Swank Luxe Millionaire's Row Belle Epoch Mansion
Entire home hosted by Shannon
- 12 guests
- 4 bedrooms
- 6 beds
- 3 baths
Self check-in
Check yourself in with the lockbox.
Experienced host
Shannon has 106 reviews for other places.
Great communication
95% of recent guests rated Shannon 5-star in communication.
Every booking includes free protection from Host cancellations, listing inaccuracies, and other issues like trouble checking in.
Where you'll sleep
Bedroom 1
1 king bed
Bedroom 2
1 queen bed
Bedroom 3
2 double beds
What this place offers
Kitchen
Wifi
Free parking on premises
Pets allowed
TV
Washer
Dryer
Air conditioning
Patio or balcony
Indoor fireplace
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4.44 out of 5 stars from 9 reviews
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Where you’ll be
Seneca Falls, New York, United States
- 115 Reviews
- Identity verified
I am actually a San Francisco California native who has a 2nd home in California. On July 3rd I made an epic "decision" to attend a Tony Robbins seminar in Chicago and place my little NorCal bungalow on Airbnb.
I had decided in the wake of a personal tragedy to literally get in my Jeep, go to Robbins and break some long standing patterns. When you're 53 everything seems long standing, and so I took a leap of faith and placed my own home on Airbnb and set off in my Jeep with a bag full of summer clothes and started driving East.
By the time I finished my seminar my California single unit residence began to book up and the more days I booked the further East I headed.
As my 'That 70's Show' little bungalow filled up I found myself in Seneca Falls entranced by another 70's home, only this time it was from the 1870's and like me it had a storied and epic history.
As a travel writer who has stayed everywhere from J. Paul Getty's bedroom in Lazio to the Monet Suite at the Savoy in London when I did an 'open house' tour of this incredible mansion you are now looking at I decided I was looking at someplace special, a one of a kind; bona-fide Grade A historic mansion originally built by one of the five founding members of Gould Pumps and it was 'on the market'?!
By the time I made my way to the historic society in town to research the mansion I was already entranced just by the architecture (the house spoke to the part of me that loves the boulevards of Paris) and I learned why: it's built in the Second Empire style popularized by Napolean III when he widened the boulevards and Paris became the 'City of Lights'.
When I learned the 'secret history' not included in the realtor's description I was further drawn to this estate's amazing history; because for nearly 100 years it was passed from one female in the Gould family to another, and upon further research I learned that in 1964 this mansion actually made front page local news?!
According to newspaper accounts (which you can read about when you check in) the place made major history in New York when the heiress to the Gould fortune; one Alice Gould Swaby Knapp at the age of 91 passed and instead of keeping the mansion and the bulk of her estate within the family she did something remarkable. She left if all; EVERYTHING to a working class nurse named Bertha Nash from Queens New York.
Who was this Bertha I wondered?
I read further and learned that during a hospitilization at Clifton Springs the original owner of this estate Amelia Gould Swaby (whose obituary actually listed Elizabeth Cady Stanton as a close friend ) had become attached to a young attending nurse of low birth rank, and from that moment on the last heiress to the Gould fortune: Alice Gould Swaby Knapp was so taken with the nurse that she virtually adopted her as a member of the family.
Amelia Gould Swaby and Alice traveled the globe, and like you would expect in the day of wealth and privilage when the Gould's traveled it wasn't for a week, or a month, but for the season: they were travelers and members of the Belle epoch. They represented the 'Gilded Era' and that included this very mansion back on the 'continent' and so I felt I had found a home that was bespoke of a grand era lost and to my delight rediscovered.
I learned the home was not just filled with works of art, but it contained a work of art.
What the real estate agency described as fancy wallpaper in the dining room was in fact something quite different; it was an authentic 1800's Chinoiserie mural painstakingly painted over not only hundreds, but thousands of hours!
I felt like I had discovered the titanic on the bottom of the Atlantic a true lost treasure, and so began (and continues) my research. As it turns out when you dine in grand style in the dining room sit as though you are in a museum, because you virtually are inside your own L'Ouvre.
My research has revealed that the mural may have a famous painter; it was in fact commissioned by a Gould and back in that day Seabury S. Gould was on the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
So as you check in definitely check out the dining room. I have, and so is Sotheby's in New York City, for in an effort to guage the true orgins of the dining room it remains an ongoing mystery I endeavor to solve.
