34 
House & Garden 
THE GAZEBO AND THE GARDEN WALL 
Their Relations to Each Other and to the Architectural and Landscape Scheme - 
Some Examples of How and Where They May Be L sed 
HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN 
G ARDEN walls and gazebos, how¬ 
ever much glamour may attach to 
them, are very material creations and not 
at all to be relegated to the nebulous 
realm of fiction and romance, there to 
be surrendered to the novelist as pictur¬ 
esque “properties” against which to pose 
his characters. They are tangible reali¬ 
ties and, as such, have all the appropri¬ 
ate advantages thereto appertaining, if 
we use them aright. 
There seems to be some confusion in 
the public mind as to just what a gazebo 
is; there are many good people who are 
not quite sure whether it is a new break¬ 
fast-food or a quadruped of the antelope 
species. The dictionary kindly tells us 
that the term is humor¬ 
ously formed from the 
word gaze, and then goes 
on to define a gazebo as 
“a summer-house so situ¬ 
ated as to command an 
extensive prospect.” In 
its strictest sense that is 
what a gazebo is. As a 
matter of actual fact, 
however, the word has 
gradually assumed a 
more comprehensive 
meaning. Besides afford¬ 
ing a distant outlook over 
a broad expanse of coun¬ 
try, or an intimate view 
over the garden, as the 
case may be, it was in¬ 
evitable that such posts 
of survey should serve a 
variety of other purposes 
as well, so that gazebo, 
once the word was coined, 
soon came to be a generic 
term for almost any sort 
of small garden structure, 
detached from and inde¬ 
pendent of the house— 
even when the original 
purpose of outlook had 
been largely or altogether 
obscured. In this sense 
the word is here used. 
One of the 
Russell House 
gazebos over- 
looks the 
highway. 
Here the mas¬ 
ter a n d mis¬ 
tress sat and 
watched the 
stage coaches 
Charm and Utility 
let us cede them the customary priority. 
So far as gazebos are concerned, re¬ 
garded from the point of view of the 
utmost practical utility and quite disso¬ 
ciated from all esthetic considerations, 
here are a few of the purposes they mar 
well serve, oftentimes, too, in connection 
with the primary intent of giving a coign 
of vantage for a vista. They can be of 
great use for the orderly and convenient 
storage of garden tools and other horti¬ 
cultural paraphernalia, or for putting 
away tennis and croquet things where 
they can easily be got at. Likewise, they 
may be used for aviaries or for the hous¬ 
ing of domestic pets, while the upper por¬ 
tion may do duty as a dovecote. Again. 
where such things may be 
necessary as parts of the 
establishment, they may 
contain the pumping or 
lighting plants, or an¬ 
swer as well-houses or 
water-tanks. Best of all, 1 
they afford a sheltered 
place to sit in, and are 
thus a distinct aid and r 
encouragement to the 
wholesome habit of gar¬ 
den dwelling Several of 
the fo-egoing functions 
may very well be com- 
\ bined in one building. 
From the ele¬ 
vated veranda 
on the south¬ 
east side there 
is a full view 
of the garden 
and a broad 
outlook to 
the south and 
cast 
Not a Foolish Frill 
The gazebo so devised, 
therefore, is not merely a< 
picturesque accessory, but 
becomes a comely part of 
the mechanism of daily 
life. Unlike the fantastic 
trellised summer-house of 
the Victorian era—a con¬ 
trivance cousin-german 
to the Victorian center- 
table and having justj 
about as much raison, 
d’etre to recommend it— 
it is not at all an amus¬ 
ing architectural frill. 
The score of esthetic 
value should be called 
the score of esthetic util¬ 
ity, for we have happily 
come to the age when 
beauty is at least begin¬ 
ning to be recognized as; 
a utilitarian asset in very 
truth, an asset which has! 
an actual cash value. 
Considered upon this: 
ground, the gazebo be¬ 
comes an architectural 
adjunct of the greatest 
service, contributing, asj 
it may well be made to 
do, most substantially tc 
the logical completenessi 
of the whole composition,: 
and yielding an element 
of balance and symmetry 
Those who built the 
old garden walls and 
gazebos in Italy and 
France, in England and 
early America were seem¬ 
ingly conscious of two 
things that we have some¬ 
what lost sight of—the 
charm inherent therein, 
which the makers were 
wise enough to deem an 
actual asset; and the 
practical utility and con¬ 
venience in them abiding. 
As considerations of util¬ 
ity and convenience ordi¬ 
narily take precedence of 
other ends to be served, 
