434 



Garden and Forest. 



[XiiVKMBER 7, 1SS8. 



which is inevitably brought about at hist by new cUmatic 

 influences, could express itself in architectural language. 

 No colonial house had anything that resembled a piazza. 

 If we find one attached to such a house to-day, it is an 

 addition of later date — as is the case with the well-known 

 Longfellow house in Cambridge. 



But the introduction of the classic fashion in architecture 

 meant the erection of porticoes, and the addition which 

 they made to comfort has never again been dispensed 

 with. When classic forms were abandoned in favor of 

 what has been dubbed our " vernacular " style of archi- 

 tecture—when little temples gave way to plain, square, 

 box-like houses with gabled roofs — the portico vanished, 

 but its place was taken by a modification of the \eranda 

 which had long been in use in all southern lands. Wc 

 speak of the course of things in our Northern States; at 

 the South, where Spanish influence was felt, verandas 

 and balconies seem to have been used from the earliest 

 times. 



When we say a " vernacular " style of architectm-e, we 

 mean one wdiich has been the unaffected outcome of 

 universal needs and desires ; and, therefore, whatever its 

 defects from an artistic point of view, must ha\'e a large 

 measure of practical fitness to recommend it. Many 

 factors of such a style must persevere if progress in art is 

 to mean more beauty and more fitness too ; and, in fact, 

 widel)' as we have departed from the plain, box-like 

 house in recent years, our best new ci_>untry houses are, 

 in many respects, developed from them, and most notably 

 so as regards the constant presence of the piazza. Con- 

 siderations of sentiment and art excuse and make good 

 its absence to the owner of an old colonial house ; but 

 when a ne\v house is desired it is a clearly recognized 

 necessity, even though some colonial scheme may be 

 closely followed in other respects. Only in very rare 

 cases do we see piazzas dispensed with by an owner 

 who cares more for the odd pleasure of co]iyiiig with 

 exactness an inappropriate foreign model than for building 

 himself a really comfortable home. 



Certainly no really comfortable country home can exist 

 in our land without a piazza. Even on our most northerly 

 borders the heat of our summer atmosphere and the 

 strength of our sunshine make exercise in the open air, 

 to the extent to which it is practiced in England, for ex- 

 ample, a sheer impossibility. Nor, for similar reasons, 

 can we sit with comfort on the lawns of England or the 

 uncovered terraces of France, or in the arbors, placed at 

 some distance from the house, which are so characteristic 

 of German villas. We must have a -wide and open yet 

 covered space, closely connected with our living rooms, 

 where we can pass our hours of rest and many of our 

 hours of occupation too. How necessary it is we read 

 in the fact that, when well arranged, the piazza always 

 becomes the very focus of domestic life and social inter- 

 course — as central a feature in summer as the parlor fire- 

 side is in winter. 



But it is hardly needful to-day to affirm that an Ameri- 

 can country house without a piazza in is in every sense a 

 mistake and a failure — that it palpably lacks fitness and 

 therefore must lack true beauty in the eyes of intelligent 

 observers. It is more needful to protest against the ex- 

 cessive use of piazzas than to urge their erection. When 

 their value was first fully appreciated it was believed that 

 they could not be too freely used. A house t.if any im- 

 portance most frequently had three if not all of its sides 

 encircled by them, and their breadth was often as exces- 

 sive as their length. To-day a reaction has begun to set 

 in, and most fortunately. Piazzas on all sides of a house 

 mean that all the rooms are darkened and that direct sun- 

 shine can nowhere enter the lower floor. This considera- 

 tion is important even when a house is meant merel)' for 

 summer use ; and it is all-important when winter as well 

 as srunmer comfort must be secured. Again, experience 

 M'ill always show that with \erv extensive piiazzas only 

 cerlain portions are commonl)' used, and that other por- 



tions might be removed and ne\er missed. And, finally, 

 as one of the most difficult of current architectural prob- 

 lems is so to treat the piazza that it will seem an integral 

 part of the house instead of a mere attached shed, it will 

 be understood that the larger it is, the harder becomes the 

 task. If we look at our best recent houses, we find that 

 the main piazza is confined to one side, or, placed on a 

 corner, partly encircles t\\o sides ; and there can be few- 

 cases in which mo;e than this is needful. 



But for this to suffice the piazza must not be considered 

 as a mere adjunct to an interior which may be planned 

 without regard to it. Success in its arrangement v\'ill de- 

 pend upon choice of exposure and outlook, but also upon 

 the way in which it is connected with the interior. If a 

 ])iazza does not command the best view or has not sufficient 

 light, or, on the other hand, admits the sun too freel)% it 

 will be a perpetual exasperation to its owner ; while if it 

 is not easily accessible from the most commonly fre- 

 quented rooms, it will not fulfill its whole purpose. And, 

 again, a want of thought in placing it may need- 

 lessly injure the rooms, excluding light and sun where 

 they are most to be desired. In short, the piazza must 

 be considered from the very outset as an integral portion 

 of the house, and at every step in the planning a careful 

 compromise must be made fjetvveen its claims and those 

 of the interior. Of course no general rules for its arrange- 

 ment can 1)0 laid do\\n. In some cases there may be but 

 one possible position in which a piazza can exist ; in others 

 the advantages of a certain exposure or a particularly 

 charming point of view may be of determining weight ; 

 wliile in others again there will be a much wider latitude 

 for choice. The only rule is to consider all claims to- 

 gether from the very beginning, and to know clearly 

 which ones, by reason of the habits and tastes of the 

 owners, ought to be most full)' met, if compromise of any 

 conspicuiius kind is necessar}'. Naturally the claims of 

 the piazza should haxc more weight when a house is 

 meant only for summer use, th.in wlien it ^vill be lived in 

 all the year round. 



Entrance to the Temples at Nikko, Japan. 



THE illustration on page 439, drawn frcjm a photo- 

 graph, shows the tirst or outer gate leading to the 

 memorial temples at Nikko. They were erected in honor 

 of Eyeyasu, the founder of that Tokugawa dynasty, 

 which is more commonly called the dynasty of the 

 "Tykoons," and contain his tomb. 



The avenue which leads from Utzunomia to Nikko— a 

 distance of twenty miles — is lined on either side by a 

 double row of tall and stately Cryptomerias. Their 

 branches, joining overhead, form a compact arch over 

 the whole distance, and they have stood for 300 years — 

 since the temples were erected by Eyemitz, the grandson 

 of Eyeyasu. At the end of this avenue, as our picture 

 shows, rises a low terrace, upon which more of the great 

 Conifers stand, forming a superb frame, with their great, 

 furrowed, stately trunks and masses of dark green foliage, 

 for the low but richly colored buildings. The simplicity 

 of the terrace its steps and balustrade, seems excessive, 

 perhaps, to western taste, in view of the rich adornment 

 of the area to which they admit. But it is a good 

 expression of the lielief Avhich to a Japanese is one 

 of the first canons of good taste — that simpler things 

 should lead up to more elaborate ones, and that the 

 place where display should not be made is that which 

 is most conspicuously presented to the public eye. From 

 this standpoint the design of the terrace is excellent, and 

 the great stone lanterns at either side of the steps give 

 just the needed decorative accent. 



The temples at Nikko are considered the finest in Japan 

 and their site is famous for its natin-al charms. '■ He 

 who has not seen Nikko," saj-s a popular aphorism, "does 

 not know how to use the word beautiful." 



