Glitz! Glamour! Gatsby! Event raises funds for Felt repairs

Holiday Unveiling celebrates centennial of two classics – Felt Mansion and “Great Gatsby.”

Holiday lights at the Felt Mansion, 6597 138th Ave., on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024.

Tickets are still available for the “Holiday Unveiling: Glitz. Glamour. Gatsby!” at the Felt Mansion on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025.

The event not only previews the amazing holiday transformation of fully decorated rooms, hallways lined with twinkling lights and garland, and more than 60 Christmas trees ripe with shimmering ornaments throughout the 25-room mansion at 6597 138th Ave. in Laketown Township, but it also raises money for repairs to the century-old structure.

“The mansion is in need of some critical exterior repairs and restoration. A hundred years of West Michigan weather has done a number on the brick and stonework,” said Elizabeth McEwen, executive director of the Felt Estate.

Restoration of the front entrance portico at the Felt Mansion, 6597 138th Ave., is a top priority. Photo courtesy of the Felt Estate

Portico repairs

The first priority is the restoration of the front entrance portico.

“The sandstone columns of the grand entrance are cracked and crumbling, the balustrade atop the portico is nearly gone, and the entablature modillions are nearly unrecognizable. The original blueprints show a copper roof somewhere under the years of patches and rubber mats,” McEwen said. “We are getting to the point where water is going to infiltrate the house and threaten the interior restoration work that’s already been completed!”

The Friends of the Felt Estate, the group that oversees the property, recently received a $5,000 National Trust Preservation Fund grant to support an architectural engineering investigation into that front portico.

Decorations at The Felt Mansion on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.

Glitz. Glamour. Gatsby!

Fundraising is ongoing — this season’s summer concert series helped raise money for the repairs, for example. The Holiday Unveiling is a big way to help preserve the history of the mansion where construction started the year F. Scott Fitzgerald’s” American classic “The Great Gatsby” was published.

“‘The Great Gatsby’ was first published in 1925, which is also the year construction began on the mansion. A centennial celebration of both seems in order,” McEwen said.

The Holiday Unveiling is 7-10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29.

Participants will don 1920s-inspired attire and step back into the glamour of the Jazz Age to celebrate the season with live entertainment, period-themed experiences, and festive holiday décor. Jeanette Watts will teach fabulous flapping moves of the Foxtrot and Charleston.

Tickets are $115 and include appetizers, two drink tickets, and a commemorative ornament. There will be a silent auction with gift cards, art, pottery and other gift options. There is also a chance for a weekend stay for up to 12 people at the mansion.

Sponsors include EV Construction of Holland, Buckman MacDonald & Brown P.C. in Holland, Haworth Helps, Varnum LLP of Grand Rapids, and Hungerford in Holland.

Sponsor opportunities are still available for businesses.

For more information or tickets, visit https://www.feltmansion.org/unveiling

Restoration of the front entrance portico at the Felt Mansion, 6597 138th Ave., is a top priority. Photo courtesy of the Felt Estate

About the mansion

Construction on the mansion began in 1925 by Dorr Felt, inventor of the Comptometer, the first machine that could do all four math functions — add, subtract, multiply and divide. The building was finished in 1928.

Felt’s wife, Agnes, died in 1928, six weeks after the house was complete. Dorr died two years later.

The property went on to serve as a minor seminary for the Augustinian order (attended by Pope Leo XIV), a state prison, and a Michigan State Police post before the property was purchased by Laketown Township.

Today, following years of restoration by the Friends of the Felt Estate, the mansion is a top cultural, educational, and event destination, welcoming thousands of visitors annually.

Decorations at The Felt Mansion on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.

Holiday tours

Tours of the decorated rooms and more than 50,000 lights and candles start Dec. 3.

Self-guided tours typically last about an hour and tour booklets are available at check-in. Self-guided tour admission can be reserved online or paid upon arrival. Guided tours must be reserved online, and typically last one to one and a half hours.

For complete details, visit https://www.feltmansion.org/holidays

The Felt Mansion is handicap accessible on the first floor only. Visitors must be able to navigate steps in order to view the upper levels.