Romance and Rhododendrons

Contents

FOREWORD by Dr. Robert Conte, Greenbrier Resident Historian 11 INTRODUCTION DECORATING with DOROTHY

by Carleton Varney 15 DOROTHY DRAPER, HER REIGN: 1946–1962 21 PUBLIC ROOMS, LOBBIES, and HALLWAYS 33 THE SUITES 125 LEISURE ACTIVITIES 165 THE COTTAGES and ESTATE HOMES 209 WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 245 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS and CREDITS 255

Contents

FOREWORD by Dr. Robert Conte, Greenbrier Resident Historian 11 INTRODUCTION DECORATING with DOROTHY

by Carleton Varney 15 DOROTHY DRAPER, HER REIGN: 1946–1962 21 PUBLIC ROOMS, LOBBIES, and HALLWAYS 33 THE SUITES 125 LEISURE ACTIVITIES 165 THE COTTAGES and ESTATE HOMES 209 WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 245 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS and CREDITS 255

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Dr. Robert Conte

by Greenbrier Resident Historian

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hat would The Greenbrier be without Carleton Varney? Many longtime guests will say, “It wouldn’t be The Greenbrier.”

Of course, I remember the first time I met Carleton. Back when my office was in an Alabama Row cottage, he appeared at the door one day with a smile and sat right down to chat. I was more than a little starstruck—this was the famous Carleton Varney after all—but there he was being his cordial and amiable self, right in front of my eyes. That was a good 30-odd years ago, and it is a true delight of my Greenbrier career to have kept up the chatting ever since—talking history, talking design.

How many times have I dropped his name in the thousands of tours and lectures I have given in the 40 years I’ve been at the resort? Dorothy Draper worked her magic at The Greenbrier for about 20 years, from the day she arrived at the empty shell of a hotel in 1946, after its wartime use as a hospital, until she left the business in the mid-1960s. Carleton, on the other hand, has led the crusade for 50-plus years, upgrading and reimagining the Draper vision throughout The Greenbrier’s 700 guest rooms and scores of public areas, as well as its shops and restaurants—from the china and tablecloths to the staff uniforms. I can’t count how often I have heard Carleton declare, “Nothing off the rack at The Greenbrier!”

If you do the math, there has been a more than 70-year relationship between The Greenbrier and Dorothy Draper & Company, Inc., in a world where there are very few OPPOSITE

A 1949 letter from Dorothy Draper to hotel manager Eugene Voit is from the hotel’s archive.

LEFT

Down to the buttons—the design of the bellman’s uniform, from the Dorothy Draper Archive in New York City.

11

z FOR E WOR D

r W

Dr. Robert Conte

by Greenbrier Resident Historian

r

hat would The Greenbrier be without Carleton Varney? Many longtime guests will say, “It wouldn’t be The Greenbrier.”

Of course, I remember the first time I met Carleton. Back when my office was in an Alabama Row cottage, he appeared at the door one day with a smile and sat right down to chat. I was more than a little starstruck—this was the famous Carleton Varney after all—but there he was being his cordial and amiable self, right in front of my eyes. That was a good 30-odd years ago, and it is a true delight of my Greenbrier career to have kept up the chatting ever since—talking history, talking design.

How many times have I dropped his name in the thousands of tours and lectures I have given in the 40 years I’ve been at the resort? Dorothy Draper worked her magic at The Greenbrier for about 20 years, from the day she arrived at the empty shell of a hotel in 1946, after its wartime use as a hospital, until she left the business in the mid-1960s. Carleton, on the other hand, has led the crusade for 50-plus years, upgrading and reimagining the Draper vision throughout The Greenbrier’s 700 guest rooms and scores of public areas, as well as its shops and restaurants—from the china and tablecloths to the staff uniforms. I can’t count how often I have heard Carleton declare, “Nothing off the rack at The Greenbrier!”

If you do the math, there has been a more than 70-year relationship between The Greenbrier and Dorothy Draper & Company, Inc., in a world where there are very few OPPOSITE

A 1949 letter from Dorothy Draper to hotel manager Eugene Voit is from the hotel’s archive.

LEFT

Down to the buttons—the design of the bellman’s uniform, from the Dorothy Draper Archive in New York City.

