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THE

ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF ARCHITECTURE
AND THE ALLIED ARTS AND CRAFTS

Volume XXV

JANUARY— JUNE

1909

PUBLISHED BY

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD CO.

11-15 East 24.TH St., New York

841 Monadnock Building, Chicago 603 Chestnut St., Philadelphia

Westinghouse Building, Pittsburgh 114 Federal St. Boston

THE GETTY CENTER

LIBRARY

CONTENTS

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

VOLUME XXV

January- June, 1909.

PAGE

■ 'Yd

Aberration, An Apartment House

American Architect, Letter from an

Architecture in the United States. I. The Birth of Taste. Claude Bragdon . .

Bank Buildings of the United States, Recent

Bank, The National City

Boldt, Charles C., Estate of. A Thousand Island Estate. Day Allen Willey .. .

Book Reviews

Bridges, Our Four Big. Montgomery Schuyler

Building Estates, The Economic Development of. George F. Pentecost, Jr

Chateaux of the Sarthe, Notes on Some Famous. Le Lude and Jarze. Frederic

Lees

Concrete Construction, The Testimony of the Roman Forum. Alfred Hopkins....
Concrete House, Architectural Development in the Reinforced. Benjamin A.

Howes

Concrete Residence in America, The Pioneer. Peter B. Wight

Draughtsman, The. F. W. Moore

Editorial Announcement

English Domestic Architecture, Contemporary. H. W. Frohne

English House as a Place to Live in, The Small: Its Seamy Side. Francis S.

Swales . .

Factories, Architecture and. Robert D. Kohn

Fireproofed Dwelling, Some Structural Aspects of the. H. W. Frohne

Fireproofed Dwelling, The Advent of the. A. C. David

Fire-Resisting Country Houses, Some. Peter B. Wight

Form, The Significance of Architectural. H. Toler Booraem

French Trained Architect, The Superiority of the. Theodore Wells Pietsch

Landscape Architecture, A Monumental Work of. Sylvester Baxter

Montresor, The Chateau of. Frederic Lees

New Rochelle : Study of a New York Suburb

Notes and Comments

The Madison Square Garden in New York— To the Profession- Architect and
Client — Interurban Boulevards — New Bridge at Hartford — A Garden City Inven-
tory — A Program for Philadelphia — Figures of Cities — A Wave of Playground
Progress — Why English Garden Cities Succeed.

435

304

426

137

125

146

147
275

439

34i

359

103

259

4 co

131

3i5

3°9

3 6 4

193

389

235

141

PAGE

Notes and Comments 141

They Want to Know — The Point of View — Are Taxes too Low? — An Architect Who
Was Heeded — Beauty for Schools — An Ideal for a City— Civic Art an Investment-
Rational Housing Reform — Playgrounds and Architects— Plans for Sacramento.

Notes and Comments 21 1

I he fine Arts Council — The Importance of the Newlands Bill — Congress and the
Artist — Art and the Artist — For a Palace of the States — A Novel Use for the Sky-
scraper — Draughtsmanship and Architecture— A Relic of Old New York.

Notes and Comments 305

Pennsylvania State Association of Architects — Evening Courses in Architecture —

Prize Designs for an Exhibition— Portland Architectural Club Exhibition — Artistic
Homes for German Workers — City Plan Commission of Hartford — Pittsburgh
Studies Improvement — Architecture for Boston Common — Report on Comfort
Stations — Competition for Automobile Trophy — American Competitions — New
Problems for the American Architect.

Notes and Comments 373

Modern Fireproofing Systems— Early Attempts at Fireproofing — Present Conditions
of the Art of Fireproofing— The Manufacture of Clay Fire-Resisting Materials—
Results Shown by Conflagrations— Reasons for Faulty Work and the Necessity for
a Standard Specification — Elements of the Art of Fireproofing — Improvement
Necessary.

Notes and Comments 373

Aberrations and Others— N. P. Lewis on City Planning— New York to be Pictur-
esque-Plans for California Towns— An Elegant Old Station — Denver Enterprise-
Placing Park Sculpture — Architects and Civic Art.

Pailly, The Chateau de. A Renaissance Chateau of Eastern France. Frederic

J- ees 161

Palmer Houses at Port Chester, N. Y. William Herbert 221

Palmer, The Residence of Mr. Geo. T., New London, Conn 249

Public Works, A National Department of. F. W. Fitzpatrick 93

Roman Architects, Part I. The Architect in History. A. L. Frothingham 179

Roman Architects, Part II. The Architect in History. A. L. Frothingham 281

Rugs, Old Chinese. Charles De Kay 203

San Juan, Porto Rico, The New Capitol at. Frank E. Perkins 271

Sicilian Hill Gardens. George Porter Fernald 81

Site, Selecting the Suburban Home. George F. Pentecost, Jr 381

Sturgis’s Architecture, Russell 220

Sturgis, In Memoriam Russell June issue Frontispiece

Swedish Architecture, Contemporary. Ragnar Ostberg 169

Trinity Church, The Architecture of. Montgomery Schuyler 4x1

Truth and Tradition. Paul P. Cret

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3 d, 187*

Vol. XXV. No. i.

JANUARY, 1909.

Whole No. 124 .

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THE BANK NUMBER

Recent Bank Buildings
of the United States

Illustrated

NOTES AND COMMENTS 67

The Madison Square Garden in New York— To the
Profession— Architect and C 1 i e n t-Interurban
Boutevards-New Bridge at Hartford-A Garden
City Inventory— A Program for Philadelphia—
Figures of Cities— A Wave of Playground Prog-
ress— Why English Garden Cities Succeed.

. .

TWENTY
Five
CENTS, >

ARCH lTECTYRATtftECORd' CO -

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OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: No. II EAST 24th STREET, NEW YORKLCITY
WESTERN OFFICE: 841 MONADNOCK BLDC., CHICAGO, ILL.

PRINCIPAL FAQADE— CLEVELAND TRUST COMPANY.

Vol. XXV. No. 1,

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

January, 1909

Recent Bank Buildings of the United

States

Banking as an institution is as old as
the hills, but there is, perhaps, no time-
honored institution about the origin of
which we know less. Of the use of
money, the earliest record that we pos-
sess is the purchase, about B. C. 1859,
of the field of Macpelah by Abraham,
from Ephron, the Hittite for “400 shek-
els of silver ‘current money’ with the
merchant.” (Gen. xxiii., 16). The ex-
pression “current money” would imply
that there was other money, the use of
which was limited to certain localities
and for certain purposes and which
would be honored only when so used.
Of brass money Homer mentions the
the existence in B. C. 1184, while Hero-
dotos, the historian, says that the Ly-
dians at Aegina in B. C. 183, were the
first people who coined gold and silver
money. The Parian chronicle, how-
ever, attributes the coinage of silver
money, as well as of copper, to Pheidon
of Argus in B. C. 895. The New Test-
ament makes mention of the money
changers who had tables in the Temple
of Jerusalem, and as far as the writer
has been able to discover, this completes
about all that is known about banks and
banking among the Israelites, Egyp-
tians, Hittites, Babylonians, Persians
and Assyrians.

When we pass on to Greek civiliza-
tion, the records are more enlightening.

We know from the remains of accounts
which have recently come to light that
some of the temples were in a sense
banks, that is, places where money
was safeguarded. The temple at Del-
phi is celebrated in literature as the
great bank of Greece. It was here that
wealthy individuals from the different
Greek states and even the states them-
selves could safely store their hords.
The religion of the land was to the
Greeks of those days what the guaran-
tee of the government is to us today,
and, perhaps, in a higher degree. In
the event of war, the treasure was per-
fectly safe from the attack of either
side. But these banks, of which there
must have been a considerable number,
paid no interest, and for those individ-
uals who were content to take the risk
of having their money in a less safe
place, there were the merchants who
carried on, in addition to their regular
affairs, a flourishing banking business,
especially in Athens.

Apart from the security of keeping
money and treasure in the temple, the
control of so many important functions
of government rested with the keepers of
the spiritual man, that it is not surpris-
ing to find the edifices of religion doing
duty also as treasure-houses. The tem-
ples which were especially selected to
perform this service were those of Ath-

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N, Y., Act of Congress of March 3d, 1879,

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ena and Aphrodite Urania, in which a
chamber will be found in an inner part
of the temple under the name opistho-
domos or treasure chamber. No doubt,
some of the archaic Greek tombs which
are called to the attention of students
in architecture as the beginnings of clas-
sic art, were used to store treasure and
money. One of these massive stone
erections has come down to us as the
Tholos or Treasure House of Atreus.
Of course, we cannot tell but that Atreus
was the Croesus of his time and built
the underground domical room of mas-
sive stones simply to safeguard his own
worldly possessions. But on the other
hand, it may have been a depository for
the funds of others, in short, a bank.
Dr. Reber in his History of Ancient
Art says of it : “The Tholos of the pal-
ace at Ithaca was an isolated circular
structure before the court, and may, per-
haps, be identified with the high thala-
mos to which Telemachos descended. In
this also lay gold and metal in heaps,
w r hile shrines containing garments and
amphoras (urns) filled with oil and
wine, etc., stood around. Its double
door of careful workmanship agrees
with the character of a treasury. If
this identification of the tholos and tha-
lamos be accepted, no doubt can remain
that j we have here to deal with a space
similar to many yet remaining in Greece
generally known under the name of
treasure-houses. Examples exist at
Orchomenos, near Pharsalos, Amyclae,
Meridi and in Mykenae. Of the five in
Mykenae, that known as the Treasury
or Tholos of Atreus, remains in an ad-
mirable state of preservation, especially
as regards the interior.”

Of the Roman system of banking
and banks we have more positive knowl-
edge. Roman literature records the fact
that there were in the days of the Em-
pire two kinds of bankers. The first were
appointed by the government to receive
the taxes and were, in consequence, offi-
cers of great public importance and held
in high esteem, being considered eligible
for the office of consul, the most exalted
in the gift of the nation. These offi-
cials, however, did only business of a
public nature, acting as depositories for

money and valuables and paying no in-
terest on the money. According to their
specific duties, they bore the titles of
Argentarii, Mensarii, Numularii and
Collybistae, and their places of business
were variously called Tabernae, Ar-
gentarae, Mensae and Numularae. Be-
sides these, there was a large class of
private or independent bankers who bor-
rowed, lent and safeguarded money for
their own gain, in very much the same
way as it is done to-day. These latter
belonged to a distinctly lower class of
society, were not eligible for high public
office and were generally held in low
repute. As with the Greeks, the temples
were the banks which the government
bankers used, and the independent bank-
ers, no doubt, did their business on the
forae in a way similar to our curb busi-
ness. The writer has been unable to find
any record of the buildings in which
these outsiders carried on their affairs
and it is not unlikely that they, too, used
the public depositories as safes. Several
of the Roman emperors, it is known, dis-
couraged the practice of borrowing and
lending money for gain, by lending large
sums without interest, against a suit-
able security.

The word '“bank” which has come
down to us is from the Italian banco, a
bench. The Lombards, the earliest Ital-
ian bankers, had benches on the market
place at which they lent and changed
money and bills. When a banker failed,
his bench was broken and hence we have
the word “bankrupt.”

The Venetians and Genoese of the
early Christian era established banks,
but ultimately in Mediaeval times bank-
ing as a business fell into the hands of
the Florentines, whose financial position
became so important that their affairs
extended all over Europe, even to the
extreme north, where loans were made
contingent on their passing through the
bank of Florence.

In Italy the oldest banks are those of
Venice, 1157, the drapers’ bank of Bar-
celona, 1349, the bank of Genoa, 1407.
The last of these owed its origin to the
debts of the state, as did also that of
Venice.

In northern Europe the oldest bank is

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

the bank of Amsterdam, 1609, which
financed the affairs of the enormous
commerce of the Dutch East India Com-
pany. This bank was in charge of four
burgomasters, who were changed an-
nually and formed the model for most
of the European banks now in existence
which have varied in details according
to local circumstances.

This short historical outline will suf-
fice as a background and in a measure
as a link, weak though it be, between
the remote past and the marvelous
growth of modern commercialism. With-
out the highly developed system of fin-
ance the business world of the present
could not, of course, have been con-
ceived and consummated. It is not,
however, with the idea of giving careful
consideration to the science of finance
that some facts of its history have been
here noted, but rather to lead up in log-
ical fashion to a subject of more imme-
diate concern : to show that modern
bank buildings are the architectural ex-
pression of a problem which really has
little or no definite precedent in antiquity.

The buildings in which modern banks
are housed take their inspiration for the
most part, from classic architecture.
Nor is this surprising, as the earliest
architectural reminiscences of bank
buildings are the Greek and Roman
temples, whose connection with the busi-
ness of banking has been pointed out
above. Of course, there was no such
thing in classic times as a bank build-
ing pure and simple ; it was only a
part of the temple, just as the busi-
ness of banking was but one of the
activities of the keepers of that edifice.
The type of building which we know as
a bank is purely a product of modern
times which has been considerably influ-
enced by new developments in construc-
tion and interior equipment, as well as
by those other influences which are po-
tent in shaping other structures of a bus-
iness nature.

The close and persistent relationship
of modern bank design to classical arch-
itecture is apparent from two sides. The
business of banking first took on im-
portance during the golden age of Ro-

man art and under its closest influences.
Into this art the commerce-loving and
most marvellous organizers the world
has seen interwove certain ideas which
our modern minds cannot help adopting
as the most telling qualities of bank de-
signing. Other peoples succeeded the
Romans and brought with them or de-
veloped on the Roman foundation other
forms and ideas of architectural mo-
ment, but it so happened that the cen-
tre of finance remained in that part of
civilization which remained, and remains
to this day, very Roman in its funda-
mental ideas. Let the reader answer
for himself the question of the influ-
ence on Italian architecture of post-Ro-
man architectures. The early Christian,
Byzantine, Moorish, Romanesque and
Gothic schools, what really important’
influence did they exert on the art which'
Italy inherited so long ago from the
Caesars? True, each of these styles
has representatives and worthy ones
in the great architectural monuments of
Italy, but none of these epochs made a
lasting impression on the Italians who
remained classicists throughout. So
much so, that after they had exhausted
their ingenuity without result, to adapt
to their classical conceptions the out-
ward forms of the architecture of strict
logic, which we call Gothic, they felt
compelled to go for further inspiration
to the inalienable heritage which Rome
left them. The result was the Renais-
sance from the influence of which even
we in America have not yet found it
possible to emancipate ourselves to any
degree.

The recourse to classic architecture in
bank design is not, however, without
modern exceptions. One does occasion-
ally encounter a bank building in which
the forms of another art have found a
happy application. The writer has in
mind an exceedingly comely bank in Co-
logne on the Rhine, where the outward
symbols, and, to some degree, the prin-
ciples of Gothic architecture are suc-
cessfully applied. We have such exam-
ples in this country. There is Richard-
son’s Stock Exchange in Cincinnati and
Leopold Eidlitz’s Dry Dock Savings
Bank in New York City, showing a

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ready application of Romanesque forms
while a more recent example of strong
design which owes its direct inspira-
tion to no precedent is the little Far-
mers’ bank illustrated in the last No-
vember issue of this journal, by Louis
H. Sullivan of Chicago, and again illus-
trated here.

After the question of general external
appearance has been disposed of, the
more important questions of planning
and general conception of the problem
present a baffling variety of solutions,
especially in our own land, where no
one bank seems to be planned in its de-
tails like any other. In fact, there en-
ters into the problem of bank design-
ing a very individual element, the pecu-
liar relation of the bank to the commun-
' ity in which it is situated and the nature
of the business which results from this
relation. The conclusion is inevitable,
that the designing of a bank is an im-
portant factor in its success, especially
for an institution which depends upon
the patronage of a very large number
of depositors. The effect of the structure
must be one of great importance and
dignified simplicity. It must make on
the depositors the impression of being a
perfectly safe place in which to leave
their money and valuables. The impor-
tance of the bank’s prestige as estab-
lished by its quarters is a matter which
is nowhere better appreciated than in the
United States, where the prevailing note
in a well-designed bank building is a
consummate expression of the import-
ance of the institution and a certain mys-
tery which adds immeasurably to dig-
nity of the management. The impres-
sion which it is intended to convey by
these words is a perfectly familiar sen-
sation to the average American, whether
he frequents banks a great deal or very
little. In this respect the architecture
of our banks exhibits surer signs of be-
ing on the right track than some other
classes of American buildings. Even if
a closer inspection of their architectural
expedients cannot always call forth such
praise, the presence of a broad concep-
tion does much to offset other short-
comings in our American bank build-
ings.

In proportion as the banks, as insti-
tutions, have become one of the most im-
portant elements of modern progress,
so have the buildings which house them
risen from a secondary position to one
of great architectural prominence.
Throughout the country there is hardly
a small town which does not boast of
one or more bank buildings, which,
though they may not invariably be of
great architectural consequence, are yet
among the most pretentious construc-
tions in their respective localities. What-
ever the critic of architecture may say
of the design of current bank buildings
in America, each one of these structures
represents for the architect a different
and individual problem. The problem
which it offers is, above all, the creation
of a place in which the particular kind
of banking business may be most con-
veniently and comfortably conducted.
And, as may be said of any important
industry to-day, no two banks have pre-
cisely the same kind of a business, nor
do they carry on their affairs in exactly
the same way. On the subject of banks
one might truly restate, but in this case
conversely, the oft-repeated saying
about art and the arts : While banking is
one, the banks are many. It cannot be
said that architects, in America, at least,
have yet shown that they have consid-
ered the problem to any extent in this
light. Too often they have regarded the
designing of a bank merely as the cate-
gorical satisfaction of a given set of de-
tailed requirements dressed up in a con-
ventional architectural attire to look im-
portant and imposing and be executed
in splendid and costly materials. This
attitude has produced, it must again be
admitted, a certain feeling of largeness
in conception and given them a popular
standing. Breadth of conception is,
without doubt, as much a virtue in arch-
itecture as elsewhere, but one cannot
help feeling that this merit has at the
same time produced some rather com-
monplace buildings to which it is not
possible to take exception in any one
particular. The general sameness of ap-
pearance in American bank buildings
seems to result from the fact that our
architects have produced in them a gen-

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

eral type without special regard for a
further development of that type taking
into account the varying factors of local
conditions.

As in many fields of endeavor nowa-
days, imitation also reigns supreme in
bank designing. This imitation has ex-
tended, not merely to matters of deco-
rative effect, but to the plan when solu-
tions which were evolved under a given
set of conditions have often been made
to answer requirements to which they
were either utterly alien or at best only
second-rate solutions. A rather con-
vincing example of such misguided
transplanting of precedent was recently
brought to the writer’s attention in the
planning of a large banking room. Of
such importance was it deemed to have
this room as free of furniture and as
imposing to the public as possible, that
the working quarters of the staff were
found to have been reduced to such an
extent that it became necessary to place
some of the important employees in an-
other part of the building, where they
were not as accessible as their duties de-
manded they should be. The effect of
dignity was obtained, but at the sacrifice
of a vital necessity ; the arrangement of
the plan had been impaired and the re-
sult, however imposing, cannot be called
good design. Another rather amusing
instance of superficial imitation occurred
some years ago in New York, where a
prominent bank had just finished a very
imposing structure in which considerable
exterior bronzework was used. This
bronze work was presumably treated
with an acid to wear off its newness.
The result was a rich green patina, pro-
ducing an effect which it was considered
very important to obtain in other struc-
tures devoted to similar purposes, even
if it had to be obtained in a spurious
way by being applied on a cheaper sur-
face which could never be expected to
come by it naturally.

The interiors of our banks have, of
course, suffered, along with almost every
other kind of structure, from the prod-
ucts of the well-meaning though mis-
guided decorator-contractor, who has
been the means of spreading much gild-
ed plaster and more elaborate wood and

metal concoctions over and in them.
The banks have, indeed, been a profitable
market for his wares, which the glib
salesman has successfully offered in
glowing terms. But, after all, his “art”
has at least an (appreciative ?) audience ;
it is popular and thus far shows no signs
of waning. Here, it would seem, is a
serious question for the architect to con-
sider. How to reach the owner and to
reach him as effectively as the salesman
of the “decoration” house is doing it to-
day. It is the same old question of Com-
merce versus Art, and the owner being,
by training and experience, wholly in
sympathy with the ideas and ways of the
man of business, naturally gives a will-
ing audience to what he has to say. This
gives the salesman an almost insuper-
able advantage, though he may be only
repeating a well-rehearsed “line of talk.”
He experiences little difficulty in mak-
ing the impression necessary to land the
“order” for his house. His arguments
are concrete and he can show the pros-
pective customer the goods. The arch-
itect, on the other hand, professional
man that he is, presents to his prospect-
ive client ideas which are often little un-
derstood or not understood at all. He
cannot show samples of what he pro-
poses to offer, or, if he can, even these
must be so largely supplemented by
ideas that his case is not materially
strengthened thereby. His only hope
lies in securing the confidence of the
client in his ability to interpret his re-
quirements, which, barring the per-
sonal equation, he can do only if
that client has trained himself to
see the difference between pur-
chasing the capacity to design eco-
nomically and appropriately and pur-
chasing merely in vacuuo a consign-
ment of materials which may or may
not be appropriate for his building or
economical for his business. The dis-
tinction is one which is rather to be felt
than described in so many words. It im-
plies, in the building public, a real dis-
crimination which can result only from
a more thorough interest in matters of
building and design. It is the architect
himself who must undertake a large
share of this popular education in these

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

matters. He needs it to maintain his
rightful position and especially in this
country, where the “decorator” on the
one hand and the engineer on the other,
are making serious inroads into his bus-
iness. Their aims are just as legitimate
as his, it is true, but their activities often
infringe on and anticipate his to such
an extent that he is wrongfully placed in
a subordinate position, to the frequent
danger of his own work and profes-
sional reputation. A building is con-
ceived by him, only to be turned over in
the rough to a “decorator” to be dec-
orated. The result is unfortunate and
stands as a criterion of the architect’s
achievements. In another case the de-
sign of a structure is practically deter-
mined to a nicety by an engineer (whose
aim, it is always admitted, is perfectly
legitimate) whose work, which consists
in providing the utmost stability with
the minimum of material, cannot, prop-
erly, be considered ahead of the archi-
tect’s task, the disposition and arrange-
ment of the parts into a harmonious
whole. The architect takes hold of the
project at this stage and is asked to “de-
sign” it outside and in. Again, the re-
sult is incoherent and unsatisfactory
from the point of view of design. Many
of our banks show how the misapplica-
tion of these agencies of building and
design work out in practice.

The statement made above that there
is a great sameness among American
bank buildings must not be interpreted
too literally. Perhaps it should be qual-
ified by adding that the sameness re-
ferred to is intended to be understood as
applying to those cases where identity
of site conditions and size of building
required have resulted in widely separ-
ated localities, in structures which are
very similar whereas they have every
reason to be dissimilar. Of necessity
there can be but a limited number of
different situations of the lot in relation
to street or streets. In a large city
where ground is exceedingly valuable
the opportunities for a free and unob-
structed bank site are practically out of
the question. A corner on a wide ave-
nue or on a public square is about the
most favorable location that can be

hoped for. Corner banks seem to grow
more and more numerous in proportion
to the number of banks built annually.
Among the many that we illustrate this
type greatly predominates. Another in-
teresting type of plan though still rare
is that which has frontages on two
streets by means of an L-shaped lot, nar-
row on the more important thorough-
fare accommodating the entrance and
entrance corridor and widening out into
a good-sized banking room on the less
important street where it is possible to
get more floor area than a bank could af-
ford if situated entirely on the more im-
portant thoroughfares. Of this class of
bank buildings two notable examples
were recently built in New York and
published in these pages. The National
Park Bank and, more recently, the
Chemical National Bank, both near the
financial district in New York, where
large sites, especially for bank buildings,
designed with little or no rentable area,
are extremely scarce. The problem of
designing a bank on such a site is a dif-
ficult one, both in planning and in its
outward design, entailing especially a
very careful compromise between the
relative exterior importance of the two
fronts. In the natural course of events
the front on the principal street should
present the most pretentious external
aspect, being the entrance to the bank
proper. The narrow frontage of this
member, however, as compared with the
wide one of the main banking room
makes this a difficult matter to adjust
considering a certain importance which
must, at the same time, be given to the
latter. In the Chemical National the
architects have taken advantage of the
character of the adjoining buildings to
make the entrance member a one-story
structure, preserving in the large domi-
cal banking room enough reminiscence
of detail to satisfactorily explain the
connection of the two outwardly sep-
arated parts. Despite the success of this
design and of that of its predecessor, the
National Park Bank, this type does not
seem to have encouraged any imita-
tions, so far as the writer has been able
to discover. In fact, another important
bank in the same vicinity of New York

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

has recently built itself new quarters,
but on totally different lines. The bank
in mind is the Importers’ and Traders’
National at the corner of Broadway and
Murray Street. The block on which
this building is situated offered, no
doubt, opportunities to do what the Na-
tional Park and Chemical National
chose to do, but the Importers’ and
Traders’ decided to use the narrow cor-
ner lot which they already owned and
to break away from the traditional
American form of having a large con-
centrated one-story room in which the
entire staff is placed and the business
transacted in constant view of its pa-
trons. The plan which they have adopted
and which their architect has success-
fully developed consists in classifying
the different departments and placing
each one on a separate floor. This has
resulted in a six-story structure, taking
into account not only the present needs
of the institution, but providing two ex-
tra floors for future growth. Archi-
tecturally, the exterior of the building
expresses the fact that the entire struc-
ture is devoted to the uses of the bank
by means of the colossal Corinthian or-
der reposing on the basement which em-
braces all the floors, the uppermost be-
ing in the entablature and lighted from
above. Practically, the plan is said to
work admirably. Have we not here the
solution of an individual problem in an
individual way ? Whether the same idea
would work equally well for another in-
stitution could only be determined by the
nature of the functions to be performed.
At any rate, it is a new word in bank
designing and suggests the value of a
closer study of the subject, for the
banker as well as for the architect on
restricted corner sites. On an inside
lot the solution would, of course, be im-
practical, on account of the difficulty of
obtaining sufficient daylight to properly
illuminate the various floors.

The most progress in bank design has
undoubtedly been made in what might
be called the machinery of the banking
business, the special equipment of the
building. In a banking room matters of
prime importance are the compactness,
convenience and accessibility of its fur-

niture and the system of handling its
documents, securities and cash. In the
conduct of business the utmost simplic-
ity and system must be observed. For
instance, the closest and most convenient
connection must be established between
the vaults and the working space of the
employees in whose charge are the valu-
ables which have each day to be con-
veyed to and from the safes and vaults.
It is to these important matters of man-
agement that great attention has been
paid in our recent banks, resulting in
every new important bank, in something
more improved and better planned than
that which it succeeded.

In illustrating the bank buildings
which are shown in this issue, the object
has been chiefly to show what has been
designed in the last few years in this
class of buildings in different sections
of the country. The distribution is ac-
cordingly wide and the examples typical
as far as it has been possible to obtain
sufficient material for selection in a given
territory. Variety also is to be found
as far as it exists in buildings devoted
to purposes of banking. Several dif-
ferent types, at least, are to be noted.
There is the bank in the small town, of
which the Farmers’ National of Owa-
tonna, a small town in the heart of Min-
nesota, has been so characteristically
rendered by Mr. Louis H. Sullivan in
his individual way. Contrast with this
the little country bank, the Marine Na-
tional at Wildwood, New Jersey, adher-
ing as closely as possible to the accepted
thing for an American corner bank. We
might expect to meet it in any enter-
prising town in the East, or the West for
that matter. Its design reveals nothing
of the individual character of the insti-
tution. It is simply a bank whose design
does not in any particular cause dis-
pleasure, but neither does it tell any
story of the life which passes within. It
is of the class of banks which exhibit
the traditional adherence to precedent
and turn their backs on individuality. To
suggest how else this particular bank
might have been moulded to give its
proper individuality, it not an easy task.
That is for the artist. Mr. Sullivan has
done it at Owatonna and there is no

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

telling how he would have solved the
problem, or if it had been presented to
him, to design a bank for a small town
in the Pennsylvania coal regions. This
designer is, without question, pointing
a new direction for architectural
thought, which clearly is not a fad. On
the contrary it seems to be founded on
a solid basis of knowledge aided by
strong artistic instincts. As a result of
his close study of the skyscraper prob-
lem, his work has thus far been almost
exclusively confined to that kind of
structure. In the future we shall hope
to hear from him in new fields of de-
sign.

