The Bonnet and Bauer Houses, Columbus, OH

The Frank F. Bonnet House, Columbus, OH. 1870s

The Herman Bauer House, Columbus, OH. 1870s

These three houses, all built in the late 1860s/1870s, are associated with later residents. Their plan is nearly identical, being a side hall design. On the east side of the street, the Bonnet house is the more elaborate of the two, with curved lintels and moldings with, while the Bauer house has simpler lintels. Both have Eastlake incised designs cut into the stone. The first floor windows on both houses are very long, indicating they may once have had iron balconies. Both have entablatures that are very similar, with an architrave molding, entablature windows (octagonal on the Bonnet house), and s curve brackets. On the opposite side is a house in a better state of preservation.

More elaborate than either, 565 E Town St. is the best example on the street of this typical type common to Columbus (and much Italianate architecture). In this example, all the key details are intact, with filleted windows and doors with conforming stone lintels with incised Eastlake designs. The cornice features an architrave molding, double c scroll brackets, dentils, and entablature windows. Even the bay window to the side preserves an iron crest. In a sense, though not especially thrilling, it is the houses like these, nice but not spectacular, that work as a group to create a visual effect and serve to emphasize the more dramatic stylistic examples.

'Tivoli' the Enoch Pratt House, Baltimore, MD

The Enoch Pratt House, Baltimore, MD. 1855 Photo: Wikimedia

'Tivoli' was constructed as the summer house of Enoch Pratt, one of Baltimore's major philanthropists and businessmen, in 1855. The house is a hulking mass, a three story, five bay plan of fieldstone and wood. The house has a string course that separates the second from the third floor. The window treatment is standard on the house, with a simple wooden surround and a molding above. Oddly, the house doesn't have an entrance porch, which I suspect was once there and similar to the back Tuscan porch, but has an entablature resting on brackets. The main entablature has c scroll brackets and is simple, akin to other country houses like 'The Mount'. It's here the house is particularly interesting. While on the front, an angular engaged pediment and arched window emphasize the center of the house, the side takes a different tack, dividing the façade into two main bays with stacked box windows with triple arched windows and panels above. These are topped by two engaged round pediments framing arched windows, contrasting with the angular front. A side service wing to the left offers a different scale, emphasizing its subordination to the main block. It is now the administration building of a mental hospital, finding new life like many of Baltimore's country houses, as an institution.

'Locust Grove' the Samuel F. B. Morse House, Poughkeepsie, NY

'Locust Grove' the Samuel F. B. Morse House, Poughkeepsie, NY. 1850

Photo: Wikimedia

Photo: Wikimedia

Photo: Wikimedia

Thinking of remodels into the Italianate style, the Samuel F. B. Morse house, Locust Grove, originally a 1771 five bay house, was remodeled extensively by the famous painter and telegraph developer (think Morse code) to the designs by Alexander Jackson Davis, America's premier Italianate designer of the period. The house, especially in its large arches, finish, and tower proportions very much resembles John Notman's Riverside in NJ. Davis successfully disguised the five bay house so that it is difficult to imagine what it originally looked like today, and because it was a remodel, the house does not follow any regular plan but is a custom design. The five bay façade, with the exception of the two outermost bays was completely hidden behind a massive projecting pavilion that covered the three central bays and entrance and sheltered a port cochere. This pavilion featured a large arched entrance in the center with a palladian window above. On the right side, Davis extended the façade with a polygonal bay framed by a large porch with thin, iron lattice supports. The left bay was originally supposed to be polygonal as well, but something seems to have changed in the design. Davis placed the tower to the rear, overlooking the Hudson, but aligned it so that it is centered on the projecting pavilion, making it look like a cupola from the front, a central tower design from the back. The whole façade is flushboarded with simple details reflecting its early period, a plain entablature board with c scroll brackets on the house (beam brackets on the porch). The window surrounds are complete moldings. The paint scheme for this house is certainly one of the most historically accurate, reflecting the pale colors favored by Downing and Davis. The house is now a museum.

