File:American homes and gardens (1907) (18154516081).jpg

Title: American homes and gardens
Identifier: americanhomesga41907newy (find matches)
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture, Domestic; Landscape gardening
Publisher: New York : Munn and Co
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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48 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS February, 1907 ing becomes more formal; great clumps of shrubbery are massed in beautifully kept lawns. The house has no great trees near it, those in its immediate vicinity being young. The kitchen entrance is hidden behind a fine planting of ever- greens. A stately porte cochere, built wholly of terra cotta, is erected before the main doorway. It has four great piers, with round arches on the side, and two columns to support the entablature on the front, whence a ravishing view can be had of the magnificent lawn that stretches away from the house, and of the hilltops in the far distance. In design this house is thoroughly distinguished. The plan may be roughly described as cruciform; that is to say, a great central body to which are applied wings, right and left. of pilasters, support the simply molded archway. The rea- son for the thickening of the wall is now apparent, for it gives greater depth to the arch, and transforms what might have been a purely ornamental feature into a monumental one. In the spandrils are two carved disks, which, with the monu- mental stairway at the base of the arch, complete the struc- tural features of this fine centerpiece. Within, the archway has a double treatment of door and window, the doorway being in the exact center, below a broad horizontal cornice, while the window rises in majestic proportions above it, wholly filling the enclosed space. The steps at the base of the arch descend upon a spacious terrace, which is built out upon the hillside, with a broader flight of central steps to the slope below. On each side of the
Text Appearing After Image:
Mobility Is given to the center by slight projections: at the ends on the entrance front, in the center on the terrace front. The detailing is extraordinarily fine, very well conceived, and applied with admirable judiciousness. The large windows are sufficiently spaced, those of the first story having more elaborate frames than those of the second. The cornice at the top is high and flat, with pierced openings over the win- dows, and then the projecting eaves to the low roof, whose simple outline is broken only by the chimneys and the three dormers on the entrance front. There is more pronounced enrichment and more variety in the terrace front. On that side the center is projected far forward beyond the wings. In the center is a triumphal arch, rising high to the crowning cornice which its keystone just touches. Roman Ionic columns, with an accompanying pair center of the house are loggias which connect with the wings, each with its own steps, descending at right angles to the central flight to the great lower terrace. The loggias are built of terra cotta, with piers and columns, and, furnished with rugs, tables, and chairs, are most delightful lounging- places. The outlooks over the countryside from any of these parts are of rare beauty; immediately below is the deep valley and the road, which the house seems almost to overhang; be- yond are fields of rich grass, trees and woods, hills and val- leys, a lovely country outlook, perhaps nowhere so enjoyable, or so beautiful, as from the doorway beneath Mr. Biddle's arch of triumph. The entrance door leads to a small vestibule, wholly pan- eled in wood painted white. Its glazed doors admit to a

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