I’ve been very excited about bringing you these photos, because I’ve had them for some time. Now that I know Steve’s on board, I’m even more excited…because I was a little afraid he might not want to see so many reminders of Ellen. But he’s more than able to cope.

In 2004 an enterprising couple named Louis and Theresa Todd opened a small museum, not unlike the museum that was opened for Deanna Petrie, to commemorate Ellen Rimbauer’s life. It was a more formal operation than Deanna Petrie’s, however. They called it simply “The Ellen Rimbauer Museum”.

The layout was quite impressive. They took over an old motorcycle dealership that had gone out of business years before. While renovating the building they created a wonderful facade where the shop front used to be. They built a brick front that resembled Rose Red’s brick construction. You entered through a pair of doors that were a replica of the front doors of the house. Upon entry, there was a small ticket booth and velvet ropes that kept you from entering without paying admission, which was $5 for adults and children under 10 got in free. Signs everywhere stipulated children were not to be allowed without supervision and no food or drink whatsoever would be accepted in the building. The lighting was dim, sort of art gallery-esque, in order for them to place spotlights and creative lighting on the displays. Just before the entrance of the velvet ropes was a podium with a guestbook.

Before I go further into my verbal and photographic tour of the place, let me tell you that the Todds sent me a selection of photographs from their museum, which were taken in 2003 as they were setting the museum up. Like the Deanna Petrie photos, they are mostly catalog/inventory pictures, so not very fancy. Some - I’ll indicate which - were from the museum’s early displays.

Visitors entered into a room that represented Ellen’s early life - her life before John. Because most of what we know comes from her diary, it contained very little in the way of childhood evidence. Furthermore, the museum was furnished almost exclusively with items purchased at the Rose Red estate auction. So there wasn’t a lot from Ellen’s past to procure.

Among the few things they were able to identify from old photographs of Ellen when she was being courted by John was this hat:

But they decorated the “Early Life” room with photographs and a lot of historical information about Seattle in the late 1800s-early 1900s. The idea was to set the mood for what life was like for Ellen growing up, and how Seattle was when she and John were poised to marry.

You can just imagine Ellen in this casual outdoors attire while visiting the construction site of her new home, the promised gift John would give her for their wedding.

And her walking boots:

This necklace, Victorian era, was given to Ellen by her mother.

And though Ellen’s wedding dress went to a higher bidder, the Todds were able to procure her wedding trousseau, or at least part of it. This is what Ellen wore beneath her gown when she became Mrs. John Rimbauer. It was the last display before museum visitors exited the “Early Life” room and entered the “Mrs. Rimbauer” room.

Seen in the background (just to the right right) is the gown that Ellen’s mother wore to Ellen’s wedding, which was procured from the Gilchrist family. You can just see the train of a wedding gown and a pair of shoes from the marriage of one of Ellen’s family members, at which Ellen presided as a bridesmaid. I can’t remember precisely which family member it was. On the wall is period artwork, and then the door opens to the “Mrs. Rimbauer” room, beginning the visitor’s journey into Ellen’s married years.

First was a fancy gown John bought Ellen in London, an import from Paris, avant garde fashion and far more delicate and rich than anything she could have purchased in Seattle. He clearly wanted his young bride to look stunning as he took her ’round the whirlwind tour of the world, not the least of which is because he had some business contacts he met along the way, and would want Ellen to impress.

Then a pair of shoes, also purchased in London. The decadence of their honeymoon was really quite striking. The first displays in the “Mrs. Rimbauer” room are filled with photographs of the luxurious places they stayed, and the cruise ships on which they traveled. The Todds even found some menu cards from the cruises John and Ellen took, with a little sleuthing through maritime archaeology and history contacts.

There was, of course, a deeply intimate side to John and Ellen’s honeymoon as well. She wrote boldly about it in her diary. Two of the nightgowns she took with her on the trip were displayed.

The visitors then walked deeper into the room and deeper into Ellen’s life as John’s wife and mistress of the grand estate. Once settled in Rose Red, her early days were filled with a fair share of happiness - since she wasn’t yet aware of the fullness of John’s extramarital affairs, and she was still filled with youthful exuberance. The clothing of that period of Ellen’s life reflects much of her attitude and social life.

Such as this incredibly beautiful Edwardian gown, in which Ellen must have looked stunning for an evening affair.

And when entertaining at home, things that were casual yet pretty, like this summer dress. (She would have worn this the summer following Adam’s birth.)

She was of course pregnant when she took up residence in Rose Red, so she couldn’t wear these clothes for long before she began to show and had to relinquish her corset. But this “Gibson Girl”-esque corset was one she wore when not with child.

The Todds are not sure for what occasion she wore this ball gown, but I’m sure she left an impression.

And accessories, lest we forget those! Shoes, handbags, and jewelery were plentiful at the Rimbauer estate auction.

As the years passed, her fevers came and went, and visitors in the museum were ushered into a distinctly darker period in Ellen’s life. With her illness came a change in Ellen’s demeanor and attire to suit. Plainer clothing, while still pretty and expensive, became more her style.

A pair of Ellen’s cuffs from that period.

A simple hat and gloves for when she did venture outside, such as her visits to her spiritual adviser.

Practical shoes were more the order of the day.