The corner bank of a single story in
the East is well represented among our
illustrations by two dignified buildings
in Boston, the New England Trust Co.,
by Messrs. McKim, Mead & White,
whose best work in that class of bank
design still remains ; that Fifth Avenue
structure for the Knickerbocker Trust
Co. which was so fully published in this
journal as a gem of modern Renaissance
architecture. In the New England
Trust Building these designers have for-
saken, no doubt for good and sufficient
reasons, the treatment of the colossal
Roman order for the lighter and more
delicate wall arcade. The resulting de-
sign fits in well with its surroundings
and expresses the greater conservatism
of the New England banking institu-
tions over their New York neighbors.
The other Boston bank referred to,
namely, the Commonwealth Trust Co.,
shows a bolder and more vigorous
handling of the design. The problem in
this case was similar to that of the New
England Trust, but the architects,
Messrs, Parker, Thomas & Rice, have
not chosen to take much account of the
conservatism of Boston business meth-
ods. The plan of this bank reveals,
moreover, a highly unusual considera-
tion for the convenience of the pedes-
trian who has to pass in front of the
building. The rounding of the corner
is of such a nature that the sidewalk is
very narrow at the intersection of the
streets where it should, if anything, be
wider than anywhere else. This desir-
able end has been brought about through

the liberality of the bank in sacrific-
ing a portion of its lot area and the
architects have made use of this cutting
off of the corner to greatly simplify
their plan and square off the banking-
room and offices. The shearing of the
lot is likewise turned to the advantage
of the exterior design. The curve which
has been imparted to the front is agree-
able and aligns the building agreeably
with its uninteresting neighbor, while
it permits the juncture of its two
faqades at an angle which is not too ob-
tuse to disturb the apparent stability and
squareness of the corner pier. It is also
to be noted that the architects have
avoided the use of the regular cornice
features which tradition prescribes for
the Corinthian order, for the reason that
such a feature as the far projecting
bracket of the order would have done
much to defeat the advantageous solu-
tion of turning the corner which consti-
tutes, in fact, the most important part of
the exterior design of the building.

Two other Boston banks, which we il-
lustrate, the First National and the
Cambridge bank exhibit the discreet
average of American bank design with-
out any startling innovations, unless such
innovations be the splendid equipment
of the former.

Among the more monumental build-
ings of the selection are four, in which
a dome or domical ceiling gives signifi-
cance to interior or exterior or to both.
They are the Girard Trust Company of
Philadelphia and the Bank of Montreal
by Messrs. McKim, Mead & White, the
Cleveland Trust Company, by Messrs.
George B. Post & Sons, and the Suffolk
Savings Bank in Boston by Air. Cass
Gilbert. Of these, in the Girard Trust
and Cleveland Trust, the dome is the
all-dominant note of the composition,
while in the other two the dome is of
secondary importance or, in the case of
the Suffolk Savings Bank, only of ac-
count for the interior design. In point
of importance the Bank of Alontreal
stands first among the banks illustrated
in this issue, as well as being, from the
standpoint of the architect, one of the
most important bank buildings in Amer-
ica. As it stands today, it is practically

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

an entirely new edifice, the only visible
part of the structure which preceded it
being the pediinented colonnade through
which the entrance leads by means of a
monumental corridor into the great
banking room, one of the most impress-
ive of its kind in existence. It is a room
of such colossal proportions that few
designers would be apt to handle it with
such consummate skill and dignified
simplicity. This building shows em-
phatically that element of largeness of
conception and thoroughness of scholar-
ship which is the contribution to Ameri-
can architecture of the firm of McKirn,
Mead & White. There are those who
will refer to this phase of our architec-
ture as book architecture and archaeol-
ogy, but, even admitting such a point of
view, it is impossible to shut one’s eyes
to what it has accomplished in establish-
ing a higher standard of popular taste.
Its influence has been far-reaching and
sure penetrating by means of the work
of this firm of architects and through
the work of men trained by them to the
remotest parts. Other designers also
have been influenced by their buildings
and have rendered the fruits in their own
work according to their ability and train-
ing. In the two small banks at Char-
lotte and Battle Creek have we not
instances of such influence? Here in
two small Michigan towns we find these
buildings standing out in contrast by
their largeness and simple motives, to
utterly commonplace surroundings.
Their designer has undoubtedly been in-
fluenced, though unconsciously and in-
directly, by work of the type alluded to
above, and the importance of the bank,
as an institution, has given him the op-
portunity to express this influence. If
this conclusion were based on an inspec-
tion of the treatment of the detail, it
would, doubtless, be invalid for that
clearly bespeaks contact with the meth-
ods of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, but
the origin of the design lies, we believe,
deeper down in the subject and nearer
home. It shows a hopeful condition, in-
deed, to find institutions in the romoter
and less important places, in point of
size, attaching so much importance to
the appearance of their bank buildings

to want them designed with a considera-
tion for architectural propriety. This
seems to be the feeling everwhere, af-
fording the competent designer new
chances to plead his cause effectively
and in concrete form.

Among the monumental structures
which, during the past five years, have
been produced in our national capital,
the bank buildings fully hold their own,
not only in number and size, but in the
architectural importance of the buildings
as well. Washington as a city has
been particularly fortunate in its recent
bank buildings. The two which we
publish, the National Metropolitan and
the Union Trust, are fairly typical of
the best class of banks which have re-
cently been erected there. Both of these
structures show a happy compromise on
the part of the designers, as well as a
sacrifice on the part of the institutions
to produce the substantial results which
have been attained. It was a condition
of the problem in designing these two
buildings that the banks could not af-
ford to occupy entirely for their own
uses all the space which the improve-
ment of the site made necessary. The
problem was thus complicated with that
of a real estate speculation, but the bank,
especially in the case of the Union Trust
Company, was desirous of occupying a
large share of the most desirable space
in its new building. It realized the ne-
cessity of obtaining some small return
on its investment and to obtain this re-
turn it was willing to slightly modify
its plan, but the presence of the tenants
must not materially incommode or con-
fine the freedom of its actions or impair
the outward appearance of the building
as a symbol of the institution’s individ-
uality. These conditions the architects,
Messrs. Wood, Donn & Deming, have
happily expressed in the Union Trust
Company’s new building. The narrow-
ness of its corner lot would under ordi-
nary conditions present a problem full
of difficulties of design, but with the
added conditions which were here im-
posed the difficulties measurably increase
and the solution which has satisfactorily
met so many of them is to be commended
in proportion.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The moral effect of an imposing
structure which leaves no doubt of its
purpose is a fact well recognized in bus-
iness, and banking is no exception to the
rule. Of course, there are banking in-
stitutions whose position in their com-
munity is perfectly established and
which depend for their success upon a
limited number of very large business
transactions. They appeal to a very
select and small class of depositors on
whom the bank could hope to make no
more favorable impression by erecting
an imposing structure which would

forego the moderate return on a large
real estate speculation. Such institutions
have done as have several whose build-
ings are shown in this issue. Notable
among these are the Corn Exchange Na-
tional Bank, the Commercial National
of Chicago, the Third National of St.
Louis, and the Knickerbocker Trust Co.
on lower Broadway, in New York,
whose huge skyscrapers, while not at all
bank buildings in an individual sense,
are monuments to the importance of
banking institutions in developing real
estate on an enormous scale.

DIME SAVINGS & TRUST COMPANY.

Peoria, 111.

J. E. Tabey, Architect.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

Montreal, P. Q.

Plan.

THE BANK OF MONTREAL.

McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

The impressive entrance to the new bank retains the monumental pedimented columns of the

old structure.

THE GREAT COLONNADED BANKING ROOM— BANK OF MONTREAL.

Montreal P. Q. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

THE FACADE BEHIND WHICH IS THE GREAT BANKING ROOM— BANK OF MONTREAL.
Montreal, P. Q. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

CLEVELAND TRUST COMPANY.

GIRARD TRUST COMPANY.

Philadelphia, Pa. McKim, Mead & White, Supervising Architects.

Furness, Evans & Co., Associated.

View in banking room, showing also the bottom of the coffered Looking up from the vault, the circular aperture which is also

dome. visible in the view on the left.

, GIRARD TRUST COMPANY. McKim, Mead & White, Supervising Architects.

Philadelphia, Pa. Furness, Evans & Co., Associated.

l8 THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

View of exterior.

TR.E.HONT iSTREEl

Boston, Mass.

Plan.

SUFFOLK SAVINGS BANK.

Cass Gilbert, Architect.

View from the corner of Fifteenth and H Streets.

Washington, D. C. UNION TRUST & SAVINGS BANK. Wood, Donn & Deming, Architects.

Plans of banking floors.

UNION TRUST & SAVINGS BANK.

Wood, Donn & Deming, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

Views in the banking room, which extends through three floors.

Washington, D. C. UNION TRUST & SAVINGS BANK. Wood, Donn & Deming, Architects.

View in banking room.

Washington, D, C. NATIONAL METROPOLITAN BANK. B. Stanley Simmons. Architect.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

View of exterior.

Plan of main floor.

Chicago, 111.

NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY.

Frost & Granger, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

THE GREAT COLONNADED BANKING ROOM — NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

THE IMPORTERS’ & TRADERS’ NATIONAL BANK.

Murray Street and Broadway, New York. J- H. Freedlander, Architect.

(Photo by A. Patzig.)

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

Plan of first floor.

IMPORTERS’ & TRADERS’ NATIONAL BANK.

Murray Street and Broadway, New York. j. H . Freedlander, Architect.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The domical banking room.

Plan.

METROPOLITAN SAYINGS BANK.

Baltimore, Md. Parker & Thomas, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

METROPOLITAN SAVINGS BANK.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The Banking Room.

Plan.

SAVINGS BANK OF BALTIMORE.

Baltimore, Md. Parker, Thomas & Rice, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

SAVINGS BANK OF BALTIMORE.

NEW ENGLAND TRUST COMPANY.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS

THE BANKING ROOM OF THE NEW ENGLAND TRUST COMPANY.

FIRST NATIONAL BANK.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

THE BANKING ROOM OF THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

View from the corner.

5A/NK Iicm Pla/i

COMMONWEALTH TRUST COMPANY.

Parker, Thomas & Rce„ Architects.

Boston, Mass.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

Plan.

NEW ENGLAND NATIONAL BANK.

Wilder & Wight, Architects.

Kansas City, Mo.

This building offers the novel case of an isolated bank on an inside plot.

Pittsburgh, Pa. MECHANICS’ NATIONAL BANK. Alden & Harlow, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

View in Banking Room.

Pittsburgh, Pa.

MECHANICS’ NATIONAL BANK.
(Now the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange.)

Alden & Harlow, Architects

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

THE’ BANKING ROOM OF THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK.

Kansas City, Mo. Wilder & Wight, Architects.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Plan of main floor.

AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK.

Indianapolis, Ind. Holabird & Roche, Architects.

Weary & Alford Co., Designers of Interior.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

SAVINGS BANK BUILDING.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

View of exterior.

Plan of first floor.

SECOND NATIONAL BANK.

5th Avenue and 28th Street, New York. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

Views in banking room towards and from the 5th Avenue entrance.

5th Avenue and 28th Street, New York. SECOND NATIONAL BANK. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

(Photos by A. Patzig.)

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FIRST NATIONAL BANK.

Julian Bames, Architect.

Englewood, 111.

THE BANKING ROOM— FIRST NATIONAL BANK.

UNION NATIONAL BANK.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

Views in the banking room.

Wilmington, Del. UNION NATIONAL BANK. John D. Thompson, Jr., Architect.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Plan of second fbor.

Philadelphia, Pa.

UNION NATIONAL BANK.

Newman & Harris, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

.SI

FIRST NATIONAL BANK. MERCHANTS’ SAVINGS BANK.

Charlotte, Mich. Battle Creek, Mich. Jos. C. Llewellyn, Architect.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

View of exterior.

Plan.

NORTH CAMBRIDGE’ SAVINGS BANK.

Cambridge, Mass. Gay & proctor. Architects.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The country bank on an isolated site.

Wildwood, N. J.

Plan.

MARINE NATIONAL BANK.

Henry A. Macomb, Architect.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

Owatonna, Minn. NATIONAL FARMERS’ BANK — EXTERIOR. Louis H. Sullivan, Architect.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

CORN EXCHANGE NATIONAL BANK.

Chicago, 111. Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

View in banking room.

CORN EXCHANGE NATIONAL BANK.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

COMMERCIAL NATIONAL BANK.

Chicago, 111. D. H. Burnham & Co., Architects.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

i:imT

Plan of banking floor.
HUMBOLDT SAVINGS BANK.

San Francisco, Cal.

Fred. H. Meyer, ) . ...

Smith O’Brien, J Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

^ i—

r* £

fe CO rrt

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

6.3

SECOND NATIONAL BANK BUILDING.

Wilkesbarre, Pa. McCormick & French, Architects.

THE BANKING ROOM OP THE SECOND NATIONAL BANK BUILDING.

Wilkesbarre, Pa. McCormick & French, Architects.

RECENT BANK BUILDINGS.

Kalamazoo, Mich

Plan.

KALAMAZOO NATIONAL BANK BUILDING.

Jos. C. Llewellyn, Architect.

View from corner.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

THE NE'W BUILDING OF THE KNICKERBOCKER TRUST COMPANY.
Exchange Place and Broadway, New York. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

NOTES ^COMMENTS

Attention has fre-
quently been directed
in these columns to the
ephemeral nature of
American buildings and
especially to the saying
of the late William
Renwick, to the effect that if a New York

structure endured for a full generation, it
served its term of usefulness, all things con-
sidered. The truth of this remark has been
borne down upon us with increasing force
as we have seen buildings disappear from
our midst, particularly in New York, where
demolitions and new erections follow each
other in such rapid succession that we
hardly have time to miss our old friends

before their successors loom up in unex-
pected forms and colors. In many cases
the buildings displaced were so much
more worthy of being seen than those that
have succeeded that it might be put down
as one of the reasons for the lack of comity
in our architecture, that conditions of build-
ing and affairs are so constituted as to im-
pair the good influence that might result
from the good things in our buildings were
they permitted to stand long enough to make
such influence operative.

The placing up at auction of the Madison
Square Garden in New York seriously
threatens to be a case where the beneficial
influence of one of our best endeavors in
public architecture is to come to an un-
timely end, having endured less than twenty
years. It is strongly to be hoped that some
new and more remunerative purpose could
be found which the building could be made
to serve without material harm to its gen-
eral constitution. But such a consummation
would amount, no doubt, to hoping against
hope, in a time of such eager real estate de-
velopment and especially in New York, the
very center of such speculative ventures.
One cannot help deploring the fact that a
more appropriate site was not selected for
a structure so important both in the life of
New York as a city and as one of its chief
points of interest for the traveler who is
wont to remember the city chiefly by the
impressions which its important buildings
have left with him. If for, instance, the
Madison Square Garden had been placed on
one of the blocks bordering on Madison

Square, how imposing and appropriate it
would have been as a structure and how
much more effective would have been its
graceful tower, than “the highest in the
world” now thrust upon that public square
which deserved a better fate. At any rate,
given the Madison Square Garden situated
as suggested, the question of its failure as
a paying enterprise would, perhaps, never
have arisen and there would be now no oc-
casion for regret at its loss, which at this
writing seems likely.

The loss to New York of the Madison
Square Garden would indeed be a severe
one. In these times when superficial osten-
tation clothed in the most untutored archi-
tectural language is still popularly con-
sidered “architecture,” the Garden stands
with comparatively few other New York
buildings to proclaim to the public that it
has need of revising its notions on art. It
plainly says that it matters not in what
tongue an artist chooses to express him-
self, so long as he is an artist and there-
fore has some definite message to convey.
How many hundreds of buildings could one
note in a morning’s promenade, either
through one of our residential, or, for that
matter, one of our business districts, that
have the appearance, to our average ob-
servant New Yorker, of being architecture
of a high order! Every time he beholds such
a building he remarks: “Splendid building,

elaborate architectural work,” and with that
comment the subject passes out of his ob-
servant mind without his being attracted by
anything to make him think. Such an in-
dividual could not pass the Madison Square
Garden and some other New York buildings
with the thoughtless remark above alluded
to. He becomes conscious of the fact that
he is standing in the presence of a large
idea expressed, it is true, in terms which are
strange to him, but which arouse his curi-
osity and in so doing compel him to use his
thinking powers. Here begins his educa-
tion in matters of art, and if we possessed
more buildings of this “think-compelling”
kind, our popular idea of architecture would
be by that much the gainer. This is another
reason why we have expressed a hope that
the Garden will longer remain with us to
exercise its desirable influence.

THE MADISON
SQUARE
GARDEN IN
NEW YORK

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

To the architects and
others, for their liberal
co-operation and their
TO THE more than usually

PROFESSION active interest in the
bank issue of the Archi-
tectural Record, the
editors desire to express
their appreciation, especially for their aid

in supplying plans of their designs. A com-
mon complaint made by members of the
profession is the lack of attention which
architectural magazines pay to plans of
buildings. The criticism is just, beyond a
doubt, but surely the remedy lies with the
architects themselves more than with the
publishers. It is the difficulty which editors
experience in obtaining plans suitable for
the purposes of reproduction that causes the
omissions complained of. The making of
such suitable plans is often difficult in the
short time allowed, but if their purpose be
kept clearly in mind the element of time
will seem relatively unimportant as the
amount and character of the drafting gen-
erally necessary to explain the particular
planning is reduced to the bare elements of
the structure, piers, openings, partitions, en-
closures and the like. Rendered drawings in
monotone or several colors are unnecessary
and, at best, do not serve the purpose as
effectively as simple black ink tracings
showing only what a diagram need contain.
The better understanding which has recently
come about between architect and publisher
in the matter of drawings for reproduction
cannot fail to have an enlightening influence
on the reader, who is, in many cases, the
architect’s prospective client. Herein lies an
opportunity for the architectural journal to
bring about a complete understanding be-
tween owner and architect to their mutua.
advantage, a work in which it is our desire
to participate to the utmost.

In the November
“Craftsman” Mr. Carl
ARCHITECT K. Bennett, Vice-Presi-
AND dent of the National

__ Farmers Bank of Owo-

CLIEN ^

tonna, Minnesota, con-
tributes an illuminating
article upon how that
bank managed to get so good a building. The
building itself, fully illustrated in the Octo-
ber number of the Architectural Record,
has been acclaimed as a striking success by
all sensitive persons who have seen it in
the fact or in the photographs. In some
respects, comparatively humble and com-
paratively inexpensive as it is, it seems to

be the highwater mark of Mr. Sullivan’s
architectural achievement. The masses in
his work are always effective and well
placed, at one end of the scale, the deco-
ration at the other more inventive and more
exquisite than any other living architect
can show. But between these comes the
functional modeling of parts. It is here
that Mr. Sullivan has heretofore betrayed a
comparative weakness. But one who studies
this expressive and beautiful design can
here in this respect “note no deficience.”
There is an assured ease of mastery about
the whole and all its parts that marks it
as its author’s masterpiece. And the effect,
the careful inspector cannot fail to note,
comes from a faithful and sensitive follow-
ing out of the actual conditions of the prob-
lem and from nothing else. Not a sign any-
where of the architect’s desire to lug in a
favorite but irrelevant motive. When the
Dry Dock Savings Bank in the Bowery in
New York was completed, a generation ago,
the architect of it remarked: “I think it is
a success. It is a bank with a dwelling
house on top of it. Nothing else can be
made of it, and it will cost more to take it
down than it has cost to put it up.” Mr.
Sullivan can say the same thing about his
village bank, as to its specific expressive-
ness. The chief interest of Mr. Bennett’s
article is its showing how this admirable
result has been brought about, and in thus
indicating the responsibility of the client for
his architecture. “Because,” says Mr. Ben-
nett, “architects who were consulted pre-
ferred to follow precedent or to take their
inspiration from ‘the books,’ it was deter-
mined to make a search for an architect
who would not only take into consideration
the practical needs of the business, but who
would heed the desire of the bank officers
for adequate expression in the form of the
building of the use to which it would be
put.” It is an excellent way. This was not
only to be a bank but a village bank, and
not only a village bank but a farmers’ bank,
comprehending a “farmers’ exchange” or
club furnishing such social facilities on
week days as the church steps or the church
“horse shed” supplied to the old-fashioned
farmer on Sundays. All these requirements
have not only been complied with, but have
been made the basis of the design. The re-
sult is interesting and beautiful and indi-
vidual because it is so exactly expressive.
And it could not have been reached if the
client had not made search for the right
architect beforehand, and had not loyally
supported and co-operated with him after
he was engaged. The architect in such a
case must divide his laurels with his client.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

INTERURBAN

BOULEVARDS

The reference last
month in these pages
to some big plans
for interurban boule-
vards has brought a re-
joinder that the pro-
jects of that sort are
not all on the two
ocean fronts. More than a year ago there
was serious talk, we are informed, of a
scheme for connecting Ann Arbor and

Ypsilanti, Mich., by “a double boulevard”
twenty miles long, that should not only join
the cities but make a connecting link be-
tween their considerable park systems.

There has been a good deal of talk, too of
a boulevard between Buffalo and Niagara
Falls, a distance of something over twenty
miles; plans have been made for a nine-
teen mile boulevard between Aiken and
North Augusta, S. C.; and no doubt there
are many such projects. There is every
reason to believe, indeed, that the next few
years will see a number of such schemes
transformed into realities, and that the
country home on the interurban boulevard
is the coming opportunity and problem. The
“addition” may find rival in the “radial” as
a real estate venture.

In the dedication re-
cently of the new
bridge across the Con-
n e c t i c u t River, at
Hartford, there were a
good many matters of
interest. In the first
place, the bridge itself
is a notable structure. With its eight gran-
ite arches, its length of some twelve hundred
feet, and its width of more than eighty feet,
it is said to be the largest stone arch
bridge in the world. But besides that it
is beautiful. Incidentally, it cost $2,000,000.
Because it is so big, so costly, and especially
because it is beautiful, its dedication was
made a great civic occasion, lasting through
three days. All the fraternal organizations
in and about Hartford took part in the
events; the parade of masons was said to
be the largest ever held in Connecticut;
there was the now inevitable historical
pageant, and scores of thousands of visitors
came to the city to see the bridge and to
have a part in the celebration to dedicate
it. There was even a great parade of school
children, who had thus impressed upon their
minds the worth whileness of doing well
what is done for the municipality. If we
read of such events in the Renaissance, we

NEW BRIDGE
AT

HARTFORD

would be sighing for the lost hold of civic
art on the populace. There is another point
not to be overlooked. A long strip of river
frontage was bought by the bridge com-
mission, and a large sum has been expended
in the construction of a boulevard. This
not only connects with the bridge, but it
has practically obliterated Hartford’s old
tenderloin and has transformed an eyesore
into a tract of beauty. There has been little
heard about that new bridge at Hartford,
but it is really a notable thing in municipal
development.

The Garden City As-
sociation in England is
publishing a small
monthly paper. A re-
cent number, contain-
ing the reprint of an
article in the Septem-
ber issue of “The Mill-
gate Monthly,” gives some interesting sta-
tistics of the First Garden City. Building
was commenced in 1904, and “at the moment
of writing,” the author says, the following
was true: The area of the estate is 3,818

acres. Of this the town site area is 1,318
acres. The number of “houses built and in
course of erection” is 1,110, and the popu-
lation is 6,000. There are 24 factories and
workshops built or building, 45 “shops,” and
9 public buildings or places of worship.
Eight miles of new roads have been made
and eleven miles of sewer constructed. There
are 17 miles of water mains and twelve miles
of gas mains. Included in the town area
are 200 acres of parks and open spaces. The
lands of the estate cost £151,569, or under
£40 per acre. About £100,000 has been
spent in development. A recent valuation
has appraised the property at £379,500,
making an increase of £128,000 in four
years. As to the people who live in the
city, the article throws this curious side
light on their characteristics, putting the
words into the mouth of Ebenezer Howard
himself, whom the writer is interviewing:
“Of course, the new community has its
problems. Some have been of a personal
character, and may be guessed when I say
that here we have a hatless brigade; another
contingent that scorns hose and wears san-
dals; ladies whose loose robes with floral
embroidery would do equally well in a
Grecian garden as in a Garden City; men
who prefer knickerbockers to trousers;
sixty vegetarian families, and some people
who commenced their career at Letchworth
by living in huts and wooden shades.” It
were a pity to add a comment.

GARDEN CITY
INVENTORY

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

A PROGRAM
FOR

PHILADELPHIA

The report of the
City Parks Association
of Philadelphia (the
twentieth annual) is
as usual a synopsis of
hopes and dreams of
city beauty for Fhiia-
d e 1 p h i a , offering a
stimulating program of endeavor. The re-
port urges with especial emphasis the pro-
posed creation of an art center around the
art gallery which is to be erected on the
site of the Fairmount Park reservoir, where
the new parkway from the city hall enters
Fairmount Park. Says the report: “The

presence of the river,” at one side of the
proposed group, “is the one thing that was
needed to make the opportunity unsur-
passed. . . . The money, it will readily be
seen, can easily be made available through
the generosity of Mr. Widener, and through
the fact that the Academy of Fine Arts and
School of Industrial Art own buildings on
Broad street, which, if sold, would fully
meet the cost of the erection of classic
buildings in the position indicated by the
Fairmount Park Art Association’s commis-
sion.” The report urges that four acres of
Stenton Park be at once acquired: it recom-
mends that boulevards be built along the
banks of the Schuykill and Delaware rivers;
it expresses dissatisfaction with the present
methods of tree planting in Philadelphia.
“In the city,” it says, ‘it does not do to dig
a hole and stick a tree in it. Proper pre-
cautions will result in the tree living and
growing.” It urges that League Island
Park, for the improvement of which a half
million dollars will soon be available, be
made a great water playground. The prep-
aration of a city plan is again advocated.
“The plan cannot be prepared in a day or
a month. It will take time, it will take
thought and it will take money. Ten, fif-
teen or twenty-five thousand dollars will
not do it. Fifty thousand at least will be
required if the experience of other cities is
any criterion.” The demand for this is noted
as a summing up of the whole report. All
the hopes and dreams of community aesthe-
tics and development resolve themselves, it
is stated, into the necessity “that the best
that is practicable shall be accomplished.”
It is well said: “That the legislautre has
drawn an imaginary line in the middle of
a creek or at a certain angle with the
equator, as a political division, or that the
federal government has designated a certain
line in the middle of a river as a boundary,
does not in any way bear upon the question
of the development of this community. The
community in which we live does not end at

the Delaware River on the east nor at Cobbs
Creek on the west. ... It covers all the
territory which pulsates with the life of
Philadelphia endeavor; and this territory,
which is constantly widening with increasing
transportation facilities, is the territory cov-
ered by the flow of our daily population.”
The request is for “a commission of recog-
nized experts,” to act in connection with the
present director of public works and the
chief of the bureau of surveys.

The census bureau re-
port on “Statistics (for
FIGURES 1906) of Cities Having

n _ a Population of Over

30,000,” has just been
CITIES published. It con-

tains a. mass of data
both valuable for refer-
ence and interesting in itself, and for the
comparisons it offers. It well supplements
for the country at large the data for Massa-
chusetts cities and towns which was lately
published by that State’s Bureau of Statis-
tics of Labor and reviewed in this depart-
ment.

