MOUNT VERNON HOTEL MUSEUM, QUEEN OF COLONIAL ERA (c) By Polly Guerin

As a traveler in Colonial America I often wondered, “What must have been the hazards of the road and where could a respectable woman find a safe haven in New York City?” Solution could be found in the 1799 building at 421 East 61st street, the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Gardens, where today modern seekers of historical knowledge can tour the nine period rooms, attend lectures or linger in the pleasant gardens, an oasis in the bustling metropolis. Originally the building was a carriage house and stables and from 1826 to 1833 it operated as a hotel and then it was a private residence.
A ‘DAY’ HOTEL It was common in those days for the members of the upper and middle class to take ‘day trips’ to the country, the then rural setting that is now Manhattan. “Up north some might say,” but it offered a respite from the dirt, noise and bustle of city life. Remember, in the early part of the 19th century New York City only extended as far north as approximately 14th Street. In 1924 the Colonial Dames of America, a historical and genealogical organization bought the house and by 1939 it was opened to the public as the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden. However, the museum was formerly called the Abigail Adams Smith Museum, in  honor the woman who once lived there.
QUEEN OF COLONIAL REVIVAL It is sad to note that references of Jane Teller are rare in American furniture books, yet auction catalogs and other sources list nearly 1,000 objects that she bought widely for in 1922 she put up items for sale including bedspreads, whale oil lamps, pine tables, spinning wheels, butter churns, sugar kettles, cheese molds, lard squeezers and enough additional pieces to revive appreciation for all things Colonial that turn up at the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum.
COLONIAL CRAFTSMANSHIP Jane Teller singularly sought to revive all aspects of Colonial culture, including the furniture and decorative arts of her 18th-century stone house headquarters at 421 East 61st Street where she began giving classes in handcrafts and advertised for a few bright women to learn hand spinning and weaving whilst self-appointing herself as the secretary of the Society for the Revival of Household Industries and Domestic Arts. Jane regretted that clothes were lacking of individuality and the finer artistry of old hand work. It is suffice to say that that very thought permeates many women’s thoughts even today.
WHO WAS JANE TELLER? She was born Jane Crosby and made a fortuitous match in 1902 and married Myron Teller, an architect who restored houses and was interested in things antiquarian. At her headquarters on East 61st Street Jane taught women to spin or to take raw flax or wool home and spin it there. Jane Teller may not be a household word today, but we acknowledge with gratitude that she helped to popularize the arts and crafts of the Colonial period. By the 1920s she was running a antiques shop offering work of old Colonial design.

THE MUSEUM TODAY The Mount Vernon Hotel Museum is the only surviving example of a ‘day hotel.’ Its period rooms are furnished with historic pieces that reflect how guests would have been accommodated and a kitchen of the era recalls how meals were prepared, while social rooms for card playing  and music, and a Colonial bar attest to the conviviality of the place. The museum offers a variety of lectures and educational programs of the circa 1830 hotel and in the Abigail Adams Orientation Center visitors can view a video about New York City in the 1820s and 1830s. Musical programs in the gardens are scheduled, weather permitting.
THE MOUNT VERNON HOTEL and GARDENS ALLOWS US TO STEP BACK IN TIME TO THE COLONIAL ERA WHEN HAND MADE AND CRAFTSMANSHIP WERE TREASURED COMMODITIES AND A VISIT TO THE ‘DAY HOTEL’ GAVE US RESPITE FROM THE GRITTY CITY, EVEN TODAY.