The South Front is of the Type of Pure Georgian, More Characteristic of England 
than America 
frames, etc., white. In color alone it is particularly charm- 
ing; the warm, creamy yellow of the plaster has weathered 
delightfully, and in mass is agreeably associated with the 
green of the foliage and the blue of the sky. 
The north front is largely screened by trees and vines, and 
aside from its arrangement of openings, and well apportioned 
spaces, is not specially notable, though a word may well be 
said for its structural stability, and hospitable, unattected 
entrance—a wide, plain door, surmounted by a semi-circular 
light, and approached by two steps and a low platform of 
stone. 
The south front is, however, unshielded, and looks down 
without hindrance upon the great city which has gradually 
crept to its gate. Its style is pure Georgian, but not Colonial ; 
its prototype is to be found in England but not in this country. 
The circular portico with its half dome is an agreeable and 
novel substitute for the straight, flat-roofed veranda, and the 
repetition of the arch in the sunken lunettes which surmount 
the lower windows lends unity and interest to the design. 
Nice proportion has been observed in the placing of these 
curves, and with the relation of distances no fault can be 
found. The shape and size of the windows conform with the 
outline and dimensions of the portico, and the columns of the 
same are of fitting strength and vigor to uphold with reason- 
able ease the weight imposed upon them. The wall of the 
house, back of the portico, is curved inward, and, completing 
the circle, is pierced by three long, two-sashed windows, which 
when open serve as doors. All the windows in the main build- 
ing on the south side have, beside the typical square panes, 
long, narrow side-lights, which are unusual and are exceed- 
ingly attractive. 
The galleries to the right and left are on the floor level, 
owing to the descent of the land, two steps lower than the 
main building. ‘Their facades on the south are divided into 
three spaces by pilasters and are surmounted by railings of 
wrought-iron and wood. ‘The one in the east wing, most 
distinctly shown in the accompanying illustration, was orig- 
inally designed and is still used as a conservatory, whereas 
the one in the west has recently been converted into a dining- 
room. The vine-covered building to the right at the time 
the house was erected, and for several years afterward, was 
used as a stable, while in the one to the left, the kitchen and 
servants’ quarters have been successively located. These ter- 
minal buildings are two stories in height, but so much lower 
are their ceilings that the top of their walls comes almost on 
a line with the roof of the portico. ‘They are subservient ‘o 
the main section and yet distinctly a part of the whole. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND ‘GARDENS 
April, 1906 
The interior is possibly less notable than 
the exterior, but still interesting. Passing 
through the north door one enters directly 
into a reception room which opens to the 
right and left on corridors running east and 
west, and leads immediately through a broad 
doorway into a large central hall or living- 
room from which in turn open the drawing- 
rooms and the porticoed veranda. To the left 
of the reception room, in the hall, as a thing 
of utility but not of architectural moment, 
are the stairs, substantially built, private, and 
distinctly unobtrusive. 
The main drawing-room is to the left of 
the living-room and of hospitable propor- 
tions. Opposite the entrance is the fire-place 
with the original marble mantel, and to the 
right of this is a door leading into the con 
servatory. ‘The walls are painted a dull gray 
and are finished by a white molding of 
rather elaborate design. The window, 
reaching from the floor almost to the ex- 
tremely high ceiling, with its side-lights, occupies the greater 
part of the south wall, and emits to the farthest corner of the 
room an abundance of mellow sunlight. It and its counter- 
parts in the main building are fitted with inside, folding 
shutters, made of paneled wood, and are fastened, when 
closed, by a bar which fits across them into grooves in the 
projecting frames, a primitive device, but one which 
answers its purpose adequately. The shutters, the frames of 
the doors and windows are throughout painted white, but the 
doors are of maple, unstained and polished. Some swing 
upon hinges, but others slide into the wall. 
The west drawing-room, to the right of the main hall, is 
somewhat smaller than the east room, and perhaps less 
formal, showing, in addition to a broad, sunny window and a 
cheerful fireplace, a writing desk, easy chairs, and other ap- 
purtenances of home life. The mantel in this room is of 
The Circular Portico with Its Half-Dome in an Agreeable and Novel 
Substitute for the Usual Straight, Flat-Roofed Veranda 