The number of cities included in the re-
port is 158, of which fifteen had over 300,-
000 inhabitants, twenty-seven between

100.000 and 300,000, forty-eight between

50.000 and 100,000, and sixty-eight under
50,000. For all the sneers at the far flung
boundaries of Chicago, it appears not only
that the city of greatest land area is New
York — with about twice the area of Chi-
cago; but that the second city in area is
New Orleans. Chicago is a poor third. In
the matter of municipal expenditures, it is
interesting to learn that of what are called
“corporate payments” — from which are ex-
cluded payments for temporary transactions
and all payments made by one department,
enterprise or fund of the city to another —
sixty-seven and six-tenths per cent, are for
current expenses of operation and main-
tenance, while 31.4 per cent, are for im-
provements of a more or less permanent
character — a larger proportion than prob-
ably most persons would have guessed. One
per cent, goes for the reduction of indebt-
edness. The corresponding percentages in
1902 were 71.2 for expenses, 27.3 m out-
lays, and 1.5. for reduction of debt. The
relative increase of payments in the five
years was, therefore, somewhat greater for
permanent improvements than for expenses
of operation and maintenance. The total
per capita corporate payments for the 158
cities in 1906 were $26.54. The correspond-
ing payments from 1902 to 1905 were $22.48,
$24.77, $25.72, and $25.80, respectively. In

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

four years the costs of municipal govern-
ment has increased 38 per cent, faster than
population. That salaries and wages have
more than borne their part in this increase,
is shown by the fact that while they were
08.8 per cent, of the general expenses in
1906, they were only 66.4 in 1902. Taking
individual cities, the largest per capita cor-
porate payments were made in Boston, New
York and Washington — $48.52, $43,39, and
$37.84 respectively. Of the total general
expenses for all cities, schools take the most
— 92 per cent. Recreation, including parks,
receives only 3.4 per cent, and libraries and
museums account for 1.3 per cent. The total
per capita debt of the 158 cities was put in
1906 at $75.69. There had been a gradual
but steady rise from 1902, when the figure
had been $62.04. The total per capital debt
less sinking fund assets was $60.54 in 1906,
having increased about the same as the gross
debt in the four years. It would seem, how-
ever, that elaborate city schemes and the
luxury of modern city building had not seri-
ously effected urban finances.

The editors of “Chari-
A WAVE, ties,” whose testimony

Qp on the subject is doubt-

less the most trust-
PLAYGROUND worthy that can be se-

PROGRESS cured, in editorial re-

view of the social ad-
vance of the year, call
especial attention to the twelve months’
progress in the playground movement. In
it, indeed, they find ‘‘perhaps the best” evi-
dence “that the year has been one of rapid
and substantial growth in the spread of
preventive measures.” The significance of
this estimate concerning the relative meas-
ure of playground development lies in the
breadth of the field which is surveyed by
those who make it. It means that whatever
else may be overlooked in the social and
civic progress of the past year, the play-
ground movement at least must be con-
sidered. The secretary of the Playground
Association of America in his annual report,
submitted at the convention in September,
stated that the playground expenditures for
the year — a year when neither individuals
or municipalities were feeling rich — had
probably exceeded a milion dollars a month.
He reported that while sixty-six cities were
maintaining playgrounds a year ago, the
number by September, 1908, had increased
to one hundred and eighty-five. Of this
number 116 were publicly supported; and in
118 additional cities and towns steps were
being taken for the immediate establishment

of playgrounds. Various other evidences of
the progress of the wave are recorded. A
clipping bureau which found eighty-three
articles on playgrounds in one month of
1907 furnished 1,566 articles on them in the
same length of time eight months later.
Two new companies were formed for the
manufacture of playground apparatus, and
yet of the two old companies the business
of one had doubled while the sales of the
Oiher had gained 200 per cent. There were
no hard times in that line. It was signifi-
cant, too, that at the convention the em-
phasis was on more intensive work, not, as
in the previous year, on extensive; it was
not, that is to say, on gaining new converts
to the playground idea — they were coming
very fast; but on increasing efficiency of
the playground’s service. The playgrounds
for little children and the athletic and
recreative fields for youths and adults may
now be said, as the result of the last year’s
progress, to have been definitely accepted
as parts of the well ordered city.

WHY ENGLISH
GARDEN
CITIES
SUCCEED

The contributor of
the unsigned “Notes
from Europe” that
were lately printed in
“The American Archi-
tect” has some inter-

e s t i n g comments to
make on the English

Garden Cities development and the pending

town planning bill, to which reference has
been here made so often. He notes reasons
that have been, perhaps, too little appre-

ciated for the success of the recent English
experiments. “Manufacturers,” says he,
“are moving out of London. The ‘Garden
City’ idea has taken root and is flourishing,

. . . . and manufacturers are finding that

it pays better to operate where daylight is
not charged for, where the ceilings of manu-
facturing rooms may be more than nine feet
high without mixing up with local regula-
tions which limit the total height of their
buildings, and inflated land values which
prohibit horizontal extension. ... It is
interesting to compare the land values, for
these show what has brought about the
present exodus from London. Land at
Letchworth is leased upon ninety-nine years
agreement for as little as $75 per acre, an-
nual rental, while for the same area the
yearly rental in some manufacturing dis-
tricts in London runs to as much as $15,-
000.” Then of Mr. Burns’s town planning
bill he says, after describing its purposes,
“It is doubtful whether any bill will or can
provide for all that Mr. Burns hopes to ac*

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

complish. Doubtless he has in mind the
creation of Bedford Parks, Hampsteads and
Port Sunlights all over the country. . . .

But Bedford Park owes its beauty to the
fact that all of the houses, the shops, the
church, the club and the ‘Pub’ were designed
by two of the best architects England has
produced in many years — Messrs. W. Eden
Nesfield and R. Norman Shaw. To the lat-
ter is due much of the architectural beauty
of Hampstead, though many of the new
houses are the work of Mr. C. H. B. Quen-
nell. It is the same case in all of the ‘Garden
Cities,’ their beauty is due to the architect
who planned them and his co-workers who
have designed the individual buildings, for,
no matter how carefully a law may be
framed to provide for beauty, this will not

be the result unless there is the perception
and intelligence found to create it. . . .

I doubt, for instance, that, except by re-
quiring more land to be given up to each
house, Mr. Burns’s measure could improve
such a scheme as the latest Garden City—
the Hampstead Garden suburb planned Dy
Parker and Unwin and E. L. Lutyens, archi-
tects. Is it probable that a government offi-
cial could sugest much to improve such a
layout? Could it provide for better plans
than some of those by M. H. Baillie Scott
or better exteriors than those by Michael
Bunney and by E. Guy Dawber?” This is
well said, and it needed the saying. The
ground plan of a town is very important but
it is not all, nor even the most obvious fea-
ture in the town’s beauty.

Technical Department

KALAMAZOO TRUST CO. BANK
Kalamazoo, Mich.

SOLDIERS’ AND SAILORS’ MONUMENT
Vicksburg, Miss.

Terra Cotta, while cheap and quite a
good resistant to fire, lacks entirely the
dignity and character of white granite and
marble. Another disadvantage is that the
enamel soon “crazes” through the influence
of frost.

The problem is to find a material which is,

First, absolutely non-absorbent and, there-
fore, non-staining and unaffected by frost;

Second, is beautiful in tone and character;

Third, w r hich possesses a great crushing
strength;

Fourth, which has maximum heat resist-
ance;

Fifth, which lends itself readily to carv-
ing and molding;

Sixth, which can be obtained in sufficient
quantities;

Seventh, which is moderate in cost.

More and more architects are finding all
these qualities in a Southern product —
Georgia Marble. Building reports show
that increasing numbers of ornamental
structures are being erected from this ma-
terial — magnificent buildings, like the
Girard Trust and Banking Company build-
ing of Philadelphia, and the Metropolitan
Bank of Washington, D. C., of which photo-
graphs are shown on pages 16 and 22. Their
lasting beauty is constantly gaining new
converts for this splendid marble.

The architect has
many things to con-
sider in the choice of
an exterior building
stone for an edifice,
like banks, churches,
State buildings and
Capitols, and great
monuments, in which it is sought to express
dignity and beauty combined. Naturally the
material must be appropriate for the style
of architecture, and it must be free, so far
as possible, from the changes wrought by
the extremes of cold and heat and the dust
which is everywhere in the atmosphere.

Granite, which probably is the material
most used in such buildings and memorials,
is naturally rough in finish and dark in
color. Dust from surrounding streets soon
make it look darker than its original
tone. The discoloration from rain pene-
trates so deep below the surface that even
the sandblast cannot restore its former
colors.

Frost and weather play havoc with mar-
bles and limestones. They quickly discolor
and lose their sharp edges.

THE.

ARCHITECT’S

PROBLEM

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

GIRARD TRUST COMPANY
Philadelphia

As an example of its wonderful non-ab-
sorbent qualities, the writer saw a cube of
Georgia marble drilled to be used for an
inkstand. After such use covering months,
this material had absorbed no more color
than if it had been of glass. It is a well
known fact that ordinary marble would
have absorbed the ink within a few houis.

As to its strength — ordinary building sione,
according to a report made from the Ord-
nance Department of the United States
Army, at Watertown, Mass., will crumble
under a pressure from 3,000 to 8,000 pounds
per square inch. Very few of the very best
granites will withstand the enormous pres-
sure that Georgia marble will resist with-
out even cracking — as high as 12,000 pounds
per square inch.

Georgia marble, like other marbles, has
very high heat-resisting quality. It is a
fact that Georgia marble buildings came
through the Baltimore fire with less need of
repair than those of any other material.
Some of them were put into use as soon
as they became sufficiently cool.

Dr. Hiram Cutting, Ph.D., who conducted
a series of tests for the WEEKLY UNDER-
WRITER, disclosed the startling fact that
the damage by fire to a granite building is
about equal to that suffered by a structure
of wood, under similar conditions. In the
matter of heat resistance Dr. Cutting ranks
building materials in the following order:

1. Marbles.

2. Limestones.

3. Sandstones and freestones.

4. Granite.

5. Slate.

C. Conglomerates.

Nature seems to have favored the Georgia
quarry as well. It is recognized by geolo-
gists as the most wonderful marble de-
posit in the world, for it is a mammoth, con-
tinuous block in which no break has ever
been discovered. The winters of Georgia’s
climate are mild and are free from Hie in-
terruptions by ice, which put a stop to out-
door quarry work in the North. Thus, the
output of the Georgia deposits is limited
only by the demand.

The marble for the Girard Trust and
Banking Company’s building in Philadelphia,
the Metropolitan Bank of Washington,
D. C., and the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monu-
ment in Vicksburg, Miss., was quarried by
the Georgia Marble Company at Tate, Ga..
and was finished by the Blue Ridge Marble
Company of Nelson, in the same State. Both
these companies are represented in the
Northwest and Canada by the L. H. Dapp-
rich Co., Chicago. This company will fur-
nish further information about this re-
markable and ideal building marble on
application.

ONE SOLID BLOCK OF MARBLE
Georgia Marble Co. Tate.Ga

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d, 1879.

VOL. XXV. bo. 2.

FEBRUARY, 1909.

Whole No. 125

£ i?

twenty-

five;

CENTS'

•ISf

•,c ;'©• - N

■ * 1 ■ 1 ■ I . I M l l . ’l "liV • • ■ ■■••■■

Page

EDITORIAL ANNOUNCEMENT 77

SICILIAII HILL GARDENS 81

Illustrated. George Porter FernalU.

A NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS 93

F. W. Fitzpatrick.

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION: THE TESTIMONY OF THE ROMAN

FORUM 95

Illustrated. Alfred Hopkins.

THE DRAUGHTSMAN 103

F. W. Moore.

TRUTH AND TRADITION. Paul P. Cret 107

THE SUPERIORITY OF THE FRENCH-TRAINED ARCHITECT 110

Theodore Wells Pietsch.

A I

THE CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR 115

Illustrated. Frederic Lees.

A THOUSAND ISLAND ESTATE 125

Illustrated. Day Allen Willey.

ARCHITECTURE AND FACTORIES 131

Illustrated. Robert D. Kohn.

THE NATIONAL CITY BANK 137

NOTES AND COMMENTS 141

They Want To Know— The Point of View — Prog-
ress-Are Taxes Too Low?— An Architect Who Was
Heeded— Beauty for Schools— An Idea! for a City-
Civic Art an Investment- Rational Housing Re-
form-Playgrounds and Architects— P 1 a n s for
Sacramento.

BOOK REVIEWS 14B

PUBLISHED BY

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD CO.
President, Clinton W. Sweet Treasurer, F. W. Dodge
V ice-Pres. &

Genl. Mgr , /H. W. Desmond Secretary, F. T. Milleb
11-15 EAST 24TH STREET, MANHATTAN
Telephone, 4430 Madison Square

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Vol. XXV. FEBRUARY, L909. No. 2.

A National Co-operative Movement for the Advancement
of Better Architecture and Construction

Editorial announcements usually have
an air of the superfluous. There are oc-
casions, however, when perhaps they are
warranted and are not strictly in the
nature of confidences solely for com-
mercial purposes. An occasion has
arisen, we believe, when we may legiti-
mately speak to our readers of certain
plans of ours.

Architectural publications are, in the
main, technical. No publication can
transcend its contents or reach out be-
yond the natural limits of its subject-
matter. Being addressed strictly to the
profession, the interest of architectural
periodicals is confined to architects. The
value of the pictures they print, the news
they distribute, is bounded by very nar-
row limits. The professional publica-
tion, therefore, so far as architecture is
concerned, does nothing to awaken anv
general interest in the buildings people
inhabit. They merely carry the designs
of architect “A” to architect “B,” and
those of architect “B’ back again to
architect “A.” At this point their use-
fulness terminates.

If the chief interest of architecture
lay in professional intercommunication
there world be little need for further
•effort. But one may well ask the ques-
tion — Does the sole or chief service that
can be jerformed by an architectural
periodical lie within this restricted boun-
dary? Vie venture to think there are
other things of greater importance that
should be done.

Perhaps more than any other artist,
the architect needs to be in close touch
with his public. If his public is indiffer-
ent or uninformed his efforts suffer. He
is restricted in his work or confined in
his aims.

It is not long ago that Speaker Can-
non asked, “What is an architect, any-
way?” Bluntness of speech usually is
an indication of bluntness of mind. Was
the mental condition of the Speaker ex-
ceptional ? Evidence does not favor this
saving view. The public spectacle of
even our main streets, public curiosity
concerning our buildings, both indicate
that general appreciation of architecture
is of an order low enough to be negligi-
ble as a working force for better things.
It is abundantly evident that the stan-
dard of public taste is much below the
average of trained architectural capacity.

The trouble lies largely with the
owner. Architecturally speaking, he is
a barbarian, and, as with all barbarians,
he has no right sense of values, and he
is more personally pleased with the
meretricious than with the meritorious.
He may accept good architecture as
“fashion,” but never as an intimate per-
sonal possession of value.

As a result, the trained architect re-
ceives only a moiety of the commissions
which the growth and development of
the community affords. In place of well-
designed structures, scientifically built,
scientifically planned, the architectural
spectacle presented from Maine to Cali-

Entered May 2, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d, 1879.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

fornia is literally a nightmare of ignor-
ant endeavor. The untrained draughts-
man, the builder-architect, the paper-
made duplicated plan is rampant every-
where, and there is no police to arrest
offenders.

No improvement of this condition of
affairs can be brought about by the re-
formatory machinery now visible. It
cannot be done by our architectural as-
sociations nor by our municipal organi-
zations, nor by law, nor by our educa-
tional institutions. We must, somehow
or other, elevate public taste by operat-
ing in some manner upon its standards
of appreciation and desire. The popu-
lar magazines do not help mend the situ-
ation. They are either given over to the
always - delightful discussion of the
small details of decoration, or to show-
ing the uninstructed how they can “beat
the game” and build a house that looks
like a six-thousand-dollar house for a
maximum of forty-five hundred. The
practice of architecture undoubtedly has
many delightful surprises in it. None
of them so far has established this se-
vere economical achievement as a per-
manent reality. Its fictitious results are
unfortunately fallacious as tending to
improve public taste or even public con-
science and manners. Nothing has
done more to depreciate the real de-
mand upon the real architect, or to ex-
pose his solid labors to the flippant ridi-
cule of the ignorant. No! Judging
from past performances, there is noth-
ing to be hoped for in the way of assist-
ance from the purely popular periodical.

The building material manufacturer
might, indeed, add something to the
cause of good construction, but he is
met with strenuous opposition by the
alarming demand for false cheapness
that prevails in the construction of build-
ings. Anything is good enough in the
owner’s estimation, so long as it is cheap
enough and — so long as it makes a brave
show of being something that it is not.
Few owners want the “real thing” for
what it is, and for the service it will
render perfectly. They prefer the ve-
neer for what it is not, the sham article
for what it seems to be. The “mercer-
ized” standards of a “non-alcoholic

champagnated” modern civilization are
far too general to be wholesome pro-
moters of a real enduring architecture.
We cannot get anywhere with shams.
We must, somehow, abolish the entire
system of “substitution.” We must get
down to real things, no matter how
humble they may be. We must pound
into the public head the conviction that
an humble material is not artistically
disreputable. We must get everyone
possible to understand that there is no
element of real economy in poor tin
roofs, cheap plumbing, insufficient heat-
ing, low-grade interior trim, poor ma-
sonry and all the other scamped and de-
ceptive abominations that compose so
large a percentage of so many of our
houses.

In other words, we must increase the
chances, the legitimate opportunities of
the trained architect, the thorough
craftsman, the honest building material
manufacturer.

A task of this magnitude cannot be
accomplished speedily. Illusions on that
point are hopeless. Reformation is the
slowest process known to man. But it
is the most hopeful, for here the stars
fight for the righteous cause. Reform
is probably the only human effort that,
despite all vicissitudes, is never in the
end defeated. But drastic measures are
useless. We have to turn to the slow
methods of persuasion. We must re-
form from what is and not against what
is. We must rely largely upon insist-
ence.

We have no desire to exalt the power
of the editorial function at this moment.
But we profoundly believe that if the
public is to be educated it must be done
by public means, and we know of no
other public means more readily at hand,
more probably effective in its issue, than
the means afforded by the press.

When the Architectural Record was
founded it was the purpose of the pub-
lishers to give the magazine as much of
a popular meaning as circumstances per-
mitted. The Architectural Record never
has believed that the word “popular” is
interchangeable with “undignified” or
“uninstructed.” No man ever attempted
to “write down” to the public who did

EDITORIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.

not also write under the public. But if
we may compare small with great the
efforts of men like Tyndall and Huxley
would illustrate the character and mean-
ing that may be given to the word "pop-
ular.”

Recently the Architectural Record has
been in communication with most of the
leaders of the architectural profession,
with the better-known craftsmen and
with a large number of the reputable
building material houses. We asked
frankly whether they recognized any real
need for a co-operative movement in
which Architect, Craftsman and
Building Material Firm would be joined
for the purpose of improving general
architectural conditions, the action of
each, of course, being confined to his
own particular province. We received
several thousand replies, and the answer,
without a single exception, was heartily
in favor of the co-operative movement.
Some of our friends pointed out the dif-
ficulties ahead. The difficulties indi-
cated are not insuperable in any case.
They are all of a kind that we can rec-
ognize without the slightest discourage-
ment. Nothing that is truly easy is per-
haps really worth doing. Obstacles, so
long as they are not insurmountable,
afford an incentive, so long as the object
ahead is worth the pains of the effort.
All architects recognized their need of
a larger public, a more instructed and
sympathetic public. They realized fully
that this larger public cannot be obtained
by interprofessional inspection of one
another’s drawings. Merely profes-
sional publicity among themselves is rel-
atively a small matter in the advance-
ment of architectural practice. Given
the opportunity and the favorable condi-
tions, the architect is not likely to be
behind in satisfying the requirements
imposed upon him. Nor is the archi-
tect to be helped greatly by the strictures
of critics, lay or professional. There is,
of course, a wholesome necessity 'for
criticism. Criticism even has a high
measure of efficiency. But criticism in
a public sense is not a great force with
the average man, even the average man
of some intelligence. Instruction is a
much greater force in our present con-

dition. The public need to know what
the architect is driving at, the purpose
of his efforts and intentions, the limita-
tions that hamper him, the possibilities
open to him. In every way the Owner
needs to know more about the architect
and the art he practices, and the archi-
tect needs from the Owner a heartier
support and more substantial working
sympathy.

Henceforth, therefore, the Architec-
tural Record will work more and more
with the Architect than ever, but always
with him in relation to his clients or his
possible clients. Its efforts will be to
penetrate to the Owner through the
Architect, and will endeavor to create
a taste and desire for at least architec-
tural decency, earnest craftsmanship and
reliable building materials. The maga-
zine will try to banish all forms of sub-
stitution-false art for real art, false
craftsmanship for real craftsmanship,
inferior and therefore more costly build-
ing materials for superior and therefore
cheaper articles.

This new policy wil not be attended
immediately by any radical change in
the contents of the magazine or by any
revolutionary methods. We shall" pro-
gress from point to point in consultation
with friends who have encouraged us on
all sides to attempt the new co-opera-
tive movement for the advancement of
architecture and sound construction.

Of the thousands of replies to our
recent letter to the members of the pro-
fession, the following extracts are fairly
typical of its attitude towards our plans :
Cass Gilbert, New York City.

“I think in general that the idea is an
excellent one and I wish you success in
the undertaking.”

Delano & Aldrich, New York City.

“We thoroughly agree with all you say.”

Wilder & Wight, Kansas City, Mo.

‘‘Your scheme seems to us a good one.
We shall be glad to be of assistance in any
way possible.”

Marcus T. Reynolds, Albany, N. Y.

“You have done a great deal of this in
the past, as I find a great many educated
people who have no direct interest with
architecture as regular subscribers to your
magazine.”

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Prof. A. D. F. Hamlin, New York City.

“I approve this movement heartily and
only regret that present pressure of my
work prevents my writing to you more
fully and formally to this effect.”

Prof. Frederick W. Revels, School of Archi-
tecture, Syracuse, N. Y.

‘‘An effort to interest and educate the
general public in things architectural can-
not be too strongly commended.”

A. L. Brockway, Syracuse, N. Y.

“I will pledge myself personally to do
anything within my power to promote
your efforts.”

Prof. H. L. Warren, Harvard University,
Cambridge, Mass.

“The scheme seems to me excellent if it
can be done.”

E. B. Patterson, New Orleans, La.

“You are about to undertake a gigantic
task, in which I wish you all success.

Bliss & Faville, San Francisco, Cal.

“We realize that a tremendous field could
be covered if the work was carried on as
outlined in your letter. We find the Rec-
ord is probably the most appreciated of
any of the magazines among our clients. ’

Prof. Clarence A. Martin, Cornell University,
IthcLCSL N "Y".

“I grant the difficulties in general, but
am not convinced of the diagnosis in de-
tail, nor is the remedy quite clear enough
to warrant my unqualified endorsement
such as you ask, as it seems to me indorse-
ment must necessarily mean more than
the mere ‘effort.’ ”

J. Walter Stevens, St. Paul, Minn.

“I think you have undertaken a monu-
mental job.”

Hill & Woltersdorf, Chicago, 111.

“Your plan to make your paper the
medium of creating a live interest in
architecture in the public mind seems to
me a splendid idea.”

Myron Hunt & Elmer Grey, Los Angeles,
Cal.

“We use your magazine now for just such
purposes. As long as it is as good archi-
tecturally as it is now, the more popular
you make it the better we shall like it.
We have distributed many hundred copies
of past numbers and we encourage our
clients to take it regularly.”

Carrere & Hastings, New York City.

“The suggestion is most attractive and
interesting and we think is just the sort of
thing that ought to be done and that you
can do justice to.”

Patton & Miller, Chicago, 111.

“The carrying out of this policy wouid
make your paper of great value to the
profession.”

Hugh S. Magruder, Baltimore, Md.

“There is a crying need for just such a
campaign of education as you suggest.”

Somervell & Cote, Seattle, Wash.

“We approve of your proposed scheme
and are only wondering why such a step
was not taken prior to this.”

Allen & Collens, Boston.

“We approve of the policy and should be
glad to be of service to you in any way
possible.”

Alden & Harlow, Pittsburg, Pa.

“It is a question to which we have given
some thought without any tangible theory
suggesting itself.”

Newman & Harris, New York and Phila-
delphia.

“Your proposition appeals very strongly
to us and we shall be most interested in
the development of your idea.”

Cooper & Bailey, Boston, Mass.

“We wish you to feel sure of our cordial
support.”

Hutchisson & Garvin, Mobile, Ala.

“The Architectural Record has already
done a great work in this line.”

Claude F. Bragdon, Rochester, N. Y.

“The Record is the only architectural
paper I find the layman knows anything
about.”

Prof. Thomas Nolan, University of Penn-
sylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.

“Such a step will bring the magazine
into closer touch with all architects.”

Reed & Stem, St. Paul, Minn.

“We are entirely in sympathy with the
idea presented.”

Prof. N. Clifford Ricker, University of Illi-
nois, Urbana, 111.

“The new line proposed seems to be ex-
cellent.”

Ernest Flagg, New York City.

“The plan you outline should meet with
the encouragement of the architectural
profession.”

Sicilian Hill Gardens

Illustrations by the Author

In view of the calamity which has fallen with such terrible force upon so many of the coast
towns of Sicily and Calabria, the article which follows should be of special interest. The text and
sketches were made on the spot by Mr. Fernald not many months ago and exhibit in consequence
that freshness of touch and accuracy of portrayal which can result only from intimate contact with
and an abiding love for the subject. — Editor.

Not to be compared with the gar-
dens of Northern Italy, or with other
gardens equally celebrated, these little
gardens of Sicily have an individual
charm all their own. They are the
image in the soul of the Italian gardens
as Sicily is the key to it all.

In the first place, one does not ex-
pect to find gardens in this turbulent,
mountainous country, amid barren
rocks and precipitous cliffs, and who
can describe the delight in discovering
real gardens and castles in the air,
nestled on the hillside or perched on the
mountain peak, surrounded by tufts of
green and classic gardens. We are apt
to have a confused notion regarding
our love of Nature and this wonderful
land. To many of us it is not so much
Nature in its frankly natural guise that
appeals, as Nature humanized and made
intimate with our lives. Here is beau-
tiful solitude, yet if this solitude is in-
habited, how much more beautiful be-
comes the solitude !

High above the sea, the road leads
one to this fairy land. An attractive
feature of the landscape is the white
serpentine road and colored parapet
wall bordering it, which creeps along
the seashore up into the fastness of
the rocky promontory, appearing, dis-
appearing, and re-appearing, gliding-
through a level garden of olive and
almond trees, making a turn to avoid
disturbing some ancient catacombs,
under vine-blanked walls, and switch-
ing about the foundation cliff of the
Greek theatre, on, and upward to
Taormina, an impressive testimony to
the patient effort of man.

No one goes to Sicily without admir-
ing Mt. Etna, “that pillar of Heaven,”
as Pliny called it, and yet how much
more can we enjoy the grand panorama
before us from a garden seat and frame

of classic columns, or as we sit in the
auditorium of the Greek theatre, peer-
ing through the proscenium arches at
the mountains and sea beyond.

Etna, although active, and always
seen wearing her huge white plume of
steam floating over the crater, is not
regarded by Sicilians as treacherous or
revengeful, but as the source of great
fertility. The eastern slopes producing
three-fold is the envy of all Sicilians,
and well it might be for it is considered
the most fertile spot for its size in the
world. Many mountains of the interior
and lonely peaks two and three thou-
sand feet high are cultivated in the same
way, with the homes of the workers of
the field capping their summits, the sites
of the old Sekelian cities, where a large
portion of the population live in the
same old Sekelian way, working then-
farms on the mountain sides to the
valley, and going back to the protection
of the city for the night. The hill towns
of Italy are ant-hill towns compared
with these lofty perched cities. It is
only when the mountains are absolutely
precipitous, like the rock of Pelligrino
or the cliffs of Gefalu, that they are un-
cultivated and barren, for every part of
Sicily is cultivated, making one vast
garden. On every mountain side are
seen tier upon tier of terraces, making
level spots for cultivation and producing
an effect of great flights of steps from
the seashore to the mountain peaks,
the lower terraces covered by an unin-
terrupted grove of mandarin, orange,
lemon and other fruit trees.

How much is added to this wonderful
land by the touch of the Greek hand !
Classic influence and tradition is handed
to the succeeding races, and the effect
is easily seen on every side. Behind
the very walls of the Greek Theatre,
and the walls of the street leading up to

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

VIEW FROM MONTE VE'NERE (VENUS), OVERLOOKING THE POINT OF NAXOS, WITH
CATANIA, SYRACUSA AND MT. ETNA IN THE DISTANCE.

SICILIAN HILL GARDENS

THE VILLA WRITTI, TAORMINA; CALABRIA IN THE BACKGROUND.

