The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-09-20
Hobbies and
Made
to Conform
WOolwOrth Do n a h u e
Builds House Around
Cherished Trophies.
SEPT. 20, 1885
BY HELEN WORDEN
Times Special Writer


NEW YORK, Sept. 20.-Folk are
~ building houses around their
hobbies. Woolworth DOnahue. one Of
Barbara Hutton Mdvani Won Haug-
Wits cousins, likes to hunt big
game in Africa and collect World
War trophies. His new lodge at
Riverhead on the north shore CT
Long Island. is planned around his
jungle trophies
Theodore Ryan's favOrite paStime
is running down Buddhist Temple
gods and Indo-China ancestor por-
traits. His new penthouse at As E.
64th-St has the exotic foreign gods
for the decorative motif.
Mrs. Cornelius Bliss hobby is
birds. A large ornamental cage
filled with rare. tropical birds DOM
mates the Bliss reception hall at
z. 66th-St.
Elsie Sloane Farley, who decorated
Mr.. Donahue's lodge. put the African
trophies in the big pine hall. This
IS Ine main living room.
Map Covers Floor
Brighton murals inspired by
photographs of the hunt, border the
walls. An interesting feature of the
tap room, is the linoleum map Of
Africa that covers the floor. Mrs.
Farley marked the course of Mr..
DCnahue'S hunt with red stars.
The color scheme of his World
War trophy room is red, white and
blue. Decorations focus interest on
two famous war posters, The Blind
ed French Soldier" and Cardinal
MERCER"
The entire Donahue family. Mrs.
Jessie WoOlWorth DOnahue, Jimmy.
who usually accompanies his cousin
Barbara on her globe trOtting trips,
and WoolWorth. are going to use the
lodge for a weekend house this
autumn.
It's handler than their Southamp-
ton country home. That has been
closed, except for caretakers, the
last year or two.
Construction was begun Feb. IS OF
this year on the hunting lodge. It
was complete, down to the last tea
cup and saucer, by Memorial Day.
when the Donahues gave a house
warming in it.
Collects Ming Figures
Theodore Ryan travelled a lot in
Indo-China. 1t was there that he
collected his ancestor portraits and
Ming carved wood figures. His pent-
| house furniture is scaled to the size
of the figures which are small.
They're strange, Oriental looking
things, these century-old Buddhist
gods. A New York penthouse is d
novel setting for them.
Theodore S. Ryan is a grandson OF
| the late Thomas Fortune Ryan, the
great financier. His father is Allan
A. Ryan. Theodore may inherit his
love Of far countries from his grand
father, who was. among other things,
the largest individual owner of dia-
mond fields in the Belgian Congo.
Also, he probably got his flare for
collecting from old T. F. Ryan. The
Ryan private art gallery on E. 9th
st was famous during the Million
aires latter days for the marvellous
collection Of paintings it housed.
Since Thomas Fortunes death.
however, 1 believe everything has
been scattered to the four winds.
| The jeWel-like little white marble
gallery with its Florentine balcony
and painted ceiling. next door to the
Cornelius Vanderbilt mansion, is all
that remains.
Birds Form Hobby
Mrs. Cornelius Bliss has always
been interested in birds. In addition
to the little tropical birds in the big
reception hall, there are stuffed
birds in glass cases set along the
smaller hallway leading to the bed
rooms.
The large hall cage with its pa
goda-like cupolas gives a Balinese
or Javanese look to the room. The
floor is black and white marble,
touches of bright drapery and gay
flower boxes, help the illusion.
l wonder if Mrs. Bliss other hobby.
ice skating, has influenced the 10
cation of the Bliss town apartment?
On the southeast corner of 66th-st
and Fifth-av, it practically overlooks
the little pond at the edge of Gen.
trail Park, and Fifth-av, where all
of the fashionable East Side ice
skaters cut figure Fights.