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Homes

Front Porch: Stroll into holidays with a tour

By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF
Published December 2, 2005

Antique toys march beneath Christmas trees, across fireplace mantels and into the bedroom suite where Clara from the Nutcracker sleeps.

Wooden circus animals frolic amid old domino sets and Tinker Toys, china dolls and steam shovels, miniature trains and rolling hoops.

The toys are on loan to the Henry B. Plant Museum for the 24th annual Victorian Christmas Stroll, which opens today and runs through Dec. 23.

"Our world is so fast - with little pockets of brief information everywhere," says Sally Shifke, spokeswoman for the museum. "There's something about coming here to the museum at this time of year, walking through the doors and the layer of modern craziness begins to melt away."

I have to agree. Years after moving to Tampa, I never tire of the holiday stroll. The event remains my favorite thing to do over the Christmas season with its carolers, volunteers dressed in period costume, and free spiced cider and cookies served on the porch.

The gift shop offers some of the best holiday power-shopping around and is well-stocked with cheery, home goods, including Victorian ornaments, Christmas tea towels, cheese spreaders, candy bowls, salt-and-pepper shakers, holiday doormats and even a real wooden ark with angels on the bow.

Even more important, the stroll offers a glimpse into how Christmas might have felt for the gilded-age guests who stayed at the grand hotel, which is now part of the University of Tampa.

Stars dangle from the ceilings and lighted trees bedecked with old sewing spools and Victorian ornaments sparkle in 14 exhibit rooms.

Each room is decorated in a Christmas theme reflective of the period. There are antique feather trees, sweet and sentimental in their finery of old ornaments, a poinsettia tree, even a Teddy bear-themed tree in honor of the hotel's most famous guest, Teddy Roosevelt.

It definitely would have felt like home here at Christmas, if even just for a day. Museum curators say hotel management most likely decorated a tree in the lobby. Wrought-iron wreaths bedecked the doors, including one that was resurrected for the Victorian stroll.

The museum doesn't own a collection of antique toys and, therefore, must borrow the display each year, head curator Susan Carter says.

The toys, she says, represent what children staying at the hotel might have received as holiday gifts.

The bounty wasn't like it is today.

"They might have gotten one or two things - a hoop and stick or a doll and an article of clothing," she explains.

Visitors can even examine copies of an old Christmas menu, which included feasts of roasted, stuffed duckling and baked sweet potatoes.

This year's theme, the Nutcracker, allowed curators to decorate a suite of rooms with characters and props from the famous story.

Glittery swatches of white tulle wrap the base of each tree, and ballet slippers and dance tutus illustrate highlights from the story. Children can actually see Clara sleeping with her doll in a massive, carved Victorian bed that is identical to the old hotel beds.

The beautiful antique toys were loaned by several museum benefactors, including Julie Guess, a 70-year-old retired elementary school teacher's aid from Tampa. Guess remembers the first time she fell in love with old toys. It was back in 1973, and she had gone to the home of an elderly woman to buy some crystal.

"Afterward she asked me if I liked antique toys, and I told her I didn't know," recalls Guess, who also loaned her collection of antique Russian Santas.

"So she took me up to the attic and showed me her collection and offered to sell it. There was nothing fancy or expensive, no French dolls or anything. But what I was taken with was that they were her own dolls. She was an only child and had played with them as a child, which makes them very special."

Guess says she has "too many toys to count" and loves sharing them with the museum at Christmas - something she has done for more than a decade.

"You really can't invite hundreds of people into your home to see your collection," she says, "so this is really a nice way to share."

The 24th annual Victorian Christmas Stroll at the Henry B. Plant Museum runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily today through Dec. 23. Admission is $9 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under. Family Day Mondays are Dec. 5, 12 and 19 with $5 admission for adults and $2 for children. Senior Day Tuesdays are Dec. 6, 13 and 20 with $5 admission for adults 65 and older. Group tours are welcome. Make reservations for parties of 20 or more by calling (813) 258-7302. The museum is at 401 W Kennedy Blvd. For information, call (813) 254-1891.

[Last modified December 1, 2005, 09:34:11]