If you appreciate art, like myself look at the North Wall and look closely in the grass to the right of the little sappling willow tree and see if you can identify the artist.
Though it currently is 'under investigation' what I can tell you about chinoiserie is that it has become so in vogue that even to add modern day wall paper in such a style costs thousands and at auction the real thing is bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars as people with 'old houses' sadly tear down works of art from their walls and place them for auction.
If you're a Londoner like Kate Moss you might commission a private artist for hundred's of thousands of dollars to get a look which mimics what is actually the grand dining room of this estate. You're gazing upon the 'real deal'.
When I learned of the mural and the mansion's history I endeavored decorate it in a style and using authentic antiques from Eastlake to Hepplewhite which would have Victorian flair and artistic appeal.
From hand carved pedestals topped in marble to original oils on canvas the mansion oozes a bygone 'Gatsby-esque' era and when you spend a night or two or more you too are entering a time gone by yet with all the modern conveniences.
From the mundane things like the red Kitchenaid mixer on the granite countertops in the kitchen and the Whirlpool washer and dryer in the laundry room which stand side by side on pedestals in the 'laundry room' the house has American engineering.
The bedrooms are centered around just that beds that aren't just beautiful to look at, but ooze luxury with their pillow tops and European feather beds atop each matress.
The hardwood floors are flung with sheepskin rugs and the living room chesterfield's would make Sherlock Holmes and Watson quite comfortable.
Every bedroom also has its own entertainment system, as does the living room which features a 57" flatscreen with a Toshiba Sound Bar so you can have cinematic experience right under the original golden chandelier.
Walls feature antique hand tinted prints and original oil paintings on canvas and mirrors with hand carved wood gilt gathered from around the globe, which if you're in Seneca Falls for work are a nice distraction while you're working on the latest touch screen HP in the 'office nook'. A balance of old world charm with new age technology.
A stay at the mansion is more than just a night at a hotel, or even a top notch Airbnb; it's a once in a lifetime experience to spend the night in a mansion which once housed not just 'captains of industry' but drove more than an industrial revolution, but a social one as well.
Where else, but Seneca Falls and the Gould Swaby mansion could you stay the night in a home which according to the book "The Gould Pump Story" (a copy is in the mansion) has the irony of being held in majority ownership by a group of women.
So the history of the mansion, I believe once you dive in will entrance you as it did me and while you walk to the Women's National Historical Park think back to the clomping of hooves and maybe even kick up your heels and crack a mystery by Rochester writer Miriam Grace Monfredo.
She so fell in love with the area that she based an entire series of mysteries (Seneca Falls Series) with a fictional female librarian Glynis Tryon solving a murder mystery which is set in 1848 Seneca Falls and takes place during the world's very real first Women's Rights Convention.
So you see, in a town famous for industry (Seneca Falls once was the fire engine and knitting mill capital) still to this day the town doesn't just harken to the Golden Era it remains Goulden, as in Gould Pumps, which to from it's inception in 1848 to the present day remains the 'Gold Standard' in the pump world.
And that is a world which you can actually witness in old tintype prints on the walls of the mansion's 'Captains of Industry' suite downstairs or hike up to the second story and sleep in the grand corner suite in which Amelia Gould Swaby once long ago birthed the eldest grandchild of the pump factory's namesake in what was once a birthing room, but is now a steam room.
So, as you can see the mansion is really not just a place to stay, but a place to live a piece of history; both real and storied, for lastly I mention another American Classic: It's a Wonderful Life.
If you've watched the movie and read the clips then you know another bit of inside information; Seneca Falls is the mythical Bedford Falls made famous by another fictional tale, and this one made the silver screen as: "It's a Wonderful Life"
So as you watch the movie keep in mind that the mansion doesn't just have all the 'real' history I just spoke of, it also has the stuff of Hollywood magic, for the mansion looks an awful lot like the "Granville" estate which Jimmy Stewart's character George Bailey buys for his fictional family at 320 Sycamore Street...
So you see, the mansion is both epic for it's real position at the end of Millionaire's Row but it may in fact be the stuff of Hollywood legend as archetype for Frank Capra's classic Granville Estate in It's a Wonderful Life.
Whether you choose to focus on the real history in the books, or book a room for a once in a lifetime Hollywood 'experience' anyway you cut it 24 Cayuga Street is a place that the real American dream did in fact unfold, all of which you can read about in the "house manual" when you check into a mansion that is storied in every sense of the word.