The Clark J. Whitney House, Detroit MI

The Clark J. Whitney House, Detroit MI. 1857 Photo: Scott Weir

The same house in 1882. Photo: Scott Weir

It's rare to see an Italianate remodeled into another Italianate. Typically you slap a mansard roof on top or a Queen Anne gable and call it a day. But that's not what Whitney did with his chaste 1857 house in Detroit. Instead, he took his genteel Italianate and decided to display his new status with a zany new design, doubling the size and basically constructing a new house right into the fabric of the old. The house has a rotated side tower plan. In the 1857 design, the house had a projecting bay with two windows and a typical three stage tower, all ensconced in a lovely arched porch topped by a railing with a guilloche design. The window treatments were simple, with rectangular windows that had rococo iron designs as the hood moldings on the second floor and arched windows on the first floor and tower. The cornice design featured a thick architrave molding with double s scroll brackets (Detroit couldn't get enough of those) all very closely spaced. All in all it was a nice house reflecting the taste of the 50s.

When 1882 rolled around, Whitney had made some money. He was a major purveyor of Detroit's music scene, selling instruments and sheet music. In 1882, he helped rebuild the old opera that had burned and really came into his own. No doubt, the rebuilding of the opera (in a rather refined modern French design) caused him to think about updating his own home. To the fabric of the old house, Whitney started by removing the wrapping porch, replacing the porch on the front two windows with a bracket surround supporting a balcony with a series of segmental arches and hanging drops, a very picturesque touch. Around the door, a rich and complex two story porch was built. The rectangular windows were disguised by segmental arched stone surrounds (oddly, an incised angular line runs through the arch). The center of the entablature on the projecting pavilion was cut (after new c scroll brackets were installed), the roof was raised, and a dormer was added with a segmental arched open pediment. Although the old decoration of the tower was retained, the eave was removed and a new story was attached with a triple arched palladian window, no doubt to compensate for the poor optics of a stubby tower with a steeper roof slope. A rather bizarre and heavy finial crowned the whole. The most drastic change, however, was the addition of basically a second house to the side, designed in the pavilion plan. Unlike the old house, where the windows were only disguised as segmental arched, here they were actually so, and were connected by a string course of stone that distinguished the older from the newer section. The new wing was all about diagonals, with two two story bay windows flanking an equally diagonal lacy porch. One odd feature is the bracket placement on the diagonals of the bay windows, with few brackets there contrasting with the forest in the other sections. 

So, which do you prefer? 1857 or 1882? I'd love to know!

With this, I end my short series on Lost Italianates of Detroit, but will revisit the topic soon.

The Thomas W. Palmer House, Detroit, MI

The Thomas W. Palmer House, Detroit MI. 1864-74 Photo: Scott Weir

Potentially one of the most intriguing houses of Detroit, it was built between 1864 and 1874 for one of the most important senators in Michigan history, Thomas W. Palmer. The house is the product of a variety of remodels, continued throughout a decade, and thus there is no single date for its construction. The house as it stood after the remodels was a pavilion plan house with a central tower, but it started off as a simple Federal or Greek Revival farmhouse, which survives in the right hand pavilion of the central block. That is why the house's pavilions are actually asymmetrical, with the right hand pavilion being taller and thinner than the left. It doesn't follow the typical pavilion plan. The left hand pavilion features paired rectangular windows joined by a rather baroque pediment on brackets. The right hand pavilion has a triple arched palladian also topped by a curving baroque pediment (the sort of baroque styling seems to have been a favorite in Detroit). Both have c scroll brackets, paired, with tiny thin brackets in between pairs. The central tower has double tombstone windows (they looked painted), a round window, and a broad arch that outlines the whole. The tower has s scroll brackets, but of a rather strange type, with very strong curves and an elaborate trefoil shape at the top; a Gothic quatrefoil balustrade and partial roof top the whole. The porch, unlike a typical pavilion plan stretches around the right hand pavilion, with a triple arched palladian entrance in the center and ogee brackets.

