The Dream House NO ONE Survived (Lockwood-Mathews Mansion)

Today we are exploring the beautiful Lockwood-Mathews Mansion.
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Public Domain Photos from: Library of Congress
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Music from Epidemic Sound

[@ColleenJoudrey]

I find it neat how some people were able to bring special contractors and artists back and forth from Europe while I can't convince my carpenter to travel the 6kms to pick up his scaffold frames.

[@herobrinenoch3522]

Money talks. ; D

[@billrobbins5874]

Don't even have a contractor here. No scaffolds either! 😳

[@thinking4myself676]

🤣🤣

[@susanrooneykelly8164]

😂

[@dannysimmons3167]

It’s called money. That elusive substance that can move mountains, and buy politicians.

[@erinreed8750]

I JUST toured this house last weekend, and it is a MUST for anyone who likes architecture, history, anything of the time period. The rooms look so similar to how they were originally furnished, as Lockwood took extensive care documenting it with photography. Many of the sold-off furnishings were also donated back to the Mansion by people whose homes they ended up in, which I thought was a nice thing to do. One thing that I thought was also interesting was that the Matthews family purchased the home for the $90,000 because of Cornelius Vanderbilt: he and Lockwood had a falling out, and the 90K was what remained in the mortgage after Lockwood had lost his money. When he went to ask Vanderbilt for help, he refused and pettily sold the house to Matthews for the remaining balance. Finally, just another cool fact was that Lockwood truly cared for his servants and provided them first class accommodations in their wing of the house (bathrooms, private rooms with closets, heat, etc.) He truly was a nice guy who deserved the reputation he had. This house is definitely worth the tour, and I can't wait to go back!

[@davidattenberg4720]

Nice to hear. When I had been there last, the mansion was not generally open to the public and in need of a lot of work. I'm happy to hear the mansion is in good shape.

[@MichaelViveiros]

We have toured it multiple times and it is phenomenal.

[@MichaelViveiros]

I’ve toured this house twice and love seeing it standing proudly when I drive by. Most recently, it was a filming location for Netflix’s Mr Harrigan’s Phone.

[@paperroses7615]

Must see Winchester House in Northern California 🌹

[@stardustgirl2904]

Back when they put such tender care into family homes! 🤣 Mansions!

[@debrosman]

I used to live in Norwalk and had a chance to visit several times and loved it. Fun facts the exterior was used as Barnabus Collins Old House in Dark Shadows the 69s TV show ❤

[@jimwiskus8862]

So sorry the previous owners did not get to live in their beautiful home. That said I am thrilled that the home was saved. It would have been a tragic loss.

[@jenniferlucas8973]

I grew up in Norwalk, and drove by this mesmerizing mansion almost daily! It is utterly beautiful and I finally got to tour it LATER in my adult life. Just gorgeous and full of history. Would love to see it again! Wish I still lived there!

[@jeffallinson8089]

Whilst watching this video I had an awful feeling that this beautiful mansion would suffer the same fate as so many featured on this channel and be demolished so it was a massive relief to discover that it is still open today!! Thanks for this fabulous video Ken from North Yorkshire England, also home to some truly beautiful mansions!

[@franciskane2521]

I lived in Norwalk, and went on tours. Beautiful marble floors & fireplaces, amazing furnishings and staircase. When "Stepford Wives" was filming there, the studio made improvements; workmen said they saw a man looking at them from the 2nd fl. balcony. It feels creepy & haunted.

[@brandonpiazza6210]

It is a very charming house, just not to die for!

[@LJB103]

I've toured this house several times but never heard it referred to as Elm Park, just the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion. Some interesting features not touched on in the video: The doors on the 2nd floor of the rotunda open into an internal hallway before going into the bedrooms/baths so that servants could deal with those rooms without being seem from downstairs; and that is an acid-etched window over the back to back fireplaces in the rotunda and music room (split flues for the fireplaces). Whatever was done to the original glass in the conservatory has not been able to be replicated (at least as of my last visit a number of years ago). Much of the glass was broken when a storm sent a large branch through it: any original blue glass is still blue; the new blue glass keeps fading. Again, as of my last visit, all of the 2nd floor was still unrestored except for the rotunda. One of the rotunda benches is in the Worcester (MA) Art Museum; legs and the posts holding up the arms are matches of the spindles on the staircase as they were made specifically for the room. The horror of dealing with a house that looks like this is finding problems: the dining room had just been restored when there was a roof leak and it took quite a while to find out just where the leak was that was coming through the room's ceiling! Excellent video.

