ee a ‘eal eed Pa? ides tes a = &r Th. ga 7 Soe 1°.’ oes Sn 7 Sig le teats x 3 : AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS ‘NAGUVD AOVUUNAL ANL—'Osa “AIVIA GUVACAT ‘0 JO ASNOH AHL «.“NAASUIVTA» *hasiaf{ man ‘ K MON ‘Si BY } ' : BARR FERREE ' ‘ Bd af “A ‘ H ood C rd ” Corresponding Member of the Amefican Inetigie of Aachitects and Honoriry and Concsponding Member of the Royal Institue of British Aschinacts NEW YORK bye MUNN AND COMPANY — et | MCMV! AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS BY BARR FERREE Editor of “ American Homes and Gardens” Corresponding Member of the American Institute of Architects and Honorary and Corresponding Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects NEW YORK MUNN AND COMPANY MCMVI . JAN 2 1974 Vy, ? 0 is €hs, Gets t ove® NA 7610 Faq 1906 CopyriGHT, 1904, BY MUNN AND COMPANY ENGRAVED AND PRINTED BY ANDREW H. KELLOGG CO 409-415 PEARL STREET NEw YORK Plates in Duotone _“BLAIRSDEN,” the House of C. Ledyard Blair, Esq., Bernardsville, New Jersey—The Terrace Garden ‘HARBOR HILL,” the House of Clarence H. Mackay, Esq., Roslyn, New York—The Entrance Front “THE Ewns,” the House of E. J. Berwind, Esq., Newport, Rhode Island —The Entrance Front “FAULKNER Farm,” the House of Mrs. Charles F. Sprague, Brookline, Massachusetts—The Entrance Front “THE ORCHARD,” the House of James .Lawrence Breese, Esq., South- ampton, New York—The Studio ‘“HACIENDA DEL P0zO DE VERONA,” the House of Mrs. Phoebe A. Hearst, Pleasanton, California—The Music Room, West End . “GEORGIAN Court,” the House of George J. Gould, Esq., Lakewood, New Jersey—The Terrace and Fountain . THE GARDEN OF THE HUNNEWELL EstTATE, Wellesley, Massachusetts— The Terraces overlooking the Lake Frontispiece Facing page Facing page Facing page Facing page Facing page Facing page Facing page 27 73 131 173 279 289 Contents and Illustrations PAGE BAR REE LION ag Nika sic ket oe 6 etic Fides SENS Vee Oe OLY IE NOL TAL hehe Ree ao Pe we da eerie 1 ‘““BLAIRSDEN,” the House of C. Ledyard Blair, Esq., Bernardsville, New Jersey.................. 5 Vaew; from:-the- Lower: Grounds: 5 ., ssicis:sccz sisie 5.g,0-510 8 sakcee a tocaters Reeidocnls Stere Wire eer Ns ek Pee ae 3 Wher Livin g- Room fs ar vsxrsy Cais, taranciats ciel koraic lobe siherates tac or eee la cateie eae Sie Nave IA ONE Siena nee 4 he (Outdoor*Lounping Rooms. 7 sie act aceod ees aieec alt sop) Slaed sieves tale Nod aiale Gi ernrsvah aecie Ae dened ale ome 6 Whe: Hotrance dovthe White Drawing ROOmés:¢40 ac. aiets a o-0tt 6 osha lsaieis aueiztasaug eo#aqensi ok sgecase) oss abaiatd sie) uals soar aceirete ke eae 29 Phe PH Outi tain vs ices Cet icin. eit ce te crear erie cis ainns ot olsl el lola satan ee pre lah aan Sis giehe ans eagle Gh onete ean 30 Mrs:y/Mackay's: BOUtdaite ae sem ciao sc yi avars saieiciewiere eine emt ened tate te necro ecns's Pe we ANS: Por 30 Mrs... Mackay’s: Bedrtoormmes fo tlerenais sig, sna a 0g cin ie’ 85 0% ares 2 densa aw breimeye a/arale 96 wn andthaes eRe 32 Mrs. Mackay’s' Bathrognn's cis sre ca c.g .4 5.080 gre) auee deiand a v0 a8 Ss dig sb 'e.b1d 8 Beale cee ee ee ee 33 Phe Stablescn sre wc estes eres wees sees tlcetabe oi slaigvel Siew AssC a)a/ de oles alam hot /es 6 see wale aLnt ee ar 34 CHE. WHITE HOUSE; Washington, District of ‘Columbiasi. i520) 2. coeds. soe epee ae eee 37 The North: Prorit ssc. + snip aos 20a © ae wade ae eee ars waa oe ok De ORS RD ae oer Oo ee ee 36 d BISTRO sg: \ sol eerie Mea ierag iss bbraen tees Nt rs At ain wi ty Gara er a meters Tea ke Met geo car a sii BAe 38 Pes Waste ROOt ia: sce sia! stacey aceley Seviccole e.cueie mice taal slalioy sie eye oyeica, 4a Gus i0aes? oth, Ra) bitche ehera nat ate ee eae a a 39 The State Banquet Hall.......0 6.5 cscs cee eet es ceed oc tna Jat ols aed pute cll see 40 hes Main: Corridors ss 5 oooh cteie-sie ls piers gibi oe 6wra ek eow ee ew ee oes dur gle ote reists =i a nas ate teal Steamer ar 41 [ix] CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE THE HOUSE OF HERMAN B. DURYEA, ESQ., Old Westbury, New York......... Sea hone teat ec eacee 43 Wiewou whe Garden trom phe logo. (ies Gatien e eles a/Re Sie sare eem iy Je dase si aegtn eye aes Seal 43 ASHee Mas RAGAUG: <25c1. settee cle auf's easst cisscrar sos vaieasnsietins eeu en ebacteeteraey faze wens pie elas telle Gece ace WS oe ales 97 Anew entrance: Mnonci sets ce neeriscks fata craigs athe taal biti neetyse ale breeita ona ape tena euler hecditte ase bibraa hr Netaiene se 96 he, Garden ronts mre cece tess Mice Crea he ree Se ielnia ota ci eie Hele eiichale ela Ae aieren cere oie ate sin als 98 he wining RGOmae acc re aie ae teat ae OR are Sie ele Catone ane eet Ieee ae, tenuate 99 DHE WLiDPATy. eed sons hee draws wes s drevnore kw senaane ow NS Ses Be ipealSgeie Soe eoaisler eat wle Ube Be siete oR eee Sa 100 ‘The oDrawing-ROOm #.<-1.5 5.08 specs yenee era esos ar HAM es 316s Rio seks alte ORGS cls as arses Pere ane hs-wybl Subhas 5) elon sbaneiaraysubears IOI GROSECLIEF,: the: Housesof (Mrs: Hermann’ -Oelrichs). 36.55.00 6nd s.ctveeved sire fae pease erste seeenss 103 mine t Cran eriy HOM act cies eh crss cack ace tr Oeics Sea Ss Gey RT ETAL th SOUP OLE OUST Me Mee Re toseing AK ROR NE Reese 102 SBHORO CAE TOM Gs tb ssoncte ace ereberete ree bara Se cnc toe Sroes ead neat a oe Stee aR A ERPIN ne cheese aars de VA ereczae ead Sat akan Tiare suaeseratabers 104 “WHITE HALL,” the House of Henry M. Flagler, Esq.. Palm Beach, Florida..................... 105 Phe y Wi rary sic cce Sere eons cere sees ste feyaye eae AP ne sets arb Grek le GUT Rag evadenel Steck: Gis Rayer ase eee rahe eet 105 Thee Mains Bntranice stra yccs ai ces va et oacen cles tg asap oe len Ned Ser dactvsta el exaecy slang aay hiss asa pevavsan ee REI 106 Mey Colonnad ey ised ctsty-a Sk ca trcetr raters a wan es ea he pte Leet ae a) esi ie ace ae adv Phebe sah uate ore jruesn ikon erat Sea 107 PHEMBEONZE COOL. yin Ns Te nee see ea ore bl Sehidarr teins ARAL En ace Gtr fala cyst ahsu ATE ine iaee bald ca Pe nive ess sean 108 The Rose du Barry Bedroom...........:.. 2s. cece ese neee rent n tenet ee tence eee e a een n ee age 109 ST HG EL all lvse tes cee gn Re ep ctetore eee tak: ae Ie in oe ts Sia Ie Lee Ke Ceres tty ats Tae an ha Date 110 Mek GrandsStaicway, ne ats seyath 1 eer eee Neves rarest aye Ffokiy vim abetete are goer ote hk Eg III AB efotat Shi btovor es Cart ep as op OO aire See Re eee ae eee acre tener eet Rea ee rawr ee wT OORT cnt co. 112 Mhes DiuminpaROOM cet: Geers ors.. Cyu skelter we tusiacc ate Toei ete gst sab rapol he eccrine lore et aa dire eae ee 114 THE HOUSE OF HENRY W--POOR,-ESQ., Tuxedo, New York...... 02-24-2220 506 sence teen «Sige 117 Phe xGarden Promts ) cisco ve cteyese) Wo seas bole areas Boone evs tegaie recat etesia\ my suatadeel a eit (s [6iu eres sare oukys Rates Ipoeneten as 116 THe EMULATION 2 sarees or ey eee aie in Bele ata erase at eV RAae DISH SiS eH SEG Se AA mote Slarle 5) Boss 28 aN ee 117 The: Porch, Overlooking ‘the Lakes si... 6. bee eneie ne bes die cS ol eee nee o elate acetate as fe eens 118 Old: Fashioned: Garden, and! Tetracé i.e sag eesdete ea cig sete Se ce berry Gave eieiel 864 2, a ae 119 Sie Maitiy ela le bys eee oe ce a crane an decane Sandee ates haa esc eee apelaovele (es 8l = apegaiejets era cete mane SOR 120 The Mantel in the Dining-Room.............0... 02s c eee e eee c erent eee ener tener eee ensegas 121 Phe Library skis sees ola s dds cae isis o> aang Ore RE FEE eres OPa a Ene A ae eon or 122 We WOME IROOM a eteisicrt ates ibe ses eer tnt Nee Ae eu obalmcor etl a oruetanstp stig laaare Sigiaca ate Siete ae 122 The Drawitg-RoOm... 0.6 Sch sodas tnles cola cic 34 weit pation ws sacle ore Scie ete 3 dkm aaa a gee eee 123 [xi] CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS j PAGE “BILTMORE,” the Estate of George W. Vanderbilt, Esq., in North Carolina. .................005. 125 AUS PREPRCASCLEEN Sessa esos eos es clk Gy ee TEeas cs UTS Tudo DISHES USN aa TaD een oe Tad eo Fe eee Ro OLE 125 SD MS LCT PE ODG 22:5 chose Reeve as oe eve lentes Clape ie yale Aue Clap he eek Legh EP eV Rs ana 8 FS felt eR Reece 126 RereNLadtik WOM ERAT CG ys set chance ces eis roe Se Sipe ns eiiel se pbadher ace uela equ sleudIuerio'h eddie lnyevd cer aeh, Cuaee 4g Aare ee ee 127 SUC MTOITEE ATCO Y LO WEE ar ie octets, sok xia als oie Getie stele aps Biase ta: DIRE GB LsAA Soles ¢ vapor btoreas DIO e oe ee 128 PRCRROUNtAII SIN thes GOUrbar in arts hs aapehtrace eke ey Aiba Geechee tue: ser wear akties esamn chen Gta ae ie ets) Rokr eraneees 129 “PAULKNER FARM,” Mrs. Charles F. Sprague’s House, Brookline, Massachusetts................. 131 Pes Wari es Ol ste MeLOUScomeuactitsnt cc cietts ashes Haigia she cs habla pestle She upreemte ne eer ke Pie elo ayer cin epee welleee tes 131 Cer eeal VOW liane el ater eV nite tres ch cig Nis koe eR a Ate rasan fea eran patent igs Nog obele behav eecre Ree tees 132 hess teps weadings Lost he: Terra Ges t::.3.012 aco swn,¢ uveneiutnecbie acedonep oer Ole GLAST aT ate raid aie onaeyes Ne oh Aste caTa r2% thesbiy drangea W alktecatrsurny iors tat pee, clas cre staugiet are Mie sical Nagy Gy iRetohe ve eae sc APE a papcuare artes toes 133 PhesPools before: thevGasinoe cc. wos So tere oo oe hee DR ree eae Slee ees stp Moret iuehe nats Goals va ain Seen 134 TRF S MC ASIRO sora gests ok he eae ar 6 OLS ROE an Ee tec SATA NE SUNK Spake UE PG SRS PRT ETE TB EE CTS eae das cade oe esc ceR 135 DIST ATCO Mark oa itatee. Mader aceite aha eh AG RAST Sater area erator det eket ar is, Hiatiny cemmcoahner ended ctaaen ee ae aT Ate cog sud, wi ate taba Par ene aire 136 Winder the: Terrace Weall..sisc.0. 453502455 SANS SEG bt aol Rite Rha es bc ictal a bnehene te cog, Betas 137 THE HOUSE OF STANFORD WHITE; ESO:, St. James; New: York: 2.255295 22.4 ue cans Sentnaanes 139 GENET A VAS yc hots Sess hacer se OTe aE eI ReeoSeolte wie ses a oan EG Eatin sites nar SEE Pawan BU Ie tnceed he en ee Pr hee Noma RS eter 138 4 sti D yohidon (oa Gace tae ere SOR EM RN ee Corey rere Pea arian arnt cea tea neene niet inet Corts con ae 139 The Piagza sas e Mes GMs) a eR PSO RS Sole Ec iRScelee RS S Beak See 2 BRT AEE Ce eee 140 He becrbio rival ar Ori vs. cae von chosen ony ara eed rane V ren Aouad AN tile esa ass Sea erin ra lapaha cheese eer ye I4I rl ky vY— Sa o Eb Meanie aN Cer eg aee eee Ray nA eR oy een ae arpa ae naan manera etm ME Gg eye 142 hes Livi e= ROO ii <5 he ca,s Sier2-cu tS otal sidce Thstadd iouae aida, aha aah anes aitslisnin sealer aireaaieaue, Boar PRM RANA SGl vet AteaS Fam ater) gia 143 Phe? Dining-Roome fe gccs.s wrncas wi elec Me le Soin Pee Oe oes ate wikqnie alone lemeeaasne whieh eae saree ere 144 ADOOEN CF MOL VOITIN TR OOM baie Fin serene ees oye tate (A eons ate ai cael Floto eens coe hana eae ae ates orate aah ened The cpe eee 145 MRS. A). CASS “CANFIEED'S HOUSE. Roslyn) “New Yorkionss.: aan. svi note oe ors a Sree cesners thane opets 147 hy aXXo) Dea UR ewe Cel etell 8 Ro) 0 Aemeeeee Al Sad Renan Oreirte Rt a ana epi Map nes orn S pany irate hah Ata HEE ay cn LEH 148 BUG. SLCLLA CE! sortie. age scvats 2,6: 8) e553 [es chore aves ous OAS yore bat 91 0a AD Sati Rs ONE nay Vee Seoa de nee Rue cad EVOL RAEN tye es gene oes 149 PL TAG SEMEL Seth sree sng trices aati ctefaV os areas aes esate oy as cau Br ouies mapa Lap aeNG toes Okara SSSA ON LMR DISSE me SE oe ERED 150 PDH e VIN OTRO OT a bt steele pean swossl ds ea vers etessgeanScaes duet m SuePeerere el be lepkdbs Gotan atale, Ganiatieleaeraasacte uSee ages aes 151 EPO VLAD LADY co c.he oa Pel tlerayei tl consis share) tre arenes Risin Gee gone bila Ghd WimateLe ease Hae rere en avon nachna 152 “ROSEMARY,” the House of Foxhall Keene, Esq., Old Westbury, New York..................... 155 Ges aVes G20 UNG (hi aaenrey cc rie gre ee ere PEPE acer ere ray ana SRST Nan tran sain der SN aren ere NER Toth hae. 154 bestormal *Gardenie ti j.c cs cc ole seec, Sete aimee as far ove See conti oce hata Mega eae gE ee ee ea 156 PETG SSUES 1 cx toe tel eae Ch ah Oe PeS Staeraco say faves Pcina Mal Rava toa Dard As Pa eFaN eS SA wit hater Ph Ge Soe acs eee Petre rae 157 hexbinep lace sin they A bRary:, arose matt iccrehc eyed teeth ePe whey deus ees co Oka ike cone oct, HERS ete Mactan ee a 158 “ALL VIEW,” the House of C. Oliver Iselin, Esq., Premium Point, New Rochelle, New York. ..... 161 ierntrancey FTOnt tes esas, o:¢ tt oes ROR eee Seen a: cut NETS TE G EENe Bete N CRADLE Has, Gy s.craxt a Shee ieeueatat, oa 160 hes Open sPorchisis is eset ac a Corser eR aaah aR 0S fe Oisioe ns Holi salle These sas tin FG Gist rrlaae oh 162 The Batrance- to-the Grounds. v0. «.00 nates oes | IES (co ee ee ee ee 163 PEE Garden oi. 605s use op 5, ohtes er apstias SEL ast VPA Groors i Tos Fie otk: oe MWR CL oats eagenctS nee ere 164 LE: HOUSE OF LLOYD: BRYCE; ESO: Roslyn, New @rork.:.. fac Stake cnc os oh ee os vad 167 The Mrardengbronts st ss. santa sone oon tes ee eee ALE A oe es eI NOE cc hans and lene eete chee SNe 166 heuM ain eM OOrWays. ids aici mace rayt Pe aS Mee mE ATS ke. Ses, Satta eR econ 167 PERG eLeITAaCO wants sciycncatusiee ee RE Fy hese Roca sa esate oho GROMRRNIS ents MRT ia ce Ae rn 206 id Dyes atey HF hate See eae Sle eee Saly te I Eo a eran reece ra Sari etecr ay eee aaa eS ini fl rete 207 Phe Great | Hall’ cai css.cc cove ty oa seit Poe care alae Suma ergheracelp tis @lals bd ie siele19"s ro ea en Phe: Dinins-ROoOmM sx. i-g ris asc! 4 285 3 save ers bia, wy oss] 2 aia nlniecs avevel eve ¢ aehslnvetel ol’ 0! $974 8/8he wo dhe aeeaeee ae 209 “ites CALI> “NIA HOUSES SOME CALIFORNIA HOUSES.. ~~ esi iG Go. yaad Gragrity. ora 2 Be, t) 0 ecco ee 211 \ “HACIENDA DEL POZO DE VE \Phoebe A. Hearst........-aeeorse™ 211 General Viewsc 006045244445 cere ; > Gerrard Phe: Court iSide 2. 0.00.5 som Seen sees “ Boos Neareia o's 6% dese 0b g's gets ee 213 Mies bibrary get sGnic acc cites eevee ste’ eS ee net ene nee Eee rr css 214 The ‘Music-Room,. East: End’. «.o.o.5 ois 6 os ie eceie oe Fa cecal s cee Rae's 00.0) 08. 6 ntnTs wi bieletn SRR eT EES 215 [xiii] CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS PELE HOUSE OR LERANEES.. | OFNSON:. ESO's 52 ta crsscotiettare coc: o Si, Oise wo catek ceteris salen eal Seagate RETR AYA Toa AE ys ea Ad wt ete sie Peianes Pres Eas Sth ek ans eeniageatt- Uenlr Sra NCR OS Fe AO eat taeaNS ae Se es, DHE IS DUDIO ; OPVEELEX. PEANO HSOEs . fice okcterttveres amie drepribncis.d Me syeials ae syiausragl ea uae rick ear eae lF Vs 0 escorts cain See TLS ees ee Se EE, BN ae NPE NTO SBIR es Fe Sic SESEMOENS. ep Ses eae eres ALi ef sti 2X00) die Coezkiga (sia teers MLM Ra Mer nt rh ree te cree GOST ERTL riety per ie Sp ar et NEE en ON AR OCP Pg ery ee eae EIDE TANI CE ead c PAR RS Arwen toa BIG eid) Sind se eee he eases tured Fare ane ae ae Sieag bam Sue eat npapesee nr et ee THE HOUSE OF MRS. CHARLES F. COFFIN, Montclair, New Jersey...........5..006c0000005 The Entrance Front The Living-Room The Reception-Room The Dining-Room A Bedroom “MILL-BROOK,” the House of F. King Wainwright, Esq., Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania The Terrace Porch Mune Entrance aR TOn tn. oats ye oo Lee os Mee iis ute eee es Bige ia The Terrace Front The Court The Hall “CHATEAU REXSAMER,” the House of Mrs. George W. Rexsamer, Elizabethtown, New York..... General View TREN SCCDS #rsciechad sleet ie Shctsaiit nce Ee ae A Picturesque Bit THE HOUSE OF JOHN G. WRIGHT, ESQ The Terrace Front } The Entrance Front. ..........0 f TDG TOP ost 5 Soest ee The Hal:... ............. $A The Dining-Room Ce e+ Me ME © 2 00 56 6 5 eee [xiv] PAGE a ii7 216 , 207 218 218 219 221 221 220 292: . 223 225 224 226 225 227 228 220 2209 230 231 231 232 233 234 235 237 236 237 239 239 238 240 241 242 243 te ait Al Nat CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS . PAGE “ASHFORD,” the House of Frank Squier, Esq., Belle Haven, Greenwich, Connecticut.............. 245 DS NONE MORES ah-siea crits bec Sud cnlubadheN ms, Oke aoa Abie eae CET hind A” eee Nee 244 ae PRIMO sid is Veet Luh aia ne Chr Gr eens Tomas i, Mert LN er ee eke) Aoi 5 ee 246 PAG SATOOT ha ott Aa PRO? Cae INNO eos ae aes Mee ye ee OW Vie deere aye Ree ead 247 Seardee (SCGD6 hiraceRaned cetn chs Senerasitoe Shah a ta ihc ORS S Rng MEER ar pe a ke ee 248 pe BRemonnime: Gunite croc so fae ons een hone eo ae ees tree ee ie NE Rae 248 THE HOUSE OF GEORGE S. GRAHAM, ESQ., Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvanian. ie atang einai 249 SOCIOL AR VIGW ose Sia caudate Her ate aE Meee S Ween Cell Ril ore ee eee ht 250 GUISES CSS AEM na volando alas Meee eee eee RE ed tera. a a piel zs a aici: Se 251 ENG Diino MOdiigis «126.25 stn aan, Bas adacy sis enema yest ne NRCG Rah ee 252 DG BADIANV aes On oe ot i ed an vue MEG RUG RESO Ge ble Laila Walia a Oak aha ee 253 “CRAIGSTON,” the House of T. C. Hollander, Esq., Wenham, Massachusetts...................... 255 Tihs VO STANCe, LONE. 4 Sane aN ours aw Nae. Rand § ps acts ale 2 GEE ar Goad AES Se OARS OE ee 254 ROG SIM OMA TEs ris FN carte Pea Aer ipa ke aak Eas one eRe a ee 255 pA Eas: C3) Ga pee ere yee ey aoe ROT cnrane te or ede net etna ee eo ee 256 TE ALES TA CONE TORby eran itt dea tr rah a Ma ae een Me ae PSN ERE Naldeeey oe wre. 257 PBC? Musics ROO eatin aan ase ects cin oe oe aoe alia Phd ele ahaa aS Lys kad ne Oo ee ees 258 POD in a LOS eae eons Oi aE eR EA nase odie eva ono lc ee OO Re nee, ee 259 “TALBOT HOUSE,” the House of Talbot J. Taylor, Esq., Cedarhurst, New York.................. 261 RIOMCEEL WCW «nary 5 Tne Tae gle Aes Sake Ne blake peta ded UNE 1d SOL a OP Gee ey waka dce Dae 260 Ere OOrRIGRR SAS eas ha lagen ne Bee oto eee Lee Ae Meo! eae em Sanne scl |, See, ee 262 eG. PeACe MIONY Aram cone Rie Ne on eon ea res Sine Gin Ok Rie Av ak a ae Ee 263 ee VE a LASS acts nt eee ent ae eae EN he Paes Cpe ee a oe 6 ee ee ed alee ei ee 264 The: Drawing-Room $4.05 shauna tue a atia echss Be LEN Sos GAT FeHG Kit 5 aeial a BSS AConete lle GR ee 266 HEN DINIR GROOMS 2 sada tia heen Electrical’ Kountain——An Other WV 1EW sae cesta cus tae ere scaions pwns oft olsen SOE sel ais Mina aes acne eee 283 BRET PACES USS fer sipr ster ratte ern etree ss rast ne as ral OS Sed ONO ST TNT eCT Ny cae a APU eR acc eS Nea orice BE Te Leve Ta shake ae ke 284 TR atc © iG (oh ere ae teen 2 en OAR NEA ON RR ALRE i et rs Ener an ere Dc St Late ea rea were 284 MRS. JOHN L. GARDNER’S GARDEN, Brookline, Massachusetts... cos atmh ee sein c cc sie sien 2 a oer 285 AdGiimpse -ofthen Gardens asissi weaatsnais sua sea apse ttre Merle easy Siete ofthe encase aeden ea ihe 285 (NAT ttle: Touch OL® [apart tact vas: nate crete sives ne goo ey sient’s lamn oie weno) ele Oe tarar ta otra metals rags) tae 286 Phe Well yi zPOOls Sant cca eee scare in th certtan beau eye penta vot cola eget okies caalc iaiane then Serta reacn sons siotenenae fete yap tre Ne 287 EDU SAT DOB erate ais sotie of cae lust vctne Sue EBS a Aire etait tata Tone Corenetonane Recetas atte Wada Seategeh att ON Aptos ate 288 THE GARDEN OF THE HUNNEWELL ESTATE, Wellesley, Massachusetts..................005. 289 AE Terraces Wi alice wedi apie Meet ee Re FG Oe a eka LD Shee aha Rune em eee: 289 AM oo) BEN < ee eae ee gea” rae Pre re e Rated cerca mma ara ed pron rem Ne Tob MG ot eis HITE rat ar eM Cine Toate tee anc 290 The- Pavilion ‘overlooking the: ‘Terraces and Lakes... i jicci aiden coke ont a dead dels wean n es 291 (Mie Steps; onmthes Lercace tices sch -ccinrs Pacis he open we ee sy ae eal oe ee, See eee te Maret ona 293 THE GARDEN OF MOSES. TAYLOR, ESQ:,, Mount Kisco;-New York. 2.2 2.5 S255) s a csee es 524m one 293 Thee Pergo olan G2 se Pera tansrse evn ie tot onesie a cekebanciee wustet OME Gy Nokee GIGRON aa betat cA eR SR ea cera ae eases 292 PG POPPA CE er ioe ons locs eens eae ait erties ie ae ear Aivaicela ae care sheariac a er ae casa ot Sahat nitys Peete tae ganiay ad ar gute aad ects 294 ‘hes Pormatl:. Gard oats a upar seis csp sess ecs sate see tes Sos oho ee, can ame eee eae ee te Der ei ne ee 204 THE GARDEN OF ALFRED NATHAN, ESQ.,. Elberon, New Jersey..........2..:.0.0e-s see eeee 295 A Marble? Seat ayer rata a odes cedecec hoo three tied ane ores have aiG mas ee epee take are irae) Gaus helene Ie quisiera ushers hi teds 295 BAC ERO eam GALEN ore ts serene asog se oatrer cae tn Ooe SN roe cance iu poate Sea VI AO a ee I eal ye ee awe 206 Mhev Sun Dials and Seats ws a sot eoacrs ac ep esec rate ee a arate GTC Sean Vee ee a YA eh ee ae 297 THE GARDEN OF FRANCIS BARTLETT, ESQ., Prides Crossing, Massachusetts...............-4. 