8 4

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

it, are characteristic gardens of a most
classic character. Passing between the
high walls we hear the hum of voices
and inhale the fragrant air, heavy with
bloom, but little more is known of what
lies beyond, so secluded are the
gardens. When we step inside, we
find it easier to measure them in feet
than in acres, but the effect of symmetry
and ordered details impresses us at
once. Although none of them are
large, or overly well kept, we are sur-
prised at finding any gardens at all in
a country so mountainous that it is
difficult even to find a foot-hold. They
cling to the brink of the precipices, as
if in fear of falling into the sea, and we
forgive their simplicity and irregularity
of outline when we see the real garden
and its formal pattern.

The views are unsurpassed, so beau-
tifully are they placed and planned for
vistas. The villa seems a part of the
cliff, and the retaining walls of the gar-
den are but ridges that help the outline
of the mountain to step down more
gracefully. Nature is tempted to in-
vade the realm of art. Here is a union
of the two such as will be seen in very
few places. The flowers in the crannied
walls are familiar. We like to see the
stucco walls giving hospitality to a rush
and tangle of vines clambering over
rocks and reaching up to the top, where
vines from many flower pots droop
down to greet them. The sturdy cactus
reaches out its arms to embrace the
wall, where soil, moisture and sun are
to its liking. When the loose retain-
ing walls are being built on the hills,
they are made more secure to the cliff
by the assistance of the strong armed
cactus, of the prickly-pear species, the
leaves of which are broken from the
vines and scattered through the loose
stones, where they soon take root,
twisting in and out among the rocks,
and in time anchor the garden walls
to the cliff in a most secure manner.

Every inch of flat space that can be
found is used for gardens and terraces,
while the wall following the edge of the
cliff, often encloses a very irregular
area, from which the peasants, with
their natural instinct for balancing

things, ingeniously develop from the
central space a most formal and classic
design.

There is to be found a regular pat-
tern of cross walks with fountain basins
and pergolas leading up to vistas. In
the centre is a calm water basin, sur-
rounded by tall-back stucco sofas,
shaded by fig and dark cypress trees.
Cross walks and flower beds form pat-
terns of squares and diamonds, as the
wall bordering on the cliff may suggest.
At the end of the pergola are seats
flanked on either side by huge oil jars,
spilling over with sea pinks. Many
pedestals and statues populate the
walks, and pose at important inter-
sections of the pattern. Classic water
jars, blanketed with myrtle and frost
vine form a stately procession, alternat-
ing with many other flower pots of va-
ried style.

There are many attractive bits of
terra-cotta work to be found in Sicily,
with a great variety of vases, flower
pots, jardenieres, water bottles, jars;
urns and pedestals, which are the frag-
ments of marble which are placed
throughout the gardens, giving them a
very Pompeian character.

The old Duke Sanstefano was re-
sponsible for appropriating so many
marble fragments of the Greek theatre
for his garden, while like so many of the
other gardens and villas throughout
Taormina, shared in the spoils of this
wonderful ruin. The variety of thirty
marbles with which the hills and river-
beds abound were famous in the days
of Archimedes. They were used by the
Architect Filea of Taormina with the
assistance of Archimedes’ ingenuity, in
lining the baths of the famous galley
built for Ptolemy, and given to him as
a present by Heron of Syracuse. The
Siculi from their high perched castles
could almost drop a plumet line on the
decks of this thousand-oared galley as it
swept past to Callabra and its ruin.

After the view of the sea and wild
mountain country, our eyes return to
the garden, and find rest and repose in
the ordered details and quiet shade. A
broad walk leads to the cliff at the rear
of the garden, where a cool grotto,

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

roofed with shimmering moss and
maiden-hair fern, invites you to drip-
ping water, and a cool retiring spot
from the blazing sun, where wines and
almonds were never known to have
such a flavor.

As our eye follows the wall leading
from the grotto, our sight is checked
by the huge burst of bloom which the
parapet wall is holding in its trough-like
basins that are sunk in the top of the
wall at intervals. Monstrous flower
pots, filled in with camellias, flank the
ends of a seat and attract our attention
to the wonderful vista before us with
the turquoise sea in the distance. All
the stucco work in these gardens is
tinted in soft pinks and yellows, and
with a sturdy pier topped with a big
yellow urn, draped in pale lavender
wistaria, the effect is more easily im-
agined than described.

There are few really active fountains
in these gardens, and the water gods
become quite inactive and moss-
covered. xA huge cesspool is construc-
ted in a corner of this hill garden,
sufficiently large to hold water for a
supply throughout the dry season,
which begins with May and lasts until
September. A great volume of water
is continually pouring into the reser-
voir from the conductors of the villa
during the rainy season, and released
again through an elaborate cistern of
cement troughs which covers the flat
areas with a net work of flowing
streams, making the entire mountain
side terraces a cataract of water falls,
as the water is used over and over
again as it flows to the different levels.
Most luxuriantly fertile orange and
lemon groves are thus obtained. This
system of irrigation, dating from the
Saracenic domination or perhaps much
earlier in the Concad’Oro, about Paler-
mo, attains its most elaborate develop-
ment. Besides this way of irrigating,
deep shafts of sunk and subterranean
waters are tapped and brought to the
surface by pumps, as in Arabia and
Persia. With a little additional nour-
ishment in the spring, the ancient tufa
scoria and lava soil produces three-
fold. One has but to trample a root in

the fresh soil and it will grow on,
forever.

The floral richness in the wild flowers
of Sicily have forever made this island
famous, and their variety is certainly
marvellous. They fill the vales and
meadows to overflowing and nod from
every crack and crevice in dizzy heights.
The stately asphodel is the classic
flower with its associations as old as
Homer. Cyclamen, marigold, fennel,
spurges, genesta, anemones, violets,
oleanders, acanthus, sage and broom,
dwarf pink campions spread over the
grass like daises. As you walk further
into the hills, the narcissus growing like
a flowering rush, or many headed like
the blossoms fatal to Proserpine, whiten
the meadow grass, and higher still by
the gleaming road the mountain iris of
many hues brightens the Sicilian moor-
land. It leaps aflame with huge mari-
golds, glowing almost scarlet, but not
as yellow and brilliant as the vigorous
fragrant spurge gushing from the
ancient lava streams of Etna. Corn
breast-high is grown, and as you tread
through the paths, beneath this tiny
forest, the pink scentless garlic, the
wild convolvulus dashed with bright
blue, the pinipernela of brighter and
the borage of lighter blue, and in the
sheltering forests on Etna’s height,
undreamed of wild peonies of rose pink
and white can be found. Among the
many ruined walls dance and wave the
crimson bells of the gladiolas and fresh
pink snap-dragons. The leaf of the
Selinum which gave this important city
its name, a sort of wild celery, occupied
a very sacred place in the lives of the
Greeks. With it they crowned the
victors of their games, and with it they
crowned the dead. The papyrus plumes
and the silver plumes of the vermouth,
the wormwood that yield the wine are
none the less interesting. There is in
fact every known variety, too numerous
for mention, as the cornucopia of Floris
still abundantly full. It all shows the
productive quality of this ancient soil.
Not only is the soil rich with growing
properties, but it is also rich with the
treasures of the many races who have
left there, imperishable articles of do-

SICILIAN HILL GARDENS.

8 7

-M

AT CAPE S. ALESSIO, IONIAN SEA.

A seaside cemetery storm-swept, which was entirely engulfed by th

recent tidal wave.

mestic life, used before the Carthaginian
came, 400 years B. C. Hardly a spade
of earth is turned in Sicily without
yielding a bronze vase, a coin, terra
cotta lamp or statue in marble. Within

the present season a wonderful gold
necklace of the best Greek period was
found while the ground for a new villa
was being excavated. The workmen
came upon the walls of an old cistern

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

filled to the surface of the garden with
earth. In excavating this, the earth
was found to be filled with many Greek
utensils, which had been thrown in with

of the Villa, and the garden combined.
On Mola’s heights are look-out gar-
dens, very much the same in character
as the Siculian, from whence the bar-

A TYPICAL SICILIAN TERRACE ENTRANCE, TAORMINA.
The Greek acropolis on the first hill in the background.

the dirt to fill up the cistern. The bril-
liant yellow gold necklace was found at
the bottom. Of course this find was of
sufficient value to pay for the entire land

barians looked down contemptuously
on the fastidious Greeks, buzzing like
bees in the Acropolis below, while the
Greeks could look down again on their

SICILIAN HILL GARDENS.

sea. On the left Scylla and Chary-
bides, on the right, the wide fertile
field of Etna, lifting her snow wrapped
crater high in the heavens, like some

are as fresh and fair to-day as when
Proserpine gathered flowers in Etnas’
perfumed woods.

As your thoughts and eye returns

fair city of Naxos, resting gently by the
sea.

From the dizzy perch of Mola, you
have the whole panorama of the Ionian

huge diamond set in blue. There Ceres
flew to light her torch, at Etna’s cone,
There on that earthly seat of Jove
things grow on forever, and the hills

THE TOWN OF PACE’, A BELVEDERE OVERLOOKING THE STRAITS OF MESSINA.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

again to the rocks and precipitous cliff
on which you stand, you hold your
breath at the dizzy height. If anything
can render these rocks and precipices
more terrible, it is the vision of that
awful tyrant. Dionysius, creeping up
from the sea shore with his troops for
the purpose of indulging in the pastime
of butchering the troops of Mola. This
was B. C. 304. Naxos had been rav-
ished and laid waste by him ; the few
people left had been sold as slaves, and
the Grecian site offered to the native
Siculi. But they were not to be allured
from their lofty stronghold of Mola, in
which they were as nearly secure in
their garrison, as they would be in a
balloon basket, while the fortress of
Mola, impossible as it looked, frowned
down, inaccessible and grim. Dio-
nysius took advantage of one dark and
stormy night to climb that perpendicu-
lar track, the same which still leads to
this aerial basket. The path led over
acute precipices, and the storm beat in
his face, but that was nothing to him.
They succeeded in reaching the top
and forcing open the gates, when the.
Siculi, with one desperate effort, massed
themselves together and forced him and
his troops head long down the sheer
cliffs to the abyss below.

Wherever you may wander, amid the
terrace farms and gardens, you find
stately fence-post sentinels, guiding you
through a straight path to a circular
path surrounding a water basin, shaded
by lofty waving bamboo Eucalyptus
trees, with their tasseled heads sixty
feet above you. A simple shady retreat
for Pan. This is not the work of
skilled landscape gardeners, but fre-
quently accomplished by the hand of the
humble peasant, with the strong instinct
of classic tradition born in him. Their
work charms you with its ease, grace
and simplicity, in a manner seldom felt
in other gardens. Where the Greeks
walked, temples and statues to the gods
appeared and gardens blossomed. They
lived in the open. Poetry was in the
air, and such is the effect that it is
felt by the succeeding races.

It is always a pleasure to see these
picturesque graceful people about with

their dark, Oriental coloring, genth
eyes and manners gallant and graciou:.
At no time do these Oriental manners
show these people in so amiable a light
as in the discharge of their duties. In-
deed the severities of these southern
people have ever been softened by this
virtue which so happily flourishes where
it is most wanted. They have the dig-
nity of the ancient Greek, yet so tem-
pered by tenderness and humanity that
it commands that graceful respect whicr
is otherwise scarcely known or expected
in a country where inferiors are so mucr
oftener taught to fear than to love.

The gardens are so simple and grace-
ful in moulding, blending in form anl
coloring to their setting, making a last-
ing impression of their charm, anl
sickening one of the very thoughts of S3
many bad imitations of Italian gardens.

The gardens or enclosures about the
Villas are not filled up with clumps anl
strips of trees, after the undigested
ideas of a builder or decorator, or
planted out with helter-shelter patches
of rare shrubbery by a nurseryman.
Here is taste and display to advantage,
where there is neither great extent to
work on or an immense sum to be ex-
pended. It is natural for a mind unac-
quainted with the power of Art to sup-
pose that professional assistance can
effect little in laying out small gardens
or places of a few acres, but this is to
infer that nothing can be beautiful that
is not also expensive. Beauty or ex-
pression depends no more on dimen-
sion than on expense, but is the result
of a combination calculated by its fitness
and utility to gratify the mind, and by
its effect to charm the eye.

The rule for the formation of such
combinations, in rural scenery consti-
tute the art of laying out the grounds
in the application of which, to a small
place, the artist will often meet with
difficulties unknown in places of greater
extent, since these, by their magnitude,
naturally possess a certain greatness of
character, while a small spot is a blank,
depending for its effect wholly on the
skill and ingenuity of him who under-
takes to fill it up.

Gardens, parterres, and such small

SICILIAN HILL GARDENS.

GARDEN AT CASTILLO- A-MARE.

subjects as are seen at one view, and
in which symmetry, or at least undis-
guised art, must necessarily appear,
bear with them their own apology.
They are and must always be character-
ized by avowed art of some description.
By giving examples of the ancient mode
of displaying this avowed art in gar-
dening a great source of variety is ob-
tained.

i he application of the geometrical
style to places of several acres is at
first sight, less defensible, and is at ail
events more obnoxious to many tastes,
but only in such cases is it better to in-
troduce this art occasionally, and that
in flat and level situations, having little
or no distinct prospect and no facilities
or capabilities for the more modern and
free taste. Every unprejudiced ama-
teur in rural affairs will allow, that in
such situations this art produces more
marked and imposing character than the
modern picturesque or natural style
admits of, and tends also to vary the ap-
pearance of a flat space. It is the pe-
culiar property of the geometrical

characters to counteract the natural in-
dications of the surface, and confer its
own character, and on the flat it is all
powerful : it has nothing to oppose it.
The Italian Villa rears its formal, but
majestic front, and flings around its
stately mantel of alleys, avenues and
groves. Thus the principle of a marked
character, though formal and unnatural,
is far more interesting than an insipid
expression or no character at all. It
belongs to the geometric style to create
a bold and imposing grandeur which
will leave no room to regret the want
of variety of surface or of distant pros-
pect.

A real Italian garden is, in short, a
quaint combination of Art and Nature,
in which Nature after a time is allowed
to have sway and run riot at her wild-
est. Hence the inevitable failure of the
Italian garden when transplanted to the
North. We try to keep it altogether
too tidy, or we go to the other extreme
and effect ruin, leaving no signs or
trace of cultivation, not even the walk,
while in our more formal garden no

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

fern draperies or vines in crevices are
allowed, as it would send our garden-
ers into “fits.”

There are, it is true, many features
of the Italian garden which we can
adapt, but otherwise even their archi-

tecture is not for us. The stucco deco-
rations, which are effective enough in
Italy, cannot resist our damp freezing
atmosphere, and without them, Italian
gardens are apt to be bald and cod.

George Porter Fernild.

VILLA AT TAORMINA.

A National Department of Public Works

The American Institute of Archi-
tects, which lately completed its annual
convention here in Washington, has
officially approved the plan of urging
the creation of a governmental Bureau
of Fine Arts. A most laudable move-
ment, but certain things have to be
coped with and especial conditions
recognized. To have such a bureau
exercise any influence or control it
must have some authority. To secure
that authority, Congress must act.
Generally speaking, Congress is op-
posed, as a body and individually, to
anything that is exclusively and sole-
ly artistic. It believes that in its ac-
countability to the people all legisla-
tion must have a “'practical” value.
And for some reason or other men such
as our great and good Speaker have
not yet realized that anything practical
can ever come from the aesthetic or be
suggested by a mere artist !

Greater results could, no doubt, be
obtained and sooner by clothing these
artistic desires of ours in a practical
garb and it would seem to me that we
should turn our energies towards se-
curing what has been so often sug-
gested in the architectural press and
that is the separation of matters struc-
tural, artistic, etc. from the Treasury
and other departments and merging
them all under a new department, with
a cabinet officer, and properly called a
Department of Public Works.

We have been putting up a good
fight to secure the adoption of a sys-
tematic plan for the improvement of
Washington to which all improvements
made year by year should conform.
An Art Commission was appointed but
it rests purely upon executive favor ;
it is not recognized by Congress and
has absolutely no authority, being mere-
ly a number of public-spirited and
able gentlemen who, at the invitation
of the president, respectfully suggest
that this and that be done, and it is a
matter of some indifference to congress
and to bureau heads whether the advice
be taken or not.

The Treasury Department is alto-
gether too comprehensive. Congress
realized that some time ago and separ-
ated some of that department’s bureaus
from it and grouped them under the
new formation of a Department of
Commerce and Labor. It is timely
that we should urge upon congress the
substraction of still other bureaus from
that department and from other de-
partments. We now have post-offices
and court-houses built under Treasury
direction, barracks, stores, etc. under
the War Department management,
waterways in charge of the Engineer
Corps, etc. The thing is a jumble. To
have the War Department in charge of
great public works with a commercial
flavor is a good deal of a farce and that
the public buildings should be under
the Treasury Department is equally
silly. The head of that department is
generally a financier, yet all matters of
importance about public works and
buildings go to him for final decision.
The Supervising-Architect’s office must
oftentimes be most seriously hampered
because of the unfamiliarity with con-
struction and such matters on the part
of the responsible chief of the depart-
ment. I do not know of another
country where there is not a distinct
and separate department of Public
Works. We might as well have educa-
tion, labor, and finance administered
by the Navy Department as to have our
public works administered as they are
now. Under this new department
should be grouped everything in the
nature of construction and maintenance
of buildings, of waterways, of federal
roads and anything else that involves
improvements of a structural nature.
Naturally the head of such a depart-
ment should be an architect or an engi-
neer, for pretty much the same reason
that a lawyer is always selected as At-
torney-General, or a financier as Secre-
tary of the Treasury.

In the development and planning of
such a department attention would
naturally be given to the essentially

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

artistic. There would be a bureau or
commission that would attend to just
such things as the architects recite in
their plea for such a special bureau,
but this bureau, being a part of a de-
partment in charge of all public works,
would have authority, would be more
than merely, advisory and there is in-
finitely more probability of getting it
through congress in such shape than as
it is now proposed. To it would come
all questions having any bearing what-
ever on matters artistic, the selection
of designs for our coinage and stamps
would even be part of its functions.
Its authority would be fundamentally
federal but its influence would be felt
in every direction. While not clamor-
ing for anything over paternalistic
that would tend to the centralization
of power I firmly believe that the depart-
ment would be of infinite advantage to
all the states and to the individual. The
Weather Bureau is for the benefit of
all the people ; the Agricultural Depart-
ment not only attends to matters fed-
eral in that line but its advice and
services are available and are given to
all state experimental stations and to
every farmer in every state who asks

therefor. So with the Artistic Bureau
would its advice and help be at the dis-
posal of every State or city having
artistic problems to solve. Its trained
assistants and its advisors, men of the
highest attainments in the arts, would
be ever available and anxious to aid
anyone seeking to improve, to beau-
tify a city, a park, a railway terminal or
what-not of a public or semi-public
nature. It would urge all our cities to
have formulated a fixed and artistic
plan for progressive growth, one not
necessarily involving the immediate ex-
penditure of vast sums but a determin-
ate plan to which would conform all
improvements as they became necessary
or for which funds became available.

It is eminently desirable and timely
that the scheme of the architects to se-
cure an Art Bureau be merged into the
larger and more important and prob-
ably more easily obtained Department
of Public Works. We need such a
department, The business man real-
izes it ; congress realizes it, and if gone
at with a will and a vim, the project
can be brought to a happy consumma -
tion during the next Session of Con-
gress. F. W. Fitspatnck.

A garden temple of Taormina.

Concrete Construction

The Testimony of the Roman Forum

During the past ten years many
methods for using concrete have been
devised, a multitude of different shaped
steel rods designed for reinforcing it
have been patented, and the whole
subject of reinforced concrete has cre-
ated much comment among all inter-
ested in the various phases of building.
Nearly every builder familiar with the
ordinary processes of construction has
felt that he was familiar with the proc-
esses of concrete also, and has under-
taken concrete buildings with seem-
ingly little or no serious thought of
the exigencies of the problem, and not
infrequently difficulties have been en-
countered that require practical exper-
ience to overcome. Many well-inten-
tioned persons, with no knowledge of
building whatever, and apparently ig-
norant of the simplest customs of
concrete, have brought about failures
which have caused not only the loss
of property, but the loss of life also.
These failures on the practical side
have greatly increased the budget of
the theorists, and, consequently, we
learn from time to time what takes
place in the mind of the man who does
his building in his imagination. We
are told that concrete is liable to dis-
integration of various kinds ; that
water will dissolve its substance ; that
it rnav be asphyxiated by escaping gas ;
that it can be weakened by electricity,
and can succumb to an attack of elec-
trolysis ; that its success is entirely de-
pendent on the proper and permanent
setting of the cement, but nobody
knows how long the cement may stay
set. With this last theory in view, it
is as easy as it is alarming to imagine
what might be the result of any re-
laxation of its setting powers. It is no
wonder, then, that the calamities of
the impractical and the vagaries of the
theorists have tended to incline the
prospective user of concrete to the be-

lief that concrete is still in the experi-
mental stage, and that the time is yet
to come when all the excellent quali-
ties recognizable in it shall be made
conformable to the practical uses of
building.

To controvert the idea that concrete
is a new and untried material, and that
it must be left to the future to demon-
strate its powers of endurance, we give
here photographs of some concrete
foundations unearthed in the Roman
Forum and on the Palatine Hill, and
which are reproduced, we believe, for
the first time. All the concrete illus-
trated dates from about the beginning
of the Christian era, and is, therefore,
but little less than two thousand years
old.

That the Romans were very familiar
with concrete, and gave careful con-
sideration to its use, examination of
the concrete work in the Forum clear-
ly shows. Their concrete contained
generally only two kinds of stone —
travertine and selcie — in equal parts.
Selcie is a hard, closely knit rock, very
similar to our bluestone or trap rock
in color as well as quality. Travertine
is a volcanic rock, not so hard as sel-
cie, considerably lighter in color and
was desirable on account of its poros-
ity, which insured a good bond with
the cement. In all the Roman work
the combination of the travertine and
the selcie is clearly distinguishable.
The mortar itself was composed of
two parts of pozzolano, a splendid
natural cement, and one part of lime,
made by the burning of marble. In
some instances the proportion of lime
exceeded this, though this mixture
was usually observed and is in general
use at the present day. Pozzolano
corresponds somewhat to our Rosen-
dale, but is harder, although it has not
the strength or tenacity which is so
striking a quality in all of the good

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

brands of Portland cement now in gen-
eral use.

The Romans mixed their concrete
exactly as we mix ours— in a general
batch, that is, stones, cement and lime
were mixed together and then thrown
into a wooden form, precisely as we
do it to-day. The marks of the wood
forms, are at all times discernible, and
especially is this so in the corridor of
the house of Augustus on the Palatine
(Figs, i and 2) where the grain of

as elsewhere in Rome, thrust their
arches through the air with such poise
and precision that they are to this day
the admiration of every beholder and
gave to the Romans their proud posi-
tion among the master builders of the
world. The structure of brick above
these concrete walls has succumbed to
the ravages of time and to the hand of
the destroyer, but the concrete remains
without a crack or a fracture that could
be discovered by careful and frequent

FIG. 1.— CORRIDOR IN THE HOUSE OF AUGUSTUS ON THE PALATINE HILL.

the wood can be clearly seen. These
walls are some twenty-four feet
above the ground level, and though
the construction of the forms seems
to have been carelessly done, as the
photographs show, yet the result is
none the less interesting. Here is a
splendid opportunity to see concrete
and to leisurely inspect it from every
point of vantage. Above these con-
crete foundations rose the Palace of
Augustus, formed of those stupendous
walls and vaults of brick which here,

examination. Its adhesion is perfect,
and that there has not been the slight-
est disintegration of even the outside
surface is attested by the fact that the
grain of the wood from the old forms
may still be seen on the concrete,
though its imprint was made over two
thousand years ago.

Some recent excavations at the Arch
of Titus (Fig. 3) have disclosed the
fact that this structure rests entirely
upon a monolithic base of concrete,
approximately 45 feet long, 20 feet

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

wide and 12 feet deep. This founda-
tion was poured into wooden frames
exactly as we should do it now, and
when the concrete had set these
wooden formes were removed ; they
were constructed of planks 11 inches in
width, with vertical braces 12 inches
by 6 inches, 3 feet 8 inches on centers ;
these braces were put on the inside of
the forms, and not on the outside face.
The excavations at the Arch of Titus,
while deep, have very little width, so

bination of travertine and selcie in the
concrete is here found. The selcie and
travertine, instead of being mixed to-
gether in the usual way, were laid in
separate layers of all selcie and all
travertine ; these layers vary little from
seven inches in thickness, and may be
easily observed in Fig. 5, where, at
the nearest corner, directly under the
heavy course of travertine rock which
forms the base of the Arch, may be
seen the first layer of selcie; the selcie

FIG. 2— HOUSE OF AUGUSTUS ON THE PALATINE HILL.

Nearer view of the walls showing the impressions of the wood forms as well as the actual

grain of the wood.

that it is impossible to get a good pho-
tograph of them, but Fig. 4 was taken
with the camera pointing directly into
the opening, and while it gives little
idea of the depth, some idea of the sur-
face may be had where the impression
of the wooden forms is seen and the
leakage of the concrete between the
joints in the planking leaves a slight
ridge on the surface and establishes
the exact width of the timber used.
A very interesting example of the com-

is easily distinguished, as it is much
darker in color than the course of tra-
vertine above. Directly under the
first layer of selcie is the first layer of
travertine, which, though made up of
small stones, may readily be seen to
be of the same color as the heavy
course of travertine above. Below this
first layer of travertine may be seen
the second layer of selcie, and below
this, in a spot where the traffic has
worn it bright, appears the second

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

layer of travertine. These alternations
continue with distinctness in the con-
crete, but are not quite so apparent in
the photograph. This clearly shows
how much thought and attention were
given to what we are inclined to call
unimportant details. After so long a
time we can see that the concrete,
composed of alternate layers of selcie
and travertine, has no especial advan-
tage over a general mix, and that this

Fig. 3.— Arch of Titus. The excavations were in
progress on Feb. 12, 1908, the date of this
photograph. The planks which guard it
show the exact location.

variant from usual conditions is princi-
pally valuable as showing that the sub-
ject of concrete excited enough interest,
even in those days, to delevop experi-
ment, and, perhaps, controversy also.

On the east side of the Forum is a
mass of concrete which formed the fill
of the sub-structure of the Temple of
Julius. The general view of this is
shown in Fig. 6. It was on this site
that the body of Caesar was burned,
and the history of the Temple, sup-
ported by this concrete, is so interest-
ing that I quote Ch. Heulsen’s descrip-
tion of it in his “Roman Forum,"
translated by Jesse Benedict Carter:
“When, on March 15th. B. C. 41, the dictator
Caesar was killed in the Curia of Pompey, his

followers carried his body to the Forum, and
there Antony delivered that famous speech by
means of which he excited the populace to a
passionate enthusiasm for him who had hern
slain. From the tribunal of the praetor, which
lay hard by, chairs, tables and boardings were
fetched, and in front of the Regia an extem-
porized funeral pyre was built, upon which the
body was burned. The ashes were placed in the
family burial place of the Julii in the Campus
Martius, and on the spot in the Forum where

Fig. 4. — A nearer view of the foundations. The
marks left by the wood forms are clearly
visible. The vertical groove is that left by
the upright brace placed inside the forms.

the body had been burned a column was erect'd,
bearing the inscription, ‘To the Father of his
Country’ (Parentii patriae), and in front of it a
sacrificial altar was placed. To be sure, this
monument lasted but a short time. The consul
Dolabella, a few weeks later, took away both
the column and the altar, and laid a new pave-
ment. But in B. C. 42 the triumvirs (Octavian,
Antony, Lepidus) decided to build on the same
spot a temple in honor of Caesar, who had been
placed among the gods. . . . But the Civil

Wars, which followed, delayed the actual dedi-
cation, and it was not until August 18th, B. C.
29, that the temple was dedicated by Augustus.

. . . In the reign of Septimius Severus the

temple was injured by fire, possibly at the
same time as the Regia and the Temple of
Vesta., but was restored; it survived the fall of
Paganism, but its ultimate fate is unknown.”

Directly in front of the ruins of the
Temple of Julius is a large concrete
base (Fig. 7), in which also the verti-
cal marks of the wooden forms can

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

Fig. 5. — Showing the layers of selcie and traver-
tine in the concrete. The stratification and
porosity of the travertine rock may be ob-
served in the large course of travertine
which forms the base of the arch.

be clearly seen. The excavations here
do not permit a view of this entire
structure, but enough of it appears to
give a fair idea of its state of preserva-
tion, which is perfect. There is not
a crack or fracture in it, and though
located in a marshy part of the Forum,
it shows no effect from the moisture to
which it has been subject for so many
centuries. Some appreciation of its
size may be had by noticing in the pic-

Fig. G. — Concrete substructure of The Temple
of Julius.

ture the foot-rule which stands in front
of the black box, directly on the cor-
ner of the monolith.