[@patriciaariley5810]

Why did owners of this house die? Does anyone know?

[@Shtisbananas]

There was a Vicky Lockwood that went missing in the 70s. She was living in Worcester when she disappeared. I wonder if that bench belonged to her?

[@jamesd755]

Why.. several.. tours of the house, may I ask?

[@LJB103]

@@jamesd755 Like another house that has had a video in this series: Ventfort Hall in Lenox, MA, there is usually something that has been restored that I haven't seen before. Also, I may go with different people who haven't seen the house before.

[@janisjackson7322]

​@@jamesd755 Many people come back again and again to tour the house

[@readergreg60]

Always so glad to hear that these grand houses are still standing.

[@davidattenberg4720]

While working in Norwalk, I had an opportunity to visit the mansion on numerous occasions. Throughout the years, water leaks, heating issues and such had taken its toll. Preservationists have done what they could. Though I haven't been there in a long time, I am hopeful conditions have improved. As far as the grounds are concerned, in the 50's interstate 95 took a large piece. Then, the Norwalk PD and public works took an even bigger portion. While working at the Colgate Estate in Sharon, CT, I had the opportunity to meet John Matthew's a grandson who lived nearby. He described visiting the Matthew's mansion as a child.

[@mrs.g.9816]

I'm so glad the house and its furniture survived. It's all beautiful!

[@crystalnewman4238]

I've. Never. Visited. But. I. Love. Older. Homes

[@ML-xi2rt]

I visited this house and I remember feeling there was a somewhat sad cast to it…it is a magnificent mansion! There is a lot of original stenciling remaining and an amazing amount of gorgeous carvings in wood and plaster. The entrance hall with the circular railings around the second floor are awesome!

[@theresareynolds3133]

I would love to own a home like this, my whole family could live with us

[@paco7992]

Another triumph. You are doing such high level work on these that each time I see you release something I get the tea pot out and make a snack! You really are providing something unique here. Thank you!

[@petervanderwaart1138]

Been there. One of the state-of-the-art features was a bugular alarm system which worked with metal strips in the floors to carry electrical signals if doors or windows were opened. When built, the site would have provided a pretty view of Norwalk harbor, but the CT Turnpike, built in the 1950s, now blocks the view.

[@ladyhonor822]

2023 WOW They don't make them like they used to !!! AMEN ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR. Philadelphia USA 🇺🇲❤️

[@mikenixon2401]

Amazing story, Ken. I just realized how well you mak the olld phrase "If these walls could talk" do so. Thank you for another fine tour and history lesson.

[@maurawhite3119]

Just watched Stephen kings Mr Harrisons phone on Netflix...and it was filmed in this house!!! Kismet that I stumbled onto this tonight

[@jnywd8450]

I'll put it on my watch list. Thanks.

[@2oldfashgrl]

Parts of the "House of Dark Shadows" 1970's movie (made from the t.v. show) were filmed here, too!

[@mileshigh1321]

So glad it still stands! I am glad they have photos of how it looked! I have always like the Louis XIV furniture and how ornate and stylish it is! These huge ornate palaces where great Ideas at the time! But little thought was given into future costs and how descendants would pay for them !

[@carlfrano6384]

How nice of you, Ken, to visit Fairfield County, Connecticut. It's amazing this house still stands. I heard that it was originally going to be demolished to make way for Interstate 95 then later to be torn down for the Route 7 highway. Both times, it lived unlike its original owners...

[@cpru9131]

I lived in Fairfield County for the majority of my life. Wish I had taken the opportunity while living there,to tour this beautiful mansion. Great back story.

