February, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



45 



Notable American Homes 



By Barr Ferree 



" Laurento, " the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania 



|HF mansion of "Laurento" looms majesti- 

 cally on its hilltop, rising high and stately 

 above the surrounding trees and shrubbery, 

 quite dominating the landscape for many 

 miles around. And a most agreeable land- 

 mark it is, designed in a quiet Italian style 

 by Messrs. Peabody & Sterns, architects, of 

 Boston. It is a large house with spacious fronts, whose length 

 is emphasized by the strong string-course between the first 

 and second stories, and by the low, sloping broad roof with 

 which it is surmounted. It is built of light-brown brick, with 

 terra cotta trimming of a nearly white tone. 



The situation is superb, standing on the summit of a hill 

 that rises sharply above the road by which it is usually ap- 

 proached, but with an ample plateau on the inner side, toward 

 which the entrance front is faced. On the roadside the base 

 of the hill is enclosed within a low stone wall, that presently 

 will be thickly covered with vines. At one point, within a 



recess, is a water trough for horses; farther on is the entrance, 

 high sandstone piers capped with standing lions and support- 

 ing a wrought-iron arch carrying a central lantern: a stately, 

 handsome entrance, as effective as it is simple. 



The road within approaches the house by broad curves, 

 for the elevation is considerable, and a somewhat lengthy 

 detour has been necessary to accomplish an easy ascent. On 

 the left the hillside is thickly overgrown with wild shrubbery; 

 on the right are open fields, with the farmhouse and barn — 

 a massive, rough cast structure — quite down in the hollow. 

 The roadbed is fine, with young trees growing on the outer 

 edge, and at frequent intervals are rustic posts carrying 

 wrought-iron lanterns, square in form, and as ornamental by 

 day as they are useful by night. Farther on, but at some dis- 

 tance below, the road overlooks the vegetable garden. Then 

 the shrubbery on the left gives way to open land, and the 

 house, which hitherto has been completely hidden, comes into 

 view. A broad field contains a Hock of sheep and the plant- 



