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Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Yesterday We Visited Bellevue - And Catherine Murat Appeared To Greet Me


Harry and Catherine Murat


Catherine was a very influential person - even after the death of her husband Prince Achille Murat. She was the great grand niece of George Washington. The Prince's mother was the sister of Napoleon. 


Bellevue was the inspiration of many of the details of our home - Seminole View. 

What does a man do that has not labored in 11 years - do on Labor Day? He convertibles with his lovely young wife to the Tallahassee Museum to enjoy a vacation from a vacation. Lulu wanted to tour Bellevue one more time. To our surprise - waiting at the door - like in a dream - was Catherine Murat. 

Catherine told us about the house - and about her husband Prince Achille Murat. She told me how she bought the house from her sister after the Prince died. She just sat on the back porch with a long and lonely look. When I told her about our home - she commented that she saw it on Seminole Drive.

The house is made of wooden beams. It is covered by lapped siding that also forms the interior walls - there is no plaster covering them. Upstairs is one large open room. Downstairs is a center foyer - and on each side is a large room with a fireplace. All the rooms have very high ceilings. The front door and back door are lined up to allow breezes to blow thru the home. This is often called a dog run. The front and back windows are shaded by two long porches. There is a kitchen in a separate building behind the house - connected by a walkway.  

The house is built over a high crawl space where air conditioning ducts have been added. It was moved to the Tallahassee Museum from its original site near the FSU Stadium on Bellevue Drive. 

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