[@rebeccablakey2637]

Elm Park is absolutely beautiful. So many amazing details were included in its construction. This home is a piece of art.

[@adellajones9887]

I had an uncle who was an architect. He designed and built an amazing home in Georgia. Sadly, it was eventually torn down. The residence was unique - looking like a tree or like a spaceship landed. It's sad when someone has a vision and later on...no one cares or is able to preserve it.

[@genofeve]

Are you talking about the spaceship house on Signal MTN, TN?

[@cabzombie3484]

The reality of constant change .

[@sharksport01]

@@genofeve Signal Mountain house is still there, the uncles house was at Lake Lanier, and it's worth checking out.

[@kathy2trips]

@@cabzombie3484 It doesn't have to be that way.

[@adellajones9887]

The house was in Cummings, Georgia. It was built in the 70's. It was torn down in the 2000's. It appears that no one cares about the work and lives of people who came before anymore 🥺

[@ericm007]

Perfect timing Ken! We literally just saw this house last night in the new Netflix movie, Mr. Harrigan's Phone……at least I’m like 90% certain this is it.

[@curiousworld7912]

I love this place, but I'm somehow reminded of Shirley Jackson's '...Hill House'. :)

[@susanberdan1626]

I just love this house. It's got character.

[@lori3548]

This was used as a setting for DARK SHADOWS...BEAUTIFUL

[@2oldfashgrl]

You're right, parts of the first movie, made when the show was still on in the early 1970s, were filmed here!

[@jennydonnelly4436]

I'm British and theirs a law to keep "listed buildings" and we have loads,history and hold on to history,love it...

[@andreaberryhill6654]

That is a gorgeous home. Exterior is splendidly detailed, and the interior is stunning.

[@jamesparciak5387]

Hi Ken. Thank you. I visited this house a few years ago... it is FANTASTIC !!!

[@joshuagharis9017]

Native Norwalkian, well researched and great video!

[@scottburbridge3170]

beautiful home. Charles Mathews did so much good restoring the home and putting it back the way it was, and sadly passed.😢 i guess sadly no one can live in it.

[@davevanstone1396]

I lived in Norwalk from ‘87-93 and visited the mansion several times. They would decorate it for Christmas back then. To my surprise, this mansion is featured on Netflix’s Mr. Harrigan’s phone. It is quite a remarkable surviving piece of history.

[@BKind99]

Was Mr Harrington’s Phone filmed in the house? I fell in love with the house in the movie.

[@davevanstone1396]

@@BKind99 Yes it was. Really highlights the mansion. The 2004 Stepford Wives also filmed here. Both movies truly showcase the splendor of this hidden gem.

[@lisariggs8947]

Such a sad turn of events from the original family to the next owners, almost as if the house did not care for a long term occupation. Though I'm quite pleased to see it survive and thriving. So thanks Ken for another fine presentation!!!👍😁👍

[@christopherkraft1327]

This is such a magnificent mansion with a very interesting story!!! This house seemed to have had some kind of curse!!! Thanks for sharing this exciting video!!! 👍👍

[@tamsondarland8951]

Enjoy your wonderful channel. Very interesting learning about a part of USA History through homes. Thank you for providing such excellent research information. Love from Ky. 😇❣

[@jacqueline6926]

I lived in Fairfield for many years and visited the house with a friend. the level of craftsmanship is astounding

[@nunyabiznes4471]

I toured it a few years ago. It’s beautiful. I was told in the basement there are core drillings which were made to blow the house up when it was scheduled to be demolished for the new town hall. The preservation society stepped in at the last moment and saved it.

[@rachelrobins1161]

This beautiful treasure is in my home city.

[@clintcountryman4849]

I love this house!

[@brucebeamon5460]

ALWAYS PLEASING to here of another saved architectural gem that simply WON’T be duplicated !

[@millardfillmore241]

This was a very interesting video. I really appreciate your research. Have you ever done one about Greystone the Doheny mansion Beverly Hills? Murder and controversy!