299 HELE eTrAce: DElOre: the HOUSE ls occas ane ceteee sie ety ew Ne aT Tee Teo FTP Ay SEE EE PEON 298 The: Bronze: Basin and. Berneryisca..ce%s.02 so nee Ere CR OR CORE Pre rae Teor ale en are ar 299 ‘The sHorin al G ard enrages cx sasel a toact sto teiaat eal ahh Savane tebe ti on atte ome ta ree Cone Tos ee Ma, aoc eT ae 300 ASE TEER RACED) GARD) EN ccc oo 022 wen pete MIR MED Cees oe oc Ge lnc NG TAT EAN ORS cts ice SMM coe ee 301 Ae Marbles Seat ctsc vais a deci tate Peay cad aes rete e aeera ts DSSS GHENT eel SE rt 2h AED aie Ie rc nies 301 Generali View of ihe: Nerracest: mtn icine wis techs tie, ag cua ee Rabat bee tas ah Bs RRR © SRS ee 302 EheaKormal” Gardens: sec cs tt hore ka ROS coe eae RS Oe OA ET ae sae IN le Sores 303 AVR ELTA CE 525, Petras aie acc Fan eeis TE Ne eT mec oom OR Ene ee TA RE TA Sa Rae Sta Mi 304 Gi Ut 1b evs ates eit ei eet Ree ae eee aE ce ENED ca Sa MOR 5 eae saa ie a 305 [xvi] INTRODUCTION S| HE very brief space of ten years has been sufficient in which to develop an entirely new type of American country house, the house to which the words ‘“‘stately”’ tal!) and “sumptuous” may be indifferently applied, with, at times, a quite realizing sense of their utter inadequacy. Country houses we have always had, and large ones too; but the great country house as it is now understood is a new type of dwelling, a sumptuous house, built at large expense, often palatial in its dimensions, furnished in the richest manner, and placed on an estate, perhaps large enough to admit of independent farming operations, and in most cases with a garden which is an integral part of the architectural scheme. The formal garden, in which garden architecture has an important part to perform, is the most usual; but the garden is always present, even though a considerable latitude be permitted in its design and arrangement. It is a beautiful thing, this garden-love, which so embellishes the house, gives it a new meaning, adds to its beauty—rationalizes, in a word, the country life. It has opened up new fields of activity to the landscape designer, and, which is much more significant, has created new appreciations of outdoor life and broadened the vision of many an art lover. For the garden, finely laid out, exquisitely planted, suitably ornamented, if space be had, with sculpture, is a work of art, stimulating the imagination, helping mankind with its soft, gentle beauty, a source of joy and of unending delight. Garden appreciation in itself is not new, but the great, splendid garden, arranged and planted as a part of the scheme of which the house is itself the center, has, in late years, become so important a factor in American country life as to have fresh significance. In a book which, like the present one, is devoted to the architectural and gardening features of some of the more notable of recent American country houses, it might be naturally assumed that the art value of these places—meaning by that term everything that helps in giving beauty—might be considered as the single point of interest; yet, as a matter of fact, this great new building energy is not due to an interest in architecture as architecture, perhaps hardly to gardening as gardening, but to an entirely new conception of country life, and a new appreciation and realization of its manifold joys and pleasures. The movement countryward is not, in fine, a Renaissance of architecture, important as is the place architecture takes in it; , [1] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS nor is it a Renaissance of the gardening art, important as that is likewise; but both these factors testify, and in a most impressive way, to a Renaissance of country life. These great houses mean not so much a liking for them as buildings, though it will be readily admitted that their attractions as places of residence, with their luxurious accompani- ments and wealth of conveniences, are very great, as a realizing sense of the pleasure of country life, of delight in escape from the crowded conditions of city living, and of an increasing affec- tion for the simpler and more natural life of the country, with its varied sports and open-air activities. That a palace in the country may be as luxurious as one in the city is, of course, quite true; but the love for country life, which is surely on the increase, is one of the most remarkable social features of contemporary American life. And to live in the country one must have a house; there must be accessory buildings also, numerous enough to meet the social needs of each individual owner. That the house may be a splendid architectural creation, and its allied buildings handsomely designed as well as conveniently planned, follows almost as a matter of course. That the house needs an environment in keeping with itself is a further natural consequence, and the artistic house, with its artistic garden and the lesser buildings, is planned, arranged, and executed as an artistic whole, ministering to every possible need and fulfilling every reasonable delight. We stand on the threshold of a great movement to the country. Too long, it would seem, have our best energies been centered in the towns. The old idea of country life as syn- onymous with the farm no longer prevails. The farmhouse type of country home is by no means extinct; but in every part of the country the magnificent new mansions of the rich are putting entirely new ideas into the current conceptions of country life. The great country house is the outward visible sign of this new movement. It has called forth a fine architectural talent in its development, and has given a new field and a new scope to architectural activities in America. [2] ‘SSGNNOUS WAMOT AHL WOWT MAIA—'OsT ‘AIVIA duvAdaT “9 Ao ‘pauyry ‘sBunsepy 2p asquuea AHSQOOH AHL « NAGSYIVTE » ‘hassel man ‘aqtaspaeuisg WO, MAN “S94y ‘NOOWDNIAIT AHL—'Osad “AIVTA GAVACAT ‘O JO aSNOH FHL «‘NAdSaIv1d » *kasaa fl MON ‘ay [IAspreuiag *yIoX MAN ‘ssdYyIoIg s}IN.A ‘S06r GyBtsAdoD [4] “¢ Blairsden” The House of C. Ledyard Blair, Esq., Bernardsville, New Jersey JHE building of a large house means very much more than the incurring of a great | expenditure. Costliness is, indeed, an essential element in all large building enter- G i prises—an element unavoidably entailed by the very extent of the building operation. And a great house in the country, destined for the accommodation of a family and the entertainment of many guests, must have space ample and abundant for every possible occasion. It is big, therefore, not to display the wealth that created it, but because size is a fundamental requirement. A large house requires a large site. There must not only be room to build upon, but there must be ample grounds for the proper environing of the house with land that will give the dwelling suitable individuality, pleasure grounds for the inmates, and perhaps a farm for their further delight and sustenance. A great house in the country implies opportunities for the enjoyment of rural life in every aspect, so that a large estate is both a necessity and a natural consequence of the building of such houses. Acreage alone is not sufficient. The land must be pleasant to look upon, with fine out- looks across the country, and perhaps a stream or lake or harbor to add to its beauty. A beau- tiful site—that is the desideratum in all large country buildings, and very beautiful indeed are many of the places chosen for the location of our great country houses. The human element is supplied by the architect, the designing genius whose part it is to create a house that will fit the site, that will stand just where the house should stand, and which shall have an artistic outward character in keeping with the surroundings. Almost as weighty is the share of the landscape architect, to whom is assigned the agreeable task of beautifying the grounds in imme- diate contact with the house, of designing the formal garden, of arranging the walks and drives, of giving the crowning touch of beauty which welds every part into one perfect picture. Such a picture, combining in one splendid whole the elements that help in the making of fine American country places, is presented by ‘‘Blairsden,”’ the picturesquely placed house that Mr. Blair has built on the steep slope of one of the mountains of Somerset County; near Bernardsville, New Jersey. It is a fine house, finely placed on a superb site; not, indeed, on the summit of the hill, but, more wisely, and somewhat after the Italian manner, on the sloping hillside, so that it may have the advantage of the wooded background which adds so much to the beauty of the location. A rather startling innovation is the placing of the stable on the top of the hill, above the house, but it is so placed that it can not be seen from the house and is scarcely visible from the surrounding summits. The wooded slope of the hillside [5] ‘NOOWDNIDSNONOT YOOGLNAO AHL—'Osa “WIVId GUVAdGAT ‘0 JO ASNOH AHL «.“NAASUIVTA » *Kasia fl MON ‘aT Aspreuiag YAO MON ‘SiOYIOIG S}aN Ay ‘E061 ‘YS uAdOD [6] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS terminates in the valley below, at the edge of a winding and beautifully clear lake, and on the other hill of the slope are the dense forests of a neighboring Country Club. It would seem, therefore, that the wild features of the landscape must be always preserved. As one passes through the gateway and approaches the house, which is placed on a stone terrace with almost menacing abruptness, one can hardly realize that scarcely two years sufficed to bring the land immediately around one to a fine state of perfection and growth. Rows of cedar trees of great age and size, as may be seen in the frontispiece of this book, have been transplanted for the creation of the formal approach, and have been so ably blended with the natural beauties of the place as to form an integral part of one of the most elaborate and extensive schemes of its kind ever carried out in America. The driveway, after it passes through the gateway and up the gentle slope, turns at the foot of the steps abruptly to the left, and thence onward to a level plateau of considerable extent, at the extreme end of which is located the mansion itself. The road encloses a green- sward with an ample water basin, filled with lilies and tropical plants, which reaches almost to the doorway. On turning to the right and approaching the house the formal treatment has been again very happily carried out; while on the left the natural wildness of the mountain- side has been retained in all its primitive beauty—a fine touch of genius that enhances the contrast between nature and art which has been so completely attained in this beautiful estate. The house is built of red brick and Indiana limestone, and is designed in the style of Louis XIII. It is two stories in height, with a third story in the high pyramidal roof. It is simple and stately, the main doorway being contained within an ornamental stone frame- work, supporting a low pediment carried by double pilasters. The general plan is rectangular, with projecting wings at each end, the shorter side facing the entrance roadway, and the longer overlooking the valley immediately below and the hills beyond. The spacious interior is extremely elegant, with reception-room, library, drawing-room, breakfast-room, dining-room, and music-room opening out of the great central hall. The hall, with its ornamental staircase, is entirely of Caen stone. The dining-room, at the end of the hall, is paneled throughout with oak and has a coffered ceiling. The hangings are green and gold, and the carving on the oak is also gilded, with a very successful introduction of color. The library is in Italian walnut, and, like the dining-room, is wholly paneled. The ceiling is plaster, and the mantel of marble. The tone of the living-room is gray. This is a charming room, delightfully finished with the decorative materials taken from an old draw- ing-room in Second Avenue, New York, the ornamental features of a fine old New York room being thus utilized in this modern New Jersey home. The billiard-room is treated in the Renaissance style with good detail. The upper floors of the house are given over to bedrooms, arranged singly and en suite, and with many bathrooms. Bright, cheerful colors are used in the bedrooms, and a tour [7] 3, Wurts Brothers, New York, Bernardsville, New Jersey, «« BLAIRSDEN,”? THE HOUSE OF C. LEDYARD BLAIR, ESQ.—THE ENTRANCE TO THE GROUNDS. ‘NOOWONINIG AHL— ‘Osa ‘AVIA GUVACAT “DO JO ASNOH FHL «‘NAAGSUIVTA » Copyright, 1903, Wurts Brothers, New York. Bernardsville, New Jersey. ENCLOSED GARDEN AND PERGOLA. ESQ.—THE 4 «« BLAIRSDEN,’’ THE HOUSE OF C. LEDYARD BLAIR, AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS through the upper parts of the house presents a succession of pleasant pictures, admirably arranged for the comfort and convenience of the many guests who frequently throng this delightful home. The elevation of the house on a hillside, and the necessary building of terraces on which to support it, provide some additional space below the main floor, which has been put to good use. Here are a squash court, a plunge and Turkish bath, and Mr. Blair’s lounging-room. Like all great country houses, “‘Blairsden”’ is amply provided with sumptuous gardens and grounds. Viewed from below, the house is supported by a great stone terrace, with double flights of steps. The space thus created forms a species of open court before the house, and is treated with lawns and paths, and decorated with many bay trees. From the stone terrace descend the great terraced gardens of the estate, closely lined with trees and treated in a formal way, a superb approach, by which the traveler on foot may reach the house. At the farther end of the house, from the entrance doorway, is a pergola leading to an outdoor lounging-room, a unique apartment, with brick walls, open arches, high wooden roof, and a fireplace, a spot not only agreeable with all the agreeableness of good taste, but from which can be had most charming views of the surrounding country. Within, and behind the connecting pergola, is a small enclosed flower garden court. The house is the center of a great estate, with stables, carriage houses, an automobile house, farmhouse, dairy, and other essentials of a like nature. Mr. Blair is much interested in his stable, and the finest possible accommodations have been provided for his blooded stock, _all of which are housed and cared for in a state almost regal. (11) “LNOWI HLNOS AHL GNV AOVUNAL AHL— OSA “MOLS “1 “M JO USNOH AHL "yIoOX MaN ‘udA[soYy The House of W. L. Stow, Esq. Roslyn, New York NOM, RR. STOW’S house is an Italian palace adapted to the exigencies of the American MAVAI|| climate. Very large it is, and splendidly environed, and best seen from the south, although entered from the north. It is a stately pile, broad and firm in outline, simply designed and sparsely ornamented, but withal characterized by fine dignity _ and charm. The main doorway, on the north, is modest enough, and is sheltered by a small glass marquise that flares slightly upward. But the south side is palatial, with an effect of quite monumental grandeur. Like many Long Island country places, the house is built on high ground, with very beautiful natural surroundings. On the south it slopes rapidly away from the house, falls quickly, indeed, so that the terrace treatment is at once the most natural and the most effective. And most happily this has been arranged. A spacious area is enclosed within a balus- trade, with a flight of steps at each end. A wonderful space this is, with the great house immediately behind, the steep cliff below, and, beyond, the rich farming lands of the near-by estates, and farther on, again, if the day be clear, the view is veiled by the ocean. Down below, immediately in the foreground, is a second space, enclosed with a hedge of evergreens. At the foot of each flight of steps is a pair of marble lions, standing on the high pedestals of the balustrade. The upper terrace is supported by a wall, carried wholly across the front, the center marked with three great arches. This lower space is a simple formal garden, and with old Italian well-heads, great marble vases, and other decorative adjuncts. One can here realize, if one has not realized it before, that this is a superb mansion, a veritable palace, happily designed, finely placed, and suitably environed. The greensward, the massive retain- ing-wall of the upper terrace, the balustrade, and the enclosing stairways at the ends, the house above, make an ensemble of. stately beauty that few American country houses possess. The general effect is fine, and the impression one of much splendor. The house is palatial because it is large, excellently designed, and handsomely furnished. The interior is eminently livable and enjoyable. The rooms are not vast, as rooms in houses of this rank are measured, but are well proportioned to their uses, and the spaces have been judiciously employed. The main doorway leads immediately into an entrance or stair hall the full height of the house, and lighted above as well as by a window immediately over the door. A flight of stone steps, with an imposing stone balustrade, leads to the upper floor. Immediately in face is a monumental doorway to the hall. This is a splendid apartment, the largest in the house, occupying more than half of the main building, with four great windows opening on to the south terrace. It is paneled in black oak for two-thirds of its , a [13] ‘TIVH AHL—'Osd ‘MO.LS “I “M JO ASNOH AHL "yIO A MAN ‘UASOY AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS height, the upper part of the paneling being treated with small open arches supported on free columns. Above is a rich damask brocade of deep red. A narrow painted frieze of grotesques runs around the room, and the ceiling is beamed and painted in small squares. The doors, which are elaborately framed, as are the windows, have rounded tops, with open carved woodwork in the panels. It is, therefore, a room rich in color, and with a structural decoration of quite unusual extent, very interesting in itself, very interestingly applied, and thoroughly successful in its effect. At the far end is a monumental chimneypiece, with fluted columns, the treasure trove of a Florentine palace, as are most of the chimneypieces in the house. Electric lights are hidden behind the top of the wall panels, and produce a startlingly beautiful effect when illuminated. To the right is the Gold Salon. Here, again, is more splendor, yet thoroughly harmo- nized and quite subdued in effect. The walls are hung with old green silk, arranged in gilt panels. The rich door frame is also gilt, the color scheme being gold and green. The doorway is Spanish Renaissance. The mantel is plain, but beautifully wrought; over it is a portrait of the Duchess of Parma, by Suttermans, in a rich old monumental frame. The center of the ceiling is filled with a large painting of the School of Tiepolo, and the room is illumined by crystal lights hanging from the walls. Three rooms on the end of the house open from the hall and adjoin the Salon. The central one is a billiard-room; at one end is a conservatory, at the other a smoking-room. The dining-room adjoins the hall, and is nearly of the same size. It is a large apart. ment, brilliantly lighted by the spacious windows by day, and at night by great electric standards placed in each corner. It is sumnptuously furnished, and that many fine works of art enter into its adornment is thoroughly in keeping with the splendid manner in which the whole house has been planned and arranged. The floor is marble mosaic. The door frames are of marble, carved and ornamented with rich panels and friezes. Marble pilasters mark off the division of the walls, which are covered with green velvet brocade. There is a dado of green and black marble, and the same material appears in the serving tables or sideboards, each of which is supported by white marble pedestals. The ceiling, in green and gold, is decorated with small squares; in the center is a large square painting by Domenichino, the ‘Youth of Bacchus’’; each of the four corners has round allegorical panels, painted by Claudio Francesco Beaumont. On one wall is a painting of the ‘‘Rape of the Sabines,”’ by Vasari, and a number of old Italian portraits are hung in the adjoining spaces. A small breakfast-room opens out of the dining-room; and then, beyond it, are the apartments devoted to the service, pantries, a dumb-waiter to the kitchen, which is placed below, where there are more pantries, storerooms, ice chests, servants’ dining-room, and other offices, all so needful to the inhabiting of the house, and here down below, but with their own opening to the outer world, which the location of the house on a hill permits most conveniently. To the left of the entrance hall is the library. It is prefaced by a small recess. The walls are lined with bookcases, above which are deep dark oak panels; the plastered ceiling is decorated with geometrical designs. The conspicuous feature of this room is the superb ’ * [15] *“NO'TVS G10 AHL—'Osa ‘MOLS “I “M AO ASMOH AHL PSIG TNBY eg *yIOX MIN 444 299), ‘ uA[soy [16] eta eT a we ’ we oe * . . “AUVUAIT 4HL — ‘Osa ‘ MO.LS “AA d O ASNOH AHL “MIOA MON ‘UATSOY ‘NOOWDNINIG AHL—'OSa ‘MO.LS “IT ‘M AO ASNOH AHL "yIOX Many ‘uATsOY [18] I ee an pee em hee = Kees, So eaebscowely te Saree Pe AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS mantel and chimneypiece, the richest in the house, magnificently carved with crowded panels in relief, and a veritable masterpiece, brought from Venice. Above it are three consoles with gilt busts. The furniture is chiefly old, and the walls are hung with old portraits. A goodly portion of the bookcases is given up to Mr. Stow’s collection of old blue and white china, which includes a number of pieces of the highest interest. In each corner hangs a large German silver lamp, connected with the electric light. Upstairs are bedrooms, boudoirs, and bathrooms. A great corridor runs through the house from east to west, opening on to the entrance hall, with a central balcony, whence one may look across at the tapestries with which this part of the house is decorated. The bedrooms are mostly hung with silk or other material, all delightfully furnished, and each with its own color scheme and its attendant bathroom. The third floor does not appear in the outward design as it is hidden by the cornice and roofing; it is entirely given up to the servants’ quarters. [19] *pIUGQay ‘yanequins J, aovlop ‘Osa ‘UANAGIM “Ad ‘V ‘d JO ASNOH AHL yet SD ae q ET ‘viuvay{suuag ‘auinoqysy [20] The House of P. A. B. Widener, Esq. Ashbourne, Pennsylvania -_ aly magnificent residence of Mr. P. A. B. Widener, at Ashbourne, Pennsylvania, is one Cs ey of the most sumptuous houses in the immediate neighborhood of Philadelphia. It 34 SI is a house of the largest size, truly palatial in its dimensions, quite soberly treated, dignified, with a stately portico as the conspicuous feature of the main front. The porches, indeed, constitute the chief external adornment, for the front walls are plain, with widely spaced pilasters, each panel containing two windows in somewhat severe frames. This motif is carried wholly around the house, the various fronts differing only from the main front in the spacing of the pilasters, the arrangement of the windows, and the size and shape of the porches. A high balustrade completely surrounds the roof line, save where it is interrupted by the entrance portico. The very spacious grounds are beautifully developed as an Italian garden, with the architectural accompaniments of retaining-walls, steps, balustrades, and other adjuncts which are so essential to gar- dening of this kind, but which are seldom carried out on a scale so truly grand as here. The beau- tiful lawns, the beds and banks of flowers, the palms, hydrangeas, bay STI trees, and other plants ; in tubs and jars, are ie: —_ arranged in excellent fen ae he j taste, and form a fine environment for the great house to which they belong. The palatial grandeur that the exterior so well expresses is richly de- veloped within. The hall occupies the center of the house, and is a THE HOUSE OF P. A. B. WIDENER, ESQ. [21] viuvalfsuuag ‘ausnoqysy = r4 Do D> LP aon, ELSA TROL LOL ty Sew ¥ Y APGOR Bg OT DAN de Ae he hed LID IP a wee piers ver’ saree saw PRD MS LER EN RE EO TO ¥ ci hci thi diel dlndlsllacdba daddies Thi wy es AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS splendid room, thirty-six feet square and two stories in height. It is completely built ot Caen stone. The walls are divided into bays, with great pilasters supporting the cornice at the ceiling; below are round arched openings and doors; above are rectangular windows, opening into a gallery that is carried around the hall, with richly chased bronze railings. The stairway rises immediately from the central arch of the farther side, and is continued within to the upper story. A gigantic Chinese vase supporting a cé delabrt m stands on each side of the steps. Before the mantelpiece are busts of Cosmo de’ h an Bernini. The hangings are of red velvet embroidered with ge room is a large carved table supported on gilt figures. by the hangings and rugs, are red, white, and gold, and rich and sumptuous. : The more important rooms open directly from the hall. On the right a are the reception- room, billiard-room, and library, the latter a great ‘ment, fifty feet square. On the left a smaller hall leads to the smoking-room and sitting-room, and to the dining-room and the breakfast-room. All of these rooms are beautifully furnished and decorated. They are truly palatial, hospitable in size, lavish in ; their appointments, and present ex- cellent examples of present-day tend- encies in costly dwellings. This is particularly true of this house, for Mr. Widener gave up a grand city mansion that he had built for himself, he center of the e, as given ent is very in order to live in this great new house. It is located in a pleasant suburb of Philadelphia, but near enough to the city to be quite suffi- ciently close for business and social affairs. It stands just outside of built-up Philadelphia, in a _ lovely rural neighborhood, where the pleas- ures of country life, when centered in such a home, must be almost unlimited. The chief room on the second floor is the picture gallery, entered through an antechamber. Here is housed one of the richest and finest collections of paintings in the United States. The collection has _ been formed with unusual taste and dis- THE HOUSE OF P. A. B. WIDENER, ESQ.