natulus shells are common in art. symboling fortune, resurrection, fertility. the combination of brass cups and shells I am not sure. If i think of something that makes sense I'll let you know. Great museum. sort I couldn't add more

Any professional photography sessions must be arranged with our private events office.

It’s somewhat about architecture but mostly is a great example of a “gilded age home” where everything was opulent. On the main floor, each room is furnished as it would have been when the house was in its original glory. There are pieces of artwork, displays of luxury, and just some really WOW stuff, like the dome in the art room. So it’s a nice blend of architectural elements with non-architectural elements. It’s more like a visual walk-through than a dive into architecture, though. I left feeling “wow, that house was amazing and I’m so glad I paid to take the tour”, rather than “wow, I know a ton more about architecture now”. (I know nothing about architecture.) The second and third floors have rotating displays. Hope this helps!

The teas were offered as a special feature of the Dressing Downton exhibition. They are no longer available.

We provide the headsets for the audio guide tour. At this time, we do not offer the audio guide on smart phones.

We did close to two hours but started by joining one if the guided tours which was must helpful.

I would say kids would be interested only if they are history buffs or Tiffany glass fans

You should be able to find public parking nearby. Probably not on the street, but in a parking structure. There are websites that will show you available parking, that you can search for on the internet. Just use keywords such as "parking" and the zip code of the museum in your search engine, and many sites that show available parking will pop up.