Christmas at Torrington CT's Hotchkiss-Fyler House in Litchfield Hills

Decorated in turn-of-the-century Christmas style, the elegant Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum, 192 Main Street in Torrington, will open its doors to holiday visitors beginning Saturday, December 11, 2010. The museum staff will offer guided tours of the house, built in 1900 and home to the Hotchkiss and Fyler families for more than half a century.  Tours will be conducted Wednesday through Sunday and will start every half hour from 12 noon to 3:30 pm. http://www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org/

Christmas at the Hotchkiss-Fyler House features lavish holiday decorations typical of the early twentieth century. Garlands of greenery trim the staircase, doorways, and mantels and floral arrangements, wreaths, and poinsettias adorn the richly appointed interior. The dining room table is set for a Christmas dinner with the fine china, crystal, silverware, and linens that belonged to Gertrude Fyler Hotchkiss.

A number of Christmas trees will be on display throughout the house, including a table-top tree in the sunroom decorated with late nineteenth and early twentieth century ornaments on loan from a private collector as well as a full-size tree in the reception room with hand-made Victorian-style ornaments and vintage trimmings from the Torrington Historical Society’s collection on its branches, antique toys gathered below.

The second floor of the house will feature items from the Society’s collection that reflect the life styles and fashions of the 1920s through the 1940s. In addition, a tree will be decorated with handmade ornaments based on early twentieth century Christmas advertisements from Torrington shops.

 Admission is $7 for adults, free for members and children under 12. The house is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and on Christmas Day, December 25th. For more information, call (860) 482-8260.