Margaret Douglas Hall lived on the Brucemore estate since 1906. When she married Howard Hall, rather than purchasing their own home, they moved to the Garden House located to the west of the mansion. Upon her mother’s death, Margaret moved back into the mansion and would live there until her death in 1981, marking 75 years of living on the Brucemore estate. During her ownership, Margaret and Howard made several changes to the interior of the mansion.
Reflecting modern tastes, Margaret and Howard Hall combined several paired windows into large picture windows in the dining room, library, and master bedroom. They also added new plate-glass windows in the sitting room and boudoir.
They stripped and lightened the wood paneling in the great hall and “antiqued” the woodwork in the library. Furnishings throughout the mansion were updated and rooms redecorated in styles popular during the 1940s through 1970s.
Originally built for a widow and her children, Brucemore lacked a masculine entertaining space. Howard remedied this issue in the unfinished basement by working with local craftsmen to build out the Grizzly Bar and the legendary Tahitian Room.
Margaret Hall, eldest daughter of George and Irene Douglas, and her husband Howard owned Brucemore from 1937 to 1981 (Photo c. 1940s).
In the Great Hall, Margaret and Howard lightened the woodwork and replaced furniture, but kept the famous The Ring of the Nibelung mural intact (Photo c. 1940s).
The Halls altered very little of the mansion’s exterior appearance; the only changes visible from the outside were new plate-glass picture windows (Photo c. 1940s).
The Hall-era library featured with classic mid-century furnishings and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves (Photo c. 1940s).
The second-floor landing provided access to the family’s private areas, including bedrooms and guest rooms (Photo c. 1940s).
Margaret Hall (shown here in 1978) entertained friends in the study. She often incorporated her family’s antiques with modern furnishings (Photo c. 1970s).
The childless Halls converted the second-floor nursery into a guest room for visitors, including former President Herbert Hoover (Photo c. 1940s).
With a motif inspired by swans from Brucemore’s ponds, this room offered all the essentials for overnight visitors (Photo c. 1940s).
Like the Sinclairs and Douglases before them, the Halls took advantage of new technology, outfitting their kitchen with all the latest amenities (Photo c. 1940s).
The saloon-themed Grizzly Bar, where Howard Hall entertained friends and business associates, featured a roulette table and a player piano, along with the namesake bear-skin rug. (Photo c. 1940s)
Howard Hall transformed part of Brucemore’s basement into a colorful Tahitian Room where he entertained business guests (Photo c. 1940s).
Howard Hall used the three story staircase to display images of friends and celebrities he met during his travels (Photo c. 1940s).