>>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)