Kuuroinochou
Love Me, Hate Me
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2005
- Posts
- 5,676
MOULIN ROUGE
GALLERY
The Foyer
Reception Room
Rotanda Veiw
Grand Ballroom
Drawing Room
FLOOR PLANS
First Floor
Second Floor
Green House
A wonderland in which the meaning of the great house shares with the stone of which it was built the slow decay of ambiguity and the gray ruin of time. There semblance and reality once merged in the nobiliary games of old Philadelphia, and there splendor reigned – but not in quite the way it appeared to.
Only paradox remains.
This palace rises in stony silence above Whitemarsh Valley. Once it was common for two hundred, and sometimes as many as six hundred, guests to gather there for tea. Princes and statesmen visiting the United States as guests of the nation slept in its guilded suites.
The silent requiem of time fills the palace. One hurries through the door twilight of abandoned rooms and voiceless corridors where the invading winter rain turns to ice. Gone is the luminous elegance of the Georgian interiors – white and gold paneling, gilded capitals, stucco swags and festoons, and high chimneypieces with scrolled pediments that appeared to break above the cornice line. Gone as well is the urbane eloquence of marbled Empire pilasters, cool treillage walls, and painted boiserie (adapted from the leaves of a Watteau screen) designed by Alavoine and executed in Paris with the nuance, and measure, the cultivated certitude, of traditional French craftsmanship. Such were the legacies of great interior art that had once made the grand salon and boudoir, withdrawing room and guest chambers the most notable in Philadelphia.
One may wonder how did this once elaborate mansion turn into such disray? The history behind such a grand domicile dates back too far for any such explaination. And while the story is grand indeed this is not what has brought our attentions to such a edifice. In fact we are here to tell a story of the grand mansion's rise from the ashes as it adapted a face under the designation of the Moulin Rouge. Named for the famous cabaret, a young abitious girl with all the hopes and dreams of the world adopted this historical home changing its interior and exterior into a midnight wonderland.
By way of her husband's generous givings, the house was first fashioned like any home should be. With elaborate trinkets throughout to give it a more homely appeal. There Chahaya Latjuba lived a pampered life, behind the guise of her husband's wealth and fame, she lived in what most women would consider a meal ticket. Life was good for a time, giving birth to a beautiful baby girl and raising her with all the love and adoration a mother could show her child, Chahaya was definately happy. However, her happiness came at a price. Many a nights she would spend alone as her husband travelled the world keeping up with appearances and in short his mistresses. Soon the two splite ending their marriage in a mutual divorce leaving Chahaya with a massive home that was way too much for her to manage alone.
Opening her doors as a homestay, she made a good living. Using the money from overnight stays to keep up with cleaning and paying her the house servants. However money was low, and the home although historic was not bringing in the kind of money she would need to sustain such an emaculate lifestyle. Soon, Chahaya closed her doors to rethink of a plan that would really show case her historical home while making history for itself and a cosy living for her...
The plans were underway to turn her home into a gentleman's club and safe haven for bohemian dwellers like herself. The term Bohemian describes artists, writers, and disenchanted people of all sorts who wished to live non-traditional lifestyles. This was the theme of her home and after doing much research, Chahaya found herself enchanted by the historical lifestyle of the famous Moulin Rouge. Taking the designation for her manor as well she did a complete overhaul; using the money from the former overnight stays as well as her side jobs in the city as means of changing the manor into a complete entertainment wonderland. Opening her doors to men of wealth and women looking to live an extravagant lifestyle one day at a time, this was the ideal fantasy world.
With lavished furnishings, exotic foods, elustrious entertainment and beautiful women the price tag was high indeed but word of mouth got around fast. Soon the Moulin Rouge would get its name up in lights however the place was a secret society in today's fast paced world. Upon entering the grand gates and driving up the mile long drive one would know they had just entered another world entirely. Only being able to attend the grounds through reservations with one of the many exotic beauties or through a lifetime membership (which required members to pay out a yearly fee), it was easy to realize this was an upscale gentleman's club. Designed to give men all the comforts of the world without the hassel of travel but once they left these walls reality would sink in and the glamour that poured into these walls would be gone... this was Moulin Rouge!
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