Boundary Stones
Meet the D.C. Woman Who Lived In a Glass House Atop Anacostia's Big Chair
2/13/2023 | 2m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
In the summer of 1960, a D.C. woman lived in a glass apartment atop the Big Chair in Anacostia.
In the late 1950s, D.C.'s Curtis Brothers Furniture Store partnered with Bassett Furniture, which built the World's Largest Chair – a 19.5 foot tall, 4600 pound Duncan Phyfe -- and installed it outside their showroom in Anacostia. Then, they built a glass apartment atop the chair and convinced 19-year-old Lynn Arnold to live there in plain view, 24-7.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Boundary Stones is a local public television program presented by WETA
Boundary Stones
Meet the D.C. Woman Who Lived In a Glass House Atop Anacostia's Big Chair
2/13/2023 | 2m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
In the late 1950s, D.C.'s Curtis Brothers Furniture Store partnered with Bassett Furniture, which built the World's Largest Chair – a 19.5 foot tall, 4600 pound Duncan Phyfe -- and installed it outside their showroom in Anacostia. Then, they built a glass apartment atop the chair and convinced 19-year-old Lynn Arnold to live there in plain view, 24-7.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipWhat would it be like to live in a glass house 20 feet off the ground?
Well, in the late 1950s, Washington's Curtis Brothers Furniture Store wanted to show you.
[HAMMERING] The company partnered with Bassett Furniture in southern Virginia to build the biggest chair ever constructed, a nearly 20-foot tall, 4,600 pound behemoth that was shipped to D.C.
and installed outside the Curtis Brothers showroom in Anacostia.
In July of 1959, music and door prizes brought out customers as future first daughter Maureen Reagan was crowned Miss World's Largest Chair.
But that was just the beginning.
In the summer of 1960, Curtis Brothers had a glassmaker build an apartment atop the Big Chair and set out to find a resident for their new penthouse.
Someone who would live there, in plain view, 24 -7 and attract attention to the store.
They found their spokeswoman when 19-year-old Lynn Arnold walked into the showroom looking to buy some furniture.
“They wanted a Cinderella figure.
They didn't want Marilyn Monroe.
I figured I could pull this off,” Arnold recalled years later.
On August 13th, 1960 a forklift delivered Arnold to her high abode.
Curtis Brothers advertised the stunt widely, coaxing Washingtonians to come see D.C.
's very own Alice in the Looking Glass House.
They offered free furniture to whoever correctly guessed when Arnold would return to Earth.
Day after day, crowds flocked to Anacostia to take in the spectacle.
Arnold passed the time reading, watching television and waving to the throngs.
Her meals and her 14 month old son were raised up to her on a pulley.
Finally, after six weeks, she'd had enough and came down, earning $1,500 for her trouble.
As she told reporters on the ground, it was a unique experience.
“If I had the same decision to make, I still would have done it,” she said.
“But I wouldn't ever do it twice.” Today, the glass apartment and the furniture store are gone, but the legacy of the Big Chair lives on in Anacostia.
For more D.C.
history, visit weta.org/boundarystones.
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Boundary Stones is a local public television program presented by WETA