Back of the Temple of Caesar is the
fine Temple of Antoninus and Faus-
tina, which also stands on a foundation
of concrete, which may be observed in
Fig. 8. The hat in the picture shows
directly against a block of travertine;
this block is the lowest course of the
stone structure, and below it may be
seen the long, dark monolithic mass
of concrete projecting in front and to

FIG. 7.— CONCRETE BASE IN FRONT OF THE RUINS OF TEMPLE OF JULIUS.

IOO

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Fig. 8. — Temple of Antoninus and Faustina.

the right. This concrete, like the
others noted, remains unaffected by
every strain that has been put upon it.

Near here the hardest and perhaps
the most convincing example of con-
crete in the Forum is to be seen in the
foundations of the T emple of Romulus
(Fig. 9). On account of further exca-
vations, it was necessary to cut off the
front face of the concrete base, so that
the interior structure has been laid
bare. If anyone could doubt the per-
manency of concrete while looking at
the outer surface, all such doubts must

disappear upon a close scrutiny of this
inner part. The example given in Fig.
10 was taken with the camera as near to
the concrete as it was possible to get
it, and the density and compactness of
the mass can be appreciated by a little
study of the picture. The light color
of the travertine fragments shows in
contrast to the darker tone of the sel-
cie. That this concrete has been im-
pervious to any action of the elements
is proven by the absolute solidity of
the mass. A piece, the size of a pine-

Fig. 10. — Photograph of Concrete, the face of
which has been recently cut down..

apple, was broken off to give to the
author, and an examination of the fresh
fracture shows that the particles of
cement and stone, after having been
encased as concrete for two thousand
years, come out with their color as
clear and bright as if the pozzolano
had just been dug from the Campagna
and the selcie and travertine were fresh
cut from the quarry. In this example
alone we have the most convincing
testimony as to the ability of concrete
to retain its integrity and to withstand
all natural conditions indefinitely.

In an article on “Foundations,” of
recent date, written by an engineer in
one of the weekly engineering jour-
nals, it was stated that the Romans
used concrete only for their cheaper
foundations, and the inference seemed
to be that they must have regarded

Fig. 9. — General View of Temple of Romulus.

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

IOI

concrete as an inferior building ma-
terial, and did not employ it in their
most important work. This statement
may or may not have been a reference
to the careful and well-contrived stone
sub-structure which supported the Tem-
ple of Castor, frequently, but incorrectly,
called Castor and Pollux. These foun-
dations are well known for their size
and the care with which they were
made. Though the article just referred
to was read after my return from the
scene, as an architect who is continu-
ally confronted with conditions of cost,
I took particular interest in the foun-
dations of the Temple of Castor, as
the photographs may show, because of
the perfection of their technique — in the
main— and what must have been the
great expense required to insure the
same. Some idea of their magnitude
is seen in Fig. n, which shows the
foundations as well as the three col-
umns on top — all that is now left of
the Temple itself. This foundation is
some thirty-eight feet in height, com-
posed of huge blocks of tuffa, 2 feet 6

Fig. 11.— Temple of Castor and Pollux.

inches high, and numbering fifteen
courses all told. These blocks of tuffa
were laid together without mortar, and
the joints were so carefully made (Fig.
12) that they must have been rubbed,
as the contact between the stones is
perfect at this day. Each stone was
dovetailed to the next (see Fig. 13J
with painstaking care, and though a
better connection would have been
made by the use of cement mortar, the
architect thought otherwise, and de-
pended on the dovetail to keep his
blocks in position. It can now be
plainly seen that this was an unwise
decision, as nothing can be found of
these dovetails, though they are sup-
posed to have been of wood; at any
rate, they were useless, as the stones
have retained their position on account
of their great size and weight, and not
on account of the connection devised
by the builder.

No one can see the present condition
of the foundations under the Arch of
1 itus (Fig. 4), under the Temple of
Romulus (Fig. 10), or the large con-
crete base shown in Fig. 7 without
realizing how immeasurably superior
they are to the foundations under the
Temple of Castor, just described. It
may be that the Romans, in their day,
did not appreciate the full value of
concrete, notwithstanding its general
and continual use. If they did prefer
other methods, but on account of cost
or expediency used concrete, then they
certainly budded better than they
knew ; and if there was any doubt in
the minds of the Romans as to the
length of life of concrete, the present
condition of the concrete put in by
them can leave no possible doubt in
our minds as to the value of concrete
as an enduring construction. In the
few examples here noted it has been
shown that it can successfully with-
stand the most trying test known to
the builder— the test of time — and this
reaching over no less a span, in human
knowledge and experience, than twenty
centuries.

Any statement leaning to the view
that concrete is a new or an untried
material is about as far from the actual
facts as it is possible to get. If we

102

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

have failures in concrete construction
the blame must be laid directly at the
door of the individual, who by his
failure, has proven only that he is quite
unfamiliar with the material he has es-
sayed to use. The silent and sturdy
witnesses in the Roman Forum and
on the Appian Way give convincing
testimony as to the efficiency and dur-
ability of concrete. Looking back
through the centuries in which this

Fig. 12. — Indicating perfection of joints.

character has been so notably main-
tained, we must see that here is a ma-
terial on whose merits we can form a
definite and certain judgment, and the
judgment thus formed impels us irre-
sistibly to the conclusion that we have
no building construction which, viewed
from any standpoint, measures up to
the incomparable standard established
by concrete.

Alfred Hopkins.

Fig. 13. — Showing dovetails in foundations.

The Draughtsman*

A little group of English men and
women were gathered on the piazza* of
an Italian cathedral town, admiring the
slender, graceful lines of its beautiful Cam-
panile. "How 1 should like to have been
the architect!” remarked one of the
ladies. "I rather envy the draughtsman”
replied a tall, patriarchal man to whom
the rest all deferred. It was John Rus-
kin. Times have changed since then. Our
architecture, its aims and purposes, . its
characteristic forms of expression and
the influences affecting it, have been ex-
haustively discussed while the archi-
tect's training, standing and achieve-
ments at home and abroad, have received
their share of attention. But the poor
draughtsman, “the man behind the gun”
so to speak, to whom is due the evolution
of both, seems to have been utterly ignor-
ed. He is regarded simply as a “neces-
sary evil" without position.

It seems hardly necessary to prove
that he should be given a chance to reap
the reward of his hardly-attained know-
ledge and that this reward should be
proportioned to his ability and exper-
ience. That he does not obtain such
reward is amply proved by the prevail-
ing conditions. In the early days of
building draughtsmen were apprenticed
for a term of four or five years, receiv-
ing no compensation during the first year
and gradually advancing in succeeding
years to an average of ten dollars a week
as they acquired the necessary practice.
In return the architect bound himself to
impart to the apprentice the principles
and some of the routine of the profes-
sion with a steady position at the end of
his apprenticeship. This was almost a
universal rule in our best offices being
borrowed from time-honored custom
abroad where it worked well, as it did in
this country also. Such men as Richard-
son, Upjohn, Eidlitz and Hunt profited
by and sanctioned it by practice but it
survives in but few offices to-day.

*Piazza is here used in its Italian meaning, “a
small square ”

The procedure necessary to become a
draughtsman today differs widely from
the course of study which must be pur-
sued if the seeker desires to become a
full-fledged architect. To attain the lat-
ter noble position, it is essential to take
a course of from four to six years of
study in one of our technical schools and
then by the aid of political or socially in-
fluential friends to secure a place in the
office of some architect of wealth and
high social standing. Should the ex-
perience of being a draughtsman not be
his liking, this college course may be sup-
plemented by attendance at a foreign
school, preferably the Ecole des Beaux-
Arts in Paris. This cachet acts as a
patent of nobility in his case and with
social position or financial influence he
succeeds like magic. But it is to the
average draughtsman that attention is
here directed. Many members of this
large and constantly growing class are
the products of those “hot frames” called
correspondence schools, “hybrids” of the
night classes in our public and semi-pub-
lic and trade schools, graduates from the
classic curriculum of the successful
speculative builder, or “mushroomed”
from the furniture and interior decora-
tor’s shop. The average draughtsman
must begin to earn money too quickly to
afford time for thoroughness upon which
moreover, no great premium is placed.
The emphasis on training abroad is
placed and placed heavily on thorough-
ness. The young man just out of school
with no technical training and no means
to pay for it, may begin as an office boy,
or if somewhat proficient in his school
drawing, may become a tracer at from
five to eight dollars a week. If he shows
marked inclination and develops profici-
ency he is promised advancement. His
training consists largely of office tasks,
blue printing, running errands and trac-
ing. In his spare time he may be en-
couraged to copy Vignola or study from
photographs and some of the older
draughtsmen may help him when not

104

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

busy but he is not encouraged to any ex-
tent. He may achieve ten or twelve dol-
lars a week in time only to be “laid off”
or “fired” in the dull periods now so fre-
quent. With a queer hodge-podge of
ideas, some idea of drawing and tracing
and little knowledge of any practical
value, he is thrust out into the building
world ,a draughtsman — forsooth ! The
army of young men turned out by the
night schools and correspondence classes
cannot aspire to positions in the best
offices and as “scrubs” or “hacks” to use
office slang, they are at the mercy of the
speculative and frequently unscrupulous
branch of the profession. They are the
menace of the capable draughtsman of
to-day, and they cannot hope to rise
higher.

An occasional but rare opportunity is
offered by competitions to the excep-
tional young man of natural ability.
These opportunities are sometimes in-
stituted by wealthy individuals but in the
public competitions have degenerated
into political tugs-of-war when con-
trolled by municipal, State or Federal
officials. For the average draughtsman
success is attained, if at all, at the ex-
pense of health and eyesight. Conditions
producing such results cannot be called
ideal nor beneficial, nor do they make
for good architecture and safe build-
ing.

Without going into the merits or de-
merits of the system and courses taught
at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts — the so
called Beaux-Arts methods — it seems
proper to consider the effect of imparting
these methods upon the large number of
draughtsmen who have never been
abroad and who consequently graft the
superficial manifestations of some of its
teachings upon their meagre store. A
small but rapidly growing number of our
practising architects have studied at the
Ecole and returning, have here and there
instituted an atelier in imitation of their
Parisian confreres. Some of them have
taught employed draughtsmen in the
evening, giving personal criticism and
instruction, with occasional prizes and
diplomas for good work in competition.
But few draughtsmen can afford this in-
struction long enough to really acquire

thoroughness and expertness in design
and as a result acquire but few of its
virtues and all of its defects ; these latter
are chiefly a certain “sloppiness” of line
termed “sketchey,” facility with a soft
pencil upon paper, termed “artistic” and
great freedom with color in adding un-
important details and backgrounds. The
result is unsatisfactory and not to be
commended.

Some instances coming under the per-
sonal observation of the writer, who had
the benefit of such instruction to an ex-
tended degree, may not be amiss in show-
ing the results of this strange admixture.
In the office of an architect trained under
the American atelier system a draughts-
man was recently discharged for “in-
artistic” line work in drawing a trans-
verse sectional working drawing al-
though the drawing and the scaling were
admittedly correct and good. Another
man was condemned for the way his
shadows were rendered upon a set of
working elevations of a hurried job.

That clients do not always agree
with the architect’s demands was well
illustrated to the writer’s knowledge,
when the wife of a wealthy New Yorker
demanded that only plans and elevations
of the walls of her rooms, be prepared to
show the scheme of decoration. She re-
jected the usual highly colored perspec-
tives “which” she said, “serve only to de-
ceive.” With the plans and elevations I
can really judge how my rooms are
going to look.” Few clients are so in-
telligently posted however and most are
talked into easy compliance with the
habitual methods.

Draughtsmen with the large furniture
and decorating firms are usually better
paid considering their experience and
knowledge than the • architectural
draughtmen but their hours are those of
the factory and they usually lose all
holidays and vacations. They must be
specialists, that is sketchers, Tenderers, or
detailers to surpass the ordinary wage;
for no smattering of classical or periodic
ornament will suffice. Foreign influence
in this line is widespread, nay supreme
and the only chance for future draughts-
men here lies in the increasing vogue of
the “Modernists,” for example, Sullivan

THE DRAUGHTSMAN.

among the architects, and Gustave Stick-
ley among the decorators.

The Germans were the pioneers in
our cabinet and interior woodwork and
together with the Swiss and Italian car-
vers, have first choice of positions to-day
in the large factories and decorating
shops of America. The head men and
managers are nearly all Germans, have a
manner of detailing peculiarly their own
and secure results to the exclusion of all
but the German-taught workmen. They
employ fine detail complex jointing and
intricate fitting and setting-up which re-
quires the thorough German training of
the draughtsman and expertness on the
part of the ordinary workmen. The
English method and the French (from
which the English was largely copied)
seems equally beautiful and strong to the
writer are simpler and less ‘‘finicky” and
do not require such expert workmen
nor such costly detailing.

It seems to the writer very important
that some system should be established
of equitably adjusting the salaries of
draughtsmen according to their real
ability and experience. Our architectu-
ral development should be as carefully
looked to and assisted in this important
factor as in others less vital but perhaps
more obvious. From a legal standpoint
the architect’s fee is always assured ; not
so, his draughtsmen’s salaries and cases
of large arrears in return for weeks and
months of hard work, with no legal re-

105

dress are all too frequent. The building
public share with the architect the blame
for this state of affairs. The draughts-
man’s position, from every standpoint
anomalous, seems to be that of unneces-
sary evil.”

A remedy for evils of long and steady
growth does not seem easily nor quickly
found. Every draughtsman should be
afforded the opportunity to become an
architect but no architect should be al-
lowed to practise without a certificate
attained by passing a series of graded
examinations conducted by a Council 01-
Institute of men, high in the profession.
The grade of examination successfully
passed by the draughtsman should deter-
mine his salary within a reasonable time-
limit not too short for thoroughness.
These suggestions are not offered as a
complete solution, but they would be steps
in the right direction and might result in
securing for competent men salaries more
nearly equal to those received by compe-
tent men in other professions — in one
word — justice. The good draughts-

men are doing heroic, pioneer work to
the best of their ability and they
keep on more from a deep abiding love
for their profession than for the inade-
quate wage they commonly receive. The
writer is most thoroughly and heartily
at one with them in their efforts and
trusts to share with them better days in
the future.

F. IV. Moore.

Truth and Tradition

It is not given to everyone to be a
genius. Hindered as he was by the
perversity of clients whose tastes usu-
ally differed from his own, by the
meagre funds placed at his disposal, by
unfavorable sites, and, above all, by his
own imperfect talent (whose limitations
he was the first to recognize), J. W.
Brownie had been accustomed to design
churches, residences, bank buildings
and what not, to the fullest exercise of
his limited powers and with all the ardor
of a tyro. Yet for these, and other rea-
sons, his work was not always of the
highest originality. He consoled him-
self, however, with the thought that the
Parthenon itself was only the copy of
an earlier temple — a fact which did not,
after all, prevent that building from ac-
quiring a certain vogue among lovers of
art. But since reading a recent maga-
zine article, urging him in the most per-
suasive terms to believe that this way of
designing was hopelessly bad, his peace
of mind was at an end. For it is too
true that ignorance is bliss.

The reading of this article was the
beginning of a long period of uncer-
tainty, and this began with the article
itself, in spite of its promising title. As
anxious as anybody to establish a na-
tional style of architecture, he found
embodied in the article the following il-
luminating arguments

1. An Indian zvar dance on the tomb
of that unfortunate Colonial Architec-
ture which he had so far used without
remorse and to the great delight of his
lady clients.

2. The sad story of an unfortunate
houseowner , deprived of a free circula-
tion of air by the machinations of a
Wicked Beaux Arts architect; a melo-
drama worthy of being published in the
same collection zvliich includes “Dolor-

*This article is written in answer, or as a
continuation to, as the reader may choose, of
the article in November issue by Mr. J. Stewart
Barney — “Our National Style of Architecture
will be Established on Truth, Not Tradition.”

ous Dick'' and “ Thirty-five Years in
Captivity .”

3. A strong arraignment of the prac-
tice of casting shadozvs at 43 0 on the
elevation, with reflections on the malice
involved in putting statues in the plan
which you do not afterwards shozv on
your elevation. Also the fiendish ma-
lignity of shozving zvater in perspective.
And that was about all. Nothing was
said as to what the author might really
mean by “truth,” and he found especially
no rule for determining when a thing
becomes, or ceases to be, truthful. But
this was not enough ; for however well
“truth” may sound, it is not on fine
words that one builds the smallest work
of art. Therefore, Brownie had to go
elsewhere to find out about truth and
directions for using it.

First of all, he went to an eminent
archaeologist, an undisputed authority
in everything which pertains to antiqu-
ity. Full of the majesty of the centuries
gone by, this great man regarded
Brownie with disdain for his implied
suspicion that truth should be sought
for elsewhere than in Greek art. “The
last word in art was said,” he remarked,
“when, in the fifth century, before our
era, the Parthenon sprang from the rock
of the Acropolis like Athens in full pan-
oply from the brain of Zeus. Those
ignoramuses of the fifteenth century,
who imagined they were continuing an-
tiquity, have, in reality, created forms
that no man of taste would care to dis-
cuss.”

‘‘I believe, myself,” continued Brow-
nie, “after my careful study of the
papers of Mr. Barney, that the archi-
tects of Florence and Touraine were
mere bad boys, who ‘tortured and
twisted’ classic forms until their true
functions had been entirely lost sight of.
And yet, if architectural truth consists
only in using forms in accord with their
functions, why did the Greeks put in
their friezes triglyphs, which are the

io8

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ends of non-existent beams ; or why did
they put in marble the ends of the raft-
ers of their roof ; or why, again, did
they copy carefully the wooden pins
which had been used to fasten the fur-
ring of the boards in the old temples
built centuries before the Parthenon?”

Brownie would have continued his
questioning longer, but the eminent
archaeologist, whose face had shown an
increasing disdain, remembered that he
had an urgent engagement. Our des-
pondent architect began to believe the
Greeks were perhaps not more truthful
than the architects brought up in the
Ecole Des Beaux Arts, so he went right
away to a famous architect who makes
his reputation by repudiating all the
classic past. “I have,” said Brownie,
“abjured my past errors, and I will,
from now on, design all my buildings in
the national style of architecture; that
is to say, the architecture based on
Truth. But where shall I find the
Truth?”

“My young friend,” answered the fa-
mous architect, “have you not happened
to come across any of my writings, or
have you never seen any of my work
reproduced in the architectural papers ?
I think I have demonstrated to every-
one’s satisfaction that Truth dawned for
architects from 1327 to 1469 inclusively.
Before that, all is barbarism ; after that,
untruthfulness. Of course, you must
understand that it is only within the lim-
its that I surrounded with a red line on
this map that Truth appears. Don’t
look for it elsewhere. After that period
the human mind went to sleep up to the
time I began to build myself. Study
Gothic art ; there only will you find
logic and Truth.”

“I am sure of it,” said Brownie.
“However, some points still seem ob-
scure. Why, for instance, considering
the logic of the architects of that period,
did they find it necessary, when they
needed a tower into which to put the
bells, to build another, or several others,
at great expense, only to leave them
empty, open to every wind and haunted
by birds and spiders? Why did they
sometimes roof those towers with acute
pyramids of stone, open, like lacework,

to every rain? Why did they use, at
the same time, and sometimes in the
same building, steeply pitched roofs and
flat terraces? If one of these processes
of roofing be logical, the other is hardly
defensible. Why do the fronts of the
cathedrals hide so carefully the real
shape of the building behind a screen
of meaningless horizontal lines? Why
do we find the gable, if it is, as Mr.
Barney says, ‘the truthful expression of
the end of a hipped roof,’ used as a wall
decoration? Why make in churches tri-
foriums, where nobody ever went since
the gallery of the Roman Basilica was
contracted to the dimensions of a two-
foot passage? 2 Or, if we consider mod-
ern adaptations of this traditional archi-
tecture, why do Gothic architects now
use piers which seem to be built of stone
and which, like new Trojan horses, hide
their real strength in the steel columns
which support their vaults and roofs?”

“One moment,” said the celebrated
architect. “You do not seem to under-
stand the basic principles of architec-
ture. There are truths to be obeyed,
it is true, but there are other considera-
tions to be accorded a higher place, such
as symbolism.”

“Where shall I then draw the line?”
asked Brownie. “Will not one of those
wicked Beaux Arts architects tell me
that his balustrade, ‘up in the air, on a
solid base, three times its own height,
while the directors’ room is ten feet
below,’ symbolizes the efficacious plac-
ing of the funds on deposit in the bank
out of reach of some too enterprising
director * * *?”

But the famous architect was already
far away, and Brownie began to think
that our predecessors seemed to have
really cared for Truth about as much as
does a sheep for a pair of cuffs. “I be-
gin to fear,” reflected Brownie, “a na-

2 The author of the November article will not
be offended if I correct one of his statements
pertaining to architectural history. As he
makes a profession of despising tradition, he
is, of course, more excusable than anyone else
for ignoring it. The balustrade used on the
roof during the Renaissance period and after
has no Roman prototype. It is a Gothic in-
vention. and. what is worse, it is Gothic archi-
tects who first give us bad balustrades, useless
on account of their location, or used simply
as a wall decoration.

TRUTH AND TRADITION.

109

tional architecture not established on
tradition and not embarrassed with pre-
cedents has little chance of development
so long as men remain what they are;
that is to say, very much like their fore-
fathers. For, if in the course of the
thirty centuries that we know, they have
obeyed laws which do not seem to have
always been dictated by a love of truth,
it seems that it is not to deal in ‘theory’
like a university professor, if one be-
lieves that they will continue to do the
same in the future. It is men, then, who
must be changed, as Mr. Bernard Shaw
declares.”

Brownie then began to study the
works of that well-known dramatist in
order to discover some way of improv-
ing imperfect human nature. He found
first something which shook slightly the
faith put into his soul. “Here, then, as
it seems to them, is an enormous field
for the energy of the reformer. Here
are many noble goals attainable by many
of those paths up the hill difficulty along
which great spirits love to aspire. Un-
happily, the hill will never be climbed
by man as we know him. It need not
be denied that if we all struggled brave-
ly to the end of the reformer’s path we
should improve the world prodigiously.
But there is no more hope in that if
than in the equally plausible assurance
that if the sky falls we shall all catch

larks.” “Men like Ruskin and Carlyle
will preach to Smith and Brown for the
sake of preaching, just as St. Francis
preached to the birds and St. Anthony
to the fishes. But Smith and Brown,
like the birds and fishes, remain as they
are.” And further on: “Our only hope,
then, is in evolution. We must replace
the Man by the Superman .” 3

Brownie was dumbfounded. “Our
only hope, then, is in evolution !” Evo-
lution is a slow process, and the pros-
pect of knowing that superman, forty
thousand years from now, will perhaps
build truthful architecture, is a rather
comfortless contingency.

Meanwhile, as he had to build, being
an architect, he set himself again to the
task of designing churches, residences,
bank buildings and the rest as well as
he could, though still hindered by the
tastes of the clients which were not al-
ways the same as his own, by the meagre
funds put at his disposal, by unfavorable
sites, and, above all, by his own talent,
of which he was the first to recognize
the limitations. . Everybody cannot be a
genius.

Paul P. Cret.

a The November article, which advocates war
to everything which savors of classicism, is
placed under a quotation from an author of the
eighteenth century. We will then be excused
for defending tradition with quotations from
an ultra-modern writer.

A fountain in Taormina.

The Superiority of the French-Trained

Architect*

It is to be regretted that in this twen-
tieth century opinions relative to the
teachings of the Ecole des Beaux Arts
do still appear from time to time in
print, voicing the sentiments of a small
clique of malcontents of some fifty years
ago. The patient and probably irrespon-
sive public are again inflicted with a
rehash ad nauseam of the time-honored
Violet-le-Duc pet theories. That most
militant apostle of the anti-Ecole prop-
aganda exposed his views on architec-
ture, it must be admitted, with a vigor
of style, a precision and clearness of
expression, so eminently French, that
his words were well worth reading, both
for literary merit and novelty of idea.
Why, however, should his theories in
insipid counterfeit, shorn of their nov-
elty and the magnetism of the master’s
mind, be again thrust upon the reading
public ?

To Violet-le-Duc, the able champion
of a period of great architectural
achievement, we owe much. His pas-
sionate appeal for the preservation of
the great monuments of the Middle
Ages, was a factor of the first import-
ance in widening the architectural hori-
zon of his time. Imbued with a sort of
architectural national fanaticism, he re-
garded only that French art national
which preceded the sixteenth century.
In this idea we concur so little as to be
of the opinion that American citizenship
cannot be applied properly but to a full-
blooded Sioux or Pawnee, or, that
American architecture can be called such
only if developed from the tepee or wig-
wam. The ancient Gauls were ardent
patriots and defenders of the soil, and
from Caesar’s commentaries we infer,

*A proposition to be qualified of course. The
data in the shape of mental and physical apti-
tudes must be equal to demonstrate the excel-
lence of one method of training as compared
-with another. In other words, that there be no
misunderstanding, let the premises read “The
Superiority of the French-Trained Architect,
everything being equal.”

closely resembling in racial traits their
modern French cousins. To be truly
national, then Violet-le-Duc should have
stepped still another few centuries back
into the past and counseled the rehabili-
tation and perpetuation of the Celtic
Dolmans.

In point of fact change, evolution,
metamorphosis are universal conditions
and apply to man and his manner of
thinking, his body and the products of his
genius as to every insect of the earth
and to the earth itself. Architecture is
the great national manifestation of a
nation’s manner of thinking or in other
words of a nation’s civilization. There
is no reason why the American people
should have one architectural form or
idea of composition thrust upon them
more than another. We are said to be
a free and self-reliant nation, a race
blended of many. In that blend certain
bloods prevail. The percentage of Eng-
lish, Irish, German, Scotch, Scandana-
vian and also Italian stock is found to a
large degree in our makeup. It cannot
be said that Americans of French ex-
traction or descent preponderate in num-
bers. In point of fact the amount of
French blood in the American nation
exists in a relatively insignificant quan-
tity. Any influence that would come na-
turally through blood ties therefore
would be rather prejudicial to France
than otherwise, in so much, at all events,
that England and Germany have always
combated French influence, and have
been antagonistic in race feeling for cen-
turies. Let us say however, in behalf
of England that recent years have wit-
nessed a “rapprochement” betweei her
and France, which if persisted ir, can
act only for the betterment of the ttwo
countries. Nor can it be said thit we
Americans, as a people, have a feeling' of
gratitude towards France, for the part
she played in our war of Independence
to a degree, that would incline us t<o a

SUPERIORITY OF THE FRENCH-TRAINED ARCHITECT.

Ill

preference for all things French to the
detriment of our own interests. Then,
neither from race affiliations nor from
national traditions are we susceptible to
French tendencies. There must be some-
thing therefore in French thought and
accomplishments that appeals to us pure-
ly on its merits. This thought and these
accomplishments must then either be
worth while or we must admit that the
level, shrewd, discriminating American
head is a vain boast. For the sake of our
amour propre , let us suppose if for no
other reason that they are worth while.

We see the American borrow rapidly
from his neighbors, appropriating what
best meets his requirements. With his
genius for organization, as applied to
production and business methods, he ex-
cells the European in many ways. He is
absolutely unbiased in his selection as
a buyer. English, French and German
goods receive his patronage along the
lines that appeal to his wants and to his
likes. Now as it happens the goods that
the French people are blessed with and
in many instances to a greater extent
than other nations, are things immate-
rial. We mean to say ideas.