The side of the house looks to be from a later phase and features a second, taller tower, somewhat plain with a basket handle arch outline with small Romanesque drops. Oddly, the squat tower is topped with a cupola with a tent roof. Note the ladder that provides access to this tower angled on the roof! A final side wing seems to be of the latter phase with segmental arched windows and a small entablature. While not necessarily a harmonious plan, and even though it feels somewhat imbalanced like a slope to the right, the house is very picturesque in the finest tradition of individualistic Italianate conceptions. It was demolished to provide a home for the current Detroit Institute of Arts.

The Francis Adams House, Detroit, MI

Francis Adams House Detroit, MI. 1860s Photo: Scott Weir

The Francis Adams house, built sometime in the 1860s (he moved to Detroit in 1857 and was established at this location by the late 1860s) for yet another lumber merchant, is one of the zanier Italianates I've seen. It's hard to classify what stylistic influences are at work on this building, but rococo revival springs to mind, as we saw its influence in the Backus house in Baltimore. This symmetrical plan brick home has a very sedate first and second floor, with pairs of tombstone windows sitting atop bay windows on the flanking bays and a triple arched palladian in the central bay. But like the Swain house, the top is where the action occurs. The cornice's architrave molding swoops and dips fantastically along the façade, interrupted only by paired c scroll brackets; this culminates in the central open pediment which appears to be a rococo/Flemish form topped by a pile of carved vegetation. This pediment rests on stepped brackets and encloses a window with a swooping hood molding that reminds me of Chinese designs. The whole is topped by a magnificent cupola that repeats the triple arched palladian form as well as the vegetal carving. In considering the house, it is clear that some continental European baroque forms are at work; considering Adams and his wife were both Maine natives, it's anyone's guess why they chose such a playful European form for their home.

The Edward M. Holmes House, Hannibal, MO

The Edward M. Holmes House, Hannibal, MO. 1885
Photo: Amanda Baird/BlackDoll Photography

The Edward M. Holmes house was clearly very impressive, but is currently in need of some TLC for sure. The house was built in 1885 for Edward Holmes, a cigar manufacturer, and went through a succession of owners. On a corner lot, the house presents two finished facades. The front has a typical side hall design of three bays, while the side facade has a strong projecting central pavilion, gabled, with a two story bay window. The side originally had two porches with tent roofs, but one has been filled in while the other after this photo was demolished and replaced by a mudroom (unfortunately). The front of the house features the most elaborate features, with cast iron window hood moldings with bulls eyes. The thick cornice has several layers of moldings with a thick run of smaller brackets and an odd number of long brackets. Long brackets usually divide bays, so there should be four pairs, but this facade has only three. Finally, the most impressive feature is the intact bracket surround around the front door with an overly thick molding, tent roof, and one massive c scroll bracket that runs the height of the door, which seems to feature large expanses of glass. Throughout are Eastlake incised carvings. I think this house suffers most from a sorely needed coat of paint; a little restoration and it would look fantastic.

The William Ebert House, Hannibal, MO

The William Ebert House, Hannibal, MO. 1865 Photo: Brandon Bartoszek

The William Ebert house at 1000 Center St. in Hannibal, MO was built in 1865 for a newspaper owner. Having gone through many owners, by the late 20th century, most of the house's exterior features, its porches, balconies, and metalwork had disappeared, but it was recently restored through older images authentically. The house follow the irregular plan, but lacks a central tower as well as a strong central projection where the tower would be. Like many of the houses in Hannibal and especially in the midwest, the house has a steeper pitch to the hip roof than is often found. This makes the house look like a series of retreating steps. The plain brick facade has arched windows with stone insets that have a shouldered arch shape and incised Eastlake carving. The cornice has small brackets with large c scroll brackets at the corner; these actually take the form of distorted Doric trigylphs complete with guttae (small circular drops). Interiors can be seen here.