[@paulakpacente]

I'm SO glad that this home was saved! There are only a finite number of them.

[@sandranorden5217]

My husband and I grew up in Norwalk. As a boy he and his friends would ride their bicycles throughout the first floor. I believe this was in the late 1950s or early sixties.

[@smae433]

Thank you for the research and your presentation. Stars in your crown for refraining from background muzak.

[@scronx]

A marvelous account of something I've never heard of -- thank you young man!

[@kelleypetrone8622]

I was born and raised in Norwalk CT and every summer for 10 years they ran the theater camp called crystal theater there for kids. We weren’t allowed on the second floor though. Didn’t know any of this history. That’s crazy!

[@theroaminggnomad]

I have had a love of Victorians since I was like 18 years old. This house is a Masterpiece. Now seeing in the comments that it can be toured?? Its now on my bucketlist!!

[@robertbarnier45]

Beautiful house. Thanks

[@renee1961]

Hello, and Thank you for the video. What an Incredibly Beautiful Home!

[@cabzombie3484]

Nice pad ! All it takes is “ Breaks , Brains and Balls “ ( Joe Conforte )

[@cbwilson2398]

Well-told story of the history of this house! There is real drama in waiting to find out if it (thankfully) still exists.

[@vickiephilpitt7697]

My first thought about this house while looking at the first photos was ' this looks like the Munster's house!". Lol

[@clairwaucaush7225]

Its very good to have a happy ending to one of these house stories. Too many end the same, ...demolished.

[@giovaz357]

It’s crazy I’m from Norwalk and always wanted to buy it cause going by it everyday was just something beautiful and special about it and didn’t know half of this history thank you oh yeah and the bowling alley in the basement too

[@StamperWendy]

That's so creepy! I wouldn't move in, either. Cool decor, though, I'm glad it survives.

[@lawrenceflynn2447]

Thanks so much Ken……your tutorial’s are so informative ❤

[@sheilakirby5616]

I COULDN'T EVEN IMAGINE TAKING THE TIME AND PATIENCE TO BUILD AND FURNISH SUCH A BEAUTIFUL HOME WITH LOVE JUST TO LOSE IT IN SUCH A MANOR 💔💔💔

[@JP-kb4yi]

Its as if the home doesn’t want a single owner but rather share it’s beauty with all.

[@jonrmang]

I just have to say I appreciate your videos so much!👏 And I applaud your efforts in research in your commentary for your videos!

[@josephlori4625]

It sort of reminds me of "The Magnificent Ambersons", starring Orson Welles. ... Although, it could also be "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends."

[@nikkicat254]

I would love to get to tour this house, but I live in Michigan and don't see me getting anywhere near where this house is in my life! But I am glad it was saved from being destroyed!

[@darrelllancaster9554]

Always interesting.

[@USAFVET]

LeGrand was one of my ancestors. I would love to see the Mansion one day

[@maremagnus]

*Fantastic to hear that someone with a heart and soul thought to preserve this beautiful house from demolishing it (though I don't know it personally I know it's a beautiful place) that's a step aside from the destruction done to the magnificent buildings from international world fairs in 1800,1900, thinking so much pain from the owners to not have it for future generations to see it!?*

[@oracleangelsshiftall2609]

It's fantastic!!! What I would give to have a house that beautiful!!!

[@lexismom9341]

Amazing home. Sad no one got to relax and enjoy it.

[@INFJparadox]

Absolutely stunning, altho would have loved to see in color

[@chuckjackson1814]

I love that house!!! Wow!!!

[@danielledeschamps3769]

I'm from CT and still live here but not from Norwalk. I never heard of this house, I'm very intrigued to see it now. It is beautiful and it's fascinating how the family always seemed to die before even having the chance to live in the house. Some bad luck there.

[@nunnaurbiznez8815]

I really thought it would be gone. Wow.