The French are preeminently a race
wedded to ideas and to ideals. For centu-
ries one of the chief manifestations of
their aspiration has been in the domain
of art where they have excelled and con-
tinue to do so. The French are mas-
ters in expression, and art is but the dra-
matic setting of a need, an idea, a desire.
The influence of France is felt in allparts
of the world, not through the relative
small number of French emigrants or
their descendents scattered over different
countries, or through the extent of her
commerce, which, in the immense vol-
ume of the world’s goods, is insignifi-
cant, but through the pre-eminence of
French thought. That influence con-
cerns us in this paper solely as applied
to the arts. Architecture is certainly an
art peculiarly sympathetic to the con-
structive tendency of the French mind
and has always been treated by them in
an essentially constructive way. Logic,
clearness and truth are as indissolubly
welded to French architecture as to
French literature or to any other mani-

festation of popular French thought.
Voltaire aptly expressed French thought
by his saying, “if it is not clear it is not
French.” Similarly, French architecture
seems to say, if it is not constructive it
is not French architecture, and by con-
structive architecture we mean simply an
architecture exquisitely proportioned, of
course, thoroughly grammatical and in
accordance with the laws of statics, but
supremely expressive of the sentiment it
would embody. Just so much it means
and no more. Whether we examine
those delicious cloisters in the Proven-
gale Romanesque, the mighty cathedrals
of the middle ages, those luxurious shoot-
ing lodges of the house of Valois, the
humble cabin of the Breton peasant or
the stately palace of a Louis it is invar-
iably that dominant constructive sense
peculiarly French which prevails. La
raison d’ etre is the pass-word in any
composition. A building that cannot an-
swer with a “parceque” in every part of
its composition and detail to the “pour-
quoi” of the critic is a building at fault.
It is note-worthy that French thought is
eminently critical and analytical. No
public building is erected without run-
ning the gauntlet of the competitive tal-
ent of b ranee. The results have been
and are such as to appeal to the Ameri-
can mind. We like French thought, its
lucidity, its vigor, its charm of expression
and we do well to suffer its influence.
We should however, as the French most
emphatically advise, seek for ourselves an
expression in our architecture compa-
tible with our climate and our mode of
living. An expression in our architec-
ture which will unmistakably stamp a
work as American will undoubtedly
come in time. No one man makes a na-
tion’s architecture, and an infant must
creep before it can walk. Still in the
matter of interpretation the nations do
grow to resemble one another. The cli-
matic conditions of France are not so
very unlike our own. There are some
points of difference in the modes of liv-
ing but these are not fundamental. Why
then is there such a protest against the
design which for the same purpose could
with equal propriety have been erected in
New York or Paris?

1 12

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The architectural expression as found
in different countries is determined
by three conditions ; climate, ma-
terials, and traditions. The climate
naturally controls the sort of build-
ing and the tropics and arctics give
different solutions to the same problem.
The materials add to the local character
of the building, for even to-day with our
great facilities of transportation the local
materials prevail. Tradition is inherent
in the habits of man and cannot be eradi-
cated. Our materials and climate im-
pose certain conditions upon us as do our
traditions, for we are but emigrants
from other lands, which also had tra-
ditions. Our architecture, therefore,
is no more individual than our literature,
our painting, our sculpture, our music,
or any other of our arts. It has some
nationally personal qualifications that dis-
tinguish it but it has no nationally orig-
inal ones. The teachings of the Ecole
des Beaux-Arts are, as indeed are all
teachings, purely scientific. Teaching
does not create an imagination where
there is none although it should and does
foster one when there. The teachings of
the Ecole as applied to architecture are
along the lines of composition. The pro-
gram which the student must solve in the
atelier will in later years become the
program submitted by the client. How
to solve an architectural equation in the
most architectural way, that is the prob-
lem. And that means in the most ex-
pressive, intense, virile, dramatic way.
Sta. Sophia at Constantinople and Notre
Dame at Paris are vastly different in
their architectural expression or en-
velope, yet the programs for both are
admirably met, and the religious rites
inherit in the homes of these great faiths
splendid accommodations. The charac-
ter of the envelope will be determined
as we have said by climate, materials
and traditions, but the scheme, the
'‘parti” will be in the hands of the archi-
tect. It is for him to establish those ra-
tios of proportion that will make the
building supremely “It.” The clothing
of the ideas then, in functional and
decorative parts, will further contribute
to the effect of the complete work.

It is a composition therefore, that is

the key stone of the Eco/c-Teaching. It
is epitomised in Guadet’s '‘Elements et
Theories de l’ Architecture.” The at-

leiers of the school reflect these teachings
and add that personality of touch and ex-
pression, which is inherent in their tra-
ditions. The students are proud of the
traditions of the atelier. They realize
that all human knowledge is built from
the ground up. That perhaps Adam
was not aware of the spherical form of
Old Mother Earth, nor of the construc-
turai features of the Wright aeroplane,
that all knowledge is based on tradition,
that man is a tradition himself in a link
of tradition, that truth is based on tradi-
tion and without tradition there could
be no truth. The very fact that we are
on the earth today is by an act of tradi-
tion. The splendid architecture of an-
cient Greece was supremely an architec-
ture of tradition and very substantially
founded on that of the Egyptians. To
proceed to do anything without tradi-
tion is an impossibility. The materials
which we are using have been manufac-
tured and used before. We study them,
that is we study what has gone before,
(tradition) and we seek to improve.
Tradition must be the foundation, the
“point de depart.” To build without
tradition is to be built without the use
of any of the present materials in use, it
is to build houses without roofs, walls,
cellars, or foundations it is to build with-
out the use of our hands, our eyes and
our feet, and supposing such houses
miraculously erected, they are not for
us, for living- in houses is tradition. It
is unnecessary to go into a reply in de-
tail to show the absurdity of the state-
ments made in The Architectural Re-
cord in the article entitled “Our National
Style of Architecture will be established
on truth, not tradition.”* There seems to
be such a want of sincerity and good
faith on the part of the author of this
article, that it hardly deserves comment.
Something should, however, be said for
the reading public in reply to certain
specific criticisms, perfectly itnderstood
by the profession but on which the un-
initiated might look with semblance of
credulity.

♦November, 1908.

SUPERIORITY OF THE FRENCH-TRAINED ARCHITECT.

On pages 384 and 385 of that article,
mention is made of presentation and of
perspective effects. The presentation of
architectural drawing is purely conven-
tional and is bound to remain so, even as
architectural drawings themselves must
remain conventional. Designs from time
immemorial have been projected on three
planes of projection. The horizontal,
vertical and profile planes according to
the laws of descriptive geometry. For
the sake of making the drawings easier
to understand, shadows are cast on the
elevational and sectional views. The rays
of light are assumed of the same angle
as that of the diagonal of a cube which
has its sides parallel with the horizontal
and vertical planes of projection. The
horizontal and vertical projection of this
diagonal is therefore seen at 45 degrees
in plan and in elevation. Any other
angle of projection would do, provided
the angle was adhered to for all parts of
the same drawing. The relative effect
would be the same. The angle of 45
degrees however, is the most practical, as
it is by far the easiest to construct in pro-
jection. There is also another advantage,
namely, in using this method objects
are given their real relief and when
one has grown familiar with this con-
ventional representation it is very easy to
read the relative value of the component
parts of a design. Architectural draw-
ings are not made as pictures for the
public. To the uninitiated they are false
and misleading. An architect must see
his building through drawings in some
such way as the musician perceives the
symphony through the score. An archi-
tectural drawing may itself, of course, be
a remarkable piece of draughtsmanship
and in-so-far, simply from the point of
view of a decorative bit of ink and water-
color, a sort of work of art.
But it would have an insignificant
value as such if it did not combine as
well in the design the elements that
would make it worth while if executed.
The drawing is only a means to an end.
It is not for the uninitiated. No amount
of water color effects or ingenious indi-
cation, while they may illicit favorable
comment and excite the interest of those
good humoredly indulgent, can swing an

1 13

able jury of architects “into line.” The
plans, sections and elevations tell the
story, the rendering if conscientiously
done makes it easier reading, but only
that. It is through the drawing that
the experienced eye of the master-
judge will see the building erected
and pass on what he reads will be its
appearance from all sides and at cer-
tain points of vantage due to its lo-
cation. And at this point it is proper
to speak of the value and assistance
that perspective can render the de-
signer and of the error he is subject to
if he confides too implicitly in this means
of architectural representation.

As has been stated architectural draw-
ings are represented by means of orthog-
onal projection on the different planes of
projection. By perspective is meant a
conical projection of a design, or we
might say of a model of the design upon
a plane of projection. In perspective the
apex of a cone of light or projecting rays
is the eye of the observer who is at a
fixed distance from the building and in
the position he desires to occupy in ref-
erence to the building. He, may, and of
course would, were he a competing archi-
tect in a competition, select this station
point in such a way as to show the build-
ing to the best advantage. From some
other point of view the perspective of this
same building might show up very poor-
ly. It is therefore apparent that the per-
spective of the building is necessarily
taken at a definite distance from the
building and at an elevation and angle
that are also definitely fixed. In any
other position the building would not
appear the same. If the architect were
dependent on perspective alone to form
his judgment as to a design his duties
would, of necessity, be extremely oner-
ous before coming to a decision as to its
merits, for a great number of perspec-
tives would be recpiired, and they would
give only certain views of the building
which would be of infinite variety of ap-
pearance with the changing position of
the spectator. The great value of per-
spective, which as has been stated, is only
a branch of descriptive geometry, using
conical projection, is to facilitate the fac-
ulty of the student to see in space. No

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

1 14

building is or can be composed in per-
spective. But in the architect’s mind as
he studies in plan, section and elevation,
a great series of perspectives are con-
stantly before him and he grows more
familiar with the real building through
these air-castles, than would the layman
before the plaster model.

Charles Gamier, the architect of the
great Paris Opera, had full knowledge of
what he was doing when he composed
that admirable edifice. He foresaw and
discounted the perspective effects. He
realized the magnificent possibilities,
born of his imagination, fixed on paper
and executed on the job, before ground
was broken, and that no end of perspec-
tive studies could do for him. A building
like any object has certain points of vant-
age. It is unquestionably true that from
certain positions a building has a pecul-
iarly bold and imposing character. The
profiles stand out to full advantage, the
silhouette outlines in splendid move-
ment against the sky. With conventional
architectural drawing the public has no
wish to concern itself, but the public
should and does ask results in the erected
building. The architects, (I am speak-
ing of course of those who are qualified
to use that title) do ask, when submitting
drawings in competition, for jurys so
constituted that the architectural pro-
fession is responsibly represented and
therefore offered a guarantee for the im-
partiality and competency of the judg-
ment.

America has nothing to be ashamed of
in the past few years concerning her pro-
gress in architecture. Nor has she to
apologize for her architects of French

training beginning with Hunt and
Richardson, to speak only of those who
have gone before. In spite of scattered
and superficial criticisms, generally un-
warranted and of a trivial nature, young
men will continue to pursue their studies
in our many splendid schools, which have
found pattern in the Ecole des Beaux-
Arts and are its proselytes. Tradition
has, does, and always will form the es-
sential part of that training, and the
architecture of the future will continue
always as that of to-day and of the past
the missing link between the old and the
new, as the greatest “precurseurs” of
any time stand with their feet on the
rocks of tradition while seeking the in-
effable ideal perhaps within the clouds.
Tradition is only the crystalliza-
tion of the habits, manner of thought,
and experience of a nation. Every-
thing is subject to the laws of evo-
lution, even tradition. But tradition
is not incompatible with truth. It is a
truth voiced by a great agglomeration.
The laments and accrimination of in-
dividuals against following its lessons
are hopeless.

The American people are primarily
practical and I believe its architects are
not an exception to the rule. Show then
these architects something that will re-
place to advantage the present methods
of indication and representation in con-
ventional architectural drawing, and I
am not sure they will not readily accept
the suggestion. What is wanted is criti-
cism of a constructive nature, fertile in
results, not destructive and pitifully fu-
tile.

Theodore Wells Pietsch.

The Chateau of Montresor

An irregular line of white houses,
surrounded by gardens and orchards,
lies on the side of a sunlit hill; a grace-
ful chateau stands on the summit, pro-
tected by the ivy-covered walls and
towers of a castle of feudal times ; and
an irreproachably limpid little river,
gemmed with white and yellow water-
lilies, slowly meanders through a vine-
clad valley. Such are the essential fea-
tures of Montresor, which is on the
right bank of the Indrois, a tributary
of the Indre, some fourteen miles to the
west of Loches ; and on a sunny summer
morning, especially when the orchards
are white with blossom, or when the
fruit is reddening on the tree, they form
an unforgettable landscape.

Montresor ! Did village ever receive
a prettier name? How it awakens your
expectation on hearing it for the first
time, and how delightful a picture it
calls up in the minds of those who have
been there, whenever it is repeated in
after years ! Place names are not, as a
rule, the safest of guides to the natural
characteristics of localities, but in the
case of Montresor the appellation is
singularly appropriate. Philologically,
it has, of course, nothing to do with
either natural beauties or a buried treas-
ure, though legend, which tells a pretty
tale about King Gontran falling asleep
on the banks of a stream, with his head
on the knees of his shield-bearer, and
dreaming of a grotto containing untold
wealth, which he secured through the
assistance of a miraculous lizard, puts in
a claim for the latter derivation. It is
derived, say some philologists, from the
words Mons Thesauri, its name from
the ninth to the eleventh centuries, and
it was so called because it was then the
property of the Treasury of the Cathe-
dral of Tours. “Unless,” say others,
“it comes from Mont trehort, tressort,
or tresort — that is to say, the hill with
three cort or hort, which means ‘en-
ceinte/ ” In our opinion, the reference
to the triple fortifications which crown

the hill is palpable. The former ex-
planation is most probably the correct
one, but, since it is always possible to
point triumphantly to the fortified hill,
I suppose there will never be wanting
someone to take the opposite view. The
fortifications of the Chateau of Mon-
tresor are a very substantial reality, and
form an excellent basis for a weak ar-
gument. You see the first of them on
following the winding village street,
and on coming face to face with the
stout outer wall of the old castle. The
second is not apparent until you have
passed through the entrance and are
within the ground. The third is the
later chateau, which, however, in spite
of its machicolated towers and its thick
walls, was built more with the idea of
serving as a residence than as a place to
resist an enemy’s attacks.

It is difficult to say who laid the foun-
dations of the older castle. There was
a Lord of Montresor as early as 887,
and he had a stronghold somewhere on
the hill above the valley of the Indrois,
but whether it had any connection with
that which is still partly standing is not
made clear by history. Even his name
has not been handed down. Perhaps
Roger, surnamed the Petit Diable, who
was a strong supporter of Fulk the
Black, had a hand in its construction.
At any rate, he was one of its early
owners. After his day and that of his
sons it was owned by Henry II. of
England, from whom it was taken, how-
ever, in 1188 by Philip Augustus. It
next passed to members of the Chau-
vigny and Palluau families. In 1190 a
Chauvigny, Andre by name, accompan-
ied Richard the Lion Hearted, to the
Holy Land and fought there with great
bravery. At the end of the fourteenth
century the castle belonged to the Beuil
family, and one of the members, Jean
IV. de Beuil, made considerable im-
provements to the outer wall, the way
of the rounds and the towers. To make
the place impregnable rather than agree-

VIEW OF THE CHATEAU OF MONTRE'SOR, ACROSS THE INDROIS.

THE CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR.

117

able as a residence was the ideal of the
men of those days.

But the time was drawing near, after
the ownership of Andre de Villequier
and his sons, the Lords of La Guerche,
and others, when a change was to take
place. Towards the end of the fifteenth
century Imbert de Batarnay, the noble-
man who then owned it, became dissat-
isfied with his prison-like castle, and,
having had many opportunities, whilst

and its double enceinte, the only en-
trance to the chateau was on its western
side, where a drawbridge led into a
courtyard. The ruined walls of this
entrance and the two towers which de-
fended it still stand and form one of the
most picturesque features of Montresor.
On passing through the gates you find
on the right the stables and outhouses,
formerly in the same style of architec-
ture but now, with the exception of a

CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR.

Facade facing the garden with its row of orange and lemon trees.

sharing with Jean Bourre and Philippe
de Commynes the lifelong confidence of
Louis XI., of educating his taste for
such things as fine houses, decided to
build a new one. The work extended
over a period of thirty years, the cha-
teau, when completed, consisting of a
large building, occupying the entire
length of the plateau. Of this fifteenth-
century residence only a portion remains
— but a very interesting portion, with its
mullioned windows, its ornamented
dormer windows, and its spiral stair-
case. Defended by deep entrenchments

pretty openwork handrail to a flight of
steps, considerably modified.

The mutilations which the Chateau of
Montresor has undergone were not
wholly the work of men of turbulent
ages. After passing through the hands
of various members of the Batarnay,
Bourdeilles and Beauvillier families, the
chateau was sold, in 1831, to Count
Joufifroy-Gonssans, who was responsible
for the destruction not only of one of
the wings, but of a chapel which faced
the courtyard to the west of the existing
building. That they were in a ruined

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

state is possible, but it is a pity they
were not left standing for a few years
longer, for they might have been partly,
if not wholly, restored at the time that
Count Xavier Branicki, who became the
owner in 1849, undertook the general
restoration of the chateau. To this
wealthy Polish gentleman and to his
nephew, the present owner of Mon-
tresor, is due the credit of having put
this historic house into the fine condition
in which we find it to-day.

Count Xavier Branicki, aided by the
judgment of his wife, did more, how-
ever, than repair the chateau’s crum-
bling architecture. He turned it into a
veritable treasure-house of art, and,
what is unique among the chateau of
France, French and Italian art devoted
to Polish subjects. It was a strange
experience, after steeping ourselves in
the atmosphere of the Middle Ages and
the Renaissance whilst viewing the cha-
teau from various parts of the grounds,
to step into that of the tragic and glori-
ous history of Poland. Nowhere, when
once you have crossed the threshold,
can you direct your eyes without en-
countering some object which recalls
either the sad or heroic days of that
down-trodden country. Side by side with
Paul Veronese’s “Adulterous Wife” is
Tony Robert Fleury’s “Massacre of the
Poles at Warsaw,” and on the opposite
wall of the same room is a picture rep-
resenting a cardinal begging Sobieski,
the King of Poland, to relieve the city
of Vienna. John III. is the subject of
the majority of the finest of the works
of art to be seen at Montresor. In the
drawing-room, above a sixteenth-cen-
tury Italian cabinet, are four magnifi-
cently carved oak panels, inspired by
two of the leading events in the life of
that valiant Polish sovereign. The first
of these bas reliefs, which are from one
to two yards in length and about a yard
in height, depicts the victory gained by
Sobieski over the Turks on September
12, 1683, whereby Europe was saved
from the Mahommedans. The rival
armies are engaged in a hand-to-hand
struggle around the principal figures of
the composition — John III. and the
Grand Vizir Kara-Mustapha, whose

head is about to be cleft in twain by his
royal adversary’s upraised sabre. So-
bieski’s triumphal entry into Vienna is
the subject of the second panel. Wear-
ing his crown and royal mantle, the king
advances towards the city across the
battlefield strewn with dead and wound-
ed. He is accompanied by his chief
supporters, amongst others Prince Max-
imilian of Bavaria, Prince George of
Saxony and Prince Louis of Baden.
The third bas relief shows the victor’s
apotheosis. Sobieski, dressed like a
Roman emperor, is being crowned by
two women, one of whom holds a palm,
the other a branch of laurel. The throne
on which he stands, with his left hand
resting on a shield bearing his national
arms, is supported by five Turkish pris-
oners, who are attempting to break their
chains ; and the background against
which his imposing figure stands out
consists of St. Peter’s, representing
Christian Rome, and the statues of Bac-
chus and Pluto, symbolizing ancient
Rome — the two cities in one which he
saved from the infidel. As spectators,
and as it were sanctioning the corona-
tion, are two figures representing
Heaven and Earth, one on each side
of the throne, and near them a Roman
soldier wrapt in admiration. The fourth
panel completes the series in a very ap-
propriate manner by showing within
medallions, supported by allegorical
figures, the portraits of John III. and a
young man with long, flowing hair, hold-
ing in his hand a commander’s staff.
The latter is thought by some to be that
Prince Eugene who fought under Sobi-
eski at Vienna, and who became a field
marshal in 1687, at the early age of
twenty-four. These beautiful works
were produced by Pierre Vaneau, a na-
tive of Montpellier, where he was born
on December 31, 1653. He was a

protege of Mgr. de Bethune, Bishop of
Le Puy, and was also commissioned to
do many carvings, most, if not all, of
them dealing with the exploits of So-
bieski, for the princes of Poland. The
Branicki family possesses other works
of his at their Castle of Villanof, near
Warsaw.

Priceless as these four panels are, they

THE CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR.

DRAWING ROOM AT THE CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR.

.The entrance to the treasure room is in the corner to the right of the fireplace.

120

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

do not constitute, however, the treasure
of Montresor. This is kept in a small
adjoining room, to the right of the fire-
place, on either side of which, by the
by, we noticed family portraits by Ary
Schaffer. The entrance is hidden and
cannot be discovered, even though the
woodwork of the corner be examined
ever so carefully. Only those who are
in the secret know which part of the
wainscot can be slipped aside and the
keyhole disclosed to view. Then, when
the key is inserted and turned in the
lock, a portion of the paneling gives way,
swings silently and heavily inwards on
its hinges, like the door of a safe, and
allows you to pass through a many-feet-
thick wall into a chamber which will
hold at the most but half a dozen people.

It is lit by a small and jealousy guarded
window, and against its walls stand the
glass cases which contain the solid gold
plate of the Kings of Poland. Solo-
mon’s golden vessels and those of the
house of the foiest of Lebanon made,
surely, no finer show than these plates
and vases and goblets, ornamented with
exquisite designs, and bearing, generally
in company with the crown and eagle of
Poland, the names of the sovereigns to
whom they belonged. There is a salt-
cellar incrusted with medals which stood
on the table of Sigismund the Great at
the beginning of the sixteenth century,
and which, owing to the beauty of its
workmanship, is attributed to Benvenuto
Cellini. A plateau, decorated with six-
teen medals bearing the effigy of Sigis-

r ir*

L.fi'TB

1 :

/JPF i AH X

■H 1 ; l ■

fw i d

ANCIENT CARVED CABINET, 16TH CENTURY WALIAN WORK, IN THE DRAWING ROOM

AT THE CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR.

Above are the sculptured panels by Pierre Vaneau.

THE CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR.

121

mund II., dates from 1564; a larger one,
resembling it in shape and ornamenta-
tion. from 1623, in which year it was
made for Sigismund III., as can be seen
from his portrait and monogram, an in-
terlaced S and T ( Sigismundus Ter-
tius), on each medallion. The cylindri-
cal vases are Niiremberg work of the
seventeenth century. On the seventeen
medals with which two of these are en-
riched are the profiles of Sigismund III.,

work that the goldsmith could produce.
But what is the glory of all these ob-
jects compared with that of the principal
piece of the collection — Sobieski’s soup
tureen? Here, indeed, is a piece of
plate worthy of being set before a king !
Its huge size, its beauty of workman-
ship, and its historical value combine to
make it a work of unique interest. It
was the gift which the city of Vienna
made to John III. in 16S3 in recognition

CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR.— DINING ROOM.

his son Ladislas IV., who came to the
throne in 1632, Duke George of Saxony,
Queen Christian of Sweden, and Fred-
eric John Langerhens, a German noble-
man. Similarly, a beer mug of pure
gold recalls Ladislas IV., Ferdinand I.
and Ferdinand II., the Emperor of Ger-
many, and the first centenary of the Re-
form. The spoons, forks and knives,
all made of the same precious metal,
with the exception of the blades of the
last named, also bear witness to their
original owner’s desire for the richest

of his victory over the Turks. Four
has reliefs depict the part played by the
great soldier in that momentous strug-
gle. One represents the meeting of the
Polish chiefs when they decided to go
to the aid of Austria ; another, Sobieski’s
arrival ; a third, the fight under the walls
of the capital ; and the fifth, the inter-
view between the King of Poland and
the Emperor Leopold after the battle.
With great appropriateness, the legs
supporting the tureen bear the arms of
the leading chiefs of the Polish army.

122

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The cover is surmounted by a statuette
of Sobieski, in addition to being orna-
mented with his portrait and that of
Leopold I.

That a treasure of this importance —
(its artistic and historical value is any
sum you like to name, provided it is not
lower than $2,000,000, whilst its intrinsic
worth is perhaps about half that amount)
— that a treasure of this importance, I
repeat, should have aroused a feeling of
covetousness in the heart of a dishonest

plated door, and that complicated system
of electric burglar alarms which are be-
lieved to be proof against the smartest
cracksman who ever used a jimmy. The
precautions taken twenty years ago to
guard the treasure were, he said, practi-
cally nil. The guardian whose duty it
was to look after it at night was
notoriously fond of the bottle, and the
nearer midnight approached the less
capable he was, as a rule, of answering
for his faculties. The treasure-room

CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR.— SMALL DRAWING ROOM.

visitor to the Chateau of Montresor is
not at all surprising. Some twenty years
ago a daring attempt was made to steal
it. The village locksmith, into whose
jovial company we had the good luck to
fall after leaving the castle, gave us a
full account of the robbery ; and that he
was well qualified to do so is evident
from the part he played soon after its
discovery, for he it was who was called
in to provide the treasure-room with its
present ingeniously concealed and armor-

door presented not the slightest diffi-
culty to the veriest tyro in burglary.
And as to electric or other alarms to
doors and windows, they were, of course,
unheard of in that part of the country
in those days. This state of unprepared-
ness naturally attracted the attention of
those who are ever on the lookout for
easy cribs to crack. One summer day a
stranger arrived in the village and took
up his residence at one of the inns,
where he announced his intention of

THE CHATEAU OF MONTRESOR.

123

the chateau and castle, whose walls —
stopping for a few days “to study the
antiquities of the district.” Archaeology
was his passion. He made long excur-
sions in the neighborhood in search of
ancient buildings, such as the ruins of
the Chateau of Villiers to the south of
the Village; he meditated over the beau-
ties of the Collegiate Church of Mon-
tresor; and he went into ecstasies over

Taking advantage of the more than usu-
ally copious libations in which the guar-
dian had indulged overnight, someone,
who had evidently concealed himself in
the chateau when it was closed for the
day, the owners being then absent, had
broken into the room containing the
treasure and had made his escape
through the narrow window with several
of the most precious pieces of the col-

Funeral urn in the oratory at the Chateau of
Montresor, containing the heart of Claude de
Batarnay.

especially those on the side where the
treasure-room is situated — he was no-
ticed to examine with all the love of a
born antiquarian. The treasury itself,
too, interested him not a little, as was
observed on the one public occasion on
which he was remembered to have vis-
ited it. Early one morning, some three
or four days after his arrival, the big
bell of the chateau sounded the alarm.

lection. In case he was disturbed during
his operations, he had prepared to sell
his life dearly. Nearly all the weapons
above the mantelpieces and on the walls
had been removed and distributed in va-
rious parts of the drawing-room, so that
wherever he might be, if surprised and
driven into a corner, a dagger or a sabre
would be within reach of his arm ! Sus-
picion, in the mind of the now thor-

124

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

oughly sobered guardian, fell upon the
stranger of antiquarian tastes, and as he
was missing from his inn a hue and cry
was set up after him. He had several
hours start. Had he lived in the days
of motor-cars that would have been am-
ple to have enabled him to get away not
only with what he had in his possession,
but with the entire gold plate of the
kings of Poland. But he had only his
legs to carry him to Loches, so had to
face the inevitable. Two detectives met
him on the bridge in that ancient town
and taxed him with the robbery. He
blandly protested. Protest was, how-
ever, useless. They opened his coat,
and there, one under each arm, were the
golden plateaux of the two Sigismunds.
He was sentenced, some months later, to
twenty years’ penal servitude.

Before leaving Montresor to return to
Loches and continue our travels along
the valley of the Indre we visited the
beautiful Collegiate Church which was-
founded by Imbert de Batarnay early in
the sixteenth century. Its exterior is
particularly remarkable for a beautiful
entrance, with bas reliefs representing
scenes in the life of Christ; its interior,
for the still more charming tomb of the

Batarnays, a rectangular tomb orna-
mented with statuettes of the Apostles in
niches and bearing the couchant statues
of Imbert de Batarnay, Georgette de
Montchenu, his wife, and Frangois, their
son. Some historians have said that the
third statue is that of Claude de Batar-
nay, who, wounded at the battle of St.
Denis, died in Paris on November 18,
1567, in his twenty-second year. But
that is an error. There is no document
to prove that other remains than his
heart were brought back to Montresor,
and this, as we know, was placed in a
marble urn in the church of his ances-
tors. It is now in a little oratory at
the top of one of the towers of the
chateau. For our special benefit the
heavy lid of this urn was removed, the
box inside was taken out, and the heart
of the young captain was placed in our
hands. It was a rare sensation, one we
would not willingly have missed. To
think that that misshapen ruddy mass,
dried and hardened by more than three
hundred years of repose in its faintly
fragrant sepulchre, had once throbbed
with the quick-flowing blood of a young
man !

