Morven Park Debuts Extensive Renovation Project

Staff of Morven Park gave an inside glimpse Thursday into the near finished four-year, $8 million dollar renovation project that saw extensive interior and exterior improvements to the property’s mansion, as well as the addition of some new “green” features.

Morven Park’s mansion will reopen to the public next Friday, May 1, at 11 a.m. Local reporters were treated to an early preview Thursday, which showcased some of the extensive preservation work that had taken place over the last few years. Included among the improvements are conservation of many of the historic property’s collections, a new drainage system and new flooring. But perhaps the most noteworthy of the improvements was the installation of a HVAC system that utilizes 71 wells dug in the front lawn of the mansion.

Morven Park Director of Historical Operations Tracy Gillespie said that the use of a geothermal system would have been right up of interest to Governor Westmoreland Davis.

“We knew that’s what Governor Davis would’ve wanted, Gillespie said. “He was quite a steward of the land; he was a farmer always looking for different ways to farm without hurting the environment. The [board of] trustees knew it was the right thing to do in terms of honoring his legacy.”

Calling the four-year renovation “a long process” Gillespie said that the project became necessary at the dawn of the decade.

“We were working with the [mansion's] columns and it led to opening Pandora’s box,” Gillespie said. “We realized the whole structure needed attention. We were having water issues that needed to be addressed. We had water coming down the mountain behind the mansion [that was passing under and through the mansion's foundation]. W realized we needed to go into serious structural work to restore it into proper its condition. This many years later we’ve got the major part done.”

The public will be able to see all the improvements made to the Morven Park mansion beginning next Friday, May 1, when the mansion will reopen to the public. Guided tours of the mansion, the Civil War huts and the Winmill Carriage Collection will be offered free of charge from May 1 to May 4. Tour hours are Friday, Saturday and Monday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.

With the mansion’s public debut only days away, Gillespie said Morven Park staff and guides are “eager to have people come out and start to show off the mansion.”

“It’s exciting to finally have several rooms open and, in my opinion, looking more beautiful than they have in many years,” Gillespie said.

For more information about Morven Park, its tours and its history, visit www.morvenpark.org.

via Leesburg Today - The Journal of Loudoun County - Morven Park Debuts Extensive Renovation Project.