[@louisayoungberg606]

As a child my parents worked very close to this I would disappear daily when they were busy working . I would go to the museum where I would give tours at like age 8 or 9 I was shocked to hear that’s where the stepford wife’s where filmed when I got older this would only last a year for me as my parents traveled for work I am so glad the place is still around it’s amazing in person Ron Grenier

[@kristentindle3075]

Brilliant and informative documentary. Thank you for creating and sharing!

[@richdiscoveries]

I've never been there but I think I'm going to have to, I'm in Connecticut and have never heard of this. Thank you for it's history

[@johnwollschlager9827]

I visited the exterior of the home when it was still under threat of demolition and was impressed. Many years later I toured the interior and found it exceeded the handsomeness of the exterior. I wasn't disappointed even though little was restored though I still remember a replacement carpet that was poorly installed and show the level of care in the restoration. More recently I paid for admission but the tour was unconscionably delayed for filming - delayed so long that I left to avoid rush hour traffic on I-95. The delay exceeded an hour and may have even been an hour and a half. If you go watch out for this - there was no coordination between personnel selling tickets and those scheduling events. I nevertheless wish them and more importantly the mansion well - the latter is truly a treasure house.

[@OldSchoolFireAlarms]

Thank God they didn't demolish this architectural jewel.

[@deeramos9416]

Wow look at that beautiful home. The skulls of craftsman. I would think it needs love and care

[@rosemariemoore3859]

Matthews Mansion is only 10 minutes away from my childhood home I love that house I wish I could live there

[@KhalidMahmood-wm1qz]

OMG SUCH AN AWESOME HOUSE.I WILL BE HAPPY TO LIVE IN THIS HOUSE IF EVEN IF I DIE TEN TIMES.THANK YOU KEN

[@MrWebste67r]

The Original' Dark Shadows' Movie (1969/70') was filmed partially here and also the Original 'Stepford Wives' (1975) its a beautiful place I live about 15 minutes from there

[@catherineehlers8115]

I think some scenes from one of the Dark Shadows movies back in the early 1970s were filmed in this house.

[@Christina-xp9ys]

Fascinating!

[@darthtaiter]

One wonders about the longterm history of that plot of land... what old native curses may dwell there.

[@allenlovell1604]

Interesting video, sad the family never got to enjoy their house 🏠 after building it 😕. Perhaps, you can do an exploration of what is the weirdest house in America - the Winchester House ! It has doors that open to nowhere, stairs going to nothing, and other architectural oddities ! Like to see it sometime, please?

[@juliegranzow8450]

I'll take the chance of living here and see if it's all really true. Pay my way to live there and let's see what happens to me. Let's Go!

[@pbrfan7141]

Gorgeous !

[@beansmith2465]

I love all these videos

[@mdeluco4675]

I was priviledged to have worked on the restoration of several rooms in this building and can say the level of craftsmanship is outstanding. While working on the music room a coworker and i on our lunch break went up to the second floor where some white mannequins in costume were being stored and moved one to a position in a window. This amused us quite a bit as this ghostly figure could be seen by all traffic traveling south on interstate 95 heading south. Silly but we still laugh about it

[@honeyestbee]

I live in Norwalk. It is a beautiful mansion & they have tours, and programs…and a yearly flea market on the grounds.

[@SirRossco77]

That was so fascinating!!

[@wandaingram4776]

I just came across your channel, very interesting!! I'm now a new subscriber!!

[@duvessa2003]

Well done!

[@dennisthomas6782]

I couldn't imagine living in a house like that ! It's more of a museum than a home , a place to show all of the lovely pieces you acquired.. I'd be afraid I'd break something... that said it's a beautiful house.

[@kotysuefawcett6538]

I Love this channel! SOO very interesting! Thank You.👍🤗✌️

[@TheIndependentLens]

44 thousand square feet. WOW! That's enormous.

[@paperroses7615]

Reminds me of Winchester House in California

[@feg3akatrey144]

Thank you SO MUCH for actually narrating this great video, vice letting one of those DREADFUL auto-voices do the speaking duties. It makes such a difference! Excellent videos, thanks for all the fascinating stories 🙏

[@Apollo-rl8du]

Beautiful house!