Frederic Lees.

A Thousand Island Estate

One of the most naturally beautiful
localities where pretentious country
homes have been erected is amid that
portion of the St. Lawrence River
where the so-called Thousand Islands
occur. The opportunities afforded by
the topography of the islands, the pic-
turesque surroundings and the alter-
nating vistas of land and water have
long been appreciated by individuals
of wealth seeking in their summer
homes the natural advantages of such
variegated scenery. Some of these
pretentious homes are of such extent and
cost as to place them among the most
important dwellings in America while
not a few are excellent examples of the
skill of the architect and the landscape
engineer.

One of the most picturesque of these
places is upon Heart Island. Situated on
the American or main channel of the
river opposite Alexandria Bay, the island
forms a conspicuous site for a structure
of any kind. Advantage has been taken of
its size and contour to erect a group of
buildings which practically occupy all of
the island with the exception of the
grounds needed for the walks, gardens
and immediate surroundings. These are
so located that in places they literally
rise from the water’s edge. Thus the
vista presented is not of a pile of mason-
ry projecting above a forest or standing
alone upon a rocky eminence and the
effect of isolation so common in connec-
tion with the country home is absent. An
idea of the magnitude of this place can
be gained when it is stated that the plans
include the erection of no less than eleven
structures in all ranging in extent
from the residence to the boat houses.
Yet even the summer houses and min-
iature pavilions are formed of stone
work as the illustrations show. Heart
Island is indeed an imposing site for such
a home as has been planned. Its forest
covered sides though rising quite abrupt-
ly from the waters of the St. Lawrence
are nevertheless broken into natural ter-
races which have been further graded

and leveled by the landscape engineer.
Resting on the summit which forms the
center of the island the chateau proper
has a very impressive appearance re-
sembling some of the mediaeval concep-
tions to be seen in the valley of the Loire.
The foundation wall below the main en-
trance has been designed to project be-
yond the entrance and thus its roof forms
a small circular veranda from which the
porch rises supported by massive stone
pillars. This entrance is toward the
American channel and from the veranda
to the water’s edge extends a beautiful
park amply shaded by the natural forest,
through which winding paths have been
laid out ornamented by statuary. Im-
mediately adjoining the main structure
to the east is an Italian garden which
when completed will be one of the largest
in the United States while in design and
decoration it is a faithful facsimile of
some of the famous works of Italy.

The main house has a front extending
a distance of 160 feet facing Alexandria
Bay while the average depth is no less
than 170 feet. As will be noted by the
views, the exterior walls are of granite,
the upper part of the building being
diversified with the turret towers and
chimneys so characteristic of the French
chateaux. From the northwest corner
rises the main tower a lofty pile of
granite terminating in a spire that reach-
es high above the roof. On the opposite
or southeast corner the house ter-
minates in a round tower or “keep,”
which is utilized as a pigeon loft. The
exterior facing of the chateau is of a
light granite secured from quarries on
Oak Island ten miles distant. The quar-
ries are owned by the builder of Heart
Island and from them also came con-
siderable material for the other struc-
tures. In addition to the stone the other
exterior material is terra cotta, the roof-
ing being composed of porous terra cotta
tile.

The dimensions of the chateau ac-
comodate an unusually large number of
apartments. Upon the first and second

126

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

floors are the reception room, dining
room, ball room, library and billiard
room in addition to what is known as
the main hall. This is very spacious
and one of the principal features of
the house, extending by means of a
broad marble stairway to the third floor
although elevator service is also provid-
ed. The bed rooms on the upper floors
are sufficient to accomodate a house

nel crossed by a rustic bridge. This
building which so closely resembles in
design a mediaeval structure is put to the
very prosaic use of a power house. It is
provided with an electric generaring
plant for illuminating the grounds and
buildings, for driving electric motors to
be used in the chateau and for pumping
water for domestic purposes. In it are .1
also apartments for the engineers, ma- :

THE ESTATE OF MR. CHARLES C. BOLDT.

Heart Island in the Thousand Islands. Hewitt, Stevens & Paist, Architects.

1 — Main House. 7 — Promenade.

2 — Power House. 8 — Servants’ Dock.

3 — Alster Tower. 9 — Peristyle and Boat Shelter.

4 — Italian Garden. Terrace and Fountains. 10 — Swan Pond.

5 — Dock at Tower.

6 — Covered Dock.

party of fifty or more guests besides the
family, while in the rear of this build-
ing are the rooms of the house servants.

Next to the chateau proper the most
imposing structure in appearance is the
castellated pile standing on what seems
to be the extreme eastern end of the
island. In reality it covers an islet separ-
ated from Heart Island by a small chan-

11 — Fish Pond.

chinists and experts employed in connec-
tion with the motor boats. Separated
from this building by another grove of
trees is a dock and building known as
the servants’ quarters and entrance.
Here supplies of every kind are unloaded j
from the boats upon a broad covered j
platform to be transported to the chateau
by a tramway built on an inclined plane.

A THOUSAND ISLAND ESTATE.

127

General view showing house boat, water gates, keep at left of building and the main structure.
THE CHATEAU OF MR. CHARLES C. BOLDT.

NEARER VIEW OF THE CHATEAU OF MR. CHARLES C. BOLDT.

Heart Island in the Thousand Islands. Hewitt, Stevens & Paist, Architects.

128

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Adjoining the wharf is a building util-
ized as apartments and club house for
the servants also for an inclosed dock
for power and row boats. It is over a
hundred feet long and though construct-
ed of less expensive material than the
others, it harmonizes in design with the
general scheme. Consequently the rear
view of the island is as picturesque and

country seat, utilized it for several years
as a residence. Standing on the very
edge of the island, its walls are formed
of a variety of brown stone. It rests on
a base of masonry about twenty feet
high approached from the four sides by
flights of stone steps bordered by heavy
balustrades. The lower part of the tow-
er is enlarged by ornamental windows

THE ESTATE OF MR. CHARLES C. BOLDT.

The Power House.

Heart Island in the Thousand Islands. Hewitt, Stevens & Paist, Architects.

as attractive as what is termed the front.

Perhaps the most interesting of the
series of structures fringing the water
front is what is called the “Alster Tow-
er.” It is designed in connection with
the main entrance to the island and was
the first work to be erected. In fact Mr.
George C. Boldt the owner of Heart
Island and the builder of this unique

and doorways but its principal entrance
is by a spiral stone stairway reaching the
second story. The top terminates in bat-
tlements which slightly project from the
main walls. It is extremely picturesque
in appearance and although on the lower
part of the island its proportions make
the tower a very conspicuous object as
viewed from the river. It is intended

A THOUSAND ISLAND: ESTATE.

for recreation purposes and is of sur-
prisingly large dimensions. On the first
floor is what is known as the “Shell
Room” so-called because of the shell
shaped ceiling. It is used for dancing
and musicales for guests, while in the
basement below is a bowling alley. The
floors above contain a billiard room, lib-

age. Skirting the edge of the shore is
a water wall of cut stone interrupted by
pillars at every few feet. In one portion
of the wall stands a massive arch under
which a branch of the river flows creat-
ing a lagoon surrounding nearly half of
the island. The canal which it spans has
one termination in a covered dock also

THE ESTATE OF MR. CHARLES C. BOLDT.

The waterfront at Heart Island showing a part of the lagoon with the Alster Tower behind

the water gate.

Heart Island in the Thousand Islands,
rary, also a cafe and kitchen and the

upper part of the tower is divided into
several bed rooms with bath rooms.

On this section of the island the ela-
borate work in adorning and beautifying
the land and water surroundings to the
chateau can be seen to the best advant-

Hewitt, Stevens & Paist, Architects.

built of stone which is large enough tc
shelter a fifty-foot boat. From the docl
a path winds up the hill to the main en-
trance. The lagoon referred to is ovei
500 feet in length and 100 feet at its
greatest width. On the outer side it is
bordered by an embankment lined wit!

130

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ornamental trees and shrubbery which
are useful in strengthening the embank-
ment although a rock wall protects it
from the river current. This levee, if it
may be called such, is used as a pro-
menade and here and there is connected
with the main part of the island by rustic
bridges spanning the lagoon. At night
the grounds are lighted with electric
lamps making a beautiful spectacle.

The Italian garden is the most ela-
borate feature of what might be called
the outdoor decoration. The contour of
the island lends itself peculiarly to this
feature the garden being laid out on a
rock plateau at such an elevation that it
can readily be seen from the river as it
is over ioo feet above the surface of the
water. As auxiliaries in completing the
landscape vista, the summer houses and
pavilions are essential. Composed of
the variety of dark red sand stone that
forms the tower, the power house and
the water gate, they stand here and there
upon the wooded avenues, the huge
stone pillars supporting the ornate roofs
resting in turn upon foundations of
masonry while even the floors inside are
also of smooth stone slabs.

While Heart Island is unusually in-
teresting on account of disposition and
character of the buildings on it, it is
notable also as being largely the idea
of its owner, Mr. Charles C. Boldt.

Mr. Boldt not only owns the island,
but others in its vicinity, including
a portion of Wellesley, one of the
largest of the group, where he now
has a large country home. When he de-
cided upon the Heart Island project he
had plans prepared by Messrs. Hewitt,
Stevens & Paist of Philadelphia who as
experts have also supervised the work of
construction. This has not been done by
contract, however, but largely by men in
Mr. Boldt’s employ under his own fore-
men and superintendents. As already
stated, the stone was brought from
his own quarries. It was finished for
building purposes by the force of stone
cutters and laid by masons he employed
and carried to the island in his fleet of
barges. Much of the sand needed came
from sand pits owned by him. The
wood work, roofing, paving, grading in
fact all of the labor except some requir-
ing special experts was performed by
the force of employees in the employ of
the owner. Consequently Heart Island
is a striking illustration of how a man
can make use of his own facilities in
creating a country seat even on such a
scale. Just what the total outlay has
been is known only to the owner but it
is calculated that for the improvement of
this seven-acre island have been thus far
expended fully two million dollars.

Day Allen Willey.

Cleveland, Ohio.

Robt. D. Kohn, Architect.

Architecture and Factories

Perhaps no field of building work has
had so little of the serious attention of
the trained architect as that of factory
design and construction. Up to i860,
in this country, the manufacturing build-
ings were mostly modifications in size
and detail of the ordinary types of
houses. In the seventies there devel-
oped a type of building adapted from
the heavier mill construction, which al-
lowed of larger windows, and finally,
under the encouragement of the mutual
insurance companies, there resulted the
so-called slow-burning type, excellent
from the practical point of view, but
devoid of intelligent attempt at good
looks. As a result of many causes, in-
cluding the rise in price of heavy tim-
ber and the reduction in cost of cement,
reinforced concrete factory construction
is to-day rapidly displacing the others.

Another important change has been
the gradual recognition that in all but
a few industries, low buildings, large
floor areas of one-story height lighted
from above, are preferable to high build-
ings for manufacturing purposes in all
those districts where the cost of land is
not prohibitive. With all this progress
it is noticeable that little has been done
to develop for manufacturing buildings
an honest dignified distinctive type of
design, such as a few of our architects
are in the way of doing for our sky-
scrapers. It is true of the mill engineer
and unfortunately, of many architects
that they consider the proper method of
beautification of a factory building to be
the application of pressed brick and a
stone cornice to the exposed fronts of
buildings otherwise stupid in mass, ar-
rangement and fenestration.

It would be unfair not to lay some of
the blame for these conditions on the
average manufacturer, who insists that
his buildings need have no qualities other
than practical ones. Fortunately, the
number is growing constantly of those
who have a different point of view. As
one broad-minded employer recently ex-

pressed it “I don’t see why I shall spend
half my life in an ugly box of a shop and
only have good looking things around
me at home. I feel that way, too, about
the people that work for me — as most
of them can’t have or don’t have enough
to have beautiful things in their homes,
I ought to give them something pleas-
ant to look at while at work.” It is curi-
ous that most manufacturers should pay
so much attention to the power and light
of their factories, the entries for the raw
materials and exits for the finished prod-
ucts and practically no study to the en-
tries, exits and comforts for the most im-
portant contents of their establishments,
the most important element in their un-
dertaking: their employes. To be sure
so-called “welfare work” is imposing it-
self little by little upon our manufactur-
ers who sometimes even consider its ac-
ceptance to be a generous act (or in
some cases, alas! a good advertisement).
The writer feels strongly that the advan-
tages of proper healthful working condi-
tions, intelligent thought given to the life
of the employe while in the establishment
and even the beautification of his sur-
roundings during that period may be
demonstrated to be of as great economic
importance as the handling of the raw
material. The writer has frequently been
called in to give advice on the “conven-
iences” of establishments already built
because no one thought that these sub-
jects needed consideration until after
everything else was done. And these
problems of the employe and of the ad-
ministration are problems for the archi-
tect, to be considered from the start and
to be worked out in conjunction with the
engineer who designs power, light and
heat.

If the writer may be permitted in or-
der to explain his point of view, to refer
to one building in particular, he would
call attention to certain points in connec-
tion with photographs published in this
issue of a particular Cleveland estab-
lishment for the manufacture of women’s

132

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FACTORY OF H. BLACK & CO.— VIEW OF FRONT.

Cleveland, Ohio. Robt. D. Kohn, Architect.

wear. Of the ordinary details of ar-
rangement and construction little need
here be said ; that the building is of skel-
eton reinforced concrete construction
with brick exterior walls, that the big
work rooms are lighted from above by
saw-tooth skylights, that there are ade-
quate staircases placed in the lines of di-
viding fire walls, that there are large
locker and lunch rooms, fresh air sup-
plies and foul air exhausts to the work-
rooms; these are almost commonplaces
of intelligent factory building to-day.
But in this particular building more than
this was attempted. It was hoped this

building might show it possible to build
a common-sense, economical factory,
practical in every particular and reason-
able in cost, of simple, low-priced mate-
rials, and yet a building fairly good look-
ing inside and out. This factory is prob-
ably built of exactly the same materials
as a dozen others within a radius of a
few miles, which are, however, lacking
in any interest, and will always be a blot
upon the landscape. The difference is
that in this building an attempt has been
made to use these same materials with
skill, taste and what the owner ~ once
called “affection.”

FACTORY OF H. BLACK & CO.— VIEW OF REAR.

Robt. D. Kohn, Architect.

Cleveland, Ohio.

ARCHITECTURE AND FACTORIES.

1 33

To cite but a few instances: The exte-
rior walls are solidly of one kind of
common brick. Not a facing of fancy
brick covering up common brick, such
as is so often the case. Such pressed
brick facings usually cover merely the
front of a building and then disappear
naively around the corner where the wall
becomes ugly and uninteresting. Here
the same brick has been used for the
outside of the wall as has been used for
the body of it, only that this six-dollar
per thousand common brick in the face
of the walls is laid with a little more care
and with wide, dark purple joints deep-
ly incised, and the walls, therefore, have
an interesting texture. This expedient
can be employed in almost any building
no matter how cheap. The contractors
estimated the additional cost of laying
this common brick with deep cut colored
joint at about $i a thousand. The cheap-
est of pressed brick would have cost $15

or $16 a thousand for the brick alone, ir-
respective of laying. The sprinkler tank
tower might have been the usual skele-
ton steel affair which plays so impor-
tant a part in the sky-lines of our fac-
tory towns. The owners chose to build
at a surprisingly small increased cost a
tower of brick with panels of stucco and
tile which incidentally afford space for
a shipping room, rest room and consider-
able additional storage space.

There are decorations in colored tile
under the main cornice in the panels of
the tower, in the walls of the entrance
hall, and even the bare rear walls of the
factory (where the future extensions are
to be attached) are made interesting bv
these inserted panels of blue and green.
The total cost of this colored tile for the
whole building, including the tower, did
not exceed five hundred dollars. In the
big work room, where nearly five hun-
dred people spend the greater part of

FACTORY OF H. BLACK & CO.— DETAIL OF FRONT.

Robt. D. Kohn, Architect.

Cleveland, Ohio.

134

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

their days, an attempt has been made
at wall decoration — mainly applied to
the tops of the concrete columns and the
ends of the transverse concrete girders.
It is in two flat colors, in a simple geo-
metric "weaving” pattern, which re~
lieves in a surprising manner the monot-
ony of the white walls and ceilings. Two
workmen with a stencil applied all this
in a few days, and it cost something less
than sixty dollars. It does not seem
unreasonable to suppose that there are
many factories in this country that could
afford such a sum in order to give a
simple indication of a desire to make its
employes’ surroundings good-looking,
nor one that would not actually profir
by an expenditure in some such way.
It does need one thing beside sixty dol-
lars — it needs trained thought. In this
particular building the total amount
spent on these “betterments,” over and
above the bare necessities of such a
building, did not exceed seven per cent,
of the total cost. This would include
the increased cost of better brick laying,
tile roof, stucco and tile panels, tank
tower, etc.

The writer does not for a moment
wish to be considered as holding up this
particular: building as being the “last
word” in factory design. We know of
a number of admirable factory buildings
recently erected in the United States.
There are some splendid power-houses
along the lines of our “electrified” rail-
roads, the dignified structures of Mr.
Wright at the Larkin works in Buffalo,
the interesting Fleischman group on the
east bank of the Hudson, and others.
But, after all, these are but infinitesimal
in number, compared to the mass of fac-
tory buildings going up all over, build-
ings in which an enormous number of
our fellow citizens spend the major part
of their waking hours. It is to the prob-
lem of their construction that we hope
to bring a more intelligent thought, a
more artistic training. The subject is
one which would warrant a whole series
of articles. It includes all the many
problems of sanitation, ventilation, light-
ing, power, heat, transportation and the
more intimate ones of lunch rooms and
lockers, facilities for cleaning, fire-fight-
ing apparatus and shop administration.
The writer, in this brief note, hopes only

FACTORY OF H. BLACK & CO.

The artistic treatment of the factory tower.
Cleveland, Ohio. Robt. D. Kohn, Architect.

ARCHITECTURE AND FACTORIES.

135

FACTORY OF H. BLACK & CO.— THE . SIMPLE AND HONEST TREATMENT OF
FACTORY INTERIORS IS HERE ADMIRABLY EXEMPLIFIED.

Cleveland, Ohio. Robt. D. Kohn, Architect.

136

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

to call attention to some of the problems
involved, and to indicate a few efforts
towards improvement in the type of fac-
tory design in America.

Robert D. Kohn.

The American manufacturing plant
is a commercial type of structure which
the architect has so far played an
insignificant part in developing, and it
comprises so numerous a class of build-
ings that their effect of absolute poverty
and bareness is especially noticeable. W e
have published in these pages, from time
to time, structures in which a few mem-
bers of the profession have had an op-
portunity to introduce some element of
design. It has not been possible,
however, to find many such instances,
nor has it hardly been possible to
find in those which have actually
shown a tendency to consider a factory
as a worthy subject of design any
consistent effort to solve the problem in
a serious way. The American factory
building has always been considered a
subject strictly for the engineer, whose
duty it has been to simply lay out the
construction of the building, which was
afterward to be covered with brick and
allowed to go at that. The manufacturers
for whom these buildings have been built
have come to believe from long experi-
ence that this method of constructing

their buildings gives them everything
they needed or that they can afford to
have in their business.

Perhaps, in time, they will see that
they have worked largely in the dark
if they read the foregoing article,
which raises the entire question of
factory design in a wholly admir-
able way. Perhaps they will agree
that attractiveness of surroundings for
their employes is in a measure as much
a business facility as the proper hand-
ling of their materials to meet the detail-
ed requirements of their business. The
manufacturers have, no doubt, in the
past, hesitated to invite help in the mat-
ter of creating a higher standard of de-
sign in their buildings from a belief that
such higher standard would mean to
them an entirely unnecessary expense.
Perhaps they do not know that very often
no larger expenditure of money is nec-
essary to produce a more attractive-look-
ing building than to continue erecting
the bare and uninteresting brick . walls
which have come to typify American
factories. They may also agree, on re-
flection, that more attractive fac:orv
buildings mean generally not only more
economically planned and constructed
buildings, but also establishments which
will lend to their business a prestige with
which they can ill afford to dispose.

— Editor. ’’

America’s Largest Banking Institution in Its

New Quarters.

In the December issue of this journal,
the occasion was taken to congratulate
the directors of the National City Bank
on their moderation in preserving to
New York one of its most notable archi-
tectural landmarks instead of yielding to
the very natural, yea, almost inevitable,
temptation to make the old Custom
House, on Wall Street, a profitable real
estate investment. At that time the
building was not completed, but con-
struction had sufficiently advanced to
offer the opportunity of extending con-
gratulations to the architects to whom
was committed the difficult task of su-
peradding to the old structure four sto-
ries without destroying the inherent
architectural value of Isiah Rogers’
composition.

Now that the alterations are entirely
completed and its tenants are in pos-
session, one can have no hesitation in
saying that the architects have acquitted
themselves with credit on their treat-
ment of the great banking room and on
the planning of the different chambers.
The task of planning was of course,
limited, to a certain extent, by the fixed
condition of the doors and windows in
the walls of the old building, which were
left practically intact, the interior filling
alone being entirely removed. It is in-
evitable that the planning of a building
should very largely determine the dis-
position of the exterior design, and the
architects were perhaps not as free to
say in the superposed stories what would
have been their choice had the design of
the entire building been theirs to de-
termine, regardless of anything existant.
To still further multiply difficulties, it
was not desired entirely to forego the
opportunity of rental return, and it was,
consequently, made a condition of the
problem that the four superadded stories
should be planned for business offices,
admitting of subdivision and provided
with many smaller windows, rather than

with fewer larger ones. A roof story
was desired, to contain the bank’s dining
rooms, kitchens, libraries and other do-
mestic services. The plan of the altered
building, it will be patent, was thus very
definitely determined, and it should not
be very difficult to draw the plan in the
mind’s eye. The great banking room
occupies the height of the old Ionic col-
onnade, and is lighted from the ceiling
through a rectangular court in the mid-
dle of the building, admitting, at the
same time, light to the upper or office
floors which could be lighted from no
other source on account of the great
dimensions of the building. Exteriorly,
the three lower of the four superposed
stories are treated not in the most in-
teresting architectural manner, it is
true, but with great respect for the
work of Isiah Rogers, which still re-
mains after the alterations the dominant
feature of the design, and if that was
the sole idea of the architects, they could
not have done their work better. But
there is, of course, the question whether
they could not have retained all the vir-
tue of the adopted solution and have
added interest to the building, besides.

One does not become aware of the
colossal scale of this building, a quality
which the architects have succeeded in
duly emphasizing, until we enter the
great banking room, 60 feet high, some
200 feet long and about 170 feet deep.
The realization of largeness is more
surely impressed on the spectator when
he turns round after entering to view
the opening through which he has gained
admittance. Ele was perhaps under the
impression that he was passing through
one of many doors, and what is his sur-
prise when he notes from a more favor-
able point of vantage on the banking
room floor that the doors through which
he entered are of so little consequence
in the composition of the 30-foot stone
door, in the bottom of which they are

138

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

THE NATIONAL CITY BANK— VIEW LOOKING EAST ON WALL ST.

Wall St., New York. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

(From drawing by Birch Burdett Long.)

AMERICA’S LARGEST BANKING INSTITUTION.

139

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140

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

set, as to be hardly noticeable. Due to
a lowering of the floor to decrease the
steepness of the entrance steps, this
door, which was formerly of heroic size,
has become one of the largest doors in
existence.

The greatest opportunity offered the
architects in the work of remodeling the
building, and one- which is not apt to
occur very many times in a professional
career, was the decorative treatment of
the great banking room. While one’s
verdict on the result cannot but be high-
ly favorable in the main, it may not
honestly be said that this room is as
successful as might have been expected
of the designers of such a room as that
of the Bank of Montreal. The color of
the Botticini marble, with which the
walls are incrusted, is an extremely
pleasing warm light gray, which is re-
echoed in the banking screen of the same
material, and tends to support the dig-
nity of the monumental architecture on
walls and ceiling. The floor, too, har-
monizes in the subdued play of lights
and shades in the gray color scheme.
The architectural members of the room,
it has been pointed out, have been ably
brought into scale with one another ; but
one cannot claim the same amount of
co-ordination for much of the ornament
which is largely lost in the immensity
of the space and height of ceiling. This
latter feature, though treated in good
relation to the other members, seems

somewhat trivial, and one cannot readily
become reconciled to its penetration by
the circular glass dome which so unfeel-
ingly interrupts the ceiling coffers.
There seems to be here a member which
has not been well digested into the dec-
orative composition. One cannot par-
ticularly object to its size or its shape,
but rather to its lack of attachment to
the ceiling.

The bank equipment has the appear-
ance of having received the utmost care
in disposition and in design, and it is
plain that the co-operation between the
architects and the officers of the bank
was of the closest where equipment and
the machinery of the bank was involved.
On the part of the bank, it is under-
stood that Vice-President Horace M.
Kilburn and Assistant Cashier G. E.
Gregory devoted the better part of a
year to the study of the details of the
bank’s new quarters.

While it was a proud day in the ear-
lier life of the city of New York when
the Merchants’ Exchange opened its
doors in 1841, the day when the Na-
tional City Bank shifted its scene of oper-
ations to the present larger and worthier
edifice should be notable not only in the
history of America’s greatest banking
institution, but should be equally remem-
bered by New Yorkers and Americans
as an occasion by which we have en-
riched our country by a monument
worthy of our commercial importance.

NOTES ^COMMENTS

The cry for an origi-
nal and American archi-

THEY tecture is now so fre-

-pQ quently raised not only

in the professional press
KNOW hut in our weekly and

daily papers whose

readers expect, more

and more, that some attention be paid to
architecture and especially to the designing
and building of dwelling houses in town and
country. The fact is that building is rapidly
becoming, more than we suspect, a topic of
popular interest, and the press feels bound
to keep its readers, to some extent at least,
informed as to what is going on in this held
of activity. Where a criticism on our at-
tempts to build rationally and beautifully
would, ten or fifteen years ago, hardly have
been noticed by the public it is to-day being
read with almost as much avidity as an arti-
cle on a topic of more immediate national

concern. The recent editorial in a New York
morning paper alluding to the views of a
visiting French architect on some of our re-
cent New York buildings is a case in point.

This interest in architecture and building
is, however, still rather superficial with us,
due, no doubt, as much to the desultory
methods of the press in general as to any
shallowness of public opinion. The symp-
toms, however, are healthy and require
only cultivation to be developed.

Popular notions on
architecture are scarce-
ly less definite or more
comprehensible than is
the bulk of professional
writing on the subject
of an American archi-
tecture. Not only is
much of this writing vague and intangible,
but one finds in it very little agreement
among the several writers.

Some will say that there is no such thing
as an American architecture, and that there
never will be made any progress towards a
national style until our architects cease to
use the forms and devices of other periods
to solve the totally different problems of
to-day. These writers say it is necessary to

THE

POINT OF
VIEW

seek inspiration in new channels and to rev-
olutionize to a large extent the process of
thought in designing buildings, which has
been developed in the course of centuries.

There are those who are content with the
literal copying of the best styles of the
past. For them an American style of archi-
tecture falls on deaf ears; the development
of building in conformity with the conditions
of the age means nothing. For them the
development of the art of building has long
been completed, and any new attempts are
futile. Nowhere is this theory carried out
in practice with greater persistence than in
our interior decoration where the par-
amount issue always is: In what style shall
such and such a room be decorated.

then, again, there are those who are eclec-
tic in their views, recognizing that times and
conditions change, but that certain elements
m traditional art are fundamental, and can
no more be successfully disobeyed than can
the rules of algebra. These individuals
maintain not only the possibility of an
American style, but go so far as to state
that there is such a style, and if the im-
partial, but interested, spectator of our
progress in building could but remove him-
self to a suitable distance so as not to be
under American influence, he would see that
we are steadily and surely evolving an
American art of building, with due regard
to the past and a freshness of conception
characteristic of our time.

