Conservatory fountain, White Sulphur Springs, WV, circa 1907

About this postcard

This is the Spring Room (also called the Fountain Room or conservatory) at the Greenbrier / White Sulphur Springs resort in West Virginia, shortly after the main hotel opened in 1913. The image matches a detailed contemporary description of the room: * Finished in old English brick with a Caen-stone vaulted ceiling and a floor of marble and Welsh tile. * On the west wall, recessed in a circular conservatory with a large glass dome, is the ornate fountain (designed by the architect and made by the Doulton potteries of England) from which sulphur water piped from the famous spring was served over a counter, in the style of European spas. * The room was furnished with dainty French wicker, greenery/potted plants, and marble-topped tables. Glass casements on the sides could be opened to turn it into an al fresco lounge. The view through the dark arched opening, the glass-domed circular conservatory, the central fountain topped by a statue, the flanking potted plants, the tiled floor, and the wicker furniture all line up with that description. The artistic/painted style is typical of high-quality Italian postcard production of the period (Ae./A. Scrocchi of Milan and similar Milanese printers issued attractive lithographed or watercolor-style cards, including of international subjects). This was the feature room of the new hotel, used by guests “taking the waters” (drinking the mineral water as part of the cure) in conjunction with the bathhouse. It is distinct from the outdoor Spring House (the domed pavilion over the actual spring). Later postcards and photos of the Spring Room exist, but this painted version is an early artistic rendering of the 1910s space.