August, 1905 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



93 



'Heim Mere,' the Summer Home of Louis L. Hopkins, Esq. 



Manchester, Massachusetts 



ASSING the many attractive houses that 

 command attention, on the road from 

 Beverly to Manchester, there is none more 

 picturesque than the one recently built for 

 Louis L. Hopkins, Esq. The house sets 

 well back from the highway, and the broad 

 expanse of velvet lawn is bounded by a low stone wall, which 

 is nearly hidden from view by a mass of clinging vines. Beds 

 of flowers dot the lawn at the front and at the sides, and at 

 the back are lines of willow trees and masses of shrubbery. 



The approach is by an avenue which winds itself from the 

 main entrance and around a circular roadway to the front. 

 In the center of this circular roadway there is placed a mas- 

 sive bed of hydrangeas, which are, in the latter part of the 

 summer and during the 

 autumn, a mass of bloom 

 with their ever-changing 

 colors as the season ad- 

 vances. Large pots of 

 the hydrangea hortensia 

 grace the steps at either 

 side of the entrance door. 

 A wide path from this 

 driveway leads to the rear 

 of the house, where the 

 grounds extend to the 

 water's edge. On one side 

 of this spacious lawn is the 

 stable, which is large 

 enough to accommodate 

 the horses and carriages 

 and the coachman's quar- 

 ters overhead. 



The house itself is most 

 attractive in its combina- 

 tion of gray stucco, red- 

 brown shingles and white 

 painted trim, and with the 

 green vines clinging to its 

 sides makes a most artistic 

 picture. Wide verandas 

 are placed at either side of 

 the house, the larger one 

 being at the rear, facing 

 the water, and both are 

 covered with vines; the 

 white clematis abounding 

 profusely and adding 



much to the artistic appearance of the house. The grounds 

 at the rear of the house are even more beautiful than those 

 at the front, with their many beautiful flowers and the broad 

 sward of the green velvet lawn. 



The main entrance to the house is from the low front 

 veranda, and through a vestibule to a reception hallway, with 

 Doric columns, supporting the balcony of the main landing 

 of the staircase. The hall, which is fitted up for a living- 

 room, is furnished with white enamel trim. It has a pan- 

 eled wainscoting, above which the walls are covered with an 

 embossed paper of a yellow and white design, and the whole 

 finished with a wooden cornice. 



Opening from this hall is the ingle-nook, containing an 

 open fireplace with brick facings and hearth and a hand- 



somely carved mantel. On either side of the fireplace are 

 low bookcases built in, and, with a comfortable chair, pro- 

 vides a quiet retreat. The ingle-nook forms the entrance to 

 the billiard-room, which extends to the edge of the verandas, 

 and with one of the many windows, a French one, opening 

 onto the veranda. This room is trimmed with mahogany 

 and has a high paneled wainscoting finished with a plate- 

 rack, filled with many handsome golf trophies. The wall 

 space above this plate-rack is covered with leather and the 

 ceiling finished with heavy molded beams. 



At the left of the hall is the dining-room, one of the most 

 pleasant rooms in the house, with an extensive ocean view 

 from the circular baywindow at the end. The trim of this 

 room is treated with white enamel paint. This room has a 



The Entrance Porch, Showing a Bed of Hydrangea Paniculata 

 in the Center of the Roadway 



low paneled wainscoting of Colonial character, a wooden 

 cornice and an open fireplace, which is particularly hand- 

 some with its exquisite carving and paneled over-mantel. 



The second story contains the owner's suite, with private 

 bathroom, guests' rooms, and the servants' rooms and bath, 

 which are placed over the kitchen extension, with a private 

 hall and stairway leading to the kitchen. The main bath- 

 rooms are very handsomely fitted up with paved tiled floor, 

 wainscoting of glazed tile, porcelain fixtures and exposed 

 plumbing, all nickelplated. Extra guest rooms and trunk 

 rooms are provided for on the third floor, while the cellar 

 contains the heating apparatus, fuel rooms, etc. 



Mr. William G. Rantoul, architect, 6 Beacon Street, 

 Boston, Mass. 