—THE HALL. Z a 5 -_— PA be a Poe, % hese SOULS PPh ae an Ashbourne, Pennsylvania. THE HOUSE OF P. A. B. WIDENER, ESQ.—THE ART GALLERY. AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS crimination, and includes many paintings both fine in themselves and thoroughly represent- ative of the best work of the best artists of all periods. It,is at once the chief pride of its owner and the crowning distinction of his house, for this room, more than the sumptuous living-rooms, is the real center of Mr. Widener’s house, and gives it an importance and interest that few other great houses in America possess. [25] ; ey TTT yy i nf Medpe neseehs Roslyn, New York, «* HARBOR HILL,’”? THE HOUSE OF CLARENCE H. MACKAY, ESQ. THE ENTRANCE DOORWAY. [26] , Pe VAL Tar 7 co + ‘ ents 2 ind a 228 ra J ‘ ph b ‘ ‘ i ~ i roa - ‘ a i © oe é ‘ 2 r ey i oe ' , 4 ¢ : r hee ‘ ) ‘ 2 . ‘ . . . ra . F - j | fl a : { ? . Hi, . a 7 *. ' = ' © ' . . ® ai® ' + “LNOWI AONVULNG AHL—'OsSd ‘AVYOVI “H AONAUVIO AO ASNOH AHL «."TTIH YWOMAVH » ‘sjoauyory ‘ay AA pea ‘WISP "ywo A MAN ‘ud[sOy the main stairwa) ~ ox| The Estate of Clarence H. Mackay, Esq., Roslyn, New York TRCN oi $c een eres ae mR. MNCK «| Pouse, “Hieber Pull,” is a stately. dignified compomtten, the some- What sever |"roft being gimeiowsly relieved by the excellent carving of the doorway. Tt is hast « pie, delicate gray stone of delightful tone and eolot throughout im oi, w | &'Pepat, ool gray hall fills the center, It is two stories # got. paneled #k columns and pilasters and coffered ceiling. The winduirs opposite | the entrance took ow! jv fe the heast of Hempstead Bay. The chief adornments are fh ur sets of old oak choer ) tall vi a church wm Eurdpe, exquisitely carved and beautiful works of art. . The chimneyyied:. a fie ge spoil fres European palace, is so huge that the wood of a single tree can be burn:1 F The plsnming of the house is simple. In the center is the hall; at the eftrang:, pipeteltg away righ} and left, is a wide corridor. at the left end of which is ~— Ke all the wooxdwerk in the open public parts of the ground floor, =) «“HARSOR P24.” THE HOUSE OF KI ARSAKE H. MACKAY. Eke PHe TERRACE, oe Lay “ENOWd AONVULNG FHL Osa “AVYOVIN “H dO spay ‘SM 2 pea ‘WE “Harbor Hill” The Estate of Clarence H. Mackay, Esq., Roslyn, New York what severe front being graciously relieved by the excellent carving of the doorway. It is built of a pale, delicate gray stone of delightful tone and color. A great, cool gray hall fills the center. It is two stories in height, paneled throughout in oak, with oak columns and pilasters and coffered ceiling. The windows opposite the entrance look out on to the head of Hempstead Bay. The chief adornments are four sets of old oak choir stalls from a church in Europe, exquisitely carved and beautiful works of art. The chimneypiece, a fine old spoil from a European palace, is so huge that the wood of a single tree can be burned within it. The planning of the house is simple. In the center is the hall; at the entrance, stretching away right and left, is a wide corridor, at the left end of which is the main stairway—oak, like all the woodwork in the open public parts of the ground floor, “ASVOUIV.LS AHL— OSA ‘AVMOVI “H AONAUVTIO AO ASNOH AHL « TITH YOMUVH » 4404 Adds “AMA APEINNNNNN . Yoon "y10K MAN ‘uATSOY [28] ‘(WOOWONIMVUG ALIHM AHL— Osa ‘AVYOVW “H FAONAUVYTIO JO ASNOH aHL ..°TIIH YOUUVH» "M4OA MON ‘udpsoY «« HARBOR HILL’?—THE FOUNTAIN. [30] «« HARBOR HILL’’—MRS. MACKAY’S BOUDOIR. aoe eer es Se DE a mk AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS with a heavily carved railing; from the ceiling of the uppermost story hangs a great bronze _lamp—a late Renaissance masterpiece. On the right is the dining-room, with pantries and kitchen beyond—the latter in a separate wing—and the billiard-room; on the left are the library and the white drawing-room. The library walls have a high paneled dado of polished wood below a covering of green stripes. Rare tapestries cover much of the wall space; above is a coved cornice of polished wood. There is much furniture in the room—a piano in one corner, a fine old French table near the fireplace, desks and tables, tables with lamps and tables with bric-A-brac, and a veritable garden of plants and palms. The whole room is surrounded with growing plants; great garden vases filled with fine specimens stand before two of the windows; mammoth Boston ferns, palms in the corners and by the windows; and yet the room is so large that there is no sense of overcrowding, and the plants are arranged in a truly decorative manner and in exquisite taste. The white drawing-room is cool and beautiful in color, all in white. Panels of mirrors fill spaces not occupied by doors; and of windows there are none at all, for it opens into an enclosed porch, or conservatory, to which, in a sense, it is an antechamber. The furniture is white, with caned seats and backs, covered with tapestried cushions; two great jardiniéres ‘with caned sides stand before the doors to the conservatory. Over a console, filling one of the great panels, is a portrait of the mistress of the mansion, a lovely, speaking figure. The conservatory beyond is another bower of flowers. White furniture here also, with red cushions; red carpet in the center; matting at the ends; glazed brick for ceiling. It is really an enclosed porch, looking out on to an open porch, with stone columns and red bricked floor. Beyond is the Italian garden; not as yet, it is true, laid out; but a graceful fountain fills the center, and a row of statues on each side hints what the immediate foreground will be when time and care have brought this portion of the grounds to maturity. The dining-room and billiard-room, on the other side of the central hall, are both noble apartments, for there is a splendid sense of space in this great house; the rooms are large, the windows ample, the ceilings lofty. Each room has its individual note and treatment; the dining-room is paneled throughout. An electric elevator takes one upstairs. Nearly half of the top floor is given up to nurseries, with separate rooms for the children and their attendants. Very pleasant these rooms are, in cool, quiet colors and fine furnishings, in which the quality of appropriateness has been very happily caught. All these apartments are communicating, and can, at the same time, be completely isolated from the rest of the house. Guest rooms, arranged in pairs, with a common bathroom, fill up much of the remainder of this floor, although some space for servants is found here, together with storage closets. Mrs. Mackay’s cedar room has special interest. The second floor contains the apartments of the master and-mistress of the house, together with some additional guest rooms. The latter are slightly more elegant than those ’ ° [31] [32] Roslyn, New York, «HARBOR HILL’’—MRS. MACKAY’S BEDROOM. AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS above, but have the same ampleness of size that distinguishes all the rooms of the house. Mr. Mackay’s rooms consist of his bedroom, finished in a cool shade of green, and a sitting-room, transformed at times into a place for exercise. A separate hall leads to my lady’s apartments. Here, at last, is the queen’s chamber, the intimate home of the active mind that dominated the creation of this palatial residence and the vast estate connected with it. A great curtain hangs across the hall, the farther end of which is enclosed. as an anteroom. Like the other rooms of this suite, it is carpeted, curtained, paneled, and finished in mauve, a beautiful, gentle hue. The boudoir, or sitting-room, opens immediately from the anteroom; it is large, thronged with furniture, curtained and walled with my lady’s color, and richly decked with the thousand and one articles—choice pieces of furniture, vases, lamps, pictures, bric-A-brac, books, and, above all, plants—which every great lady finds comforting to existence. Opposite the doorway is a canopied couch, over which hangs a rich ermine robe—a truly royal throne for the queen that rules here. «HARBOR HILL’’—MRS. MACKAY’S BATHROOM. [33] *syoaYyI4sy ‘asoua AA 2 Uae AA “ATAV.LS AHL—.«.TIH YOuavVH » ‘yIoK MAN SuATSOY [34] Lae a te fe AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS Mrs. Mackay’s bedroom comes next, and then the bathroom, with its famous bath, chiseled out of a single piece of rich marble and let into the floor—a room unlike any bathroom, with rich furnishings, lamps, easy-chairs, tables, and plants. “Harbor Hill” is no single country house, isolated in the midst of rural surroundings. It is the center of a vast estate of five hundred or six hundred acres, with many separate buildings for the greater development and the more thorough enjoyment of country life. The carriage house and stable is quite palatial, with magnificent appointments for the horses, a special suite for the head coachman, and comfortable quarters for the men. The farm barn is a separate structure, admirably equipped for the extensive farming operations carried on here; and the farmer’s house is an old Long Island farmhouse, long standing, and thoroughly restored and kept in fine order. There are kennels for the dogs, a special stable for the polo ponies, chicken houses and duck houses, conservatories and storage houses for bay trees, a dairy, and special houses for the men in charge of each department. Yet all these building features pale before the lovely attractiveness of the woods and drives. No less than ten miles of bridle paths—quite wide enough for a carriage—traverse the hills and valleys of this lovely estate, in which both nature and art have been combined in a thoroughly delightful manner, and so happily that the cultivated borders of the driveways—beautifully planted with flowering shrubs and greened with well-trimmed grass— merge naturally into the wilder beauty of the forests which still cover much of the land. There is true wildness in these woodlands, and Mrs. Mackay’s own little rustic cottage, deep in-the woods, and placed just where the views across the country are finest, is a truly wood retreat from the more modern splendors of the palace on the hill summit. [35] “ASQOH ULIHM AHL “RIQUIN[OD JO J1ISIG] ‘uOJTuIYsE AA [36] Tae The White House Washington, District of Columbia S| HE White House is the one residence of national interest in the United States. Other kent) furnished, may be more splendid, in a word, but no dwelling is so supreme in its attractions to the people as a whole, so richly endowed with historical interest, or associated with so many notable people, as the house of our Presidents, the one truly State resi- dence of our land—the White House. The dullest imagination kindles at thought of it, and even the political opponent of its occupant for the time being views it with respect as the home of the head of our State. It is the Nation’s house, the one residence in the country of abounding sentimental interest. It is a fortunate and delightful circumstance that its architectural interest is also great and very real, a fact of the more moment since the history of its building has not been altogether happy. Its original architect was an Irishman, James Hoban, who not only superintended its construction, but also its rebuilding in 1814, after it had been partly burned by the British. A stately and beautiful house it was he planned and built, and such it has since remained. It was but half finished when first occupied by Mrs. John Adams, on the removal of the seat of govern- ment from Philadelphia to Washington, in 1800. Twenty-five years later the north and south porticoes were built, although proposed as early as 1803, by B. H. Latrobe. Terraces, also, were added on the east and west. The east terrace disappeared early in the sixties; the west terrace, long since degraded into a foundation for greenhouses, has been now happily removed. Large sums of money have, from time to time, been spent on furniture, decorations, and supplies for the President’s House, as it was styled for fifty years in the appropriation bills; but little of artistic value—of permanent artistic value—went into the building, and not until the very complete and beautiful restoration of t9g02 did the White House interior become worthily repre- sentative of the best in American household art. This latter restoration was so skilfully done and was so very thorough, including as it did both structural and decorative changes, the rebuild- ing of the terraces, which were originally intended to form a component part of the building, and the erection of an office building, that permitted the house to be used, as it surely should houses may have greater local associations, may be larger, more richly built and only have been used, as a residence, that the names of the architects, McKim, Mead & White, are clearly entitled to be joined with that of the original creator, James Hoban. Judged by the standards of European palaces—and the White House, from its official use, is the only building we have that may be properly compared with them—1t is not large; but it is a building of extraordinary beauty and dignity, a restful and altogether satisfying , > [37] “AONVULNA AH.L—ASNOH ALIHM AHL sysuypaut[D "W “d Aq 1y3HAdoD [38] WOO LSVA AHL—dASNOH ALIHM AHL “psuypenyD "Wd Aq wyapAdoa [39] “TIVH LHOONVA ALVLS FHL—aASNOH aLIHM FHL -ysuypauyD “Ww “a Aq 343pAdoD AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS exterior, of which it is hardly too much to say it has no rival in stateliness of effect and simple loveliness among the great mansions of America. The straight lines of its fronts are broken only by the semicircular swelling of the south front, enclosed with a gracious colonnade of similar form, and the great portico of the north front, which serves as a porte-cochére as well as for visitors arriving on foot. Since the recent restoration a new entrance has been added to the end of the east terrace, where guests alight under a spacious porte-cochére, and enter a corridor formed by the terrace, with boxes for wraps and dressing-rooms in the main building, and where a stairway conducts them to the main floor. This arrangement has simplified the handling of the great crowds that throng the White House at receptions and on other festival occasions; for more than any other house in America this building is the scene of great functions, bringing together immense numbers of people, that call for broad passages for their coming and going, and enormous rooms for their entertainment. The famous screen of colored glass, placed by President Arthur between the vestibule and the main corridor, has been removed, and six white marble columns, grouped in pairs, substituted for it. The keynote of the interior is thus set by the pure Colonial treatment of the vestibule and the main corridor, the latter with pilastered walls and round arched niches, with electric light standards of beautiful design. The walls are painted Colonial yellow, and a dull red carpet is laid on the center of the stone floor. Copyright by B. M. Clinedinst. AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS The East Room—unquestionably the most famous room in America—is entered by the new stairs from the lower hall at its north end. It is a magnificent apartment, eighty feet long, forty feet wide, and twenty-two feet in height. The walls are paneled throughout with wood, save for a base of red Numidian marble, the panels being enclosed between pilasters supporting a finely modeled cornice. Over the doors and above the panels are sculptured reliefs—twelve in all—illustrating Asop’s fables. The woodwork is wholly in white, with a high enamel finish; the four mantels are of richly colored marble, and the curtains and hangings are of yellow. The floor is superbly polished, and the ceiling, from which hang three immense crystal chan- deliers, is delicately enriched with finely modeled ornament. Low stools, covered with the same rich material that is used for the hangings, are arranged around the walls. It is a spacious and magnificent room, very beautifully detailed, and arranged with exquisite taste. The State Dining-Room is at the opposite end of the corridor, at the west end of the building. Its original area has been extended by including within it the western end of the main hall. It is now large enough to accommodate a hundred persons at table. Above a marble base the walls are finished with a superb paneling of beautifully grained English oak, enclosed within pilasters of the same rich wood. Splendid Flemish tapestries, illustrating the ‘“‘Eclogues”’ of Virgil, hang against the wall, and to the cornice are fastened fine heads of deer, moose, and other American animals. The mantel is of white marble, the curtains of rich green velvet, the ceiling, in white, is beautifully detailed, and the floor is of polished marquetry. Three other rooms along the back of the house complete the State suite. Adjoining the State Dining-Room is the Red Room, which, like the other two, takes its name from its prevail- ing color. Its walls are covered with rich red velvet. The mantel is from the State Dining- Room. Many portraits, which formerly hung in the corridor and the East Room, are placed here. The Blue Room is oval in form, and is one of the most exquisitely proportioned rooms in America. Its walls are hung with steel blue ribbed silk, embroidered at the ceiling and above the wainscot with the Greek fret in yellow silk. The windows have heavy curtains, with a gilded eagle over the center of each. The marble mantel is supported by sheaves of arrows tipped with gilt bronze. This room is used by the President for official receptions, and its form and decorations are admirably adapted to ceremonial occasions. The Green Room, which adjoins it on the other side, is hung in velvet with a silvery sheen, and, like the Red Room, contains a number of portraits. The mantel formerly stood in the State Dining- Room. The private dining-room, which adjoins the State Dining-Room, has curtains of red velvet. The domed ceiling, like the other ceilings in the house, is white. A stone stairway near the main entrance of the East Room leads to the upper floor, which is now wholly given up to the family life. The old Cabinet Room is now used by the President as his workroom, and is an apartment rich in historic memories. The former offices have been transformed into bedrooms, and, almost for the first time in its history, the White House has been completely adapted to its proper uses, and is now a State residence, with ample and handsome rooms for State functions, and quite sufficient space for the accommodation of a large Presidential family. [42] The House of Herman B. Duryea, Esq. Old Westbury, New York WR. DURYEA’S house at Old Westbury, Long Island, is a striking structure, built in the pleasant woods for which the neighborhood is famous. It is placed on the slope of a hill, the entrance part in three stories, the garden part in two stories. It has a striking exterior of white stucco, the somewhat severe front being relieved by an ornamental centerpiece and balconies in the second story. The garden front is much freer in treatment—is, in fact, a festal composition of quite unusual charm. ‘Two wings extend from the main building, and end in open rooms, or porches, with trellised arches and walls. Above each window in the wings is a sculptured relief, emblem of the ornamental character of the rooms within. A columned center em- phasizes the middle of the main building, and above, behind a balustrade, is the oval exterior of the hall. The location of the house on the hillside, and the attend- ant fact that the front portion has a lower story which does not appear in the rear, are dis- tinguishing characteristics which vitally affect the plan, and make the interior one of most un- usual interest. The halls and corridors are its most striking features, and are arranged and developed in a very original way. The entrance hall is square, the pilastered walls of pink Caen stone. Steps be- tween a screen of Doric columns lead to a corridor connecting with a suite of bedrooms on the right, and with the service VIEW OF THE GARDEN FROM THE LOGGIA, [43] ‘syoayyaay ‘sBunsepy 29 ao1KD ‘advVOVA NIVN “ aHL— Osa ‘VaAUNG “A NVAYAH JO ASNOH AHL i ye gee OAKES: eT all ts s sie ——_—_ "yIoX Man ‘AingisaAy PIO [44] ‘NISV€ GNV GUYVALYNOOS AHL > HHL~««c LANOOTAE “NOOWONINIG TVAO Abner J. Haydel, Architect. ««GREY CRAIG,’’ THE HOUSE OF J. MITCHELL CLARK, ESQ. vy ie pha Newport, Rhode Island. [84] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS ceiling, and an enclosed and decorated cage for the stairs which lead to the story above. There are some rich articles of furniture in this hall and splendid rugs on the floor. The music-room is frank- ly Gothic, with pointed windows and archways, and a high pointed vault, which is not the less effec- tive because it is made of plaster. This great baro- nial hall was built with the view of producing a properly appointed space in which to display one of the finest collections of old armor to be seen in Newport, Rhode Island. Richard M, Hunt, Architect, «« BELCOURT,”’ THE HOUSE OF O. H. P. BELMONT, ESQ. this country. Many of the suits of mail have been mounted on manikins and placed upon horses, which have been draped and fully caparisoned, showing how the knights would appear when arrayed for a tourney. The loft above is provided with a large and sweetly toned organ, while the windows are filled with colored glass representing battle scenes and tournaments. Richly embroidered flags hang from the ceiling, from which also depend large chandeliers. A screen covered with historic bits, spurs, and other medieval trappings forms an important part of the collection. The beautiful dining-room is oval, treated in green and white, and designed in the Empire style. The walls are marked off with columns, between which hang heavy cur- tains. The room is lined with mirrors, the openings of the bay window being closed at night with the same surfacing. “Grey Craig,” the House of J. Mitchell Clark, Esq. “Grey Craig,’ the house of J. Mitchell Clark, Esq., has the advantage of a very distinct character among the Renaissance palaces which abound in Newport. It is a genuinely castellated building, quite unusual in style, and, quite unusual for Newport, placed on an estate of about one hundred and twenty-five acres. The house stands alone, Me Ay rat hae sn peep tte AA” og [86] «GREY CRAIG’’—THE HOUSE AND LAKE. AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS with no near-by edifice with which it may come in immediate contrast. It is built of stone taken from the land on which it stands, a pudding-stone having the quality of a natural concrete. Much of it. is covered with natural moss, and hardly an individual stone shows; but there is a superb massiveness in the walls, which are dark gray, with a genuinely antique character. The house is entered under the great massive tower. A vaulted corridor or entrance hall leads to the great central hall, a superb apartment, two stories in height. It is not only the central room of the house, but the most important. To the left is a platform, with a fine pipe organ, flanked on either side by a cathedral-like window; below them are Spanish church stalls, with high, heavily carved backs, having opal panels with heads in the center; fine black oak stalls of unusual beauty, admirably placed. On the opposite side is a row of columns and pointed arches, a certain irregularity being given to the space by cutting off a part with curtains. The walls are of rough gray plaster with sand finish, and, save the carved capitals of the columns, there are no moldings or decorations beloved of the architects. The coffered ceiling is of California redwood, with beams supported by old Florentine shields; in the center is a large skylight, with a brilliant sunburst in the middle. At night this is lighted above. The walls are hung with superb old tapestries and rare paintings. The parquet floor is covered with rich rugs. The furniture is old and chiefly Italian. ««GREY CRAIG’’—A VIEW FROM THE GARDEN. ‘spayoiy ‘sSunsepy 29 ataueg “LNOUW AONVULNY AHL—TMYINVO GUVHOI ‘SUN AO ASMOH AHL “purysy apo"y ‘yaodmay [88] i , AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS The general shape of the building is rectangular, with the entrance at one end. A small corridor to the left of the entrance leads to Mr. Clark’s den; an elevator, also recessed, is just before his door. Immediately opposite, on the right, is a staircase to the second floor. Passing into the hall, one is at once attracted by the great window at the end of a cor- ridor exactly opposite the entrance hall. To its left is the dining-room, to the right the draw- ing-room, the two rooms and the separating corridor being so arranged that, from the dinner table, one may look out through the drawing-room windows upon the view beyond. The dining-room is three steps above the level of the entrance corridor. Like all the interior, except the drawing-room, it has sand-finished walls. The furniture is gilt and red, and over the vast marble sideboard is a mirror which reflects the view from the great bay window opposite. The drawing-room has an elliptical vault, illuminated at night with lights placed in stars, about a hundred, a brilliant effect that needs to be seen to be appreciated. The walls are hung with cloth-of-gold material, against which are placed mirrors and pictures. The furniture is gilt and of Italian origin. The second floor has a series of corridors and loggias surrounding the central hall. Here are guest rooms and the rooms of the owner. In the far corner, adjoining the owner’s bedroom, is a morning room, decorated in Chinese materials and with Oriental effect. The corner windows afford a superb view. The House of Mrs. Richard Gambrill. The startling beauty and daring originality of Mrs. Richard Gambrill’s house give it high rank among the notable houses of America. It is one of the most individual mansions in Newport: a house of refined beauty, admirably studied in all its parts, yet of truly spontaneous design. It is a large, rectangular building, with a high-pitched roof, which contains two stories of dormer windows, the upper series being small ovals. The high plain chimneys are a very marked feature of the roof. The walls are without vertical lines, and have no architectural treatment, save a shallow string course at the base of the windows in the second story. The windows have no external frames, but are sunk in the thick wall: each has a carved keystone, which, in those of the first story, is assimilated with a carved decoration under the shallow balconies below the upper windows. These balconies are supported by carved brackets, and the base of the windows is enclosed within wrought iron railings. A somewhat narrow cornice, with quite marked projection, crowns the wall and serves as a base for the roof. Such, very briefly summarized, are the chief elements of the design of the main part of the house. The ornamental features of the exterior are, however, very marked. The fine proportions, the admirable spacing of the voids and solids, the treatment of the carved ornament—very slight, indeed, but very admirably used—serve at once to give this design distinction. But the doorways and loggias are so highly ornamental, and the latter so original, as to give ’ [89] “LNOW NAdaVO AHL—TIYAINVD CGuaVHOled “SYN AO ASNOH AHL e*> rerrrereterere +909 AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS a special character to this most interesting house. The doorways are quite monumental in design—round arched portals with double columns, supporting an entablature which carries a balustrade, forming the central balcony. The detail here is very beautiful and in brilliant contrast with the sobriety with which the adjoining walls are finished. The loggias are the chief distinction of the house and its most conspicuous ornament. They stand one at each end of the garden front. They are identical in design, one story high, with three arches on the side and a projecting bay on the front. The arches are plainly cut, without moldings, but have large carved keystones and festooned spandrels. The walls are trellised in formal patterns with large upper ovals, and the windows have elaborately designed fanlights in the arches THE LOGGIA, [or] “NOTVS HOUVT AHL—TUYINVO GUVHOIA ‘SYN AO ASNOH AHL [92] Y & ’ ny pes & rN _ ss ALON, S: MRS. RICHARD GAMBRILL—THE SMALL HOUSE OF THE ‘NOOWONINIG AHL~TIYINVD GUVHOI ‘SUN AO FSNOH AHL AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS over the openings. The balustrade which crowns the cornice has sculptured groups of children on the corner piers. The grounds which surround the house have been arranged in fine harmony with it. The building stands on a terrace, much of which is enclosed within balustrades. The approaches of the two fronts are much alike, with broad flights of steps, balustrades finished at the ends with large vases, and very symmetrical bay trees. On the right of the entrance front is the stable, and a service yard which is placed at a lower level than the spacious fore court and other grounds. On the other side of the house is a great green garden, with paths of grass marked off with low borders of flowers, and a vast central fountain, whose jet throws a stream of water high into the air. Stone benches are placed around the fountain, and groups of statuary stand on decorated bases. On the sides of the house the view is closed with a latticed pergola, with piers of small open circles and latticed panels. Sculptured figures stand under the openings, and at one end is a great domed summer house, also of lattice design. With such a splendid exterior, a sumptuous interior follows as a matter of course. The entrance hall is designed in a monumental manner, with walls of Caen stone and columns of polished marble. The door openings are flat, with round arched niches between them, and the cornice is richly detailed. To the right, the stairs to the upper story ascend in a graceful curve; behind them are the pantries and service-rooms which connect with other rooms and aes a 4, cay THE HALL. [95] *syoaziys1y ‘suivayg 29 Apoqead ‘LNOWI FONVULNA AH.L—UALVIS ‘DO “H “A ‘SYN AO NOISNVI «“ANTAAdOH » “purjsy epoyy Siodman AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS THE PERGOLA OF MRS, RICHARD GAMBRILL. with the kitchen in the basement. To the right is the library, a daintily designed room in very light green. Three large rooms on the garden front complete the apartments on this floor. In the center is the salon, exquisitely paneled with ornament in low relief. The living- room on the left is paneled throughout with Italian walnut, with ornaments in subdued gold. The dining-room, on the right, is paneled with pilasters. The loggias form open rooms for the summer, but are enclosed for the cold weather. Their lower walls are lined with stone; above is a frieze, painted by James Wall Finn, of vases of flowers and birds under trellised arbors. A similar design, with many variations, is painted on the ceilings. A light bluish green is the dominant color in these very remarkable and highly individual decorations. “‘Hopedene,” the House of Mrs. E. H. G. Slater. “Hopedene,”’ the house of Mrs. E. H. G. Slater, is designed in a quiet Italian style, very subdued in treatment, but thoroughly good and homelike in character. The entrance is on the side, with a round roofed porch. The windows of the first story have round arches; those of the second are flat-topped, all quite simply cut in white stone and directly applied to the brick of which the walls are built. The garden front has two symmetrical wings, with a broad terrace between them, enclosed within a balustrade and covered with a wide awning. In the center of the second story is a triple window under a great round arch, which lights the stairs in the hall. A semicircular porch in two stories is the central feature of the opposite side, which is supported by a terrace, with balustrades and steps. A very low sloping roof, with low dormers and broadly projecting eaves, covers the building. [97] LNOW NAGYVD AHLYALVITS “DO °H “HA “SUNW AO NOISNVW «.“ANAdHdOH »» = rictintniie Ce ae [98] a - ~ e) x ) Z Z a x oe be = «« HOPEDE > pt Bapiy Cor perg ASEAN PINES Wee ew ye pe ve oe oe 7D PN Or be em em ee, Pog, tw rare Po EY Stas eo > mz < Pe) s = | a a 3 a Z tsi a & Qu e) an) wa [ror] -~THE DRAWING-ROOM. «« HOPEDENE’?- “sIAUYIAY “YM 2 Peay “Wry ) HONMTHAO NNVANYAH ‘SYN AO ASNOH AHL «.“AATTOUSOU »» ae REA "Ae eee Trt sev pence ipene “purlsy spoyy ‘jaodmany » OE Te VT en te AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS A large hall fills the center of the house. It is designed in the style of the Italian Renaissance. The richly decorated ceiling is supported by Ionic columns. The walls are paneled and decorated with ornamental niches. The stairway fills one side, with a platform below the triple window. The furniture coverings and curtains are of green velvet. The reception- room and library are om one side; the dining-room, with pantries and kitchen beyond, on the other. The reception-room is paneled in oak, with paintings let into the large panels. The smaller panels are delicately ornamented, and the mirror frame is very elaborately treated. A cornice in relief completes the wall decoration. The dining-room is more formal in style, the cornice upheld by. Corinthian pilasters, and the walls paneled and with built-in mirrors. The doorways are surmounted with semicircular arches with decorated panels. The library is a room of quite unusual beauty, and is a close copy of the celebrated library in the Chateau de Blois. Like its famous prototype, the walls are completely covered with small decorated panels, and the fleur-de-lis forms the motif of the ornamentation of the overmantel. The house stands on a little peninsula, so that two adjoining sides directly face the ocean, and, indeed, open directly upon it. The grounds are laid out as a formal garden, and are decorated with many notable pieces of sculpture and handsomely carved marbles. ‘Rosecliff,’ the House of Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs. The design of “ Rosecliff,’”” Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs’s house, is based on that of the Grand Trianon at Versailles. It is in no sense a reproduction of that famous palace, for no attempt has been made to reproduce its vast scale, and the second story, which is treated as an architectural attic, does not appear in the prototype, but was quite obviously necessitated by American conditions, which, in a residential mansion, required a structure of more than one story in height, as is the case with the French palace. The Grand Trianon is a somewhat cold building of not very great architectural interest. Quite the contrary can be said of Mrs. Oelrichs’s house, for it is smaller, more compact, and more ornate; and, being an American residence containing a large suite of splendid rooms, it is apparent that the design is original, although, like many original designs, it is based on a distinct historical idea. The house is built of white terra-cotta, and its general plan is after the form of the letter H, giving an open court on each side. The architectural treatment of the exterior is throughout quite similar, and consists of round arched windows in the first story, enclosed within pilasters supporting an entablature, above which is the second story, with flat-topped windows and smaller pilasters corresponding to those below. The open court on the seaside is filled with a great terrace, enclosed within a marble balustrade, with large vases on the corners and at the top of the steps, and decorated with bay trees and other plants. On the lawn below are three large groups of sculpture, the central one, an impressive seated figure of a woman, forming the chief feature of a fountain. [103] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS The courts which fill the centers of the two sides are somewhat differently treated, but each includes a terrace which projects well forward beyond the walls of the house. The garden front is distinctly the richer, as befits the more retired and private part of the house. The wings are longer here, with three windows on the side, while on the sea front they have but one. Across the three central openings of the center is a colonnade of double columns, with an entablature on which are four sculptured groups. The garden terrace has no balustrade, but is laid out in box borders and adorned with many plants and bay trees. Two standing lions are placed at the center of the steps, and the platform contains marble seats, superb vases, and a delightful fountain in the middle. Another fountain stands on the lawn below. In a very literal sense of the word this magnificent house is a palace. It is architectural elegance of a very refined and penetrating character. It is sumptuous architecture, moreover, very beautifully composed and very carefully treated. It is a house built quite obviously for stately living, and has, most naturally, a thoroughly distinguished air. The grounds have been developed and decorated in a sumptuous manner, and add very largely to the splendor of the mansion which they surround. «* ROSECLIFF ’?—-THE SEA FRONT. [104] “White Hall” The House of Henry M. Flagler, Esq., Palm Beach, Florida. tively simple in its external treatment. It is eminently stately and serene, the great colonnade of, the main front being the chief external adornment. The columns are monumental in scale, and the five great arched openings behind them, and the large windows above, are direct expressions of internal splendor of dimensions which the whole of the exterior admirably denotes. Architecturally, it is two stories in height, the attic story being in the roofs, which are long and low and sloping, and whose varying heights have been cleverly utilized in giving variety to the silhouette. It is classic in feeling and in detail, but bears unmistakably the character of a great American country house, admirably adapted to its environment in the beautiful Florida landscape in which it has been placed. «WHITE HALL’’—THE LIBRARY. [105] “AONVULNGA NIVIN qHL—..TIVH ALIHM » Y. ~ ~ $i nag . iim rig ; “ Sah ze amp A S inet nes > ms . - ~ / ‘ : = 4 , < : Re ep th e eg y 2 BG a * 3 1. a a 2 xe aaa PEE PSST OSS et a 3 a, at * 8 x rae? wal = ‘ at as @! oe 7 , Z [106] ‘Spay ‘sSunsepyy xy ee | ‘Osd ‘UATOVTA ‘AW AYNAH AO ASNOH AHI 46 « ‘ TIVH a.LIHM » “epuory ‘yovag wyeg [107] ‘««WHITE HALL’’._THE BRONZE DOOR. [108] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS The front is a hundred and seventy-five feet long and the depth a hundred and fifty- five feet. Such dimensions would be intolerable in a Northern house; but they are none too great here, since the center of the dwelling is occupied by a court, about ninety feet by fifty feet, spacious enough to amply light all the rooms and passages that open upon it, and forming a most entrancing center to this magnificent home. Directly before one, as one enters the hall, is the double staircase of white statuary marble to the upper story. It occupies fully a half of the whole length of the hall, standing in a recess of its own, the beginning of the stairs being marked off with four columns of polished American: white and green marble, with a great marble vase before each group. The hand- rails are beautiful examples of modern bronze work; before each ramp is a fine piece of old tapestry; a central window looks into the court. The walls are of white and green marble, and at each end is a screen of double columns, standing one close behind the other, forming inner vestibules to the rooms that open from either end. The ceiling is richly carved, and treated in gray with ornamentation in solid gold; in the center is a large circular painting by Benevenotti. The chairs, tables, and chests with which the hall is furnished were expressly : : : : ; ' ' «WHITE HALL’’—THE ROSE DU BARRY BEDROOM. [109] “TIVH FHL—..TIVH ALIHM » [110] “AV MUTV.LS ANVUS AHL—..TIVH aL 1H M» [111] ‘NOOUTIVA FHL « TIVH a.LIHM » [ir2] oe ate AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS made for this room, and are fine examples of costly workmanship. The splendid marble floor is partly covered with superb rugs. The general treatment is Louis XVI. On the right of the hall is the drawing-room, and on the left the library. The latter is an agreeable room to read in. Nothing is wanting to heighten the effect. The style is Renais- sance. The walls have-a high wainscot of Circassian walnut, with red Spanish damask of two shades above. The walnut mantelpiece between the windows is paneled with brass ornaments, and is richly gilt, the overmantel being filled with a life-size portrait of Mr. Flagler. Then comes the art gallery and music-room, an apartment of large size, admirably designed for the choice collection of paintings it contains. It is treated in old ivory and antique gold. In the center of the ceiling is a copy of Guido Reni’s ‘‘Aurora.”’ It is lighted with jeweled crystal chandeliers. At one end is a large pipe organ. The next room is the billiard-room, a quaint apartment in the Swiss style. The beamed ceiling is distinctly Teutonic in decorative feeling. The grand salon is on the right of the hall, corresponding to the library. It is Louis XVI. in style, and is a sumptuous apartment in French gray, the walls paneled in gold and gray brocaded silk. It contains a beautiful mantel of white statuary marble; the ceiling has decorated medallions; the portiéres are richly embroidered, and the furniture is elaborate and costly. Immediately adjoining it is the dining-room, most hospitable in size. The style is Francois I., and the color scheme a rich green; the walls have a paneled wainscot of satinwood below and a rich brocade above. The elaborate mantelpiece supports a mirror. The beau- tiful ceiling is coffered in large squares, with ornaments in high relief, and is green and cream. The furniture was expressly made for this room. Adjoining the dining-room is a small break- fast-room, in ivory enamel; the ceiling ornamentation is tipped with gold; the furniture is mahogany with bronze mountings. Beyond is the kitchen, with pantries, serving-rooms, storage-rooms, and other depend- encies, filling an extension beyond the main building. In a corresponding space on the other side are two offices, one of which is set apart for Mr. Flagler’s personal use. The rear of the house—in the space on the farther side of the court and corresponding to the hall—is filled with a ballroom. The style is Louis XV., and the color scheme white and gold. Five great openings on either side form the motif: on one side they are windows; on the opposite side they are curtained doorways. The spaces between have round arched panels filled with mirrors. The hangings and draperies are of Rose du Barry silk. The decorations are almost purely architectural, the doorways, windows, and mirror panels being encased within a wood paneling. The panels over the doors and windows are copies by Gatty, of Paris. The ceiling is treated in large rectangles, the alternate ones being the richer. The room is illuminated by lights dependent from the ceiling and by side lights. The furniture, as befits a ballroom, is confined to low stools and benches. [113] [114] «WHITE HALL’’—THE DINING-ROOM. ee a Te “ AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS The bedrooms, which fill the upper story, are fitted up with rare taste and fine indi- viduality of treatment. Much of their furniture has been especially designed for the particular rooms in which it is placed. Unlike a great country house in the North, this vast Southern palace has no outbuildings and subsidiary structures. One does not keep a stable of horses at Palm Beach, and one does not need elaborately planned and cultivated gardens to set off one’s house. Plants and flowers, trees and shrubs, grow here unaided and with rare Southern profuseness and rapidity. [115] pauyory “epuey Away yp ‘OSd ‘UOOd “M AUNAH AO ASMOH AHL "yIOA MAN Sopaxny [116] The House of Henry W. Poor, Esq. Tuxedo, New York JHE house of Mr. Poor is one of the most notable at Tuxedo. It occupies a command- ing position-on the summit of Tower Hill, and dominates the whole of Tuxedo Park. { It is a beautiful house in the Jacobean style, stately and dignified in its parts, and admirably adapted to its position. No tower or pyramidal effect was needed to give emphasis to such a situation, but the roof line is very happily broken by the curved gable ends, the tops of which stand out free against the sky. It is U-shaped in plan, the hollow containing the entrance front being away from the bluff on which the house is_ built. This front has a slightly ex- tended center, with an open porch below, and two _ short wings, which create an open court. The house it built of dark red and black brick, with stone trimmings. The most elaborate feature of the exterior is at the main entrance—a richly carved frontispiece of stone that very happily empha- sizes its purpose. The whole design is quite symmetrical, although the left wing contains an addition for the service rooms, and a kitchen court enclosed within a brick wall. These parts have, however, been so subordinated as not to interfere with the general harmony and symmetry of the design. THE ENTRANCE. [117] “ANVT AHL ONIXYOOTUAAO ‘HOUOd AHL [118] “AOVUNAL UNV NadaYVO GANOIHSVA-adTO [119] "TIVH NIVW FHL AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS The garden front follows out the same general idea, but the three gables here are on aline. Here are three slight extensions, surmounted with gables, each containing bay windows in two stories. All the windows are in groups or pairs, mullioned with stone frames. The side porches, in two stories, are fine, built of stone, with stone paneled piers; richly coffered ceilings add to their splendor. The one overlooking the lake seems built directly on the cliff, and commands a superb view. The main doorway opens directly into the hall, a gallery-like apartment which runs the full length of the house. Immediately in face is the drawing-room; to the right is a double- arched entrance to the stairs, and then the library, wh’ch is entered from the end of the hall. To the left is a small reception room, with the dining-room beyond and a passageway to the service rooms. All the main rooms on this floor, therefore, open directly on to the hall. A very charming hall it is too. From floor to ceiling it is paneled in oak, with richly carved door-frames. The ceil- ing, like all the ceilings on this floor, is plastered in geometric design. The floor is of hard wood, with a rich green carpet. It is at once a hall and a gal- lery, admirably proportioned and treated throughout in a thoroughly architectural and dignified manner. Many hand- some pieces of furniture are placed within it; high-back chairs handsome tables, a cou- ple of fine old chests before the windows. The drawing-room walls are covered with light gray silk of delicate texture. A rare old Italian door-frame, elaborately carved in stone, encloses the doorway. The ch mneypiece is also treasure-trove from Europe, and fills a goodly part of one THE MANTEL IN THE DINING-ROOM. [121] ASL i 4 ‘ TS eae pagmemnpali = nl il i Hi UAE A faa ii 3 THE SMOKE ROOM. [122] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS side. On one wall is a fine old piece of tapestry in a richly carved canopied frame. The room is not large; for this is a summer home, built for summer use only, and for a life chiefly spent out of doors. It is, therefore, quite natural that the library should be a larger room. _ It is lined throughout with books -to the tops of the door-frames. The mantel is modern, of wood, decorated in panels. At one end is a great table; toward the other a rare old desk, with large carved figures. The dining-room, like the hall, is paneled throughout in wood; it has an ornamented stone mantel of ample size. Just beyond is the pantry, with a servants’ dining-room in the wing; the corresponding wing on the library side is filled with a suite of apartments, a sitting-room, and bedrooms. The archways enclosing the space within which are the stairs are richly carved, as are also the newel posts and handrail. The under-steps lead down to the Smoke Room. The floor is of brick; the walls are of wood, unpaneled; the ceiling is beamed; the fireplace is encased within a gigantic stone framework that saw much use abroad before being finally set up here. There are many trophies; the walls are thickly covered with prints and illustrations of hunting and horse life; a narrow shelf is crowded with jars, pots, steins, candlesticks, plates, and knick- POSTE TTI ERIS = THE DRAWING-ROOM. [123] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS knacks in delightful profusion. There are deer heads and other relics of the chase, and strings of hornet nests—most suggestive of the strenuous outdoor life. It is a room of quiet, simple charm, a room for a man to be happy in, and happy with his friends. One has but to step out of the door to find one’s self on one of the terraces. Tuxedo Park is itself one great garden, so beautiful are its lawns, so fine its roads, so clean its shrub- bery; a hydrangea or two, or perhaps some other brightly colored flower, seems all to be required. — A splendid house on top of a hill is apt to be a bit isolated. Mr. Poor promptly argued that, if there were not room at the top, he would make room by building up his mountain until he had space sufficient and to spare. So the outer corner of his flower garden is supported by a high wall, giving him as much space as he desired on the summit, and a corner of the globe that he has made his very own. It is a lovely spot, arranged in terraces that gradually diminish in elevation, but still keeping well to the summit on which the house stands. It contains two fountains, both old and European—one with a bronze summit, the other wholly of stone. And of pots and well heads, of carved benches and ornaments, of bay trees and curious plants, of roses, dahlias, and other plants of bloom and foliage, there is a plenty. It is a cleverly designed garden too; for, although the total area is not large as large gardens go, the apparent size is most considerable. It is a charming, lovely open space, with the eternal view beyond, this strange, gentle, quiet forest land, so marvelously peopled with modern palaces, so thoroughly subdued by American civilization, and yet still retaining the rare beauty of its natural state— this wonderful contrast of man and nature! [124] “Biltmore” The Estate of George W. Vanderbilt, Esq., in North Carolina §|T is a flattering comment on the architectural splendor of Biltmore that, while Mr. Vanderbilt’s great house is not new as new houses are now counted, public interest in it as the greatest of American country houses has never languished. Its building has been followed by the opening up of a long unknown country, and the develop- ment of country activities and interests on a scale never before attempted in America. The house is as completely without rivals as is the estate. It stands on a spur of a hill which has been leveled to make space for it, overlooking the French Broad River. It commands what is surely one of the most magnificent views in the world, a succession of hills and valleys and rolling country of almost limitless extent, reaching as far as the eye can see, stretching Wl ml § 3 Copyright, r902, by C. F. Ray, Asheville, N. C. «« BILTMORE ”—THE GARDEN. oe i *PUl[OIRS) YUON rowyig “LNOW NAGYVD AHL—'Osd “LIIMGYTANVA “M HOUOUO AO ASNOH AHL «.“AYOW.LI1A » “ON ‘SIAeysy ‘Avy “a ‘Dd Aq ‘z06x yy StAdog “DaUYyAY YUNA "AL pacyory [126] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS indefinitely off into a region filled with beautiful spots, and with suggestions of other beauties, unseen, yet suggested. This is the supreme attraction of Biltmore—the wonderful scenery—for the house has a site that at once commands the loveliest views, and gives it, as a dwelling, the best possible situation and the greatest advantage. The circumstances that led to the foundation of this great estate are well known. Mr. Vanderbilt was attracted to it by its wonderful scenery and fine climate. The accumulation of land proceeded at a rapid rate, until now the estate comprises an area of one hundred and forty-seven thousand acres. Statistics are uninteresting and perhaps of little value, and yet unless the size of this great property is realized its very unusual character will not be compre- hended. To say, therefore, that the park contains thirty-eight miles of macadamized drives, seventy of wagon road, and two hundred and sixty-five miles of trails in the forests, is to express more than commonplace facts, but offers a guide to determining the scale of the property. Biltmore comprises two parts—the home grounds and the estate. The home grounds are in the immediate vicinity of the house, as the name implies, and they have been treated with much elaboration of detail, with terraces and gardens, and gardens again descending down the slopes, and including among other , ini e oy interesting features an old English garden, with fruit trees trained against the walls, a fascinating ‘spot and a truly delight- a, ee nee ae ~_ ~ a E NE - ful one. As for the estate, Nature there is still Na- ture, and perhaps will a pel always be so. The area is much too large to be reduced to formal treat- ment, and much of it 2 eS LE 4 3 . } | f i ; Lb would lose its present mT grandeur if subjected to iin eS ae an cultivation. Asa matter of fact, the future of Biltmore will be a mat- Re ter of development. Mr. Vanderbilt, as is well — coyrign., kee F. Ray) Abbeville, N.C. known, is deeply inter- ‘BILTMORE ”—THE MAIN ENTRANCE. , [127] a [128] Ray, Asheville, N.C. «« BILTMORE ””_THE ENTRANCE TOWER. Copyright, 1902, by C. F. AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS ested in arboriculture, and has already established an arboretum which ranks among the most extensive in the world. Here forest culture is carried out on the largest scale yet attempted in this country; a school of forestry is in active operation, and many valuable results have already been obtained. And in this lies one of the chief characteristics of this estate—its vast size enables most extensive experiments in plant and tree life to be carried out on it. These experiments all have an economic value, for the owner’s idea is not to experiment for the sake of experimenting, but to obtain results of positive value that will be helpful not alone to the management of this property, but which will be available to landowners and land cultivators throughout the entire country. Much has already been done in these directions, and much more will doubtless be done. But it is a notable fact that this great estate is not kept up as a place of pure enjoyment for its owner, but it is intended to be a great practical college in agriculture and forestry. And so it is that, while planned as a private, personal estate, it has already become a national institution, whose value to the country at large increases each year. Mr. Vanderbilt has, and perhaps wisely, chosen to regard the interior of his magnificent dwelling as _ personally belonging to himself. Freely permitting the photographing of the exterior, he looks upon the interior as having interest only to himself and his friends. “Biltmore”’ suggests, but does not reproduce, historic models. It em- ploys historic ideas and familiar motifs, but it employs them, as the great architects of the great periods of archi- tecture have done, as the models and tools at hand. Just aseachGothic church and each Renais- sance palace is a distinct and individual compo- sition, although using Copyright, 1902, bygC. F. Ray, Asheville, N.C. motifs familiar to every «« BILTMORE”—THE FOUNTAIN IN THE COURT, [129] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS one, and most of all to the designers of those times, so here the most beautiful ideas are employed, but employed afresh and in a new way. The open stairway at Biltmore recalls, as it was doubtless intended to recall, the great stair at Blois; but it recalls it only as an octagonal stair lighted by many windows must recall it. One can not get away from the original structure, but the stair at Biltmore is not the less an individual creation, distinctive and modern. And the same may be said of the house as a whole. It resembles a French chateau, since that resemblance was intended. Yet it is familiar in suggestion only, for it is a new and original composition, designed by an American architect for American surroundings. It is a wonderful example of the proper use of historic precedent. The house speaks for itself. It is a great house of a great estate, and as such it stands alone among the great houses of America. It expresses that idea very fully, and, if it expresses it well and artistically, it surely has achieved a very marked success. Nothing has been spared, neither within nor without the house, nor in the large private grounds that surround it, that might add to its beauty or make it admirable as a place of residence. [130] \ iyo. . > A ¢ < a AVE : . iad ' “ he a. = a ‘ é q * i € Z se : Lo . 1 7 ae) { wan . r ia . ‘ Pen 2 a tS al ; . Z ihe - ‘ . ‘ id ; F 2 = oe ‘ 72 er A aie 5 (62 4 a tl DO aes Little & Brown, Architects. Brookline, Massachusetts. F. SPRAGUE. CHARLES MRS. THE HOUSE OF ««FAULKNER FARM,?’’ o '“PRaulkner Farm” Mrs. Charles P. Sprague’s House, Brookline, Meswsachusetts —_—_— scasrorars Stephen ye TATELINESS 5 surely the character note of the glee? beuse of “Faulkner Farm.” It is a design that combines, in a very marked dbgprse. the qualities of dignity, sobriety, ar beauty, the three qaatities essential 4 «tecessful building, in a fine architecturs] ensemiyic. It w «a house of great site # 1s wings and outbuildings that themselves cover alraost as much ares as the great centte! sitmcture: but itlis a building that attracts one by its very dignified parts, ant the thoroughly seecessful way in which a simple, direct, and straightforward use of good forms and the employtaent of good materidls have been « jomed in producing an cflect that is at once grandiose and without effort or undue| enrichment. The garten, which forms so fine a feature of the plage, was designed and ptranged by Mr. Charlee A. Platt after the house and a good deal of the #tractwre! eork on the grounds had been beilt. Ne doubt, from the landscape architect's standptint, this entailed certain disadvantages, simee perfect freedom of design was denied him; hat of the artistic suteess of the arden thee cou be ao dout: a From the designer's «taniti- pois there may mt be that thorough wriv which nghtly pettaime to every great art work; from the visitor's stand point there can be only delight that se charm a garden was ¢reated im this jovely place. “Faulkner Farm” is a large estate, with the varied “rural industries that belong te such a property. The garden, however, is in immediate prox- mmnity to the house, and ‘its design necessitated the com- plete transformation of the ®tounds in near juxtaposition ‘40%. The general plan is } « FAULKNER FARM,"” [x32] AWVS WANWIAVG "S}Q0SNysessepy ‘ow ‘sqanyry “uMoIg 3 IAT {ESSE PY “FRaulkner Farm’ Mrs. Charles F. Sprague’s House, Brookline, Massachusetts J} TATELINESS «is surely the character note of the great house of ‘‘Faulkner Farm.”’ It is a design that combines, in a very marked degree, the qualities of dignity, sobriety, and beauty, the three qualities essential to successful building, in a fine architectural ensemble. It is a house of great size, with wings and outbuildings that themselves cover almost as much area as the great central structure; but it is a building that attracts one by its very dignified parts, and the thoroughly successful way in which a simple, direct, and straightforward use of good forms and the employment of good materials have been joined in producing an effect that is at once grandiose and without effort or undue enrichment. The garden, which forms so fine a feature of the place, was designed and arranged by Mr. Charles A. Platt after the house and a good deal of the structural work on the grounds had been built. No doubt, from the landscape architect's standpoint, this entailed certain disadvantages, since perfect freedom of design was denied him; but of the artistic success of the garden there can be no doubt. From the designer’s stand- point there may not be that thorough unity which rightly pertains to every great art work; from the visitor’s stand- 7 point there can be only delight ACoRIIIT ill a ie ii i: that so charming a garden was | al ne il nee created in this lovely place. 4 “Faulkner Farm” is a large estate, with the varied rural industries that belong to such a property. The garden, however, is in immediate prox- imity to the house, and its design necessitated the com- plete transformation of the grounds in near juxtaposition to it. The general plan is «« FAULKNER FARM.”’ [131] ‘Pauyoy adeospue’T ‘ned tf sajzeyD ‘sayy ‘umorg 2 91937 “ANOVUdS “A SATUVHO ‘SYN AO ASNOH AHL «SNUVA YANATAVA » “syjasnyoesseyy ‘aulpyoorg [132] “WIVM VAONVUCGAH FHL AOVUAAL AHL OL ONIGVAT SdaLS AHL “ONISVO HHL AAYOdUA TOOd AHL—.« NUVA VWANYNTAVA» Crh Te Bs fa Bs eed el eT - a ; j ‘ Serer rerr erase eee So eS 3 » i RE [134] 4 S ce » . > a ae Lag aig Fekete 2, eae stil j =| CASINO. THE «*« FAULKNER FARM ”’ [136] ae ?, Rie we , «FAULKNER FARM’’—-THE GARDEN. AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS simple. {The house is a vast rectangle. A broad drive leads up before one front, where is a great graveled forecourt, that affords ample space for waiting carriages. Beyond it—to one’s right as one drives up to the house—is a grove of trees, largely planted here as a part of the general scheme, and adorned with a fountain at each end. The central path leads up to a beautiful circular temple, which stands on a level space on the apex of the hill on which the house is built. The formal garden, the Italian garden, is to the right of the house. It is not too large, measuring two hundred by one hundred and thirteen feet, but it is ample in size, and the spirit of the Italian garden, as well as its forms, has been translated to this fine New England hillside. At the farthest point from the house, and marking the limits of the garden, is the Casino, a graceful structure, entirely unenclosed on the garden front, and decorated within in the Pompeian style in colors, a novel and effective decoration. Before it is a pool with a fountain, and on either side stretch the columns and piers of the pergola. Architecture comes into use only in the boundary enclosure; but it is employed in strong, graceful lines, in well-built walls, in admirably proportioned columns, in sturdy piers. The Casino is at once a summer house and a retreat, and the climax to the garden as a whole. The pool before it brings the charm of water into the garden, a charm penetrating and real. The whole of the space other- wise unoccupied is given to the garden proper, to the plants and shrubs which make it joyous, and to the art works which give it life. The foliage is chiefly that of perennials, but ample space has been left cree for annual plants, and many brilliant notes of color are won rehab : —. by this combination of natural — — ee — —_—— a growth. The garden contains not a few furnishings in’ the form of old wine jars from Italy, well heads from Venice, classic busts, carved stonework and balustrades. Each has been placed with care, and for specific purpose in adornment. UNDER THE TERRACE WALL. [137] *pauyoy uy AM projuryg ‘Osd “ALIHM CUOANV.LS dO 7 NOH AHL a wr men - Pye Ce ae ra ia a ha aaa AL Aaa a ar a ara a = rs © we "yIOA MAN ‘sour 3g The House of Stanford White, Esq. St. James, New York ziN old house once occupied a part of the ground on which Mr. White has built his house; a portion of it has been retained, but so transformed and modified as to be entirely lost in the present house, which is thus practically an entirely new building, Three gables, front and back, form the striking feature of the exterior, the service wing to the right being recessed on the front, and not counting in the impression received from the entrance road. The walls, including the gables, are pebbled throughout, the quoins of white cement, the woodwork painted white. The kitchen wing is wholly enclosed on all sides by a close lattice of delicate wood, a device that gives plenty of air and shade, and thoroughly shuts off this part from the inquisitive eye of the passer-by. The whole exterior is embowered with plants—great boxes of hydrangeas, palms, bay trees, oleanders, and many mimic trees from Japan, most of them in their own jars or vases THE DRIVEWAY [139] “‘VZZVId AHL oe eT Te ee Fe te [140] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS some of which are rare old works of art. Below the side porch is