AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS 



it in Mexican fashion. The plan is thoroughly typical of a great Mexican house a huge court- 

 yard, on one side of which stands the dwelling-house, the others being bounded by low buildings 

 necessary to the domestic economy of so large a dwelling. In the center of the courtyard is 

 the well head from Verona, from which the name of the house is derived. To the right, as 

 one enters, are apartments for guests; to the left are servants' quarters, with a servants' hall 

 in the corner. Both of these series of rooms are continued on the sides of the court, the 

 guests' rooms ending in a long bowling alley, the servants' rooms being separated from the 

 main building by a porch. The central structure, before which one alights beneath a porte- 

 cochere, includes a magnificent hall, with a library and music-room to the right, and 

 a dining-room to the left ; the kitchen is beyond a passage opening out from the latter room ; the 

 corresponding space on the other side is filled by the billiard-room. The whole house is 

 splendidly furnished, and contains many fine works of art and many household treasures. 

 The ceilings throughout are beamed. 



The House of Frank S. Johnson, Esq. 



The house of Mr. Frank S. Johnson, at San Rafael, California, is more modest in size 

 than that of Mrs. Hearst, but involves a number of interesting ideas in its design. San Rafael 

 is about twenty miles from San Francisco, of which it is regarded as a suburb. It is situated 

 at the foot of Mount Tamalpais, the range of mountains enclosing it in amphitheatrical form. 

 Mr. Johnson's house is placed on the side of a hill, and is a hundred and ten feet long by thirty- 

 five feet wide; it is two stories in height, with a basement. A double covered staircase gives 

 access to the balcony or porch, which is overhung by the story above. The floors are supported 

 by great beams, which project from the outer walls in the Spanish custom. The house is built 

 of wood covered with cement; the parapets of the roof are tiled. 



The center of the house is filled with the reception hall. To the left is the dining-room, 

 with a great fireplace arranged in an ingle-nook, with the kitchen and servants' quarters beyond. 

 To the right of the hall is the library, with a separate corridor on the entrance front that imme- 

 diately connects the reception hall with the living-room, which fills the entire right wing. The 

 upper floor is, of course, given up to bedrooms. Much taste has been shown in the interior 

 fittings; California redwood enters largely into the interior finish. 



The Studio of Felix Peano, Esq. 



As a final type of California architecture, the studio built by Mr. Felix Peano, the sculptor, 

 for his own use, at Oakland, will be found to contain many points of interest. It is finely 

 situated on a bluff, overlooking Lake Merritt on one side and the waters of the estuary on the 

 other. A superb view of the whole City of Oakland can be had from the roof garden which 

 covers the main building. The house is built of cement, with brick foundations and trimmings 



