World's Finest Collections of Antique Glass, Ceramics Now on Display in Chattanooga's Houston Museum

What have been called the world's finest collections of antique glass and ceramics are now on display in the not-for-profit Houston Museum of Decorative Arts in the newly developed riverfront area near downtown Chattanooga.

Chattanooga, Tennessee (PRWEB) June 14, 2006 -- What have been called the world's finest collections of antique glass and ceramics are now on display in the not-for-profit Houston Museum of Decorative Arts in the newly developed riverfront area near downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The collections were accumulated by eccentric "town character" Anna Safley Houston, who had little money and lived like a pauper. How she did it remains an unsolved mystery. She had at least nine husbands and maybe as many as 15, but none was wealthy. For information contact Amy H. Frierson, director, Houston Museum, 201 High St., Chattanooga, TN 37403.

During the first half of the 20th century a colorful but eccentric woman with very little money accumulated what have now been called the world's finest collections of antique glass and ceramics.

How did she do it?

To date no one has solved that mystery, but the collections themselves have become a focal point of interest for antique lovers in Chattanooga's newly redeveloped riverfront area, a highly popular destination for tourists as well as locals, that includes the famed Tennessee Aquarium and the Hunter Gallery of American Art.

The woman who accumulated these collections, Anna Safley Houston, left them in trust for the people of Chattanooga when she died in 1951, and they are on display in the not-for-profit Houston Museum of Decorative Arts, a beautifully restored century-old Victorian house in an area overlooking the Tennessee River near downtown.

Visitors on the guided tour of the museum hear the remarkable life story of Mrs. Houston, who was married to at least nine different husbands and maybe as many as 15. None of those husbands, however, was wealthy, and so how she acquired her collections remains a tantalizing mystery.

Possibilities, but no real solutions, are found in a recently published book on Mrs. Houston's life, now available in the museum gift shop.

It is well known, however, that before anyone realized the immense value of the collections she kept in a barnlike building she built with her own hands, she was known as a "town character" who lived like a pauper and often went without food and medical attention rather than sell any of her treasures.

When, shortly before her death, she went before the city commission to try to give her collections to the city, she was laughed out of the room by commissioners, who thought she was trying to give them a lot of junk. Today trustees operate the museum, and the value of its priceless contents is a closely guarded secret.

Information on the Houston Museum and Mrs. Houston may be obtained by contacting Amy H. Frierson, director, The Houston Museum, 201 High Street, Chattanooga, Tenn. 37403, telephone (423) 267-7176.

Contact:

Amy H. Frierson
The Houston Museum of Decorative Arts
423-267-7176

###