the Italian, or formal, garden. It lies beyond a terrace wall, and is small, but brilliant with color. It is square, with walks bounded with box, and an outer higher box border for a final enclosure. In the center is a large circular basin and fountain, with a stooping Venus in the middle. Farther down, below a lower terrace, is the pergola which closes the garden beyond which are the trees of the forest. Across the roadway is a smaller enclosed garden, ablaze with hardy phlox, a brilliant mass of bloom, with lofty dahlias beyond. A wonderful view may be had from the inner porch, a view so broad and entrancing that even Long Island, with its host of pleasant spots, can scarcely equal it. To the farthest right stretches Crane Neck Point, that reaches far out into Long Island Sound. Immediately below one is Stony Brook Harbor, and, beyond, the quiet waters of Smithtown Harbor; and then, farther on, the blue waters of the Sound, filling in the horizon. All this is at one’s feet; but before it can be reached one must cross a gently swelling lawn, that spreads in delightful green to the forests and low bushes which entirely surround its distant borders. Far off, and quite some distance below the house—whose altitude is exceeded by but two other spots on Long Island—is a Grecian temple, a graceful circular structure with Doric columns, whence one may view in quiet and peace the waterscape below, or look upward toward the house and lawn at one’s back. THE FORMAL GARDEN. [141] THE HALL AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS On a pleasant knoll, not far off and shaded by trees, is a great semicircular seat, and just before it is a white reproduction of the Diana designed by Mr. Augustus St. Gaudens for the Madison Square Garden tower. Roughly speaking, the house consists of three parts. To the right is the kitchen and service department; in the center is the entrance hall, which is L-shaped, enclosing the dining- room on two sides; to the left is the living-room, a vast apartment which occupies fully a third of the ground floor. The hall, by which the house is enteréd, consists of two parts. One portion of the L is a corridor, which runs directly through the house; the other, at right angles to the passage, is a large rectangular room containing the stairs to the upper floor. The walls are entirely covered with split bamboos, a novel and interesting surface covering that gives a quiet note of color and quite distinguished texture of surface. The bamboos form the background for a rich collection of objects which this indefatigable collector has gathered from all parts of Europe, but chiefly from Italy and Spain. Arranged against the side wall of the corridor are twisted Spanish carved columns, six in all, standing in the corners and on each side of the THE LIVING-ROOM. [143] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS doorways to the living-room. Fine tapestries are hung on either side, with old mirrors in richly carved gilt frames and many curious carved ornaments. In the stair hall is a host of things. Both it and the corridor are paved with dull red enamel bricks, on which rich Turkish rugs are spread. The stairs are open and without banisters, the stair wall, like the other parts, being covered with bamboo. High up on the outer stair wall is a fine figure tapestry, with a larger example on the hall wall below. The mantel is treasure-trove from Italy—two giants upholding a decorated cornice. All sorts of trophies are hung on the walls. On the side is a vast carved chest. A high case clock stands just beside the entrance doorway. There is some yellow covered furniture in the hall, which, with the light yellow of the bamboo walls and the many old carved and gilded ornaments, gives a joyous, welcoming color, a brilliant opening to this delightful home. The dining-room is white in tone and color. Toward the lawn it is wholly lighted with windows, a continuous series giving a rare sense of openness to the room. A low seat is built below them, with a shelf at the window base, and on it is a host of jars, bowls, and vases. Over the windows are plates hung against the wall, plates and baskets of open pottery work, chiefly of Italian origin, and many of large size; they are mostly white in color. The two side walls are paneled in small square wood panels with shallow mouldings, all painted white. Here are more plates, delicate in color and in texture like the others; mirrors, also, in rich gold frames, round and oval in shape; gilded ornaments of carved wood likewise; a host of treasured THE DINING-ROOM. [144] a AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS articles. Against the farther wall is a fine old sideboard, richly furnished with silver and cut glass; on either side of the entrance door is a small old console, decked with silver and china ornaments. The remaining side of the room, which is directly opposite the windows, is wholly covered with old Dutch tiles in white and blue. In accordance with the old Dutch custom, a curtained shelf runs across the top, and on it are stood more things of interest—old glass bottles, a colored bust, gilded ornaments. In the center is the fireplace, likewise lined with tiles, with open iron screen in front and quaint Chinese dogs in color on either side. An old carved serving table stands on one side by the service entrance. The ceiling is white plaster. That the floor of the living-room is stained and spread with splendid rugs; that the walls are of bamboo, largely covered with tapestries; and that the ceiling is of bamboo, are facts easily grasped and, perhaps, quickly comprehended. But within these tapestried walls and beneath this bambooed ceiling are gathered a veritable wealth of curious, beautiful objects. There are fine old carved chairs. There are spacious sofas and chairs of ease and of state; A CORNER OF DINING-ROOM. [145] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS there are lamps and candelabra of all sorts; there are silver lamps dependent from the ceiling; and in the center a curious, mermaid-like affair, with branching antlers carrying candles. There are mirrors in rare old frames; fine old pictures; ornaments of shell and beads; Persian blue and white tiles over the doors to the side porch; carved window frames from Holland over the entrance doors from the hall; wonderful Italian twisted columns—of quite rare beauty and elaborateness—stand in the four corners of the room. A great gilded chest is between the entrance doorways, and is loaded with numerous beautiful objects in metal and other materials; and there are gilded figures and carved ornaments hung and stood where some note of color has been needed. The very multiplicity of its contents speaks not alone of comfort, but of interest, and real, living interest, in everything it contains. If Mr. White’s house is unique—and this much overworked word can rightly be applied to it—this room is clearly its most unique part. [146] Vie eS Mrs. A. Cass Canfield’s House Roslyn, New York ING SA RS. CANFIELD’S house is a building of vast size, all of brick, red with spots of Nfei\|}} black, presenting a stately spreading front, and so pleasantly environed with lofty forest trees as to seem to be just the sort of house one might naturally look for in this lovely spot. It consists of a large central building, three stories in height, with long wings on either side, of two stories. Its proportions are dignified in the extreme, the whole front being of great length, while the additional height in the central part adds very materially in the majestic effect. It is a front that depends very largely on its dimensions, and these are so generous and good as to give it at once a distinction wholly its own. The single note of ornament is the main doorway—pilasters supporting a broken curved pediment. The window openings are bricked over with a small stone keystone, and the cornice, both of the center and the wings, is surmounted by a balustrade. So much skill has been displayed in disposition of the parts forming this front, the masses of the building are so well composed | the proportions so good, the spacing of the windows so clever, and the ornamental features so admirably handled, that it is, as a whole, a front of quite penetrating attractiveness. A spacious platform, paved with brick, and reached by stone steps, and to which bay trees in great pottery jars give a pleasant note of color, forms the approach to the main door- way. The entrance hall is rectangular; it is white, with pilasters on the wall immediately in front, on which hangs a superb tapestry; rare old light standards are fastened on either side. On each side of the entrance is a recess with a window. To the right is a separate hall contain- ing the main stairway, and then, beyond a tapestried curtain, is the guest wing, the whole of the right wing, both on this floor and the floor above, being given up to guest rooms. These are charming apartments, beautifully furnished, the walls paneled and covered with fabrics of delicate colors, and the rooms arranged in suites, with their attendant bathrooms. Just inside the door is a sitting-room in green for the bachelors, who are lodged on the first floor. A separate stairway to the upper floor and a separate entrance on to the main front render this wing entirely independent of the other parts of the house, from which, if need be, it can be wholly cut off. The wing to the left is arranged in a similar manner, and, with its own entrance and stairs, can be similarly isolated. This part of the house is especially given up to the children, with a children’s dining-room on the first floor, beyond which are the kitchen, the servants’ hall, the pantries, serving-rooms, and other service apartments. The upper floor is the , [147] “spanyray “Oy AA > Pea “WIyIW “\LNOWd FONVAULNA ESTE Se eT | ET GHL—ATHdNVO SSVO “V ‘SHIN JO ASNOH AHL *yI0X MIN ‘ud|soy [148] [149] aot r Pe if = TERRACE, A. CASS CANFIELD—THE HOUSE OF MRS. THE “TTIVH FHL [150] = ° % O° Z. e = isa) rr = “AUVUGIT AHL 7 Pas e 4 £ a 2 AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS children’s floor, with the bedrooms on the sunny side and the bathrooms on the opposite side of the corridor. Large rooms, cheerful colors, pleasant furniture, and quite individual treatment in each case are the characteristics of these attractive apartments. The main rooms of the house are on the south front of the central building. They are three in number—the library, the drawing-room or living-room, and the dining-room. The living-room fills the center, the other two opening from it as well as from the corridor, which is an extension of the entrance hall. The library is in oak, paneled to the ceiling, with round arched windows, and arches of similar form over the niches into which the bookcases are built. Curtains of green damask over lace curtains give the color note. The mantel is of green marble. The living-room or drawing-room occupies the center of the house; its open end is rounded and lighted by five windows, which give upon a terrace without. It is a large room, of quite unusual form and richly furnished. The walls are paneled with French walnut, with a plaster cornice and plain ceiling. The curtains are of red damask, the furniture of red and gold and of tapestry, and the screens of red silk, red thus being the prevailing color. Side candle lights project from many of the panels. The mantel of mottled marble has a built-in mirror above it. The furniture is both old and new, the former numbering many articles of unusual beauty and rarity, including a fine old French writing-table, old French cabinets, and other pieces. The dining-room is white, with the panels of the walls separated by pilasters, enclosing plain panels of a very delicate buff. Rich blue curtains at the windows give the distinctive color. The mantel is of soft yellow Italian marble. On the walls are portraits of General Lewis Cass and Mrs. Cass and of Mrs. Canfield. The sideboard is a fine piece of old oak, elaborately carved. ~ Mrs. Canfield’s own rooms are immediately above in the second story. They comprise two bedrooms, with the boudoir directly between them and over the living-room. Like it, it has a circular window. It is a beautiful apartment, the walls covered with wood panels throughout; the windows hung with curtains of Rose du Barry pink and white; the furniture and ugs in quiet harmony with the delicate treatment of the architectural features. Mrs. Canfield’s bedroom is square and white paneled; a deep blue carpet is on the floor, and the hangings are light mauve and blue. The bedroom on the other side is finished in green, with green silk panels and curtains. The house contains a number of historical relics and docu- ments of the highest interest. The terrace at the back is supported by a brick wall, in harmony with the structure of the building. Large vases stand on the enclosing wall and steps, and just below is a pleasant border of rose bushes. The ground dips suddenly here, with a great green field beyond, and then, as far as eye can see, stretch the undulating farm lands of the adjacent countryside, with the Hempstead plains in the distance. It is an entrancing outlook upon a smiling landscape of gentle woods, green fields, and thriving farms. [153] ‘payday Surwaerg “y a10ayH aM a ee ee Oh “Rosemary ” The House of Foxhall Keene, Esq., Old Westbury, New York yk. KEENE’S house at Old Westbury, Long Island, is finely placed on the summit | of a hill, with beautiful rolling country in the foreground, while behind is a thick growth of trees, in which the stable is placed. It stands on a terrace, broad enough to give space to a house garden and to provide a floral setting for the fine Colonial dwelling placed upon it. It is strong and sturdy in its simple lines, all in white, and with a splendid portico which rises to the roof. It is a well-composed front, of dignified proportions, very charmingly placed on the edge of a wood. The plan is very direct and straightforward, consisting of a central hall, reaching from front to back, from which four spacious rooms open, two on each side, the drawing-room and library on the front, the dining-room and billiard-room at the back. The hall is entered imme- diately from the main doorway, without the interposition of a vestibule. It is in red and white, each tone very clear and positive. The high paneled wainscoting is continuous with the door trim, which includes decorated pilasters and an ornamental heading. The mantel and chimneypiece are elaborately detailed, and over the fireplace is the motto of the house: ‘‘Rose- mary, that’s for remembrance.’ The stairs at the end are very cleverly arranged as a decorative feature, and add greatly to the interest of the hall. Beginning in the center, they divide half- way up at a platform below a triple window, and continue reversed on each side to the upper floor. The light, delicate handrail is in keeping with the Colonial character of the house. The spaces beneath the upper flights are enclosed, and serve as pantries and entrances to the kitchen below. The rooms that open from the hall are alike in dimensions, and so spacious that the really high ceilings seem somewhat low. Each has its own color scheme, very boldly carried out. The drawing-room is white, paneled in wood throughout, with a white plaster ceiling, with an oval enclosed within a festooned frame. The mantel has an elaborately detailed framing, with a built-in mirror, mullioned and traceried like a window. There are curtains of rich red damask at the windows and doors, and the furniture is in red and gold. The piano, in Italian walnut, was especially made by Steinway for this room, and approximates an old spinet as closely as possible. It is beautifully ornamented inside with an Adams decoration. A wide doorway, with pilasters and columns, opens into the adjoining dining-room, whose deep dark tones are in fine contrast with the more brilliant colors of the drawing-room. It is finished in mahogany, handsomely paneled to a height of about seven feet, with carved figures in the upper piers. The walls above are covered with dark green figured damask, the same material [155] ‘NUGUVD IVNUOA AHL—.. AUVNASON »” ak eh te Ke SA Re, ee rer EI [156] «« ROSEMARY ’’—THE STAIRS. [157] ‘AUVUGIT AHL NI FOVIdANA AHL—.«. AUVNASOU »» pm a bite oi Me AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS being used for the curtains. The large chimneypiece of wood is enclosed within columns, and similar columns support the door-frame. The chandeliers, which hang from the corners of the ceiling decoration, are gilt baskets containing bunches of white and purple grapes. The library is richly stocked with books, contained in the cases which entirely surround the lower walls. Above is tapestry, light brown in tone, with a closely designed tree pattern in shades of dark green. The curtains at the doors and windows are of the same material. There is an old carved mantel and fireplace. The billiard-room is in the deepest shade of purple. The ceiling is beamed, and the immense fireplace has a large overmantel, with upper columns and a carved centerpiece. The built-in seats and chairs are covered with purple leather, and the rug and curtains are of the same hue. Both the billiard-room and the library open on to a side porch which overlooks the flower garden. The garden is placed at the foot of a series of terraces, and is reached by flights of steps, bordered on either side by low flowering plants and rows of box. It is planted in formal style, but is without architectural adjuncts. It is a great square, located on a level tract just before the deep woods which bound the property at this point. It is ablaze with bloom, a quaint and beautiful flower-spot of penetrating brilliancy. A commanding feature is the poles on the sides and scattered through the flower-beds, which are completely covered with profusely blooming white clematis—a very beautiful decoration in a very beautiful garden. [159] spaqyory ‘uoyeng Aoupis ‘OSa ‘NITASI YWAAITO ‘O dO ASMNOH AHL «*MUIA TIV ‘yIO XK MAN ‘A][EYoyY MAN “Julog WINIUIII won N “21194208 IN Pay cra | , [160] a ae ea ee emi a ee ee res “All View” House of C. Oliver Iselin, Esq., Premium Point, New Rochelle, New York HETHER taken in its most literal sense or not, Mr. Iselin has devised a very happy and f; delightfully descriptive name for his house in New Rochelle, New York. A garden by fei the waterside would be equally expressive, for his house stands on the tip of Premium Point, which juts out into Long Island Sound at New Rochelle, and gives it a water view at once extensive and beautiful. Very lovely and peaceful it is here, with the gentle calm of rippling water softly washing the green shores, with their low rocked points—a coast thronged with strange-shaped stretches of land into the water, as though both land and water had fought for supremacy, and then rested in the quiet beauty which now_so distinguishes them. There is no solitary outlook here, but one of ravishing variety, the land and water so intermingled that it is hard to tell if one be island or peninsula, the other bay or river, lake or sound—a landscape dotted with pleasant houses, enclosed, in the background, with groups and groves of trees. Mr. Iselin has for his house, therefore, almost every possible qualification of beauty in its surroundings. A dwelling so environed must be stately and fine, and the architect has risen to the full measure of his opportunity. The splendid front has a recessed center, with two end wings slightly projecting. The corners of these wings are supported by immense * pilasters, which rise to the top of the main cornice. The uppermost story is treated as an attic, a central curve in the wings giving space for a window, and creating a fine silhouette for the roof line. The great pilasters are so completely the feature of the wings, and, in a sense, of the whole front, that the windows enclosed within them are plainly framed in the white marble which is used for the ornamental parts and encased in the walls of solid brick. The distinguished severity which characterizes the end pavilions gives way in the center of the front to a freer and more ornamental treatment. The central wall is, indeed, quite festal in character. The entrance, in the center, is a very charming structure in white marble, completely filling the space occupied by the ground floor and the story above it. The round arched opening is supported by pilasters, and the terrace of the roof is enclosed within a balustrade. The doorway under the porch is rectangular, and the whole is finely detailed and beautifully executed. The walls of the two upper stories are treated as window-galleries: two on each side of the porch in the first story, and eight—a beautifully glazed series—in the upper story. The modest dormers in the attic are in good contrast with the bolder treatment of the ends. The gardens of ‘“‘All View’ are extraordinarily fine, and their own great inherent beauty is enhanced by their close juxtaposition to the water. The large formal garden is entirely [161] [162] furnished, almost completely, with genuine old mahogany pieces picked up by himself, 7,77, @@ ee O “2 @ er eee eeeee mostly in the South. AP AP AP Ae APa £* ek Ate AP re Yeh: Vo - Vo - Vor. The color schemes may be briefly summarized. Music- room—pale green silk hangings and wall paper, white India ‘ 4 > b rugs, and white (polar) bear > WeW- ov - Ve - Vo - Vor - eV - ev - ve” ‘ ° 4 % "4 skins; main hall—all white paneling, dark red India rug; library—light brown hangings and paper, green India rug; rear hall—wainscoted below, reproductions of old Colonial landscape wall paper above, in delightful cool gray tones; dining-room—white panels to the ceiling, blue decorations, «« THE ORCHARD ’’—WALL FOUNTAIN. [175] < «e THE ORCHARD’’—THE PERGOLA. “NAGUYVS FHL—..daYVHOUO AHL» ‘NOOU OISAW AHL—..daYVHOUO FHL» [178] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS the walls hung with brass plaques and blue Chinese plates; studio—but that deserves a paragraph of its own. The ceilings are throughout of old Colonial designs, in low relief. The mantels are chiefly old ones. All of the doors on the first floor are old New York doors of mahogany cut down to fit their present places; and much of the interior trim is genuinely old. The house is absolutely harmonious and in the best of taste. It is frankly and truly Colonial in character. The two wings are connected with the main portion by narrow passageways: the one on the right has been transformed into a conservatory. The floor is glazed with old Chinese tiles; the ceiling, arched latticework; one wall contains a fine old Italian fountain picked up in Italy. The conservatory forms an antechamber to the studio, which is entered immediately through it. The latter is the most elaborate room in the house. It is paneled in California redwood; above are large decorative panels—old Flemish paintings on canvas, perhaps designs for tapestries, but very beautiful and rich in color. The room has a total height of about nine- teen feet, and is ceiled with beams of California redwood, with rough white plaster between. The floor area is forty-five feet by thirty feet, so that here is a room of very large proportions, and filled with a host of beautiful and interesting objects. The vast fireplace is built of stones taken from the foundations of the old house. The opening is over six feet high and six feet wide: only driftwood is burned in it, and the flames shoot up with such brilliancy that several « > 1 H “res \E PS no eaininecticns is | ake regarded as | dhesinotivedy aeenricen and ‘so distinctively mindern as that @€ the houses of the Fae Meat aud sortie those { ‘California, whieb follow, ak their generic type, the old: Spemids. Binion. To “Ba i apt to view buildings of every km os somewhat s, and mere especially on the Heals of Bugland, new type, which have heeame quite prevalent hly characteristic of our warm Western lands. Ors ker: consists not alone in the weuaswe style of their art, — Par ut in oh thoroughly admirable way in whieh they meet the local clirnatic corbitians. Bib S13 That many of these buildings haye charm, and quite distinctive charm, is true An old civilization is created afresh in their plastered walls; an old life is recalled ity thei spacious ® plans and rigid outlines; new ideas, and @ new treatment of old ideas, here find expression : im buildings contemporary with ourselves) The mystery of romance, the poetry of adventure, é c — of tradition, are esatone ee and viteliaed in these hncaspen: when are at onee ‘if ie in our satel pithertnie:| i‘. 