November, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



Notable American Homes 



By Barr Ferree 



" Brick House," the Home of Anson Phelps Stokes, Esq., Noroton, Connecticut 



^^^^^^ RICK HOUSE" is built at the end of a fine 

 Pvo^t)/ "country road on the extreme end of Col- 

 /^^^ lender's Point. It stands on a narrow 



^^TnSw tongue of land, washed on three sides by 

 C/^^ ^^<^K waters of Long Island Sound. Its 



stately outlines loom attractively among the 

 trees which, just without the borders of its 

 territory, grow luxuriantly on each side of the road. The 

 entrance gateway admits to an open court, low-walled with 

 brick, with gateways to the right and left, while a fourth 

 stands at the head of the avenue, which runs straight on to 

 the house. This is a broad and spacious roadway, bordered 

 with a wide band of sward on either side, in which grows 

 pyramids of box; then a path, and beyond, lawns and shrub- 

 bery and trees, all beautifully planted and kept in the finest 

 condition. A tall iron railing, supported by piers of brick, 

 marks the limit of the avenue and forms the outer boundary 

 of the forecourt before the house. Within and without it is 

 banked with shrubs and flowering plants; great pottery jars 

 are filled with plants and vines; bay trees, and other orna- 

 mental shrubs grow in boxes and tubs; and on the right is a 

 wall fountain beneath a window. 



The house is H-shaped, with an open forecourt toward 

 the avenue, partly inclosed on the sides by the wings, and 

 partly by the iron railing, which is brought forward to give 

 greater space. The brickwork throughout is red and black 

 and the trimmings white. The center of the entrance front 

 is brought slightly forward, and has a pediment supported 

 by four Corinthian pilasters. Although eminently simple 

 and restrained, this device is the chief decorative feature of 

 the front. The other elements are briefly described: large 

 round arched windows in the first story; simple rectangular 

 windows in the second ; a plain but sufficient cornice ; and 

 then the high shingled roof in which are modest dormers, 

 arranged singly and in pairs. 



The water front is quite as simple but necessarily very dif- 

 ferent in design, although in entire harmony with the other 

 parts. The house wall here presents a straight unbroken 

 line. Below, on either side, but brought in from the wall 

 ends, is a porch, almost square in form, supported by clus- 

 tered columns. Large round arched windows are beyond 

 and between them; while within arr ^-ecesses which extend to 

 the main cornice above the second story. The upper win- 

 dows are singles or groups, and the cornice, roof and dormers 

 are identical with those on the entrance front. At the base 

 is a terrace, inclosed within a balustrade. The sides are less 

 formal in treatment than either of the two main fronts. 

 The distinguishing feature of these lesser fronts is the great 

 brick gable, which also surmounts the end walls of the wings 

 on the entrance front. The roof is high pitched, and the 

 gables rise to a height of quite two stories. East and west 

 they are capped by two chimneys; on the entrance wings by 

 one. The terrace of the water front is continued below the 

 west side, but on the east the road is dropped to give entrance 

 to the kitchen, which is in the basement of this wing. 



The distinguishing qualities of this house are its solidity 

 and its simplicity. It is a house of large size, designed and 

 built in a large way; this is completely true notwithstanding 

 the fact that its great size is not immediately apparent. It is 

 not, indeed, until the house has been viewed from every 

 aspect that its great magnitude is thoroughly realized. The 

 length of the entrance front is, of course, broken by the 

 wings which form a part of it; but the water front presents 

 a great length of line whose dimension is not broken by the 

 porches and the recesses, but rather increased by them; for 

 standing beneath them one realizes their considerable size, 

 although they occupy but a portion of its length. The great 

 height of the gable ends also adds to the effect of size, as 

 they tower high above one on the terrace, and seen from the 

 road of the kitchen entrance have a truly vast height. That, 



A Finely Planted Driveway Leads Directly to the Entrance Front 



