>>I think the essence
of it has not changed.

It's the history, the
presence of the people

who I feel were here.

I'm just captivated
by its essence.

>>Today we're going to explore

an amazing marble mansion
situated on Afton Mountain

in Nelson County.

Built over a century ago
this aging ornate estate

is part history,

part art, opulen6ce
and philosophy, and
100% fascinating.

Join us as we visit
Swannanoa Palace.

Come on!

>>So, we're gonna go
in to the main dining

and you have a D for
Dooley and all the carving,

you have the
cornucopia for plenty.

The one thing about
this villa is that

they were the first
house in Nelson County

to have hot and
cold running water.

And in addition, they
had their own power plant

where they had
electricity as well.

>>So Sandi, you're the Director
of Events here at Swannanoa

and your husband Phil's
family owns the property.

>>Yes.

>>Tell us why was Swannanoa
built in the first place.

>>OK, in 1911, the Dooleys

were familiar with the
area because Mrs. Dooley

as a child spent many times
with her married sisters

in Staunton, so they
bought the property in 1911

with the idea to
build a summer home

for primarily Mrs.
Dooley and Mr. Dooley

on occasion because he was
working a lot as an attorney.

>>And that's fascinating
because what is the size

of this home, this summer home?

>>It's about 52,000
square feet (all laughs)

>>And they also had
Maymont estate in Richmond?

>>Yes, that was their main home.

>>And so why was it
called Swannanoa?

>>Well, we have some theories.

Mrs. Dooley loved swans
and one of her reasons

were that they mated for life.

And I often wonder if
they went to the Biltmore

and stayed at some point

because there is a
Swannanoa River nearby.

There's a little
town called Swannanoa

just northeast of Ashevill--

>>In North Carolina.

>>And thus the name Swannanoa.

>>Well, talk about what went
into building this home,

this estate, I mean
from the marble

to the all of the
fabulous wood work,

tell me a little about it.

>>Well, in 1911, they
purchased the property

from JB Yount's grandfather
who lived in Waynesboro,

it was a farm.

So what was amazing is
how quickly it was built.

The marble on the
outside came from Georgia

in the United States.

It would've come by railroad

and come to the base
of Afton Mountain

and would have been
brought here by oxen cart.

The outside was
finished by 1912.

And then they
started on the inside

and all the marble
inside came from Italy.

And so, same thing.

>>And there is so much marble,

I mean, this whole
house's marble;

and then talk about the talk
about the stained glass.

>>Well, the stained
glass is a Tiffany

and it's the largest
installation in a house

in the United States.

It depicts Sallie
Mae in her garden

with all her favorite flowers.

>>And there's so much
attention to detail,

the railing and the wood work,

how many artisans
worked on the property?

>>Inside, 300 artisans
worked in every room,

speaking different languages

because you have artisans
from Asian, Asian Indian,

and they would've
done the Persian room,

and then you had artisans
doing all the carving

in the library and in
the dining room as well.

And the mantles were carved.

>>And all of the
painting and murals.

>>The frescoes.

>>Oh my goodness.

>>The frescoes are all original.

The one in the dome
depicts Sallie Mae

and her little chariot being
pulled by cherubs (laughs)

and so, unfortunately
in the main hall,

the murals were painted over

and we think it might've
happened when it was left

to Mr. Dooley's sisters,

one who was a nun
who I think thought

they were going to
have a nunnery here,

and they spackled over all
of the frescoes in this room.

>>Okay, let's talk
a little bit about,

more about the
history of Swannanoa,

so the Dooleys had it,

they were here for
about 10 years, right?

>>Yes. Mr. Dooley didn't
live past nine years

after it was built.

They were up in age
when they built this.

>>And Sally may
died here, correct?

>>Yes, she did a
few years later.

He bequeathed it
to his two sisters

who pretty quickly they knew
they couldn't really afford

to be here, and it was too
ornate, especially for a nun.

And so they sold it to
a group of businessmen

and so they put
in a golf course,

they subdivided all the lots

but they didn't foresee the
Great Depression coming.

And so in 1932, the
country club went bankrupt

and left the mountain in 1932.

The house stayed
empty for 12 years,

from 1932 to 1944,

and I hear tales of,

the old folks in Waynesboro
talk about roller skating

on the first floor,

they talk about having prom
parties here after prom.

>>Oh my goodness.

>>They talk about animals
coming in and out,

so it was open

to the elements for 12 years.
>>Oh my goodness.

