Have you ever entered a home and felt you had been there before? Do you believe a house can retain memories created by the many generations of people who were at one time, masters of its domain? Can a home exude a special feeling- can it make you feel welcome, warm and content? As you walk up the steps of Lambermont, you can literally feel the great front doors embrace you as they pull you into this majestic piece of history. There is a great mystery to this historical home that carries a fascinating lifetime of personal stories that reflect all the different people who have tended to its walls, loved, married and born their children in the great home. Every memory, every tear, all the laughter, all the pain and happiness; it is all there….never to be lost…permanently embedded and indelibly carved into every door and crevice.
As you begin to traverse the great wooden staircases and experience the sounds of 118 of years of history, you quickly realize you are ascending into another world. The floors seem to echo the voices of the many owners who have permanently left their mark in every inch of the great house. As you enter Lambermont, on Grayson Street, you can almost hear the laughter and scurrying of tiny feet, feel the parties of the past as socialites danced the night away, and smell the aroma of Thanks-giving Day turkey; I doubt if Norman Rockwell could have painted it any better! Lambermont is the past manifested in the future and experienced by you today.
As you enter the great home and are welcomed by historical charm and beauty, the current owner is a living representation of carrying on the tradition and hospitality that has become a part of San Antonio history. Dona Liston is the queen of hospitality and service and has dedicated the past 4 years to the complete renovation of the great house. Hosting hundreds of events and parties, Dona has made Lambermont her home as well as providing San Antonio with an event venue that rivals a Hollywood movie set! The grounds remind you of “Gone With The Wind” and the home itself brings back visions of Sir Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon in the classic movie; Wuthering Heights. Dona and Lambermont offer a bride and groom a fantasy extravaganza and a memory that can never be duplicated or forgotten. As guests enter Lambermont, they are immediately transported into another world. But to understand the magnitude of this walk through history, we must trace back the steps and people who made this home a castle…who made it the mansion of San Antonio….the one and only: LAMBERMONT EVENTS.
Designed and built by English architect Alfred Giles in 1894 Giles designed many famous buildings, including courthouses, schools, public buildings and a number of buildings on Fort Sam Houston. Giles was commissioned to build the great home for Edwin Holland Terrell who was a lawyer and statesman who served as Ambassador and Plenipotentiary to Belgium during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison in the early 1890’s. While in Europe, Terrell fell in love with the castles in Belgium and France, and upon his return to Texas it is no wonder that he commissioned Englishman Giles, to build a “castle’ in San Antonio! Terrell officially named the new castle “Lambermont” after Baron Augusta Lambermont, a business associate, and moved into the mansion with the intent of building a “castle for his bride” and their six children. The Terrell family lived in the mansion until Edwin’s death in 1910.
The Lambermont dynasty of different owners is a fascinating list of many different people from all walks of life. Lambermont was operated as a bed and breakfast since 1986, until present owner and re-creator, Dona Liston, focused her attention and talent on creating the most unique event venue in San Antonio.
People from all around the world covet the great mansion for its Victorian style, beauty, elegance and astounding level of comfort. Dona spent three years renovating and re-designing the mansion to its present and romantic form. As the chandeliers hang from the trees on a warm moon-lit night, Lambermont becomes a living fantasy leaving its guests with a stamp of the experience permanently embedded in their memories.
Located in The Government Hill district of San Antonio, Lambermont Events is situated directly in the middle of history linking back to 1807 and a donation of 40 acres to the US Government by St. Mary’s University, Southern School and Thomas J. Divine. The city of San Antonio matched the original donated 40 acres, and then again in 1875, donated an additional 75 acres which inspired the construction of The Quadrangle at Fort Sam Houston.
In 1881, construction began on 15 sets of permanent officer’s quarters, squarely rooting the development and history of Fort Sam Houston and the creation of Government Hill. Government Hill has always been linked to Fort Sam Houston and is one of the oldest San Antonio neighborhoods that still reflects the aura of the past as it reaches into the magnitude of the future. This area of San Antonio is rich with culture and is blessed with a living piece of history that stands as a proud monument of architectural achievement and historical restoration that has taken on a life and mystique all its own. But Lambermont is also blessed and adorned by an amazingly talented and dedicated woman. Dona Liston is as gracious as she is talented. With over 25 years in the event planning arena, she is the ultimate host and magnificent supporter of hundreds of brides and grooms that have entrusted her with the most important day of their lives. But if you want to shower Dona with accolades of appreciation, she will receive graciously, but wants no recognition or applause for her efforts. She simply puts this phenomenal process into proper perspective: “I am just another chapter in the book we call; LAMBERMONT .
Oh….but what a book dear Dona… what… a fantastic ….book!