'Alverthorpe' the Joshua F. Fisher House, Jenkintown, PA

 

'Alverthorpe' Jenkintown, PA. 1851
All Photos unless otherwise credited: HABS



Photo: Diary Sidney George Fisher

The Joshua Fisher house, known as Alverthorpe (frustratingly misspelled as Alvethorpe in HABS) was built in 1851 for a prominent Philadelphia merchant and general rich guy. He was well traveled (Grand Tour 1832) and gathered an impressive historical and art collection at his home. Drawings indicate Notman designed the house and the formal gardens, and it remains one of his most impressive designs. Fortunately HABS documented the house before it was unfortunately demolished in 1937. Notman went all out for this commission, choosing the pavilion plan as his base and adding a tower to the side as well as an extension wing with a gabled pavilion and a particularly fine wrought iron porch, one of the most impressive pieces of wrought iron I've seen from this period. As we expect, Notman never puts a tower where one expects. Resisting the urge to play with polygons here, Notman constructed a cube that is three stories rather than the typical two, making the house far taller than usual. This height is balanced by the service wing, which corrects the vertical with horizontal balance. The façade is they expected fieldstone with brownstone quoins and trim.

 

The detailing on this house is ambitious to say the least. On the principal façade, Notman has turned the first floor into a colonnade with pilasters between the triple windows on the first floor and a large semicircular portico with a full entablature and large brackets. The whole is topped with a Renaissance balustrade. The main entrance continued the glass wall of the first floor with large windows surrounding the main entrance (the first glass curtain?). While the window surrounds are simple on the second and third floors (triple windows in the center bay, single on the sides), each window has a balcony that gives it extra weight. The cornice features not one but two sets of beam brackets superimposed, making for  heavy cornice line. The tower is a sculptural masterpiece, with simple detailing on the lower floors that expands into rectangular triple windows with a heavy bracketed balcony above. The upper stage has triple arched windows with interesting brackets that curve out from the façade in a large c scroll, making it look like they almost organically grow from the masonry. Other interesting details are the porch on the right hand façade, which is an adaptation of a rustic Italian motif we will see at Fieldwood. The service wing with its gabled pavilion that has a triple arched window is especially charming, looking like a small monastery chapel. The wrought iron is amazing, as I already gushed. From the few interior views, one can see the house had an impressive amount of classical detailing. Coupled with the fine formal gardens, patios, urns, and sculptures, this house is the picture of a wealthy wonderland. All I can say is its a shame we can't enjoy this today.

 



The Robert Earl House, Herkimer, NY

The Robert Earl House, Herkimer, NY. 1874 Photo: Doug Kerr

Photo: Carol

Built at 215 N Main St. in 1874 for Judge Robert Earl, the house was given to city in 1895 to be its library, a role it served until 1975. It seems to currently be a drug rehab facility. The house is a grand symmetrical plan Italianate with brick facing and a projecting central bay. The shape that defines this house is the chamfered pediment which tops the central bay as well as the windows on the front of the house. The house has a usual variation of windows on the flanking and central bays, with double segmental arched windows contained within one elongated segmental arch on the sides and an elliptical arched window in the center. While the porch is relatively simple, with unexpectedly narrow columns, the open pediments above the windows display all the complex woodwork of the 1870s with incised Eastlake carving and the complexity of forms. The simple cornice has c scroll brackets (long ones define each of the bays and alternate with shorter brackets) and is broken by the third story windows around which run the architrave molding. An interesting feature is that in the pediment, the brackets actually run at an angle rather than vertically. The cupola is interesting in that it has double rectangular windows with an eared surround and two sets of brackets placed at the base and the top. It seems like this house needs a little bit of TLC. With such a history of service to the town it certainly deserves it!

