File:American homes and gardens (1908) (17967781259).jpg

Title: American homes and gardens
Identifier: americanhomesgar51908newy (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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T IS a good deal of a drive from the station to Mr. Slade's beautiful house at Mt. Kisco, a circumstance that seems to be quite char- acteristic of most of the estates in this vicinity. There are no long open stretches of land here, but so many hills and vales, with ap- parently as much up-going as down, that I am sure the landscape, viewed from above, must present some- what the appearance of a vast bowl dotted over with number- less protuberances. The newer houses affect the hilltops; the older ones nestle against the warm shelters of the hill- sides. There is constant change in this beautifully varied scenery, and there is calm and quiet in the air, save when a hideous discharge of powder tells the inhabitants that a fresh blast has been set off in the mighty works the City of New York is carrying on for its water supply not far away. One does not, therefore, find the somewhat longish drive tiresome, for there is much to see and enjoy, and an inex- haustible stock of the purest air to give zest to the journey. The interest is obviously heightened when so interesting a house as Mr. Slade's is the goal, an interest that is presently realized when the carriage passes into the courtyard before the house and the journey is ended. The arrangement of the house grounds, especially at the entrance, is quite unusual. Standing, as the house does, in a somewhat remote location, it was rightly deemed advisable to differentiate the entrance grounds from those of the im- mediate vicinity; and there could have been no better way to accomplish this than by doing so boldly and directly, and inclosing a certain area within a solid wall. The advantages of this plan are obvious. In giving an ample area to this inclosure there is an apparent expansion of all dimensions. Being sufficiently large in itself to form a thoroughly ade- quate approach to the house, one has but to pass beyond it to the larger spaces without to realize the considerable size of the whole estate. It emphasizes the entrance front by provid- ing a feature that is at once a part of it and an integral por- tion of the house. And it gives a privacy to the entrance that
Text Appearing After Image:
The Walled Court of the Entrance Front

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