Posed here with a hat similar to the one above, simple parasol, attractive but not ostentatious purse, and lightweight summer dress, this mannequin is meant to look like Ellen on a typical summer outing. The objects pictured on the table, though not easy to discern, all came from Rose Red, lace tablecloth included.

Although she had plenty of servants to cater to her every whim, Ellen did occasionally, when well, partake in household duties. This is one of her aprons.

When she did dress up for formal occasions, her choice of gowns reflected an obvious maturity. Gone were the bright colors and flashy metallic fabrics. Instead, she opted for darker tones, or simpler lines even in luxurious materials.

Then came the birth of April, and the joy of her daughter was dampened by the grief over her withered arm. Ellen’s spirits diminished, though she would come to find happiness again in the love of her child as April grew.

Visitors to the museum were guided deeper into the “Mrs. Rimbauer” room to the period when April was still very young, and Adam growing. Adam’s effects went to higher bidders, but the Todds were able to purchase some of April’s things. And they were also able to demonstrate to visitors how Ellen’s mature tastes remained in place through April’s childhood. Whether purchased by her or received as gifts, the items she would have lavishly decorated herself with at one time were muted, as befitted a caring mother whose heart was growing heavier by the day - her house disturbing her, her husband abusing her and philandering…

A special section of the museum, a sort of cubby within the “Mrs. Rimbauer” room, was dedicated to her famous, life-changing seance. There were framed articles and photos of Cora Frye, and a letter written by one of the attendees of Ellen’s seance, which detailed the mysterious events they encountered.

The room also contained a very strange black dress that was not identifiable as the dress Ellen wore to the seance. However, what became evident from the wardrobe that was auctioned, Ellen went through a period just before and for some time after the seance when she wore a series of black gowns - some simple, some elaborate. The black gown she’s pictured wearing during the seance in the miniseries, and during the scene when she approves Sukeena’s design for the first major post-seance addition, the Perspective Hallway, were very accurate to the dresses Ellen wore at the time.

It was around that time Ellen also developed a taste for cameos and portrait jewelery.

The child in this portrait is of unknown identity; it may be Ellen bought it as part of her collection without even knowing who it was meant to be.

Visitors were given the opportunity to peruse April’s belongings before heading towards the exit of the “Mrs. Rimbauer” room.

Such as a set of bloomers belonging to the little girl.

Also on display were a simple summer dress and a more formal maroon dress.

Near the exit of the “Mrs. Rimbauer” room was a mourning dress Ellen wore after April’s disappearance, and a set of humble hat pins that were the only jewelery or adornment she allowed herself while grieving the loss of her daughter.

The strange thing about Ellen was that after April’s disappearance her sense of fashion seemed to freeze in time. While the world was changing around her - the flappers of the 20s, the long lines of the 30s, the glamor of the 40s - she remained in mostly Edwardian style dresses, wearing what was already in her wardrobe or having simple gowns custom made in period style. When she was ill, she wore nightgowns and dressing gowns. As she aged and the house took more and more from her, she became less and less interested in dressing to impress.

Her one truly treasured possession may never be seen again - the gown in which she arrived at Rose Red, and was wearing when she disappeared.

After the “Mrs. Rimbauer” room, which ended with a display about John Rimbauer’s death and the shocking story that came out after the Memorial Day expedition - that Sukeena and Ellen murdered him. However, there are many who disregard that story, because the only “witness” to it was Cathy. Those who don’t believe in psychic phenomena are quick to dismiss a tale channeled by an automatic writer.

Stepping out of the “Mrs. Rimbauer” room the museum’s visitors found themselves in the smallest, darkest, coldest room in the place. It was intentionally unpleasant. It was titled “The Late Years”. Cases containing reproduction pages from Ellen’s diary that documented her spiral into madness and the horrible activity around Rose Red were the only thing to see. Except at the far wall, lit up beautifully, was a fan. It was an accurate reproduction of the fan used in the miniseries, which was itself an accurate reproduction of Ellen’s favorite fan, which she used throughout the early years of her married life.

Velvet ropes guided visitors out of the “Late Years” room and through a creepy wrought iron gate that resembled the front gate on the Rimbauer property, only scaled down. Beyond the gate was an exit that led to a small gift shop.

I visited the museum on several occasions, although it was so dark in there and my camera was so poor I couldn’t get any decent photographs. So I’ve had to rely on these photos generously shared with me by the Todds. Unfortunately, the museum closed its doors in 2007. The initial interest was strong, since 2004 was still only 2 years after the miniseries and 3 years after the Memorial Day weekend that sparked global interest in Rose Red. But by 2007 the interest had waned, and Louis Todd was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died in 2008.

The museum’s contents are safely packed in storage and while the museum building was razed and a restaurant built on the property, it’s my hope that someday Theresa Todd will open another museum, even if it’s simpler, to keep alive these pieces of Ellen Rimbauer’s history!

2 Comments

1. I so do need to read more. I am just not familiar the The Rose Red stuff. This little glimpse has heightened my interest. Hopefully, I will have time to investigate further after my son’s wedding next Friday!

   Comment by Christina — April 2, 2009 @ 5:30 am

2. Congratulations on your son’s wedding, Christina! And have fun learning more about Rose Red when time allows. The best place to start is to jump right in with the miniseries, and of course you can learn some things here!

   Comment by Ally — April 2, 2009 @ 7:52 am

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