Sincerely,
Shannon Willitts Falk; the 'carrier-on-er of the Gould Swaby story...
I had decided in the wake of a personal tragedy to literally get in my Jeep, go to Robbins and break some long standing patterns. When you're 53 everything seems long standing, and so I took a leap of faith and placed my own home on Airbnb and set off in my Jeep with a bag full of summer clothes and started driving East.
By the time I finished my seminar my California single unit residence began to book up and the more days I booked the further East I headed.
As my 'That 70's Show' little bungalow filled up I found myself in Seneca Falls entranced by another 70's home, only this time it was from the 1870's and like me it had a storied and epic history.
As a travel writer who has stayed everywhere from J. Paul Getty's bedroom in Lazio to the Monet Suite at the Savoy in London when I did an 'open house' tour of this incredible mansion you are now looking at I decided I was looking at someplace special, a one of a kind; bona-fide Grade A historic mansion originally built by one of the five founding members of Gould Pumps and it was 'on the market'?!
By the time I made my way to the historic society in town to research the mansion I was already entranced just by the architecture (the house spoke to the part of me that loves the boulevards of Paris) and I learned why: it's built in the Second Empire style popularized by Napolean III when he widened the boulevards and Paris became the 'City of Lights'.
When I learned the 'secret history' not included in the realtor's description I was further drawn to this estate's amazing history; because for nearly 100 years it was passed from one female in the Gould family to another, and upon further research I learned that in 1964 this mansion actually made front page local news?!
According to newspaper accounts (which you can read about when you check in) the place made major history in New York when the heiress to the Gould fortune; one Alice Gould Swaby Knapp at the age of 91 passed and instead of keeping the mansion and the bulk of her estate within the family she did something remarkable. She left if all; EVERYTHING to a working class nurse named Bertha Nash from Queens New York.
Who was this Bertha I wondered?
I read further and learned that during a hospitilization at Clifton Springs the original owner of this estate Amelia Gould Swaby (whose obituary actually listed Elizabeth Cady Stanton as a close friend ) had become attached to a young attending nurse of low birth rank, and from that moment on the last heiress to the Gould fortune: Alice Gould Swaby Knapp was so taken with the nurse that she virtually adopted her as a member of the family.
Amelia Gould Swaby and Alice traveled the globe, and like you would expect in the day of wealth and privilage when the Gould's traveled it wasn't for a week, or a month, but for the season: they were travelers and members of the Belle epoch. They represented the 'Gilded Era' and that included this very mansion back on the 'continent' and so I felt I had found a home that was bespoke of a grand era lost and to my delight rediscovered.
I learned the home was not just filled with works of art, but it contained a work of art.
What the real estate agency described as fancy wallpaper in the dining room was in fact something quite different; it was an authentic 1800's Chinoiserie mural painstakingly painted over not only hundreds, but thousands of hours!
I felt like I had discovered the titanic on the bottom of the Atlantic a true lost treasure, and so began (and continues) my research. As it turns out when you dine in grand style in the dining room sit as though you are in a museum, because you virtually are inside your own L'Ouvre.
My research has revealed that the mural may have a famous painter; it was in fact commissioned by a Gould and back in that day Seabury S. Gould was on the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
So as you check in definitely check out the dining room. I have, and so is Sotheby's in New York City, for in an effort to guage the true orgins of the dining room it remains an ongoing mystery I endeavor to solve.
If you appreciate art, like myself look at the North Wall and look closely in the grass to the right of the little sappling willow tree and see if you can identify the artist.
Though it currently is 'under investigation' what I can tell you about chinoiserie is that it has become so in vogue that even to add modern day wall paper in such a style costs thousands and at auction the real thing is bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars as people with 'old houses' sadly tear down works of art from their walls and place them for auction.
If you're a Londoner like Kate Moss you might commission a private artist for hundred's of thousands of dollars to get a look which mimics what is actually the grand dining room of this estate. You're gazing upon the 'real deal'.
When I learned of the mural and the mansion's history I endeavored decorate it in a style and using authentic antiques from Eastlake to Hepplewhite which would have Victorian flair and artistic appeal.
From hand carved pedestals topped in marble to original oils on canvas the mansion oozes a bygone 'Gatsby-esque' era and when you spend a night or two or more you too are entering a time gone by yet with all the modern conveniences.
From the mundane things like the red Kitchenaid mixer on the granite countertops in the kitchen and the Whirlpool washer and dryer in the laundry room which stand side by side on pedestals in the 'laundry room' the house has American engineering.
