Ventfort Hall: The Story of Festival House in the 1950’s

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LENOX, Mass. — Chelsea Gaia, Director of Programming & Events for Ventfort Hall, will speak at Ventfort Hall on Tuesday, June 24 at 4 pm about the time Ventfort Hall operated as Festival House; an inn in the 50's where everyone was welcome. 
 
A tea will be served after her presentation.
 
According to a press release:  
 
The Berkshires haven't always been so open and celebratory of diversity. In fact, it's a fairly recent development with an obscure catalyst.  During the 1950's, Ventfort Hall did not exist as the Gilded Age Museum it is today, but instead, an inclusive resort open to all who wished to stay, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic class or status. In 1949, after realizing the lack of places welcoming to Jewish patronage, Bruno & Claire Aron transformed an abandoned Ventfort Hall into a haven and gatehouse for anyone who wanted access to Tanglewood performances or to experience the splendor of the Berkshires who may not have previously based on identity.
 
While not many tangible relics remain from the Festival House era - it is the Spirit of the decade that remains strong today in the Berkshires. Join Ventfort Hall Director of Programming & Events, Chelsea Gaia, to learn more about the Aron Family and how their dream of an inclusive Berkshires was realized through Festival House. 
 
Chelsea Gaia is the Director of Programming & Events for Ventfort Hall. An avid researcher and student of life, Gaia is openly neuro-divergent and finds joy and fulfillment executing in-depth study and research in many disciplines, as well as the history of each particular study.  Among her skills, she is a native plant expert for flora of the Pacific Northwest region of North America, a stained glass restoration specialist, a visual artist, a 20-year photojournalist, a seasoned graphic designer, and a multi-disciplined application scientist.
 
Tickets are $45. Members receive a discount code for $5 off all ticket prices. Students 22 and under are $22. Ticket pricing includes access to the mansion throughout the day of this event from 10 am to 4 pm. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call at (413) 637-3206.  All tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker St. in Lenox.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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