Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Saturday, January 15, 1977, page 13 (of 24)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
They'll have Gables home and a Washington 'motel'
By DOROTHY STEIN Staff Writer Cartons and suitcases are stacked against the walls in nearly every room of the Tyson home, occupying spaces where tables and chairs once stood. But the Tysons are neither coming nor going; they're staying. Much of the furniture in the sprawling 53-year-old Gables mansion was sold in October, during Chris Tyson's super "garage sale," prior to their intended move to Washington, D.C. More than a thousand people traipsed through the house at that time, picking out dented pots and pans along with the tables and chairs and other belongings garnered from all over the world, thereby raising $1,800 for the Vassar scholarship fund. However, when it came to finding a replacement for the stately 24-room, nine-bath house, which the family has inhabited for 20 years, they realized that much more than mere belongings was tied up with their home, and consequently a move would be too painful. "Yes, we're here to stay," said Chris. "The decision was made over Thanksgiving by all the children. One of them unpacked his bags, threw everything on the bed and said, 'I'm not leaving!'" Chris' husband, also named Chris, will commute to Miami from his new position as general manager of the American Iron & Steel Institute in Washington, staying in the small townhouse which they purchased there. He is quoted by his wife as having explained, "We'll keep the hotel here, and the motel there." The Tysons' home, on Sevilla Ave., on the northern edge of the Biltmore Golf Course, is one of the four oldest houses in Coral Gables. It was built before the city became incorporated, on the original Spanish land grant. A guest wing was added in recent years, when the seven children started requiring more privacy. The home is undisputably Mediterranean in atmosphere, although Chris says that she isn't exactly certain where most of the things are from. She has no hesitation in mixing pieces from different styles if they seem to "go with the house." In the guest bedroom, for example, are two authentic Louis XIV chairs and an exquisite chest of drawers from approximately the same period; and the dining room set, which Chris bought 15 years ago at an estate sale, she says she can't even begin to identify. Several items of furniture and decor had no price-tags on them at the "garage sale." One was an intricately carved chest in the family's study, which was a wedding gift to Chris' parents from the Spanish royal family. Another, in the entrance hallway, is a statue of Lincoln by August Saint-Gaudens, who is generally acknowledged to be the foremost U.S. sculptor of the late nineteenth century. This statue, the only privately owned of the three replicas, was presented to Chris' father, Dr. Edouard Muller, upon his fortieth anniversary with the Nestle Company, of which he served as president and chairman of the board. In a home that boasts of nine bathrooms, at least passing mention must be made of one. The downstairs powder room contains the prized "seat" of the house — an elegant wooden toilet seat which was salvaged from the basement of a Chicago hotel in 1943 by Dr. L.D. Pankey, the original owner of the house. The Tysons have a unique way of collecting art: they put it together themselves, in the form of jigsaw puzzles-the thousands-of-pieces variety then preserve them under glass as unusual table tops. A Breughel masterpiece is thusly displayed in the entrance hallway and a tremendous Danish landscape is presently under construction by the family for the dining room table. In the garage are two supergraphic murals which were painted by the Tysons' 18-year-old son Edward, who studies photography, architecture and art at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, N.Y. He is also on the varsity swimming team there. And what would a 24-room mansion be without a wine cellar? Chris saw one she liked in a restaurant, and had a similar "cellar" built into a downstairs closet—an entire wall of plumbing pipes cemented together. On their spacious grounds are 54 different types of trees, including rare balsa wood. "That's another reason why I felt I couldn't leave," Chris explains. "Who'd take care of my trees? I planted most of them myself 20 years ago, and I've watched them grow. . ." Although only two of the children are presently living at home full-time, the rooms are rarely empty for long. About 150 people enjoyed a New Year's Eve "snow party" on the premises. The guest bedroom boasts two Louis XIV chairs . . . and a chest of drawers from the same period
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