2 ‘note that elias catieity- © peg Snce they perpetuate the heritage of a diferent civilization from that which obtiins iy the East. and _ they per tacniy meet climatic and social conditions which ae peculiarly thetr awn 2. Ie > a sci “Hacienda del Pozo de Verona,” the House of Mrs. Phabe A. Meares. Pai "The great country seat of Mrs. Phoebe A. Hearst, at Pleasanton, Caiiorms, vs — has been given the picturesque name of ‘the ‘Hacienda del Pozo de Verona a Meer of the Well of Verona'’—is a fine type of the distinctively Californian house, [) % =tetel A : Livermore Valley, at the emtrance to Niles Cafion, not far from San Prasetiet: Pie. ar ere, on a site commanding a magnificent prospect, and surrounded ty chemecasettts 2 etapa SB vineyards and fruit o rche rds, Mi . Hear J has built her goumtry house, wa «oe ee events "approximates a Mexican home ef wealth and refinement. ie It is a building of vast size, with an 5 concerned, but of considerable dignity and variety im its parts The ph ei eee epi structure is covered with cement, and the walls, as required by the clam sire oo goa acd ness. The roof is covered with Pirableh tiles, and the long watereyjeats a ior Sarroest far] a - WaPR ‘UNA LSAM ‘WNOOU SISAW AHL LSaVaH ‘Vv .“YNOWIA AG OZOd ‘Tad VANFIOVH » “BIUIORTES ‘uojuesea|q Some California Houses SE RHAPS no architecture is so generally regarded as distinctively American and | so distinctively modern as that of the houses of the Far West, and particularly those of California, which follow, as their generic type, the old Spanish Missions. To the Eastern eye, which is very apt to view buildings of every kind as somewhat necessarily modeled on European ideals, and more especially on the ideals of England, France, and Italy, the buildings of a frankly new type, which have become quite prevalent in California of late years, seem to be thoroughly characteristic of our warm Western lands. Their attraction, indeed, is twofold, and consists not alone in the unusual style of their art, but in the thoroughly admirable way in which they meet the local climatic conditions. That many of these buildings have charm, and quite distinctive charm, is true. An old civilization is created afresh in their plastered walls; an old life is recalled in their spacious plans and rigid outlines; new ideas, and a new treatment of old ideas, here find expression in buildings contemporary with ourselves. The mystery of romance, the poetry of adventure, the fascination of tradition, are summed up and vitalized in these houses, which are at once so distinctive and so new. Their charm, however, is not altogether in the novelty of the ideas contained in their design. Yet, more than any other group of buildings, they represent a wholly new note in our national architecture—a note that belongs entirely to them, since they -. perpetuate the heritage of a different civilization from that which obtains in the East, and they certainly meet climatic and social conditions which are peculiarly their own. ‘‘ Hacienda del Pozo de Verona,” the House of Mrs. Phaebe A. Hearst. The great country seat of Mrs. Phoebe A. Hearst, at Pleasanton, California, to which has been given the picturesque name of the ‘‘Hacienda del Pozo de Verona’’—the “ House of the Well of Verona’’—is a fine type of the distinctively Californian house. It is situated in the Livermore Valley, at the entrance to Niles Cafion, not far from San Francisco Bay. And here, on a site commanding a magnificent prospect, and surrounded by thousands of acres of vineyards and fruit orchards, Mrs. Hearst has built her country house, in a style that closely approximates a Mexican home of wealth and refinement. It is a building of vast size, with an exterior of utter plainness so far as ornament is concerned, but of considerable dignity and variety in its parts. The whole of the exterior structure is covered with cement, and the walls, as required by the climate, are of great thick- ness. The roof is covered with Spanish tiles, and the long water-spouts project far beyond [2r1] “LSUVAH “V AGDHd “SYN AO ASNOH AHL «“VNOWAA AA OZOd TAA VANAIOVH »» spanyoay SyunguIaMyrs *D “WV *BIULOJI[ES) ‘uojuesea| dq [212] «“VNOUWAA AG OZOd TAC VANAIOVH » a me me ; [213] “AUVUAIT AHL—.. VNOUAA AA OZOd TAA VANUIOVH » — ee =i too eC haeeaa TREES ee ty Perey: z ra z <2) be nn w A (e) N e) 6 — w A papmoees a ae AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS tables and chairs complete its furnishings. A beautiful rug is laid on the center of the dark-stained floor. To the right is the drawing-room, paneled in wood like the hall; but the design is dis- tinctly richer, and the upper panels above a moulding, form a frieze of small squares, each beautifully carved. The ceiling is beamed, with plain white panels. The fireplace is a simple Tudor arch cut in the stone facing; the arch is surmounted by a slender shelf carried on carved supports, and with panels formed below it. Immediately opposite the entrance door is a large bay window, almost completely glazed and opening on to the end porch, by which it is com- pletely surrounded. On either side of this opening, and on either side of the doorway, are fine old lantern standards. The draperies are rich red velvet; the furniture is old gold covered with tapestry; and on one side is a superb open cabinet, elaborately carved. Directly opposite the main doorway, in the hall, is a door that leads to an enclosed porch or sun-parlor. The door by which it is entered opens on to a balcony or gallery, for the main floor is some steps lower down and is paved with brick. Fine palms and other plants are placed here, and in one corner is a fountain. Farther on, in the hall, the corner forms a passage, by which the dining-room and farther parts of the house are entered. The plan changes its direction here, affording charming vistas of farther rooms so devised that only small parts can be seen—an arrangement that is delightfully suggestive of mystery and extent. From this corner the service quarters branch off to the left, while the other main rooms are continued on the right. The-service quarters are quite extensive, with pantries, kitchen, and servants’ dining-room on the main floor, laundry below, and sleeping-room above. The dining-room is distinctly gallery-like in plan, with two sides brilliantly lighted by wide groups of mullioned windows. The walls, almost white in color, are plastered, with slender, strip-like wood pilasters in the corners, angles, and other points of emphasis. The pilasters carry a narrow strip of wood, which serves as the cornice. The white ceiling is divided into great oblong panels by heavy beams, covered with a richly plastered decoration. The gen- erous fireplace has a rare old frontispiece, richly carved in stone. The floor is laid in large blocks of black and white marble, and the curtains, which are partly spread upon the floor, are in beautiful dark mauve damask. The same material is used in the chair coverings, the heavily carved chairs and dining table being of quite unusual beauty. The sideboard, oppo- site the fireplace, is also beautifully carved. The doors on the two ends of the room are glazed in small squares. The radiators are placed within a wainscoted screen beneath the windows. Beyond the dining-room is the superb library, which is of truly magnificent dimen- sions. It is the largest, the sunniest, the most cheerful room in the house, and the most inter- esting both in its decorations and in its situation. The doors from the dining-room open on to a balcony, below which is the library. The room is so very large that, without the increased height given by this unusual arrangement, it would have been too low. But the balcony is at once its most important and ornamental feature. It is a broad passage, enclosed within piers and arches, with a pierced balustrade of intricate design. On the outer face the piers are [265] “NOOWONIMVUC AHL... ISNOH LOMIVL» vie [266] “NOOWONINIG AHL—..ISNOH LOPTV.L» Baie eae ei cx gs eee a ee Fe IE tk I RS SOS Oe. a 7 Me icici di =e Gee aew ps power ae Sa = [267] “AUVUGIT FHL. ASNOH LOPTV.L»» [268] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS ornamented with gaines. To the left is a staircase to the upper floor. The delicate Tudor arches of the arcade are repeated as a wall pattern on the entrance wall, and the ceiling design— large squares containing circles—is identical with that of the rest of the room. The great fireplace, like most of those in the house, is of quite rigid simplicity; but above it is richly paneled in carved wood. The spacious windows admit a flood of light, and the larger part of the walls is lined with bookcases, above which are-a number of paintings that show to advantage on the dull gold with which the room is finished.. There are wonderful space and comfort in this room, which, although located structurally at the very end of the house, is its real center and social head. The second story is wholly given up to bedrooms. They are of many shapes and sizes, with some quite unexpected combinations that are due to the irregularity of the plan. At the extreme left, over the drawing-room and porch, are Mr. and Mrs. Taylor’s own rooms, three in number. The first is a boudoir, and from this the two bedrooms open. Both are alike in plan. They are lighted with dormers, which give the ceiling the shape of a gambrel roof, and they are lined throughout—both walls and ceilings—with oval or oblong panels. Red and white tapestries add very distinctly to the great charm of these apartments. The grounds surrounding ‘‘Talbot House’’ are quite extensive, although, as Cedarhurst is thronged with estates and summer homes, the absolute extent is, of course, somewhat limited. The outer buildings include an extensive stable and vast conservatories, while the squash court should not be overlooked. Beyond the lawn, below the end porch, is a beautiful enclosed garden, shut in with high hedges, but planted in good taste. [269] SHNO[ ‘DO GUVMdG “SUN AO ALV.LSA AHL—NACGUVD ANLL-G1IO NV “sJasny esse [Ay ‘psojpag MIN [270] Oy EE ena ees oP. ee ae ee The American Garden The Old-Time Garden. say beauty of the old-time garden never lessens. Year after year it has bloomed its | fine old flowers; year after year its hedges have thriven, its box borders grown greener ) Res Gl and greener, its flowers more and more redolent of the simple life of the past. Very beautiful these fine old garden spots are, and very rare, for the march of progress and the changes in taste have swept so many of them away that comparatively few have survived to delight the eye and enchant the fancy of contemporary folk. The very rarity of these gardens—of good old gardens, of old gardens well grown and well preserved, of old gardens that to-day are as brimful of old plants as of yore—adds ‘vastly to the present-day appreciation of them. The passion for antiques is now well-nigh universal, and old gardens are among the rarest of antiquities, because their survival has meant, in most cases, more years of continuous care and thought than Americans, as a people, are apt to lavish on any object. The old garden has had to be maintained and tended year after year, and from sheer love of its beauty and old-timeliness. Its survival is hardly short of a miracle. The old-time gardens teach a rare lesson of constant care and uninterrupted interest. They have not survived by accident nor through inherent sturdiness of growth. Their stout old plants have needed constant replenishing; the borders of box have yearned for trimming; the paths have cried aloud for cleaning; the shrubbery must be cut, and the vines trained, and the whole kept in that spick-and-span orderliness which seems so charmingly characteristic of old-time life. The old-time garden makers were not concerned with the mighty problems which now beset the designers of modern fine gardens. The materials at their hands were few and unim- portant. They planted shrubs easy of cultivation; they made borders of plants close at hand; they planted the seeds of ready growing annual plants, and were content to watch their simple flowers grow and bloom and transform what may have been a waste into a bower of color and foliage. The homeliness of the plants was the best evidence of the deep-seated love of the old garden maker. He knew little of vistas and axes, and of garden architecture he had never heard; but out of the simple plants that thrived in the open soil he created gardens that, when they have survived, have been sources of unending joy to those who knew them, who walked in their narrow paths, and loved each simple old-time flower. [271] Osa “ITANNIYD OLLVYOH AO ALV.LSA AHL—NAGUVD AWNLL-A1O NV “syjasny esse ‘psojypog MAN AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS The old-time garden was an individual garden. It would be a mistake to suppose that the gardener, the specialist in garden making, is a new-fashioned adjunct to the country house. The modern gardener differs from the old gardener exactly as the modern garden differs from the old garden. But ever and always the old-time garden was an individual garden, a garden in which the master and mistress took a definite personal interest, a garden in which the mistress often labored with her own hands, and which she regarded as her very own, not alone by right of ownership, but by right of actual labor. The old-time garden is a modest garden, alive with the ‘‘common”’ plants. But every one of these lovely old plants—and many others—has a real inherent beauty of its own, and as inherently present in the single plant as in a whole border. If they are “common,”’ it surely can not be because they are coarse and ugly, but because they can be so readily grown, because so many grow them, and because of their easy culture, that they seem scarcely of the same class as the more difficultly grown plants of the costly modern garden. The old-time garden was planned on the simple idea of using plants that grew easily and naturally, with perhaps the _ slightest effort, and certainly with the utmost flowering. It was not splendor that was sought, but charm, the charm of foliage and of color, per- haps chiefly the charm of color. Plants that gave these results were eagerly sought after and industriously cultivated. It is highly significant that, beau- tiful as these old gardens must have been in the days of their first blooming, they are beau- tiful to-day, and do not suffer in interest in comparison with the more pretentious efforts of the modern gardener. THE GARDEN OF «« WELD’’—THE GAZEBO, [273] ‘NIVLNONOd FHL— Osa ‘NOSUYTANV ZUVI AO ALVLSA AHL «‘ ‘payouy ‘Vel "VW sazeyD , a aTumM » AO NAdUV ° FHL “syasnydesse py “aul] yooig [274] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS The Garden of “Weld,” Brookline, Massachusetts. THE TERRACE STEPS. The making of Italian gar- dens is the most characteristic craft in tendency of garden America. It is an art so refined and beautiful, that is so finely effective, that gives so much pleasure and possesses so much absolute beauty in itself, that it is no wonder our landscapes are being Italianized, and our great houses, when it can be fittingly done, embowered -in that for- mal surrounding of architecture, sculpture, and plants that the garden makers of Italy knew so well how to use. That this type of garden has aroused the utmost enthusiasm in this country is established by its frequency, and that it has led to many very beautiful results is apparent from many of the garden views in these pages. The Italian garden is an architectural garden—that is to say, architecture, and its great sister art of sculpture, are essential elements in its design. only for the house—must be of an art and design that will harmonize with the somewhat severe forms of classic art in which the Italian gar- den has found architectural expres- sion. The architectural setting of the garden—the enclosing walls, the pergolas, the rest places, the seats, the niches—may then be as elabo- rate as one chooses or as simple. The one quality that leads to success in the making of an Italian Beautiful it must be, but beauty is inseparable The garden garden is harmony. from a work of art. must be harmonious in plan; its The house —and the garden exists 7 5 ‘NIVLINONOd FWHL—..adTamM» JO NUCAVO AHL ™~ N AMERICAN BSTATES AND GARDENS parts must be in harmony one with another; there must be no discordant note; each part must be so designed and arranged as to contribute its quota toward the effect of the whole. For every garden must be a whole, in which every plant and tree, every stone, every elaborated architectural device, every piece of sculpture, every single element that has place in it, is subordinated to finality of effect. The beautiful garden of ‘‘ Weld,” which forms a portion of the estate of Larz Anderson, at Brookline, Massachusetts, is a fine type of the Italian garden in America, designed with a wealth of architectural accessories, and planted with discrimination and taste. The architectural framework is confined to the bounding enclosure. It is nearly square in plan, with a built-up enclosure of terrace and balustrades on the sides, and a pergola at the VENETIAN WELL AND GAZEBO, GRECIAN POT. end farthest from the house. In the space before the pergola is the fountain, a very beautiful old piece of work. It stands at one end of the mall, which runs through the center. On either side are spaces with flower beds arranged symmetrically, while tubs with bay trees are placed at intervals. The mall and flower beds are at the lowest level of the garden. Toward the outer edge is a higher walk, paved with brick, and the highest level is reached in the enclosing walk, which is on a level with the gazebos. There are two of these, placed at the corners nearest the house. The formal garden is shut off from the house by a grove of trees. A beautiful bowling green stretches between the grove and the house. The latter stands on the apex of the high hill on which the estate is situated. [277] ‘payy.y fe9ug anig ‘NISVd GNV AOCIad AHL—'Osa ‘aTAOD ‘( ADAOAD AO ALVLSA AHL «6S LANOOD NVIOUYOUO »> peoveeed BATT iF we | jenn *Kasiaf many ‘poomayey 27 [ a rs = a a 5 —_ A y : ‘| ds J i 7 ; , 7 ~ oy, ' eet ¥ > aa eS , i — J y ° + . . ; . 5 ‘ . o , La ‘” i Lf ‘ 4 . “ { . Pas “ ’ : kas + e* ‘ * ‘ * ’ — 5 | . ~" 2 3 4 or ‘ 4 ‘ “2 , ' ; ' f ’ ‘ ~ AJ 2 . 3 : Ne é ? i 4 ‘ a ' » 7 a , ; Pa ay ‘ . ° ‘ 4g hs A ' i . * th + ’ ‘ Md Yr, : cy rt 1 _ 4 i by Po.) ae z , « fn f . d, :3 : : i t ~~? he ‘ t ry — S «5 , . ‘ < BS bed 4, Pa Me ¢ orc ‘ a 4 Fi ‘ ‘ ’ va 5 es : ‘ “ , ' - * + Pe < t « ‘ we i: 7 ’ J ; « « * = ‘ ~ . 7 fe ; » ad . ' \ ~*~ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ : . i f iy , 5 8 s : , + 7 ‘ é 3 . 