The Guest Reception Hall

While they sustained some earthquake damage, these front rooms were spared much of the vandalism that destroyed the similarly appointed guest bedrooms on the first floor. This provides a glimpse into the mansion as Mrs. Winchester knew it, and again raises the question of whether she intended to have guests.

In fact, we know that Mrs. Winchester did have guests, but we don't know if they ever set foot in the Mystery House. One of the overlooked facts about Mrs. Winchester is the amount of property she owned besides her estate. At the time of her death, she owned at least three other homes in the area. These included the San Mateo, California estate where she spent time after the 1906 earthquake, and the homes where her sister Isabel and niece Marion resided.

I mentioned Teddy Roosevelt in the previous section, and I can say with certainty that he never visited, though he did apparently try. According to legend, he stopped at the mansion on his famous tour of the west, but found that Mrs. Winchester's reclusive ways applied even to presidents. San Jose historian Ralph Rambo claimed to have witnessed the president's caravan pass by the mansion without stopping, and that President Roosevelt had requested a visit with Mrs. Winchester through a local town official. Perhaps Mrs. Winchester was a Democrat.

No other room in the mansion compares with the next stop on the tour, so get ready to visit THE GRAND BALLROOM!