10. Francis I Grand Staircase

In the style of Francis I, early French Renaissance, the Grand staircase is a replica of the original stair in the Cluny Museum in Paris. The oak pieces were so perfectly designed and executed that each piece fits precisely with mortise and tenon joints, so that no nails or screws were required in the construction. The stair is suspended from the roof timbers with long bolts and carved oak timbers.

It took three years for the craftsmen to carve French oak timbers with patterns of fruit, armor, musical symbols, cryptic symbols of Freemasonry, and the Royal coat of Arms of Japan. The monograms H for Henry IV, the H-M for Henry and Marie de Medici, his queen, and the coat of arms of Henry IV is on the newel post. The dolphin, symbol of the heir to the French throne, also appears within the patterns. Two carved cherubs (right), one with a genteel smile greets arriving guests pleasantly, while the other seen on departing has his tongue stuck out..

Architect Pope and Mrs. Belmont redesigned the stair between 1910 and 1914. She changed her mind every season. Mr. Pope refused to do it for a fourth time.

365 balusters are carved to specific shapes conforming to the rise of the stair. Dark rusty red, hand woven silk and wool damask, with an OB monogram and three "Bachelor buttons" in the design adorns the walls.

Construction between floors is about three feet from the second floor surface down to the ceiling panels of the first floor. Large steel I-beams, wood floor joists 3" x 14", one-inch hard pine flooring, more 3" x 5" joists with sand and dry mortar mix for fireproofing between them and a full inch hard pine sub-floor support the quarter-sawn oak herringbone parquet.