11

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D OROT H Y DR A PE R , H E R R EIGN: 1946 –1962 by

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Carleton Varney

ver the years I have been asked many times, What was Dorothy Draper like? Was she a happy lady? A stylish lady? A lady of wit and charm? I can tell you this: Dorothy, the Duchess of Decorating, was a strong lady, with a drive to achieve and to change the face of decorating of the entire world. She loved scale—big scale—and big color. A tall woman even by today’s standards, she stood over six feet in height and possessed a patrician nose. Educated mostly at home, she attended the Brearley School in New York City for only two years, and she never took a decorating class. How could she have? There were no schools of decorating back in the 1890s. And young ladies were just not schooled in design and décor.

Dorothy was born to the Tuckerman family of Tuxedo Park, New York, where the homes were large, stone built, and suitable for the wealthy of the day. She was one of two children; her brother Roger was OPPOSITE, TOP a Wall Street financier and a trustee of the Tuckerman Dorothy, dressed in vivid green satin, estate, who provided sister Dorothy with money from her entertains hotel executives and Mr. and inheritance to keep her business going in the event funds Mrs. Owen Cheatham at the hotel. were short and payments needed to be made.

Celeste Cheatham was an antique Dorothy once told the social historian Cleveland dealer, and her husband was founder Amory that she married Dr. George Draper to break out and CEO of Georgia-Pacific. of the walls of Tuxedo Park. Besides George, a physician OPPOSITE, BELOW LEFT who became Franklin D. Roosevelt’s personal doctor, Dorothy (center), Leon Hegwood the Draper family (Dorothy’s in-laws) included the (right, president of Dorothy Draper darling Ruth Draper, an American actress who appeared & Co., Inc., at the time), and I before the English royalty with her famous monologues. presenting our design schemes.

The Drapers thought little of Dorothy’s position in the decorating world, all puff puff and not of their high OPPOSITE, BELOW RIGHT social standing. I believe Dorothy suffered from the Dorothy relaxes on the porch of the golf fear that she might not be up to “proper” standards. But house with the hotel’s first manager after some say the Tuckerman family could run rings around its reopening in 1948, Ed Lawless.

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D OROT H Y DR A PE R , H E R R EIGN: 1946 –1962 by

O

r

Carleton Varney

ver the years I have been asked many times, What was Dorothy Draper like? Was she a happy lady? A stylish lady? A lady of wit and charm? I can tell you this: Dorothy, the Duchess of Decorating, was a strong lady, with a drive to achieve and to change the face of decorating of the entire world. She loved scale—big scale—and big color. A tall woman even by today’s standards, she stood over six feet in height and possessed a patrician nose. Educated mostly at home, she attended the Brearley School in New York City for only two years, and she never took a decorating class. How could she have? There were no schools of decorating back in the 1890s. And young ladies were just not schooled in design and décor.

Dorothy was born to the Tuckerman family of Tuxedo Park, New York, where the homes were large, stone built, and suitable for the wealthy of the day. She was one of two children; her brother Roger was OPPOSITE, TOP a Wall Street financier and a trustee of the Tuckerman Dorothy, dressed in vivid green satin, estate, who provided sister Dorothy with money from her entertains hotel executives and Mr. and inheritance to keep her business going in the event funds Mrs. Owen Cheatham at the hotel. were short and payments needed to be made.

Celeste Cheatham was an antique Dorothy once told the social historian Cleveland dealer, and her husband was founder Amory that she married Dr. George Draper to break out and CEO of Georgia-Pacific. of the walls of Tuxedo Park. Besides George, a physician OPPOSITE, BELOW LEFT who became Franklin D. Roosevelt’s personal doctor, Dorothy (center), Leon Hegwood the Draper family (Dorothy’s in-laws) included the (right, president of Dorothy Draper darling Ruth Draper, an American actress who appeared & Co., Inc., at the time), and I before the English royalty with her famous monologues. presenting our design schemes.

The Drapers thought little of Dorothy’s position in the decorating world, all puff puff and not of their high OPPOSITE, BELOW RIGHT social standing. I believe Dorothy suffered from the Dorothy relaxes on the porch of the golf fear that she might not be up to “proper” standards. But house with the hotel’s first manager after some say the Tuckerman family could run rings around its reopening in 1948, Ed Lawless.

q q q

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the Drapers. The Tuckermans were society Class “A” and can claim Oliver Wolcott, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as a relative. George (sometimes called by his nickname Dan) and Dorothy had three children together, a son, George, and two daughters, Diane and Penelope. They divorced shortly after she started the firm (at his request).

