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Letter to the editor

Victorian finery more authentic than ever

By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF, Times Correspondent
Published December 14, 2007

TAMPA - Every year, staffers at the Henry B. Plant Museum begin meeting in June to plan the museum's annual Victorian Christmas Stroll.

It's a big job, what with all the antique ornaments, Victorian trees, old toys, historic cards, Russian Santas and elegant trimmings loaned by a brigade of faithful volunteers.

"We try to come up with something different and unique from the year before," says Sally Shifke, museum spokeswoman. "The inspiration often comes from people in the community, volunteers and friends of the museum. Usually we try to showcase something from the past; antique teacups on a tree or photos of the generations of people who've had their pictures taken with the dogs out front."

To those unfamiliar with the event, the museum, once part of the 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel - now the University of Tampa and a national historic landmark - re-creates a lavishly decorated holiday season at the hotel with trees styled in Victorian themes. For about $10, visitors enjoy spiced cider and cookies, as well as carolers and guides in Victorian attire. More than a dozen exhibit rooms are filled with Christmas trees and decorations, many of which typify the era when the hotel, built by transportation tycoon Henry Plant, was at its finest.

What makes the event so special is the faithful re-creation of what the holidays might have been like at the grand Florida resort in the late 1800s, says Hatty Lenfestey, who served as the education curator at the museum in the 1990s and now volunteers. She made the train logo ornaments on the railroad tree.

"There's a feeling of authenticity about the way the trees are presented, more so this year than ever before," Lenfestey says. "That's what this museum is all about: authenticity. It's Old Florida. And the closer we can come to that kind of truth, the more people will respond to it."

The stroll, now in its 26th year, attracts visitors from all over Florida and beyond. For diehards, it offers a foolproof way to get in the holiday spirit and pick up some decorating ideas. For others, the museum shop is the big draw: With its collection of Florida history books, maps, jewelry, Christmas ornaments and elegant hostess gifts (like the teaspoons with mother of pearl handles), it's hard to decide whether to dally in the shop first or save it for later.

This season, the museum's exhibit rooms sparkle with lovingly decorated trees and loaned goodies like antique Christmas cards, old dolls and historic Christmas trees made of goose feathers. Gilded Age trees twinkle in just about every room, but one - a 12-footer decked out in red and gold ornaments -actually offers a lesson in railroad history.

The tree stands in the room devoted to the history of Plant's transportation empire. The room is a cache of historical treasures, including china and silver from Plant System hotels, steamships and railroads, as well as tickets, travel brochures, souvenirs and photographs from an era when traveling to Florida was truly an adventure. Many items in the Christmas tree train exhibit were loaned by Dr. Earl Smith, a local pediatrician and collector.

Other exhibits include a Cuban tree, a hotel staff tree and a children's tree. A room devoted to the ceramic garden stools that once populated the expansive grounds and gardens brims with trees decorated with nature-inspired ornaments like strawberries and birds.

"This room offers a great example of how you can take anything around the house and create a tree. You wouldn't even have to buy ornaments," Shifke says.

In the hotel reading room, which still looks almost exactly like it once did, the reading table, writing desks and large newspaper rack are accompanied by a tree devoted to book lovers: It's decorated with reading spectacles, old children's books and quotes from Victorian literature.

A roomful of holiday visitors paused to listen as a museum staffer explained that the reading room was so authentic that even the mantel clock remained exactly as it appeared in early photographs. The dark wainscoting was obtained by Plant himself from an old mansion in New York that was being torn down. And because the room was intended primarily for male guests at the hotel, the floral motif in the woodwork was originally covered up. A visiting conservator discovered the room's original paint color - a deep Dijon yellow - after chipping away at many layers of paint.

While admiring the extravagant decorations, visitors are hard pressed not to get lulled into reading about the origins of the hotel, its founder and the Northern guests who celebrated the holidays in Tampa's balmy winter.

"It's very rewarding to talk to tourists who've been all over Florida and then come to the museum and say it's their favorite thing in the state," Lenfestey says. "Rather than being another amusement park, it offers the feel and texture of real history."

Elizabeth Bettendorf can be reached at ebettendorf@hotmail.com.

If You Go

Daily stroll

The Henry B. Plant Museum's 26th annual Victorian Christmas Stroll runs from10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Dec. 23. Admission is $10 for adults and $4 for children 12 and younger. This Monday and Tuesday, are discount days, when admission will be $6 for adults and $3 for children.

The stroll will be open after Christmas from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 26-30 with reduced amenities and without carolers or costumed guides. Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for children.

Group tours are welcome; make reservations for parties of 20 or more with Sally Shifke (813) 258-7302.

[Last modified December 13, 2007, 08:15:59]