And then what happened?

>>Then in 1944, my husband's
grandfather came along,

he was a businessman
in Charlottesville,

got a group of seven more
businessman he knew together

and they pooled
their money together

to buy 600 acres which
included Swannanoa.

Now they weren't sure what

they were gonna
do with Swannanoa.

So the house sat empty
for another four years

and along came the Russells,

and they had seen it
earlier but Lao liked to say

she had a vision and so
they arrived around 1949.

And their organization,

The University of Science and
Philosophy rented Swannanoa

for 50 years.

>>For 50 years!

>>Yes!

>>Walter Russell had foreseen

that there would be some kind
of university or institute

that would be established
in the United States

that would teach the
essence of their work,

the unification of all peoples,

teaching divine love,

and the genius in every person

which was very much
exemplified by Walter Russell.

So with their coming here,

they completely felt guided,

they had looked all over
the West Coast everywhere

throughout different mountains

and he trusted that
this was the place

they were supposed to be.

>>I call this the music room

or the ladies sitting room.

You have notes
over the fireplace,

you have instruments over the
door and over every window.

And then you have this fireplace

which was carved in Florence
in 1910 by a professor.

>>So when did your husband
take over the company

in Swannanoa, Skyline
Swannanoa Inc?

>>Yes, well, my
husband was in college

at UVA in the COMM school.

And his father
passed of lung cancer

so at that time his uncle
came in to run the company

but he wasn't really
a businessman.

And so the family urged Phil
to finish college early.

And then he came and started
running the company in 1971.

>>And what were his
plans for Swannanoa?

>>Well, because the
Russells were here,

he didn't really have
any plans for Swannanoa.

However, when they left,

he knew he needed to do
something with the house,

and so he started
having open houses,

he started doing weddings
and photo shoots,

so now--
>>And renovating,

because something of this
size needs constant care

and it really needed some care,

so talk about some of
the renovations that he--

>>Well, he spent millions of
dollars repainting the outside

of the marble and
having it cleaned

on the outside of the house.

He had windows
and doors replaced

and painted back to the color

that the Dooleys
had, which was brown.

>>And roof work too, right?

>>Yes.

Actually he contacted the
same roofing company in Italy

that did it for the Dooleys,

they were still in business,

they still had the records,

and so they were able
to redo all the tiles

because they were numbered
and ship them over here

to be put on and replaced
so we had the roof replaced

and we also had the skylight
replaced that was leaking.

>>And his plans were maybe
to do a B&B and more events.

>>Yes, and so he
had at first wanted

to make it a bed-and-breakfast,

but he soon found
out that was quite

an expensive venture because
the electricity would have

to be updated.

The water system would
have to be updated,

he would have to
have a sewage plant.

So he did the major
things he needed to do

to keep the house from leaking
and having all those issues.

>>Yeah, and then
the recession hit

and then he has had some
serious health issues.

>>Yes, in March, he had a stroke

and he has what's called
Wernicke's aphasia

so he can't speak very well.

So now he's at home with me
and he's getting good care now.

>>Yes, and you're taking
care of Swannanoa?

>>Yes, I am, I retired from UVA

and it took me a while
to gather my composure

to know what to do because
he had all that information

and he couldn't speak.

So what I did

is I started having
people call me

for weddings for special
events, photo shoots;

we've had a number of
photo shoots this year.

>>And then tours,
so people come in

and they have tours--
>>Yes.

>>They don't tour
the whole estate,

it's not completely all open
but they tour quite a bit

and they have a garden area
behind the back and the outdoor.

>>And the water tower
in the back looks

like Rapunzel's tower (laughs).

>>And what do they like most?

What do they say when
you're giving a tour?

What do you think is their
favorite part of the house?

>>They don't, zero
in on one thing.

>>Yeah, it's pretty
overwhelming.

>>It is overwhelming
to see everything.

It's a very solid staircase,
it's steel and wood

and as you notice it does not
move after all these years.

Now when the Dooley's were here,

the trees were no
taller than we are,

so they must have
had a fantastic view.

>>I think a lot of us within
the University of Science

and Philosophy are
feeling a major revival

of the Russell work.

There's a lot of
people who would love

to see Swannanoa open
up again as a museum

for Walter Russell's work.

Historically, I would love to
see it completely renovated,

so that it will be kept intact

for the future of our children,

and that everyone can
appreciate the Gilded Age

of architecture, and
so that it will last

many, many, many more centuries.

(upbeat music)