McFaddin-Ward House Tour On June 19th, 2001, I attended a tour of the McFaddin-Ward House, located one block off Calder Avenue in Beaumont, Texas. Despite this not being my first time to tour the home of Mamie McFaddin, I always enjoy spending time there.
One of the most striking aspects of the home is the entrance. In homes today, the entrance is just the way to enter a home. In the time the home was built, however, the entrance was a place to greet one's guest with formality and ritual. And such a setting would be designed and decorated to impress.
Also, the very design speaks volumes about the time it was built. Rooms were designed for specific functions, and this can be seen in the downstairs layout of the home - library, music room, formal dining room, and parlor. Today's homes are not laid out as formally.
Michael Bublé
The McFaddin-Ward House located at 30.0872° -94.1...
Michael BubléUpstairs, you get a feeling of a more relaxed air, but no less refined. I especially like to imagine myself sleeping on the open balcony, feeling the cool wind blowing off of the lake as I try to sleep. I would like to try that sometime, but I don't think I will be allowed that opportunity.
My only disappoint was our inability to actually enter the rooms. On past tours we have been allowed to do so, but not on this day. Perhaps this was due to the rain, or it is no longer allowed. This was a shame, as I am sure some of my classmates will not return, and they missed an opportunity that I am sure they would have been truly impressed by.
All in all, I again found this to be a beautiful home, and I enjoyed viewing it with my wife who was seeing it for the first time. At times I could see it through her eyes, and felt the wonder of seeing a true piece of history.
Michael Bublé
The Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum located at 30.0...