Son George was to marry many times—some say eight, and twice to the heiress Nancy Guggenheim. George had a long career as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, and later became a painter of some merit. He was definitely his mother’s favorite, and the office chats about George and his whereabouts were always fodder for amusing anecdotes.

Dorothy Draper was a lady who lived in a world of her own creation. Many times, she avoided answering questions she didn’t care to think about. Once during a meeting with Truman Wright, president of The Greenbrier when I joined the firm, he questioned the orange-colored damask Dorothy planned to use for curtains in the soon-to-be-completed Crystal Room.

I witnessed the two in discussion.

Dorothy said, “Well Truman, perhaps you do not want to do the room!”

Dorothy’s comments and ideas to clients often were in the vein of, “If you don’t like what I’m doing, go elsewhere!” Gutsy lady, I’d say, and in some ways, demeaning to those with whom she worked and had hired. In Dorothy’s mind, if it looks right, it is right; when in reality, it was if it looks right to Dorothy, it is right.

Unfortunately, I arrived at the Dorothy Draper & Co. office long after Dorothy’s major achievements: the Hampshire House apartment building on Central Park South, the star-studded Arrowhead Springs Hotel, Brazil’s luxurious Quitandinha,

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BELOW & OPPOSITE

The Duchess of Windsor descending the staircase in the Presidential Suite. The Duke and Duchess attended the grand reopening in 1948 and stayed at the hotel many times over the years. They were personal friends of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Young.

Mr. Young was chairman of the Alleghany Corporation, owners of the C&O Railway. Today, a glamorous red carpet with a black border descends the iconic staircase in the hall of the suite, where the walls are covered in our pink and green Akakina pattern.

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the Drapers. The Tuckermans were society Class “A” and can claim Oliver Wolcott, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as a relative. George (sometimes called by his nickname Dan) and Dorothy had three children together, a son, George, and two daughters, Diane and Penelope. They divorced shortly after she started the firm (at his request).

Son George was to marry many times—some say eight, and twice to the heiress Nancy Guggenheim. George had a long career as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, and later became a painter of some merit. He was definitely his mother’s favorite, and the office chats about George and his whereabouts were always fodder for amusing anecdotes.

Dorothy Draper was a lady who lived in a world of her own creation. Many times, she avoided answering questions she didn’t care to think about. Once during a meeting with Truman Wright, president of The Greenbrier when I joined the firm, he questioned the orange-colored damask Dorothy planned to use for curtains in the soon-to-be-completed Crystal Room.

I witnessed the two in discussion.

Dorothy said, “Well Truman, perhaps you do not want to do the room!”

Dorothy’s comments and ideas to clients often were in the vein of, “If you don’t like what I’m doing, go elsewhere!” Gutsy lady, I’d say, and in some ways, demeaning to those with whom she worked and had hired. In Dorothy’s mind, if it looks right, it is right; when in reality, it was if it looks right to Dorothy, it is right.

Unfortunately, I arrived at the Dorothy Draper & Co. office long after Dorothy’s major achievements: the Hampshire House apartment building on Central Park South, the star-studded Arrowhead Springs Hotel, Brazil’s luxurious Quitandinha,

22

BELOW & OPPOSITE

The Duchess of Windsor descending the staircase in the Presidential Suite. The Duke and Duchess attended the grand reopening in 1948 and stayed at the hotel many times over the years. They were personal friends of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Young.

Mr. Young was chairman of the Alleghany Corporation, owners of the C&O Railway. Today, a glamorous red carpet with a black border descends the iconic staircase in the hall of the suite, where the walls are covered in our pink and green Akakina pattern.

The dining area of the cottage is decorated with a cabinet designed by our office for the Dorothy Draper Viennese Collection by Henredon. The cabinet is a scaled-down copy of an original formerly in Draper’s Carlyle apartment in New York, now residing in my own apartment.

The dining area of the cottage is decorated with a cabinet designed by our office for the Dorothy Draper Viennese Collection by Henredon. The cabinet is a scaled-down copy of an original formerly in Draper’s Carlyle apartment in New York, now residing in my own apartment.