Mansion

The first visit back home to Indiana since Mom’s death made me apprehensive. I knew it would seem empty, with no sanctuary of home sweet home as before, and no Mom and Dad to welcome me, to fluff the pillows and show me my room with fresh, clean sheets on the bed. This trip would be a soul-searching venture, to touch base with my roots and to revisit past trails of my childhood. Finding the Mansion at Riverwalk while surfing the net seemed to be a light in my path. The emails back and forth to a stranger named Carl made me instantly realize that this is the domicile for me and nothing else would do. Call it des jeveus or destiny, but all the vibes were there and pulling me to the mansion as if by magnetic force. Once I arrived at the doorstep, I knew why.

The warm welcome by owners Carl and Steve overwhelmed us and this warm meeting softened the blow of the sad trip for me and eased Manfred’s culture shock. From the minute we walked up the stone steps of this exquisite residence to entering the grand door, we felt as if we hadn’t left Europe. What a shock for this Indiana girl, expecting typical Hoosier hospitality and receiving elegant, Californian finesse instead. The welcome of wine and cheese made us feel as if we were still in Germany and we immediately hit it off with these two gentlemen who seemed to have a lot in common with us. When names of old colleagues surfaced and we discovered that we had some acquaintances in common, we felt as if we were being welcomed back home by friends of a lifetime rather than someone that we had known only ten minutes.

Mansion at Riverwalk in New Albany, Indiana

Entering the mansion made me feel that I had stepped into a time warp and the outside world seemed to fade away. This dutchess of a domicile enchanted me and held me under her magical spell.

Steve and Carl. These two gentlemen are no clowns; they are clever entrepeneurs who leave a lasting impression on all of their guests.

Vicki’s First Night Account The first night spent in this magnificent manor converted me from a normal traveler to a princess in a castle. Being so excited to be “back home in New Albany, Indiana” I woke up at the break of dawn. Very unusual for this late sleeper. Stretching from my bed with the ceiling ventilator rotating over my head like a helicopter, a glance around the room made me aware of my lavish quarters. The excitement building up in my veins, I couldn’t wait to start my day. I slept like an angel on clouds on this nostalgic bed with mattresses as high as the princess and the pea’s. In my childish excitement, I climbed out of bed using the helpful wooden step, while Manfred continued snoring atop the throne in the grand Winner’s Circle Suite. I ventured through the magical rooms in my white nostalgic granny gown with the wooden floorboards squeaking under my house slippers while the sun crept in through windows throughout the house. Feeling as if I were a ghost of the residence, feeling connected with each nook and cranny, each new room that I discovered and the potpourri of antique treasures throughout the domicile, my eyes tried to take it all in and savor the sights. It brought memories to mind of an old Shirley Temple movie where she woke up in an exquisite mansion and just couldn’t believe her luck. My emotions getting carried away with me, I felt the strong urge to sit and have breakfast with my two new friends and felt I could have poured my heart out to them. I felt compelled to be in the presence of these two strangers. I didn’t dare knock on their private dining room door to disturb them. But I’m sure they would have welcomed me. Instead, I sat on this wonderful Art Nouveau sofa in the Piano Lounge daydreaming alone in my granny gown; just basking in the glory and excitement of being “home” and of being in these luxurious rooms of this enchanting mansion. I felt I was going to explode for excitement. This dutchess of a mansion cast a magical spell over me and had me in her power. I thought how lucky the widows of the past were to be given such an abode by William Culbertson a century ago out of the goodness of his heart and felt so lucky to witness this modern day conversion to an elegant Bed and Breakfast for guests who want to experience something extraordinary.

Venture through a few nooks and crannies of this mansion with me. Click your way through the mansion by clicking on each Photo to discover a new room or treasure.