Some serious carving

[Rick Gifford]

Yesterday me and my wife took advantage of the nice weather and went off on a motorcycle ride. Decided to head up to Moundsville WV and see the Palace of Gold, a Hare Krishna homage to one of their religious leaders Prabhupada. They also have a compound there too where they live and worship.

Anyway, no photography was allowed inside the palace while on tour. These photos are from their webpage.

What I wanted to show were these carvings. Besides having over 254 tons of marble in its construction, the palace is full of intricate carvings. All teak.

From their webpage: "The palace woodwork was carved by Mistri Dhirijam and Sons of Bombay, a devotee family famous throughout India for this art Imported from India and usually carved by individual families."

An altar located in a bedroom:

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A wardrobe:

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This woodwork enclosed the 'seat of the teacher' where the religious leader sits. It is much larger than it looks here. Probably 15 feet high and 10 feet across. Standing close and seeing the workmanship is impressive. The doors are open here but it has two large carved doors that close the opening:

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This is the entrance to the shrine hall:

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That's it. You can find their webpage if you search for palace of Gold in West Virginia. It has photos of the outside as well as marble work. Which is impressive as well.

I dont think I am ready to start carving on this much teak. Maybe I will start on a nice pine board...

[Jim Kountz]

Rick, thats a trip I have been wanting to make for a long time, you may have given me the push I need to finally do it. That place is amazing!! Ive seen some other pictures of it too but had no idea it was that ornate!!
Did you tour the old prison too??

[Rick Gifford]

Jim,

I have toured the prison. Took my sons scout troop there in 2007 in October. Came back that evening and went through the haunted house they run at that time. Well worth the tour.

On the Palace of Gold, the outside shows alot of wear and tear. Needs much maintenance. In fact alot. The picture dont show that very well. The inside is immaculate. They have marble from all over the world, and the walls are marble that has been hand cut and polished into patterns.

The inside of the palace is smaller than expected. The whole tour takes 25 minutes.

But it makes for a good day trip. Head up and take a look.