary Louise.
Louis named the orchard after his wife, and she played a big part in the operations.
Henrietta worked with renowned San Francisco architect J.W. Dolliver to design a home that would combine the glamour of Hollywood with Italian renaissance opulence. After two years of building, the four-story, 24,000-square-foot estate boasted 58 rooms, topping the 55-room, three-floor, 5,4000-square-foot Spreckles� Mansion in San Francisco. According to former owner Terrance Black, the mansion gained attention even in Hollywood. Black described Mrs. Myers as a socialite who befriended Hollywood actress Greta Garbo and other Hollywood stars who would arrive by steamboat.
In 1922, Myers passed away at the peak of his life. The Sacramento Union reported Louis F. Myers, wealthy Grand Island pioneer died, leaving an estate valued at $500,000 to his widow, Mrs. Henrietta Myers, on April 15, 1922. Henrietta took over the management of the estate with her son Louis J. Myers, until she too, unexpectedly passed away on June 28, 1925. Both Henrietta and Louis are buried with their families in the Sacramento City Cemetery.
During the Great Depression, the Myers family struggled to keep up with the estate, selling off parcels of land until they eventually had to sell the last parcel, which included the mansion. Over time, the mansion passed hands, but has continued to hold the opulence and beauty created in a bygone era.
Rumors abound regarding the history of the Grand Island Mansion, including that actress Jean Harlow�s ex-husband owned the hotel at one time.
Harlow was married to Paul Bern, a Hollywood producer, who, at the time, had another wife he kept hidden in a sanitarium due to an illness. Her name was Dorothy Millette. Bern was falling deep into financial debt and secrets.
After a little over two months of marriage to Harlow, Bern reportedly committed suicide, shooting himself in their home. The day after the suicide, Bern�s first wife, Dorothy Millette, checked out of the sanitarium, boarded the Delta King and disappeared while on the ship. Her body was later found on the Georgiana Slough (closer to the Ryde Hotel) and was deemed a suicide, but many people believe she was murdered.
According to The New York Times, Bern's first wife was named beneficiary of Bern's estate. Some people think Harlow was behind at least one of their deaths. It is believed she had Mafia ties, and some think she found out about her husband's other wife.
Whether the stories are rumor, truth or a little bit of both, visitors to the resplendent mansion and grounds feel transported both by the history of the mansion and its immense beauty.
It is such a beautiful location, and when people host events here, they feel like they are stepping back in time, said Elizabeth Osborne, Grand Island Mansion's office manager.
Grand Island Mansion is located at 13415 Grand Island Road, in Walnut Grove. The mansion is only open to the public on Sundays for a delicious champagne buffet brunch, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations are required.
Per The Sacramento Bee:
(Originally published Oct. 29, 1988) HOUSES HAVE their own personalities. You believe that, don't you? But can you believe some of these personalities are formed by the ghosts who live in the houses?
"The mansion really has a personality all its own," Terrence Black, says of the Grand Island Mansion on Steamboat Slough in the Delta, that he has owned for 10 years. "Personally I haven't experienced any paranormal incidents, but guests have told me about strange things happening to them. My psychic friends tell me the mansion is a turmoil of energy."
One of those friends is Sherri Bolling a Sacramento woman who calls herself a "professional clairvoyant" making a living exercising her psychic powers.
"A few years ago I was at that house for a huge Halloween costume party," Bolling said. "The house was wall-to-wall people, but I was more aware of the other spirits who were there. The energy was overwhelming. It was all positive and so compelling that I wanted to be drawn back into the eras they came from."
As for the Delta's Grand Island Mansion being haunted, Black said it could seem like it to some people. The family's housekeeper, for instance, will not stay in the house alone.
"I HAVE TO ADMIT that the house is absolutely terrifying at night," Black said. "There are gargoyles carved into the fireplaces and it's always making its own set of noises. Until you get used to them, they are scary. I don't even worry about security because it's so frightening."
"So much energy goes into building and keeping up a 58-room, 24,000- square-foot house like this that it's bound to reflect some of that energy. Some of the previous owners have died broke, but I have a good feeling about the house. It likes me," Black said of the mansion, which was built in 1917 by a German financier named Louis Meyers who died shortly after it was completed.
Uploaded
October 30th, 2016
Statistics
Viewed 524 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/20/2024 at 8:09 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet