The Henry Goulding House, Worcester, MA

The Henry Goulding House, Worcester, MA. 1850 Photo: Wikimedia

The Henry Goulding House, built in 1850, is a beautiful specimen of design in Worcester. Subtle and sober, it has a powerful appearance on the street, and it seems to aspire to Anglo-Italianate designs, although certain elements are decidedly outside of that vein. The house follows the symmetrical plan and appears to be stuccoed. As we have seen, the restrained cornice, with closely spaced brackets is typical of Anglo-Italianate, but this house does not employ a full entablature, since it's missing both a full frieze and architrave. The cornice is given rhythm by small panels inserted between the brackets, making it a paneled cornice. The hood moldings are again restrained as in Anglo-Italianate, consisting of a cornice on brackets. The shallow slope of the pediments on the first floor windows suggest Greek Revival influence, which favors shallow pediments over steep pediments. The porch is decidedly unclassical in inspiration (although it also has a sober cornice), consisting of two small arches and a large trefoil center arch in the center with defining moldings that suggest columns. This shape is reflected by the triple arched Palladian design of the door and its side lights. The porch looks to be made of wood laid flush, no doubt to simulate stone and stucco facing. The balustrade is particularly fine on the first floor, with interlocking ellipses. The house is currently the Swedish Lutheran Home for the Aged, the fate of many an Italianate mansion. The mass to the right of the house looks like later additions for that purpose.