The ground on which “Crankslea” is built embodies all the requirements for a home of moderate size, placed as it is at the intersection of two 
streets. The house stands in the open with a southwestern exposure, and is sufficiently removed from the main street to secure privacy 
Homes That Architects Have Built For Themselves 
“CRANKSLEA,” THE HOME OF MR. LAWRENCE VISSCHER BOYD AT GERMANTOWN, PA. 
1! Y Mabel T u k e Priest m a n 
Photographs by the Author 
T HERE is a frank simplicity 
about "Crankslea” that ap¬ 
peals to those who delight in sim¬ 
ple and livable homes. Not only 
is it pleasing from an architectural 
point of view, but it is a real home. 
The problem that confronted Mr. 
Boyd when he started to build a 
house for himself was, what to do 
with the "things” that he had accu¬ 
mulated in his travels, and which 
he wanted to have around him. The 
solving of that problem is mainly 
responsible for the successful plan¬ 
ning and furnishing of Crankslea. 
When asked what dominating idea the house expressed, Mr. 
Boyd replied: "I did not dare consider seriously any dominating 
style for exterior design or interior detail or arrangement, as I 
knew that the finished house was to 
contain examples of art from all parts 
of the globe.” 
It was no easy task that Mr. Boyd set 
himself. He was anxious not to over¬ 
crowd the house with the architect’s fail¬ 
ing, "Too much architecture,” and yet he 
had several pet theories that he wanted 
to introduce. In speaking of his home 
he remarked, “My home was designed 
along very simple lines, following some¬ 
what the modern German influence. I 
knew that time, planting and living in 
the house would bring about the quality 
that had been so much admired in our 
old, simple farmhouses of the better 
class. I wished to attain the feel¬ 
ing the Germans call ‘gemiitlich,’ 
to feel at liberty to place on the 
exterior walls any cast or piece of 
faience that I especially admired. 
Therefore, while the house was 
being built, I tried the experiment 
of placing in the plaster of the 
front exterior, a beautiful Greek 
cast of Achilles’ mother blessing 
her son before he went to battle. 
This proved successful and I al¬ 
lowed it to remain permanently, 
thus lending additional interest to 
the wall surface. A large cherry 
tree directed my imagination to its decorative uses, with the 
result that it now supports an arbor and forms a picturesque end 
to the rear balcony. When in bloom, we are completely sur¬ 
rounded above and on all sides with the 
fragrant snowy blossoms.” 
The setting of IMr. Boyd’s house is 
a particularly happy one, for it is on the 
edge of a wood, and yet within a block 
of a trolley line. The house itself 
stands in the open with a southwestern 
exposure, but is sufficiently removed 
from the main thoroughfare to insure 
privacy. “When I discovered it,” IMr. 
Boyd said, “I felt sure that I could re¬ 
tain all of its natural advantages. Be¬ 
fore building, I carefully plotted all of 
the existing trees and placed the house 
so that it would not interfere with any 
of the shade trees in the rear. To con- 
An up-stairs bedroom that breathes the spirit of 
Colonial times 
(17) 