2 ‘ ; ; ‘ ~ F. oe r ¢ e a. Ape ‘ ¥ heir ‘ - . o ‘ ine a =4 ‘ ; : 2 ‘ t ‘ rl : i ’ i 7 “ + ; ‘NIV.LN ! iil ‘ LNONOd GNV AOVUAAL AHL— Osa ‘ATNOD ‘[ ADXOAD AO ASNOH AHL «\LAYAOD NVINIOAD ‘penyuy ‘aug eng sKasiaf man, ‘poomayey 8 RAE LORE TOE Da ea 2 cuss Le sptabs r bd bad * * + oe ~~ oer Se SL fe — 3 “: : ae oe oe ” ete Se . tttitiiiie ¢ hee mail Add te —— , rh ‘ oe es Fo aren ' . ye a * “ A GROUP? OF 2 ate have Beer Seal F forturu’ who ea of th yeast ‘ ah yet : the grows: « \ tie 43 é formed, eraiedh neither ‘ necestn : : “4g garden with any «tire = pleat fine and distinctive; i Tarts i about the utmost litt of pai # Mr. Price’s pefoeption af oe Ee was seldom better ilustrated to create a garcen 4 “Caicepeen tC curt wt, Mew jperses fic ‘ioe fhe ot Leadeeteiut ~ Poe eee, esmevetewd rin =" <*e Ha! that : ‘eter week of its My. “ /-") “ery +) was need was 4 fins nm ts ee wie? tts : utes t 4 4 & ee “% e “y ed ‘od ‘NIVENNOY GNV FOVYWAL AHL— Osa ‘GINOD ‘{f WwaowH Ao iL | Py ROWE) & ‘pemygoay ‘aug eng - *hasia] stay, ‘poomayey AMERICAN» ESTATES AND GARDENS A GROUP OF STATUARY. The Garden of “Georgian Court,” Lakewood, New Jersey. The fine property of Mr. George J. Gould, at Lakewood, New Jersey, has, from its first development, excited much public interest. The house, placed among the pines that throng the grounds around it, was the favorite work of its architect, the late Bruce Price, and the garden, which was developed some years after the house had been finished, was one of his latest designs. It is a truly sumptuous garden, most elaborate in its architectural setting, stately in its dimensions, splendid in its planting and arrangement. The conditions that attended its creation were exactly those that were favorable to fine realiza- tion. |The owner is a man of culture, and possessed of a fine appreciation of art and art values; there was great wealth, without which rare and costly works of art can not be produced or acquired; there was a fine site—for nature had already made the frame that awaited only the creative touch of the designer. And that was the last essential, and in some respects the most important. For a true artist can redeem the most barren landscape, as Le Nétre and his associates showed at Versailles, and as has been shown many a time again where barren spots have been made to bloom with undying beauty of nature and art. But Mr. Gould was fortunate enough to have as his architect a man of profoundly keen artistic temperament, who saw a magnificent opportunity in the creation of this garden, and who rose to the full limit of his opportunity. Thus, under Mr. Price’s guidance, and with an enthusiasm that was almost limitless, the grounds around the Gould house were trans- formed, embellished, adorned, and glorified. It is neither necessary nor helpful to compare this garden with any other; it is sufficient that it is fine and distinctive, and these two words sum up about the utmost limit of praise of any work of art. Mr. Price’s perception of proportion and fitness was seldom better illustrated than here. His task was to create a garden, and he did that and A MARBLE SEAT. [279] fo el ee Ca < PERE A v [280] «GEORGIAN COURT’’—THE FOUNTAIN. «GEORGIAN COURT’’—A WELL HEAD. «GEORGIAN COURT ’’—THE GARDEN, *0jdinag ‘puryy Aassepy *f “NIVINQNOd ssuenpiM uyof Aq ‘zo6r ‘3y3Ado> TVOIMLOATY FHL—.. LUNOD NVIOWOYD [282] oe Fa Bis 2 ee Oe By \ ae t is ha eae aca ooo oar -THE ELECTRICAL FOUNTAIN. ««GEORGIAN COURT’?- AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS fe. PRN pam “ype Hg faa TERRACE STEPS. nothing else. When architecture was needed for retaining-walls and balustrades, for pergolas and exhedras, it was called into use, and architectural adjuncts employed exactly where they were needed and nowhere else. And the same fine rule runs through the whole work. Broad paths lead to points of interest and create fine vistas. Foliage is grown where it will help in the creation of a work of beauty. Vases, statuary, fountains, and seats are placed where they, too, have a definite note in the general effect. Some of these ornaments are of rare interest—all of them are of unusual grace and richness; for a perfect whole can not be made out of imperfect parts. The electrical fountain, designed by J. Massey Rhind, the sculptor, is a case in point. It consists of a white marble basin, sixty feet in diameter. The centerpiece is a colossal nautilus THE GARDEN, [284] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS shell in bronze, forming the chariot, in which stands the driver of a pair of white marble sea horses. White marble sea nymphs are playing in the water. On the front of the shell is an octopus, and in the top of this is set a sheet of glass. The inner and outer walls of the shell are sufficiently wide to allow for an electrical attachment and lamps, which, when lighted with the colored lights, throw the color through a circle of many small jets. The effect is enhanced by six jets of water falling on the central group. Mrs, John L. Gardner’s Garden, Brookline, Massachusetts. Mrs. John L. Gardner’s garden, in Brookline, Massachusetts, is the result of twenty years of continuous growth and cultivation under one owner. This fact is of special interest, for most of the fine gardens of our time have been created in a few months or in a year or two, and represent a definite idea carried to realization within a very brief period. Gardening art, as it is now understood, was scarcely known in America when Mrs. Gardner began the arrangement of her beautiful grounds, and her garden, therefore, has been slowly evolved, although long ago brought to its present high state of cultivation. The estate is a considerable one, comprising about forty acres. The intelligent care that has been lavished on it for so many years has long since made it one of the “‘show”’ places ‘Nvd¥{[ JO HONOL ATLLIT V—YANGUVD “T NHO[ ‘SYW JO NAGUVD AHL “syesny dessey] ‘gui yooug “UUW “HL Aq fro6r gy Sts "100d ATIT AH.L—YANGUVD “T NHO[ “SYW JO NAGUVD AHL [28 AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS of Massachusetts. There are lovely lawns, well-kept walks shaded with bamboo trellises covered with vines, great masses of brilliant colors, rhododendrons, azaleas, peonies, roses, hardy phlox, dahlias, and many other flowering shrubs according to their season, beautifully planted, with a very fine appreciation of their blooming values. There are trees, also, many so fine and rare and of such grace and size as to be veritable treasures. The grounds are so large, so well wooded, so completely cultivated, that the estate con- sists, in a sense, of a series of gardens, so varied is the treatment, so constant the surprise of fresh beauty that each part presents. One large portion is entirely enclosed within a hedge of fir trees. Low rows of box border the walks, and in the center is a fountain—Neptune standing proudly on a sea monster. Roses grow profusely in this space, and many other plants, the season’s rapid march being noted in quick succession of exquisite flowerings, so skilfully planted that each seems quite predominating in its own special time. Farther up on the hill are ponds, in which are tubs and jars of aquatic plants, many of great rarity, and flourishing with that profusion of growth which is the satisfying testimony to careful tending. A Jap- anese summer house has been built between the ponds, a simple little house, distinctly THE ARBOR. [288] “aLVLSd TIYUMANNOH FHL JO NAGYVO AHL *syaasnyoesseyy ‘Aaysal[a A. AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARD? a Japanese, and yet, with these growing water plants so close besidlt into the immediate landscape. On its steps are Japanese dwarf trées, om jar. A wonderful view over the surrounding country can be had from tine om ‘ the lovely vistas and outlooks which the whole estate affords are not attractions. Like all great gardens, Mrs. Gardner's contains many works of art. Term oe and carved seats, there are great vases, and a fine old well hex! nam Ror we wel tains a number of Latin inscriptions, brought here from ther Rhéieg-~places m Me q } : i. lanterns from Japan and Japanese idols are also employed as geriies ornaments, The Garden of the Hunnewell Estate, Wellesley, Massachusetts. Of the many interesting features that make the gerd: the Hunnewell estave a ‘4 Wellesley, Massachusetts, remarkable, none is more striking tien the topiary work, in wine Mr. H. H. Hunnewell was a pioneer. This style of gardening. wineh consists in cutting trees am shrubs into ornamental shapes, has long been a favorite mothe! @ England. It belongs, « course, to the formal garden, and is out of place in any of Mr Hunnewell’s success hae been the more notable, since in England the results have beet hiewexd with vews, which do not thrive in the New England climate. He used, therefore, seh © is were suitable to the eonditions, and employed pine, spruce, hemlock, junipers, art , eviars, and Japanese ; retinosporas. : 4 RRR ACE WALA 289} ~ “masenyseserpy ‘Laysaqy Aa AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS - Japanese, and yet, with these growing water plants so close beside it, quite naturally fitting into the immediate landscape. On its steps are Japanese dwarf trees, each in its own little jar. A wonderful view over the surrounding country can be had from this spot; and, indeed, the lovely vistas and outlooks which the whole estate affords are not the least of its many attractions. Like all great gardens, Mrs. Gardner’s contains many works of art. There are statues and carved seats, there are great vases, and a fine old well head from Rome. One wall con- tains a number of Latin inscriptions, brought here from their hiding-places in Italy. Stone lanterns from Japan and Japanese idols are also employed as garden ornaments. The Garden of the Hunnewell Estate, Wellesley, Massachusetts. Of the many interesting features that make the garden of the Hunnewell estate at Wellesley, Massachusetts, remarkable, none is more striking than the topiary work, in which Mr. H. H. Hunnewell was a pioneer. This style of gardening, which consists in cutting trees and shrubs into ornamental shapes, has long been a favorite method in England. It belongs, of course, to the formal garden, and is out of place in any other. Mr. Hunnewell’s success has been the more notable, since in England the results have been achieved with yews, which do not thrive in the New England climate. He used, therefore, such trees as were suitable to the conditions, and employed pine, spruce, hemlock, junipers, arbor-vite, cedars, and Japanese retinosporas. A TERRACE WALK. [289] “ANIVT AHL-ALVLSA TIAMANNOH *sljasnyoesseyAy §Kaqsat[? AA [290] [291] PAVILION OVERLOOKING THE TERRACES AND LAKE. THE ‘VITOOUd FHL— Osa ‘YOTAVL SHSOW JO Nadu Vv ) aHL . 440 y, kK MON ‘oosty JUNO [292] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS = | When planted these trees were very small, and for twenty years their growth was retarded twice annually in order to induce a compact and close habit. Many of them are now more than forty feet in height and sixty feet in circumference, the hemlocks especially having been highly successful. A terrace garden borders the lake. Below, it is contained within a marble retaining-wall; above is a pavilion, with red roof tiles, supported by red sandstone. The terraces have been treated as Italian gardens. To the south of the house is a fine grove of pines, including an avenue bordering a walk. Beyond them is the rhododendron garden, with a trellised arbor, to which curtains may be attached to shelter delicate plants. _ To the left of the rhododendron garden is the holly path, between beautifully rounded hedges of arbor-vitez. THE STEPS ON THE TERRACE, Beyond the hedges are the greenhouses, stables, and flower garden. In the height of summer, the flower garden is filled with rich bloom, andghere, in the autumn, is a magnificent display of chrysanthemums. The Hunnewell estate has long since demonstrated many important facts in American horticulture. Mr. Hunnewell has shown that, in fifty years, it is possible, with suitable care and attention, to produce a garden in this country which for beauty and elaborateness will favorably compare with many Old World gardens. He has shown, further, that American trees and shrubs, or trees that are hardy in this country, are as capable of formal treatment as the trees more ordinarily used for such purposes abroad. He has demonstrated that many trees of many varieties may be artistically grouped, and that an outdoor museum of plants may be as attractive and as beautiful as though their beauty and adaptability to beautiful effects were the chief objects sought. The Garden of Moses Taylor, Esq., Mount Kisco, New York, The beautiful garden attached to the country home of Moses Taylor, Esq., at Mount Kisco, New York, is a further illustration of the formal garden in America. It is not large, but has been designed with fine taste, with a small pool and fountain in the center, and a pergola closing the vista and overlooking the valley below the house. The plan includes an interesting arrangement of beds of flowers and shrubbery, and is an excellent illustration of the fine effects in landscape gardening which can be accomplished within comparatively restricted areas. Mr. Taylor’s garden, however, is quite ample for the house. [293] on a . ; o * _ Ho NHES SUEE THSTHATEETUITEAAT EET THE GARDEN OF MOSES TAYLOR, ESQ.—THE FORMAL GARDEN. [294] AMERICAN BSTATES AND GARDENS The terrace is very beautiful. It has been wisely planned on the simplest lines—a mere open space among the tree tops, whose size is enhanced by its situation and by the great trees which immediately surround it. The stately balustrade is properly broken and supported by pedestals and piers, and the single vases appropriately mark off the borders of the space toward the house. It is an excellent example of good results accomplished by direct means and in the most direct way. The Garden of Alfred Nathan, Esq., Elberon, New Jersey. The garden of Alfred Nathan, Esq., at Elberon, New Jersey, is, in a quite literal sense, a garden by the sea. The entrance driveway describes a circle before the house, and encloses a fountain—a beautiful circular pool, with a graceful little figure of a boy embracing a swan. Stone seats are placed at intervals in the path around the fountain. The formal garden, on the right of the house, is a large rectangular area, reached by marble steps and laid out in paths which cross each other at right angles, meeting in a central circle, in which is a sun-dial. + slbponntce-tet dey lh tnd deel hte lilt ecient eet : Pera raaes aan ame tt aes Oke Ome pm ee ree) as em | aa NLL | ain ‘payyory ‘Buruueyy “fw ‘Osd ‘NVH.LYN Gadd TV JO NAGUYVO AHL NI NIV.LNOOA V : assaf MONT ‘ uosag[ [296] “LVUS ANV TVIG-NOAS qHL hod 1. ¥ Hasse Bi be i498 [297] “ASQOH FHL AAOdMAM AOVANAL THL— ‘Osd ‘“LLAT.LUVa SIONVYA JO NAGUVSD AHL “sujasnyoessepy ‘Zurssoas sap, 1 W “Sulssord sopiig AMERICAN “ESTATES AND GARDENS At the farther end is a great stone semicircular seat, with vases on either side. Other seats, rectangular in form and beautifully carved, are placed at the ends of the cross path. Behind the house is a grassed space, laid out in garden style, and immediately beyond is the ocean, the estate being directly on the edge of the water. It is a beautiful, open situation, devoid of trees, it is true, but the omission is largely compensated for by the delightful manner in which the garden has been planted with shrubs and flowers. The Garden of Francis Bartlett, Esq., Prides Crossing, Massachusetts. The garden of Mr. Francis Bartlett, at Prides Crossing, Massachusetts, is a striking example of the fine gardens with which the eastern part of Massachusetts is thronged. It is thoroughly individual in design and in development, a spot of wonderful natural beauty, to which art has given a special note of charm and completeness. A long, winding driveway leads up through lovely woods to the house. Just before it is reached the road passes be- tween two magnificent Japan- ese bronze lanterns. The house stands on a terrace, the road within a balustrade, in the semicircular projections of which are placed immense bronze Japanese vases, gigantic works of art with delicately elaborated surfaces. There are large jars of Japanese pottery on the balustrade piers. In the center, immediately be- fore the house, is a vast Japanese basin of bronze, with a bronze water fowl beside it, standing on a mass of rocks thickly planted with ferns and rock shrubs. A flight of steps descends from the center of the terrace to the formal garden. Its flower beds form an elaborate geomet- rical design, bordered with box, and beautifully planted with THE BRONZE BASIN AND FERNERY. [299] “NUCUV 2 TIVNYOA AHL— Osa « LL TLUVd SIONVYdA AO NAGUVD age Se aHL [300] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS evergreens, shrubs, and brilliantly flowering annuals. In the middle of the central path is a richly carved well head, and at its end a trellised arbor. And all around the garden, completely shutting it in ‘rom the outer world, so completely, in fact, that no hint is given of the street immediately without and below, are trees, great forest trees, of magnificent height and foliage, a curtain wall of luscious green, at once impenetrable and lovely, adding to the beauty of the spot and giving it unexpected charm and mystery. A Terraced Garden. The terraced garden is the natural garden of the mountain side. It may, indeed, be considered a type quite apart by itself, since a garden seems instinctively to belong to level ground, and one built tier above tier is so rare as to be exceptional. This very unusual garden is, however, beautifully illustrated in the estate of Mr. O. D. Munn, at Llewellyn Park, Orange, New Jersey. The mountain side rising behind the house has been converted into terraces, leveled and faced with grass, and laid out in pleasing variety. Yet in this garden, as in many other successful gardens, the natural configuration of the land forms the basis of the floral ornamentation. The house stands against a slope of the Orange Mountain, which rises to a considerable height above it. This at once determines the garden and its special forms. The hillside must, indeed, be left bare, or subjected to ornamental treatment, and ornamental treatment both demands and _ necessi- tates the terrace as its leading feature, if it does not preclude the use of everything else. This, however, amounts to no limitation what- ever in the hands of capable garden designers; on the contrary, the very idea is so novel and so interesting that an additional zest is given to the solution of a problem that is especially fascinating through its very difficulty. And the creation of a garden whose chief feature is to be a series of terraces, ranged one above the other, involves difficulties of arrangement and disposition which will not be apparent at the first conception of the idea. Shall the terraces be treated alike, rising in tier above tier in solemn succession of identical forms? Shall they be wholly ornamental, or will it be possible to put some of them, at least, to A MARBLE SEAT. [301] MATT NI «SHOVAYHL AHL» ‘fasiaf man ‘a8urgQ ‘NAGYVD IVNAOd AHL ee ee “eens AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS some utilitarian purpose? And if the planting is to be varied, in what way and to what extent shall it be done? The relationship of the garden to the house, and its own natural declivity, vetoed at once any suggestion for broad terraces with considerable horizontal surfaces. A rising series was, therefore, determined upon, as at once the most natural and the best basis of design. The terraces are artificial in so far as they have been given regular form and have been leveled and faced with grass, but they closely follow the basic outline of the natural slope, to which they bear the relationship of a crown and ornament. Standing, as it does, on a hillside, the front of the house overlooks a vast stretch of territory, the view being over lawns and roads, fields and trees, with New York itself—a mere speck in the landscape—dimly visible at the farthest point. The terraces are at the back of the house, rising far above it to a lofty grove of trees, where a pleasant summer house, reached by the long succession of steps, affords another lookout upon the country below and the land beyond. The first terrace above the driveway is a sloping grass bank, adorned with a marble fountain, copied from an Italian church font. The second terrace is a true formal garden, some fifty feet wide and several hundred feet long. It is of such ample size that room is afforded for quite extensive floral embellishment. It is, therefore, laid out in typical formal style, with graveled paths arranged in a geometrical design, paths bordered with box and low A TERRACE, [304] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS THE SUN-DIAL. hedges, enclosing shrubs and plants of great variety. It is not the least remarkable charac- teristic of this very interesting garden that, save the bay trees and the annuals—and of the latter there are a plenty—it is planted throughout with hardy American shrubs, or with those of foreign origin that flourish well in this climate. Many varieties of box and cypress have been used here, and in a most effective way. The annuals give the color notes that are both abundant and beautiful. Everything like carpet gardening has been avoided, and the annuals planted for effect of color only—great masses of bloom and foliage, splendid in their massing, yet the simplest method, and the one which yields the best results. This formal garden on this single terrace is so large in size, and has realized so completely the purpose of its designer, that, were there nothing else, the garden would still have great interest. But it is the other terraces—there are nine in all—which give the distinctive character to this estate. Above the formal garden comes the kitchen garden. In most estates these two would be quite widely«separated, possibly by lawns and paths, certainly by green hedges, which would hide the homely kitchen garden from its brilliant neighbor. But in the present case there was no room for this great surface development; nor, indeed, was there necessity for it; for the terraces supplied ample room for both gardens [305] AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS by the very simple device of planting their edges or borders with flowering plants, while the humbler vegetables flourished within and behind them. Low flowering plants are used for the lower borders, and higher ones for the upper, a system that perfectly maintains the individuality of the terraces. Had high flowering plants been used on the lower terraces, the individual effect of each would, to a certain extent, have become confused. The system that has been followed gives each terrace its own character, which is further heightened by the development of a careful color scheme, each terrace having a well marked color of its own. Thus, one has a border of red; another is rich in yellow: in a third, purple will be the chief color, while blue and white or other shades are represented in others. All these borders are so laid out that each plant in its season is followed by another variety, so that the entire garden will be in gorgeous bloom the entire summer. At the summit, and on the sides, the whole of this great ascending garden is enclosed within a thick forest growth, that frames it splendidly and beautifully helps in giving it individuality. It is thus no unrelated spot upon the hillside, but a complete and finished garden, novel in design and arrangement, and yet so completely natural that no other kind of a garden could have been developed here or been so effective. 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