In the Louis XIV Style

Views of the Bellevue-Stratford's cheerful State Drawing-Room...

 The State Drawing-Room "Pink Room"

Beautiful roses a plenty, bright and cheerful paneling... the windows filtering through sparkling light... This was what one first witnessed when entering the lofty State Drawing-Room of the Boldt's masterpiece!

The Pink Room as it was popularly known during its hey-day was a most handsome interior space with enameled paneling and bas-relief in delicate motifs of scroll-work and oval bordering. The decoration on the walls is what gave this unique room its nick-name... The walls were hung with beautiful rose-coloured satin damask brocade with a floral motif and print on it in varying pink hues. The buffish-cream on plasterwork and beautiful pale marble on the great mantel with its beautifully-crafted arched mirror and decoration plaster molded decorations.

The delicate effect of the space was simply breath-taking and the height of the space alone gave one the idea of how grand the Bellevue-Stratford truly was! The relaxed and comforting feel of the room coupled with views of Broad Street gave the room more popularity and it stayed that way even into the early 1980's!

Unfortunately, like everything beautiful and splendid that the Bellevue-Stratford honed, the State Drawing-Room fell victim to modernization, remodel and neglect. The beautiful rose-coloured hangings were stripped and replaced by less-then-stellar reflective white hangings of lesser quality, while its immaculate Beaux-Arts ceiling was painted over in cream and white with the bas-relief and accents in heavy gilding.. The original light sconces, and venting, even a door to a closet and pantry that separated it from another smaller dining-room was removed and blocked off! The extent of the true ignorance and disgrace can be seen in the current state of the room...

Silk peeling from the walls, chipped plaster decoration, scuffed parquet chiseled wooden paneling from renovations... The original splendour and decadence of the Pink
Room long gone... A tragedy in its own right!