Photo: Carol

The Thomas Lappin House, Janesville, WI

Thomas Lappin House, Janesville, WI. 1864 Photo: Sarah Lawver

The Thomas Lappin house in Janesville is a fine example of a side hall plan that oddly functions like a symmetrical plan, built in 1864 for a major early merchant in the town. It was designed by the architect Gary Nettleton, a local designer responsible for many Janesville houses. The house has several fine features; although the there is no central projection, symmetrical emphasis is achieved by an open pediment, a central arched window on the second floor, and a pediment on the central bay of the porch. This is in conflict with the side hall entrance. The house's details are dignified, with simple Greek revival eared window and door surrounds with crown moldings; the windows on the first floor are flat while the second floor alternates between rectangular, round, and segmental arched windows whose alternation makes a pleasing effect. There is an odd diamond window on the right side. The whole facade is outlined with verge boards at the corners. The porch is grand, fully bracketed with paired columns that alternately create arched and filleted openings. The cornice type, which seems common in Janesville, is heavily sculpted with paired c scroll brackets, secondary brackets, and dentils with a thick architrave molding, giving it a lot of weight. Additionally, the third floor windows are cleverly hidden within the cornice's sculpture with decorative grills. The architrave line is broken in the center to provide a further central emphasis. Unfortunately, it seems a second floor window has been replaced by a door and someone has stuck shutters around the central window that have been put on backwards (a personal pet peeve), but all in all, the house is mostly intact. Additional views can be found here.

The Brewster Randall House, Janesville, WI

The Brewster Randall House, Janesville, WI. 1862 Photo: Wikimedia

Photo: Wikimedia

This house is an example of remuddling at its most dramatic. It was built in 1862 for Brewster Randall, lawyer and senator, as a simple side hall Italianate with Greek Revival eared window surrounds and a rather fussy molded door surround, reminiscent of Federal designs. The greatest amount of ornament was confined to the fine cornice, with its attractive c scroll brackets with beads and acanthus leaves, that interrupt both dentils and s scroll brackets rotated under the very wide eave. A view of the house as it was can in 2003 be seen here. At some point, someone decided to have some fun. The visionary decided to add some Gothic style exterior lambrequins to the windows, added somewhat incongruous classical pediments over the windows, glued sculpted lions onto the door, and added an oversize classical balustrade to the door's cornice. Additionally, the simple lattice porch was enlivened with further Gothic and ovoid tracery. However, even though this is unquestionably a remuddle, it is surprisingly consistent with the Victorian innovative spirit and love of ornament. As we have seen in Janesville, there is a strong drive toward the eclectic syncretism of styles, as in the Tallman house. The redesigner's combination of Gothic, Classical, and Rococo forms onto an otherwise staid Italianate house could have been done in the 19th century as much as in the 20th. Although sometimes we value the perfection of style and bemoan later additions, for people in the 19th century a house was something to personalize, to constantly reinvent. They didn't think of their homes as museum specimens and felt no shame at adding a Queen Anne porch or a Second Empire turret to an Italianate cube. Italianate is an interesting style precisely because you can apply any sort of style to it. Thus, although this house may not be the perfect specimen of Italianate purity, it is a perfect example of the restless spirit of Victorian architectural innovation.

The Hamilton-Richardson House, Janesville, WI

Hamilton Richardson House, Janesville, WI. 1871. Photo: Wikimedia

Photo: Wikimedia

This irregular plan house was built in 1871 for Hamilton Richardson, a very wealthy and successful businessman in Janesville. The house has been well restored and is currently the Guardian Angel Bed and Breakfast. It lacks the defining tower of the irregular plan houses, giving it a horizonta emphasis. The house is aggressively simple, with a facade of Wisconsin cream brick, arched windows with no surrounds but a ring of projecting bricks with stone keystones. Even the cornice is bracketless and simple. However, the house has its zany elements invested in its woodwork. First, the entrance portico features a bracket surround, where brackets define the doorway. In this case they are enormous c scrolls with strapwork and some exciting swoops on the ends. The porch as well (pictured below) has massive arches with delicate lattice supports. Overall, the house is very dignified.

Photo: Wikimedia