#chesapeakeandohiorailway

[brandonraykirk]

C&O Depot in #Logan #WV 1914 #Appalachia #history #railroads #chesapeakeandohiorailway (at Logan, West Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKaW5sRHfP66CEkw0c0DKB75Ie0U8iPlH1htBk0/?igshid=1ix528pk68v0t

[suzylwade]

The Greenbrier and Dorothy Draper In 1946, a legendary interior designer traveled to rural West Virginia to tackle one of her most challenging assignments — renovating ‘The Greenbrier’ and recapturing its illustrious past. Legend and history mingle at ‘The Greenbrier’ West Virginia’s iconic resort tucked away in the Allegheny Mountains. When Dorothy Draper arrived by train from New York in 1946, the boarded-up hotel (following a stint as an army hospital) had been empty for several months. Armed with a flashlight, she walked the corridors, examined the task at hand, and purportedly encountered the ghost of frequent former guest General Robert E. Lee. One of the first things Draper did was to create separate areas in the cavernous lobby by enclosing spaces with walls and screens. Guests now pass from the hotel's north entrance through the ‘Celebrity Corridor’ the 'Cameo Ballroom’ the trellis lobby, the green lobby, the main lobby and the clock lobby into the main dining room, which had been used as an officers' mess between 1942 and 1945. In the main lobby, Draper had her trademark black-and-white-marble floors laid on the diagonal: the original chic, oversize squares of pure black Belgian marble and veined white Georgian marble still gleam to this day. Then she splashed bright colours on the walls and covered sofas and chairs with fabrics in the punched-up colours she loved. By 1963 Carleton Varney, who succeeded Dorothy Draper as the president of the firm that bears her name, had taken over the job of maintaining and subtly changing the décor ‘The Greenbrier’. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #words #pictures #neon #urchin #thegreenbrier #dorothydraper #interiordesignmaven #stripes #vibrantcolours #floralpatterns #bold #contrasting #aworkofgenius #chesapeakeandohiorailway #dorothydraperinteriordesign #carletonvarney (at The Greenbrier) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4eo-wiAA9k/?igshid=19yhfn0w5q6bi

[brandonraykirk]

Train yard at #PeachCreek #LoganCounty #WV #Appalachia #photos #history #chesapeakeandohiorailway https://www.instagram.com/p/B6BR8QPHnws/?igshid=1ib84dvbgni8t

[brandonraykirk]

#chesapeakeandohiorailway #Hinton #SummersCounty #WV #Appalachia #photos #history (at Hinton, West Virginia)

[suzylwade]

The Greenbrier and Dorothy Draper In December 1946, not long after the end of the Second World War, the renowned decorator Dorothy Draper glanced at the lobby of ‘The Greenbrier’ in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and pronounced it "a Brobdingnagian monster of a bowling alley." Prior to the war, the grand old hotel had attracted more than its fair share of the rich and famous — Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Harrimans, Fords, du Ponts and Kennedys; Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Bobby Jones; Mary Pickford, Noël Coward, Bing Crosby. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, the United States government had bought the place, used it as an internment camp, primarily for diplomats from Germany, Japan and other enemy nations, and then turned it into an Army hospital. In December 1946 the ‘Chesapeake Ohio Railway’ the prewar owner of ‘The Greenbrier’ was permitted to buy it back. Wasting no time by the end of that month Robert R. Young the CO's president engaged Dorothy Draper to refurbish the hotel. The war years had been unkind to ‘The Greenbrier’. Draper told Young she would redo the lobby (she so imperiously condemned) and the rest of ‘The Greenbrier’ in "great beauty" and took on what was then the largest redecoration project in the history of the American hotel industry. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #words #pictures #neon #urchin #thegreenbrier #dorothydraper #interiordesignmaven #stripes #vibrantcolours #floralpatterns #bold #contrasting #aworkofgenius #chesapeakeandohiorailway #dorothydraperinteriordesign #carletonvarney (at The Greenbrier) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4epFxuAOn_/?igshid=1rtrvel4v0cv0

[suzylwade]

The Greenbrier and Dorothy Draper The resort’s humble beginnings can be traced back to 1778 when the first settlers discovered natural sulphur springs coming up from the ground. The water was found to have medicinal properties. The area around the springs became a travel destination and social gathering place for people to “take in the waters.” The bath houses and cottages built then have evolved into a 6,500 acre resort. In the early 1940s, the hotel and surrounding amenities were called into military service as a rehabilitation hospital for veterans. Named ‘Ashford General Hospital’ the facility served a total of 24,000 patients. After the war the ‘Chesapeake and Ohio Railway’ reacquired the property and sought to return the hotel to its former glory. Enter Dorothy Draper, a New York socialite and renowned interior designer. She amazingly won the contract to remodel ‘The Greenbrier’ the entire hotel and cottages, 710 rooms total, plus all the ballrooms and common areas - and in only 18 months. Draper remained the interior designer until her death in 1969. Then, Carleton Varney, Draper’s protege, took over the business and seamlessly carried on the Draper aesthetic. To this day, Varney has an office on premises and oversees the design on any upgrades to the property. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #words #pictures #neon #urchin #thegreenbrier #dorothydraper #interiordesignmaven #stripes #vibrantcolours #floralpatterns #bold #contrasting #aworkofgenius #chesapeakeandohiorailway #dorothydraperinteriordesign #carletonvarney (at The Greenbrier) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4eo0y-AnMC/?igshid=10oeuxpj668s5

[suzylwade]

The Greenbrier and Dorothy Draper The resort’s humble beginnings can be traced back to 1778 when the first settlers discovered natural sulphur springs coming up from the ground. The water was found to have medicinal properties. The area around the springs became a travel destination and social gathering place for people to “take in the waters.” The bath houses and cottages built then have evolved into a 6,500 acre resort. In the early 1940s, the hotel and surrounding amenities were called into military service as a rehabilitation hospital for veterans. Named ‘Ashford General Hospital’ the facility served a total of 24,000 patients. After the war the ‘Chesapeake and Ohio Railway’ reacquired the property and sought to return the hotel to its former glory. Enter Dorothy Draper, a New York socialite and renowned interior designer. She amazingly won the contract to remodel ‘The Greenbrier’ the entire hotel and cottages, 710 rooms total, plus all the ballrooms and common areas - and in only 18 months. Draper remained the interior designer until her death in 1969. Then, Carleton Varney, Draper’s protege, took over the business and seamlessly carried on the Draper aesthetic. To this day, Varney has an office on premises and oversees the design on any upgrades to the property. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #words #pictures #neon #urchin #thegreenbrier #dorothydraper #interiordesignmaven #stripes #vibrantcolours #floralpatterns #bold #contrasting #aworkofgenius #chesapeakeandohiorailway #dorothydraperinteriordesign #carletonvarney (at The Greenbrier) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4eo0y-AnMC/?igshid=181960efbuvyr