The bedrooms are centered around just that beds that aren't just beautiful to look at, but ooze luxury with their pillow tops and European feather beds atop each matress.
The hardwood floors are flung with sheepskin rugs and the living room chesterfield's would make Sherlock Holmes and Watson quite comfortable.
Every bedroom also has its own entertainment system, as does the living room which features a 57" flatscreen with a Toshiba Sound Bar so you can have cinematic experience right under the original golden chandelier.
Walls feature antique hand tinted prints and original oil paintings on canvas and mirrors with hand carved wood gilt gathered from around the globe, which if you're in Seneca Falls for work are a nice distraction while you're working on the latest touch screen HP in the 'office nook'. A balance of old world charm with new age technology.
A stay at the mansion is more than just a night at a hotel, or even a top notch Airbnb; it's a once in a lifetime experience to spend the night in a mansion which once housed not just 'captains of industry' but drove more than an industrial revolution, but a social one as well.
Where else, but Seneca Falls and the Gould Swaby mansion could you stay the night in a home which according to the book "The Gould Pump Story" (a copy is in the mansion) has the irony of being held in majority ownership by a group of women.
So the history of the mansion, I believe once you dive in will entrance you as it did me and while you walk to the Women's National Historical Park think back to the clomping of hooves and maybe even kick up your heels and crack a mystery by Rochester writer Miriam Grace Monfredo.
She so fell in love with the area that she based an entire series of mysteries (Seneca Falls Series) with a fictional female librarian Glynis Tryon solving a murder mystery which is set in 1848 Seneca Falls and takes place during the world's very real first Women's Rights Convention.
So you see, in a town famous for industry (Seneca Falls once was the fire engine and knitting mill capital) still to this day the town doesn't just harken to the Golden Era it remains Goulden, as in Gould Pumps, which to from it's inception in 1848 to the present day remains the 'Gold Standard' in the pump world.
And that is a world which you can actually witness in old tintype prints on the walls of the mansion's 'Captains of Industry' suite downstairs or hike up to the second story and sleep in the grand corner suite in which Amelia Gould Swaby once long ago birthed the eldest grandchild of the pump factory's namesake in what was once a birthing room, but is now a steam room.
So, as you can see the mansion is really not just a place to stay, but a place to live a piece of history; both real and storied, for lastly I mention another American Classic: It's a Wonderful Life.
If you've watched the movie and read the clips then you know another bit of inside information; Seneca Falls is the mythical Bedford Falls made famous by another fictional tale, and this one made the silver screen as: "It's a Wonderful Life"
So as you watch the movie keep in mind that the mansion doesn't just have all the 'real' history I just spoke of, it also has the stuff of Hollywood magic, for the mansion looks an awful lot like the "Granville" estate which Jimmy Stewart's character George Bailey buys for his fictional family at 320 Sycamore Street...
So you see, the mansion is both epic for it's real position at the end of Millionaire's Row but it may in fact be the stuff of Hollywood legend as archetype for Frank Capra's classic Granville Estate in It's a Wonderful Life.
Whether you choose to focus on the real history in the books, or book a room for a once in a lifetime Hollywood 'experience' anyway you cut it 24 Cayuga Street is a place that the real American dream did in fact unfold, all of which you can read about in the "house manual" when you check into a mansion that is storied in every sense of the word.
Sincerely,
Shannon Willitts Falk; the 'carrier-on-er of the Gould Swaby story...
I am actually a San Francisco California native who has a 2nd home in California. On July 3rd I made an epic "decision" to attend a Tony Robbins seminar in Chicago and place my li…
During your stay
I am always available by text and when I am in town the old ballroom serves as my private residence and but my writing atelier, and that entryway too is separate from the 'big mansion' but if I am in town and you want a guided tour of the mansion I am happy to oblige and to give you personal favorites, or you can consult my detailed home manual with written recommendations.
I am always available by text and when I am in town the old ballroom serves as my private residence and but my writing atelier, and that entryway too is separate from the 'big mans…
- Response rate: 90%
- Response time: within an hour
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Things to know
House rules
Check-in: 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Checkout: 11:00 AM
Self check-in with lockbox
Not suitable for infants (under 2 years)
No smoking
Pets are allowed
Health & safety
Airbnb's COVID-19 safety practices apply
Nearby lake, river, other body of water
Carbon monoxide alarm
Smoke alarm