48 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



February, 1907 



ing becomes more formal; great clumps of shrubbery are 

 massed in beautifully kept lawns. The house has no great 

 trees near it, those in its immediate vicinity being young. The 

 kitchen entrance is hidden behind a fine planting of ever- 

 greens. 



A stately porte cochere, built wholly of terra cotta, 

 is erected before the main doorway. It has four great piers, 

 with round arches on the side, and two columns to support the 

 entablature on the front, whence a ravishing view can be had 

 of the magnificent lawn that stretches away from the house, 

 and of the hilltops in the far distance. 



In design this house is thoroughly distinguished. The 

 plan may be roughly described as cruciform; that is to say, a 

 great central body to which are applied wings, right and left. 



of pilasters, support the simply molded archway. The rea- 

 son for the thickening of the wall is now apparent, for it gives 

 greater depth to the arch, and transforms what might have 

 been a purely ornamental feature into a monumental one. In 

 the spandrils are two carved disks, which, with the monu- 

 mental stairway at the base of the arch, complete the struc- 

 tural features of this fine centerpiece. Within, the archway 

 has a double treatment of door and window, the doorway 

 being in the exact center, below a broad horizontal cornice, 

 while the window rises in majestic proportions above it, 

 wholly filling the enclosed space. 



The steps at the base of the arch descend upon a spacious 

 terrace, which is built out upon the hillside, with a broader 

 flight of central steps to the slope below. On each side of the 



Mobility Is given to the center by slight projections: at the 

 ends on the entrance front, in the center on the terrace front. 

 The detailing is extraordinarily fine, very well conceived, and 

 applied with admirable judiciousness. The large windows 

 are sufficiently spaced, those of the first story having more 

 elaborate frames than those of the second. The cornice at 

 the top is high and flat, with pierced openings over the win- 

 dows, and then the projecting eaves to the low roof, whose 

 simple outline is broken only by the chimneys and the three 

 dormers on the entrance front. 



There is more pronounced enrichment and more variety in 

 the terrace front. On that side the center is projected far 

 forward beyond the wings. In the center is a triumphal arch, 

 rising high to the crowning cornice which its keystone just 

 touches. Roman Ionic columns, with an accompanying pair 



center of the house are loggias which connect with the wings, 

 each with its own steps, descending at right angles to the 

 central flight to the great lower terrace. The loggias are 

 built of terra cotta, with piers and columns, and, furnished 

 with rugs, tables, and chairs, are most delightful lounging- 

 places. The outlooks over the countryside from any of these 

 parts are of rare beauty; immediately below is the deep valley 

 and the road, which the house seems almost to overhang; be- 

 yond are fields of rich grass, trees and woods, hills and val- 

 leys, a lovely country outlook, perhaps nowhere so enjoyable, 

 or so beautiful, as from the doorway beneath Mr. Biddle's 

 arch of triumph. 



The entrance door leads to a small vestibule, wholly pan- 

 eled in wood painted white. Its glazed doors admit to a 



