Marble Staircase

The banister is made of mahogany, the balustrade is bronze, and the steps are Italian marble. The short proportion of tread to riser on the steps was a trademark of Alexander Eschweiler and makes the stairs almost effortless to climb. This shortened stair riser suited the petite stature of Sarah quite well. The Tudor rose motif is repeated in the windows on the stair landing, as are the muted colors of the Marble Hall. The windows were made by the Milwaukee Glass Company from Charles’ design. At first, he commissioned Louis Tiffany to design the windows. Ultimately, he felt that their design was too ornate and detracted from the elegant simplicity of the Marble Hall. The original proposal by Tiffany is in the collection and can be seen in the second-floor built-in wall display case just outside Sarah’s bedroom entrance. On the landing is a fountain made to order for Charles by a Roman craftsman. It is a replica of the Renaissance fountain located in Rome designed by the architect Giacomo della Porta. The dealer, G. Sangiorgi, who oversaw the production of the fountain, was very proud of the piece and wrote that this was a work of art in itself, reproduction or not. He then asked for a small additional payment for his trouble, as he had the bronze figures remade because he was not satisfied with the first attempt. There is no indication whether Charles complied with his request.

Photography by Kevin Miyazaki.