Nor is our time want-
ing in sources of inspi-
ration for the building
PROGRESS art. Are we not using
new materials and old
ones in new construc-
tional ways and in new
forms? Have our at-
tempts in concrete construction, rudimen-
tary, as they are, no meaning for our archi-
tecture? Have we not in this material
alone enough direction for our efforts to
meet architecturally present and ever-aris-
ing conditions?

Hollow tile for structural purposes is
a new means of building which we
have recently done much to develop,

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

especially for dwelling houses, where the
scarcity of seasoned wood and its ab-
normal price have been closely seconded by
the desire for greater protection against
fire, and better sanitary arrangements in
our dwellings. Has not tile a story to tell
of its peculiarities and advantages, of the
opportunities for beauty of surface, per-
haps? Is there not sufficient food here for
the architect’s imagination and for the de-
velopment of the art of building suitably,
beautifully and economically?

Herein, doubtless, lies progress in archi-
tecture.

In an interesting let-
ter to the “Times,”
John Martin has lately
AR.E, TAXES made a plea for more
TOO LOW ? liberal expenditures by

the City of New York
for parks, schools,
health and charity, on
the ground that the increase in taxes during
recent .years has been nothing like as great
as the increase in property values. This

opens a rather unusual and suggestive line
of argument, which could probably be ap-
plied to many other cities, for the test is
secured by comparing the two items of total
tax and total property value. This, Mr.
Martin believes, is the only fair test. In

New York, since 1899, the first year of
Greater New York, there has been an in-
crease, he finds, of 35.2 per cent, in the total
amount of taxes and of 129 per cent., or
three and one-half times as much, in the
total assessed value of real estate. If allow-
ance be made, as, of course, it ought to be
made, for the fact that in 1899 assessments
were at only “two— thirds” of real value, and
in 1908 at “ninety per cent.” of real value,
the increase in values would still be about
seventy per cent. Putting the matter differ-
ently, Mr. Martin finds that in nine years
there has been paid in taxes a total of
$793,729,249: and that in these years the
increase in the value of the land has been
$1,582,422,754, leaving a clear profit of
$788,093,505— a stupendous total, due, in
some part, at least, to the very expenditures
for public improvements. To let disburse-
ments for schools, parks, health protection,
etc., so lag behind the increases in property
value is, he argues, an injustice to tenants.
It should be added that an essential premise
to this interesting line of thought is that
rents do not fluctuate with taxes; and as to
little things like unpaid taxes and the limit
to the city’s possible indebtedness, which is

imposed by the restriction on the percentage
that real estate can be assessed, these do
not particularly affect the theory, as a
theory. With reference to the city’s great
needs, it is interesting, indeed, to learn,
from a compilation made by Mr. Ivins for
the benefit of the legislative investigating
committee, that the taxable value of the
real property in New York City (including
special franchises, taxed as really under the
decision of the Court of Appeals in the
franchise tax litigation), aggregates $6,722,-
415,740, and is nearly $1,000,000,000 in ex-
cess of the taxable real estate values in
every city, county and State west of the
Mississippi River; that the values which
New York may assess for taxation are
greater than the combined taxable values of
real estate available for city, county and
State taxation in Massachusetts and Penn-
sylvania, or in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois;
and that the exemptions of real estate val-
ues from taxation in New York City, on ac-
count of use for religious, charitable or city
purposes, are greater than the entire taxable
values in Boston or in Philadelphia.

The City Beautifu
was the subject of a
long and very compre-
hensive paper on civic
improvement that was
read by Eugene H.
Taylor, Fellow of the
A. I. A., before the
sixth annual convention of the Iowa Chapter
nf the institute. Mr. Taylor made a strong

ARCHITECT
WHO WAS
HEEDED

plea for expert planning, and said: “For-
tunate, indeed, is the community that heeds
the promptings to do things properly before
time and money have been spent and wasted

in wrong ways.” The development of the
park idea, noted as the usual first step, is

but a small part,” he added, “of that which
is necessary to make a city what it should
be.” A city is made up of certain major
and minor focal points, and the location of
these, he says, are determined by private
as distinguished from public interest.
“Hence, when an awakening does come for
the recasting of a city, a comprehensive,
consistent, logical and practical plan must
be prepared by a disinterested trained ex-
pert. City improvement means more than
simply cutting a street through a block of
buildings to reach a given point by the
shortest route, or zigzagging vaguely to
avoid some particular building or feature in

reaching a goal. The natural resources of
contour and scenery * * * should be devel-

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

143

oped. * * * The city which would redeem
itself must begin with a realization of its
topographical advantages. It may have de-
rived its name from a distinctive feature of
interest and beauty in the river it is situ-
ated upon, and until the civic improvement
idea takes root its chief asset is worse than
ignored. To have a pleasing river with sur-
face broken into never-tiring interest by
falls or rapids; an island set in its midst
furnishing a fit site for imposing edifices,
and a breathing spot at hand in the very
hearc of business for those who cannot go
to the suburban parks; but to do absolutely
nothing with this gift of nature except to
fringe the river banks with the inevitably
offensive and unsanitary outhouse, stable
yard, garbage heap or even the rear eleva-
tion of business buildings, and to convert
the island into a dumping ground, without
even enlivening the scene with a festive goat
to feed on the tin cans; or to allow it to
be covered with common mercantile build-
ings — is well nigh sacrilege.” All this is well
said. But the most interesting part of the
matter is that the meeting was in Cedar
Rapids, where an outside authority had
made just such a study and report only a
few months earlier; and where an improve-
ment club had been formed, with Mr. Taylor
as one of the officers, to secure the carry-
ing out of the recommendations; and where,
a few days after this address, the people
voted, by a majority of about thirteen to
one, to buy the neglected island in the river
in the heart of town as a site for public
park, as the report had

There has lately been
organized in Los An-
geles the League of the
School Beautiful. Its
purpose is to unify and
strengthen efforts, and,
if necessary, to initiate
new efforts for ‘‘suit-
ably decorating” the public schools by se-
curing for them, without public expense,
objects of art. The Board of Education has
endorsed the plan, and a newspaper article
says that although at first designed to be
only a local movement, inquiries have been
received in regard to it from so many other
places that the scope of the league may be
enlarged. The idea is that those persons
interested in a particular school shall con-
stitute an individual chapter of the city
league. Each of these chapters will be to
a large extent self-governing, but they will

buildings and a
urged.

BEAUTY

FOR

SCHOOLS

unite in council to help the schools which
most need help in this respect. A traveling
‘‘collection of masterpieces” is one of the
plans under consideration, and it is pro-
posed that the league shall not only en-
deavor to bring art into the schools, but
will seek to discover and encourage budding
genius among the pupils. Whatever its
measure of success in doing this, there ob-
viously is room to supplement the good work
of the playground associations and parents’
and teachers’ leagues with a society to
foster the art spirit and to bring beauty into
schools.

<jaraner.

AN IDEAL
FOR
A CITY

Springfield.

an architect of Spring-
field, Mass., presented
at a recent meeting of
a local literary club, a
long paper on the city
beautiful that could be
and should be made of
The article has been published

in “The Republican.” The most striking
paragraph is perhaps that giving a prophecy
which Mr. Gardner made fifteen years ago.

He quotes it as follows: “Somewhere in the

civilized world at the beginning of the next
century there will be the most beautiful
city that the sun shines upon. It will have
the best government, to which other cities
will come to learn wisdom, the best schools,
the cleanest streets, the finest architecture,
the noblest monuments. All of which will
not mean the greatest wealth or the most
numerous population per square mile or per
city, but the best taste, the soundest prac-
tical judgment, the clearest common sense.”
The prediction concluded by the statement
that there was then no apparent reason why
Springfield should not be that exalted city.
“I am of the same opinion still, as a prophet
ought to be, except that I would not extend
the time to the end of this century.” In
fact, he hopes to live to see the day he
pictures. The ideal, suggestive of that of a
Greek philosopher, is in sharp contrast to
the usual ambition of an American city,
and it is so much better that its mere state-
ment makes one pause to read it over, to
wonder and to wish. Mr. Gardner, however,
is obliged to add: “But if my optimism

were not of the most ingrained and indelible
sort, I should stand appalled at the crimes
committed in the name of civic art and pub-
lic improvement. * * We may have ‘beauty
spots,’ but never a beautiful city until we
work for unity. Only when artificial pro-
ductions become organic do they display

144

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

some of the charms of Nature’s work; only
as they indicate an intelligent, harmonious
design are they worthy of admiration. We
recognize this readily enough in our private
work. If we plan a house, write a book,
paint a picture or preach a sermon, we
know the thing undertaken will be a dismal
failure unless there is a consistent, definite
purpose showing through it from beginning
to end.” After that he begins his long, con-
crete account of the things he believes
should be done in Springfield; but much
greater than the steps he recommends as
leading to it, is his quoted, briefly sketched,
ideal for a city.

Arnold W. Brunner,
whose word on the sub-

CIVIC ART j ect is entitled

weight, is another

architect who has lately
INVESTMENT made a similar plea on

general lines. This is
in an article contribu-
ted in the summer to the Saturday Evening
Post, entitled, “Building Beauty into Cities.”
Brunner frankly took for his argument
the commercial point of view. Beginning
with Whistler’s dictum, “art happens,” he
declared that sometimes, and especially in
the development of American cities, it doesn t
happen; and that to secure beauty for cities,
there are needed forceful thought, energy,
concerted action, and civic pride. The way
to obtain these, he believed, was to put aside
theories and show that art pays. He said.
“Perhaps the Greeks would not have rea-
soned in that way, nor would any artistic
nation, but we are not artistic; we are pri-
marily commercial.” Yet, he believed, we
are cultivating artistic tendencies, and are
rapidly coming to know the value of beautj
as applied to manufactures, streets and
towns, and we are offering to the axtist in
every branch the greatest encouragement.
* * * A city, like a house, should have a
definite plan. No great enterprise, nor a
small one for that matter, could be carried
on successfully without a definite line of
thought and a definite plan of operation, with
due provision for the future. What greater
enterprise could there be than the building of
a city? And yet, in the most important of
all our undertakings, we have adopted the
most short-sighted policy.” “The making of
plans,” he added, ‘‘is not antagonistic to
commerce, but, on the contrary, the greatest
aid to it. Let it be understood that the first
step toward the beautification of cities is
municipal common sense.” * * For example,

“streets should be ample for their traffic.
This seems a simple proposition, but in the
commercial districts of our larger cities it
is quite disregarded. Ten thousand men pass
a given point in three-quarters of an hour in
the usual order of military procession, which
means an unobstruqted roadway and favor-
able conditions. But ten thousand people
are poured out into the streets at almost
the same time in many localities from sky-
scrapers that contain thousands of tenants
each. When the space for vehicles and
trucks is also considered, it is readily seen
how inadequate the average street is be-
coming.” He showed how small parks
promptly pay for themselves in the increased
value of abutting property, and he remarked
that where a Hausmanizing process was
needed, to move cautiously was not neces-
sarily to move wisely. In short, Mr. Brun-
ner said well a good many things that needed
saying in a paper which goes to so large and
miscellaneous a lay public as does the Satur-
day Evening Post of Philadelphia.

RATIONAL

HOUSING

REFORM

The annual report of
the Massachusetts Civic
League contains, as a
portion of the secre-
tary’s report, some un-
usually interesting com-
ments regarding the
work of the committee

on housing. This special committee was
appointed, Mr. Hartman says, “to consider
methods for a more careful study and ex-
tended agitation along fundamental lines.
Practically nothing is known,” he declares,
“about housing conditions in Boston and in
the other cities and towns of the State. In-
vestigations must be made by experts”— of
whom, it would seem, that some, certainly,
should be architects— “before we shall know
what we have to remedy. Then there is the
additional work of laying down a definite
housing policy for all urban and rural dis-
tricts, so that future slums may not be
possible. To attempt to handle the matter
by curing slum areas as fast as we may
will amount to nothing as long as people are
allowed to proceed as rapidly as they will
in developing newer and worse areas in
other sections. A rigid system of preven-
tion must be established and maintained.
When this is done the clearing up of present
areas will have a visible end. Because New
York was forced to take the lead on ac-
count of the existence of a system which
was proving fatal, other American cities
have tended to follow and to make the New

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

145

York regulations the norm by which to es-
tablish regulations for themselves. This is
as fatal as it is short-sighted. New York
is like no other city in the world, in so far as
congestion of population is concerned, and
there is no reason why any other city should
ever be built like it. The German, Swiss,
Swedish, English and other European peo-
ples have established sane methods of lay-
ing out cities and towns and of erecting
houses in them. It remains for an American
State to do likewise, and Massachusetts has
a chance to place itself in an enviable posi-
tion of leadership if it does not allow some
other awakening communities to get ahead
of it.”

PLAYGROUNDS

AND

ARCHITECTS

It is significant of
the broadening interest
in civic affairs which
architects are showing
in their professional
capacity — their individ-
ual and personal inter-
est was to be expected
— that at the October meeting of the Rhode
Island Chapter of the A. I. A. the subject
was the location and distribution of play-
grounds. The principal speaker was Henry
A. Barker, the father of the metropolitan
park system of Providence and its neighbor-
ing cities and towns. His plea was for
action by a commission, which should make
“a comprehensive and equitable scheme for
the apportionment of open spaces,” instead
of leaving the location of playgrounds to
the bargain of the aldermen from rival
wards. “It is not at all likely that the
wards which need playgrounds most will be
blessed with the most influential and ener-
getic councilmen and aldermen.” But the
argument and plea are less novel and signifi-
cant than was the choice of subject for a
chapter meeting of architects.

Sacramento, Calif., is
now to be added to the
list of state capitols — a
list which is growing
long — for which com-
prehensive improve-
ment plans have been
prepared. Through the
Chamber of Commerce,
backed by the Realty Board, the Woman’s
Council, and individual subscribers, Charles
Mulford Robinson of Rochester, New York,
visited the city in the autumn and made a
Report on its improvement possibilities.

PLANS

FOR

SACRAMENTO

initiative of the

There was before the people of the State
an Amendment to the Constitution which,
if carried, would transfer the Capitol from
Sacramento to Berkeley. When Mr. Robin-
son began his work, this was voted down
by an overwhelming majority — a fact which
greatly increased the interest in the problem
offered. The suggestions covered a wide
range of improvement topics. They in-
cluded as principal items the possible diver-
sion of the American River, which now
annually overflows its banks, and the crea-
tion in the reclaimed area of an industrial
center; the extension of the city’s bound-
aries, in order that control might be exer-
cised over the platting of sub-divisions, now
progressing in a most confusing manner;
the building of some diagonal thoroughfares,
centering on the capitol dome; a new sta-
tion and its approaches, and a country park
system. Sacramento is laid out in perfect
checkerboard fashion, and is peculiar among
American, and especially among Western
cities, in that, while having a population
of only about 50,000, it presents actual con-
ditions of congestion. This is because it
is enclosed on two sides by broad rivers, and
on the other two — so serious are the flood
conditions — by broad levees, just as mediae-
val towns were enclosed by ramparts. To
this difficult situation, aggravated by the
location of railroads built and projected, the
Report devotes much attention.

From the architectural standpoint, the
most important suggestion was the creation
of a diagonal avenue from the proposed new
station site to the capitol — a distance of
2,000 feet, exclusive of a half-square to be
bought in front of the station as a plaza.
Midway on the diagonal, stands the new
post office; and at its station end, balancing
the new station and with one front to the
plaza, the new court house. The course of
the diagonal is through valuable business
property — though as yet none of it happens
to be expensively improved; but it was sug-
gested that as its great function would be
to open up, and emphasize and give dig-
nity to, the Capitol, the State might be
asked to aid in meeting the expense.

The architects of the National Metropoli-
tan Bank, Washington, D. C. are Messrs
Gordon, Tracy & Swartwout and Mr. B.
Stanley Simmons, Associated. On pages 22
and 23 of the January issue the name of
Messrs. Gordon, Tracy & Swartwout was
inadvertently omitted and we take this
opportunity to express our regret and at
the same time to correct the error.

Recent Books on Architecture and Building

A manual for arriving
graphically at the ordi-
nary solutions of steel
I-beams and channels
should result in saving
considerable time to
designers who have oc-
casion to compute the
members of steel floors. Such is the volume
before us. The author in explaining the
construction of the charts of curves assumes
a knowledge of the theory and the mathe-
matical processes involved. While not a text
book, in any sense, it will, no doubt, be
widely used as a check by those who at
present get all their engineering from the
handbooks of the steel companies.

TIME

SAVER.*

This is neither a
book of history nor a
book of biography. On
the other hand, it is
more than a series of
essays linked only by
a common subject-
matter. The author
has selected and the basis of his selection
is a desire to exhibit the modern spirit as
expressed in painting through the lives and
the works of certain characteristic figures.
The essays which embody the story are, as
the author acknowledges, frankly sympa-
thetic and appreciative. One can find no
fault with this programme, because up to a
certain point it possesses great efficiency
and a sympathetic approach to an artist’s
work, which is, perhaps, in the end, the best
guarantee of finally understanding it in a
thoroughly critical manner. These essays,
fourteen in number, form as many chap-
ters, and are accompanied by typical illus-
trations that serve their purposes admir-
ably. The text is a serious and meritorious

♦Curves for Calculating Beams, Channels and Re-
actions, by Sidney Diamant, B. B., New York,
1908: McGraw Publishing Company.

|By Christian Brinton. New York, 1908: The

Baker & Taylor Company.

THE

MODERN
ARTISTS t

attempt at interpretation. We believe it
will be found fortunate enough to carry tho
interest of both the professional and the
lay reader. It is fluent and scholarly, and
though its tone is that of warm admiration,
the praise bestowed is given with discrimi-
nation. The author possesses a rare sub-
tlety of description. The book, in short, is
one of the best of its class that has ap-
peared for some time. We recommend it
without reservation to anyone who wants
to obtain a survey of modern painting.

REINFORCED

CONCRETE

STANDARDS*

The popularity of re-
inforced concrete in
building construction
during the past five
years has resulted in
establishing the fact
that much of the work
has been done without
a proper understanding of the relative prop-
erties of the two materials as used in the
structural members of a building. Gradu-
ally there has been established from the ex-
perience of the best qualified constructors of
concrete work a set of rules for guidance in
the disposition, attachment and assembling
of the material for economy and strength.
Such a set of rules appears in the volume
at hand, a manual of reinforced concrete
standards to be applied in the construction
of buildings. The subject is approached
from the engineer’s standpoint, but in a
clear and logical manner. It would be inter-
esting to note the result if some architect
who is inclined to pay sympathetic attention
to engineering would continue the discussion
of reinforced concrete in building construc-
tion. He would be in position to approach
his subject with a feeling for the structural
facts, but always with a view to the artistic
result.

♦Practical Reinforced Concrete Standards for the
Design of Reinforced Concrete Buildings, by H. B.
Andrews, M. Am. Soc. C. E.

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d 1879.

Vol. XXV. No. 3.

MARCH, 1909.

Whole No. 126.

V - yj r' » ; . 1 - — ' - '■ ■’ '' • > 1

IS*

\C O-NTjE'Nt S’

Page

IN MEMORIAM RUSSELL STURGIS Frontispiece

OUR FOUR BIG BRIDGES Illustrated. 147

Montgomery Schuyler.

A RENAISSANCE CHATEAU OF EASTERN FRANCE:

The Chateau de Pailly. Illustrated.

Frederic Lees.

CONTEMPORARY SWEDISH ARCHITECTURE Illustrated. 1G9

Ragnar Ostberg.

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY Illustrated. 179

II. Roman Architects (Part 1).

A. L. Frothingham.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL FORM . .Illustrated. 193
H. Toler Booraem.

OLD CHINESE RUGS Illustrated. 203

Charles De Kay.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. Illustrated 211

The Fine Arts Council— The Importance of the
Newlands Bill— Congress and the Artist— Art and
the Artist— For a Palace of the States— A Novel Use
for the Skyscraper — Draughtsmanship and Archi-
tecture— A Relic of Old New York— Sweet’s Cata-
logue for 1909.

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RUSSELL STURGIS

One of the most frequent, copious and
valued of the collaborators of the Archi-
tectural Record has just passed over to
the majority. The death of Russell Stur-
gis was by no means premature, accord-
ing to the ordinary standard of longevity.
He had overpassed the Scriptural limit,
being in his seventy-third year. But to
those who knew him, the death was pre-
mature. That so eager and omnivorous
an intellectual curios-
ity should have been
balked, so avid a ca-
pacity of intellectual
enjoyment, have been
nullified, before the
curiosity showed any
signs of dulling, the
enjoyment any signs
of slackening, still
seems to his friends a
cruel and untimely
blow.

It has been set forth
by the obituaries of
the daily press that
Mr. Sturgis, though
his architectural work
entitles him to recog-
nition as one of the
practitioners of his
early years who prac-
ticed architecture with
credit and scholarship,
was not a born archi-
tect. His works, the
buildings for Yale, the
pretty Gothic Savings
Bank in Albany, entitled him to respect,
although, with quite characteristic gen-
erosity, he assigned the chief measure of
credit for this last to his associate in it,
Mr. Babb. Richardson, when he was in
Albany doing his share of the Capitol, and
doing the City Hall, spoke of this build-
ing even with enthusiasm. But Sturgis
was not a Richardson. Whatever could
be attained by study, in an art, which
appealed to him, he might quite be relied
upon to attain. But he had not that “im-
pulse to create” which results in the mani-
festation of an artistic individuality.
Whereas anybody can pick out the work
of Richardson, and any very sensitive
person can discriminate it from that of
his imitators, Sturgis’s work is simply up
to the best level of scholarly attainment
of the time and not assignable to an in-

dividual. One may say that he would
always rather discuss than design. And
it was a good thing for him and for the
rest of us that he was early withdrawn
from design to discussion. The first time
I remember hearing his name was in
answer to my inquiry, addressed to John
Dennett of the Nation, who had written a
certain criticism of the then new and now
superseded and demolished old Park
Bank, on the site of
the present edifice of
the same name, which
had appeared in that
periodical. From that
time until his death,
criticism and not crea-
tion was evidently the
real line of action for
Russell Sturgis. His
knowledge was so
wide, so “encyclopae-
cliacal,” it has been
called since his death,
his anxiety to be right
on any point of fact,
and to take nothing
for granted without
proof, was so keen,
that his reader might
go along with him on
any disputed or dis-
putable point with a
singular confidence,
even though that
reader might differ
from the artistic judg-
ment ; that accompan-
ied the erudition. The present writer, in
reviewing the “Dictionary of Architec-
ture,” took occasion to quote from Samuel
Johnson to the effect that Mr. Sturgis
never “frolicked in conjecture.” When
the editor next met his reviewer, he said:
“I am exceedingly obliged to you for
pointing that out.” This accuracy and
secureness in matters of fact are a great
source of strength to a critic or an his-
torian. They give his readers the con-
fidence which Mr. Sturgis, among careful
readers, never failed to inspire. Readers
of the Architectural Record have profited
by this care and this circumspection ex-
erted upon a great variety of subjects,
historical and contemporaneous, for now
these many years.

One may fairly say of Mr. Sturgis that,
(Continued on page 220.)

RUSSELL STURGIS
1836-1909

Cbe

Jlvrtyitfftttral Prtatb

Vol. XXV. MARCH, 1900 No. 3

FIG. 1 . THE OLD EAST RIVER BRIDGE ( 1883 ).

John A. Roebling, Engineer.

Our Four Big Bridges

One of the reflections which force
themselves upon the New Yorker who
has occasion to investigate for himself,
and in an amateur way, the way of the
lover of beauty and fitness, the two big-
gest and costliest of the bridges at pres-
ent under construction by this municipal-
ity of Greater New York, is a discourag-
ing reflection. How grievous is the in-
justice that is done us by our press.

In the matter of public works the press
seems to be interested only in the inci-
dental scandals which may arise out of
them. All, or almost all, columns
are joyously opened to scandals about
bridges, as about other costly and impor-
tant public works. If they turn out to
be, or are even plausibly alleged to be,
inadequately designed, that is well. If
they can plausibly be alleged to be
‘‘gigantic jobs,” that is immensely better.

But if they are simply uncommonly and
creditably well done, so as to be among
the glories of the city and the country,
you will be long in finding out that unin-
teresting fact from the ordinary news-
papers. One who has of his own motion
investigated the construction of the
newer bridges across the East River, for
example, feels himself to have a griev-
ance when he finds a wealth of interest
in them, and a just source of local pride,
of which his newspaper had given him
no hint whatever. Not only has it not
told him “the half.” It has had nothing
at all to say about the matter. Perhaps
he ought not repine at having so nearly
a virgin field, and ought to be grateful
even for his grievance. But what a
social symptom the grievance neverthe-
less is 1

In truth, one who visits the Black-

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d, 1879.

148

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

well’s Island and the Manhattan Bridges
finds great matter for wonder and ad-
miration at the enormous artistic ad-
vance they show upon the older bridges
across the East River. This is very es-
pecially the case with the present writer,
who may be pardoned for recalling that
he made, a quarter of a century ago, a
critical examination of the then new and
now old East River Bridge, tor Harper’s
Weekly, in which the results published,
were so far as he knew or knows
the first attempt that was made in this
country at an aesthetic consideration
of an important engineering work. It
was an endeavor to test an engineering
construction by architectural principles — -
to judge it, as Ruskin has it, “by those

Fig. 2. Old Bast River Bridge — Section of
Tower, Showing Saddle.

larger laws in the sense and scope of
which all men are builders, whom every
hour sees laying the stubble or the stone.”
Specifically, what one demands in such
a work is “the adaptation of form to
function,” or, in other words, the follow-
ing out of the indications inherent in the
mechanical dispositions and devices, in-
stead of the imposition upon these of
ideal or of conventional forms. In this
mode of procedure, as an eminent Amer-
ican architect has described it, you do
not so much design your edifice as you
“watch it grow.” And, in the old East
River Bridge, it is interesting and in-
structive to note that the successes are
all won by letting the structure “do
itself,” so to speak, the failures all in-
curred by forcing it to do something
else. (Fig. 1.) Even to-day, much as
with our present lights it might have
been still further lightened and skeleton-
ized, there is no finer thing in its

kind to be seen than the gossamer struc-
ture of the metal, the airy fabric that
swings between the towers.

The spider’s touch, how exquisitely fine!

Feels in each thread and lives along the line.

The stiffening truss itself of the road-
way asserts itself as a stiffening truss
without asserting itself unduly. And
nothing could be happier than the rela-
tion between the “camber” of the road-
way, with the enormous radius of its
slowly climbing curve, and the swifter
swoop of the catenary curve of the sus-
pensory structure. These things, it is
plain, are simply submissions to the dic-
tates of mechanical laws and of the ac-
tual conditions of the erection, the re-
quirement in the interest of navigation
of a minimum height above the river at
the centre, the requirement in the in-
terest of accessibility and accommodation
of the situation of the terminals. The
resultant relation is artistically perfect.
The height of the towers, again, is fixed
by the length of the span and the im-
posed necessity of keeping the bottom
of the catenary at a fixed height above
the river; the bulk of the towers, given
the necessary massiveness of their
masonry, by the load they have to sustain
and the necessity of maintaining them
against any wind that can blow. These
things, again, are as perfectly satisfac-
tory to the eye as we must assume that
they are responsive to the mechanical re-
quirements. But in the detail of them
we cannot help seeing that caprice has
been allowed to play its part ; that the
form is by no means “inevitable ;” is, in
fact, contradictory of the function. The
function of the towers, for example, is
merely that of cable-holders. Nobody
would ever guess it to look at them. The
curve of the cables continues over the
saddles, which are shaped accordingly,
and it is a necessary condition of the op-
eration that the cables should move freely
in the saddles, thus providing for expan-
sion and contraction under stress of
the weather, allowing the “play,”
which the late Abram S. Hewitt, in his
admirable address at the inauguration of
the great work, pointed out was so essen-
tial to the working of so huge a structure

OUR FOUR BIG BRIDGES.

149

of expansive and contractile metal.
Quite manifestly the cable-holders should
have been so modelled as to express this
function, modelled in their turn into
“saddle-backed'’ roofs. In fact, they are
so modelled, in deference to antique mon-
uments which had nothing whatever to
do with the case, as quite to conceal this
primary function as though it were some-
thing to be ashamed of, instead of some-
thing to be exhibited and emphasized.
The half catenary seems to be imbedded
in the tower on each side, and there to
cease and determine, instead of being a
necessary link in a continuous and mobile
chain. One more or less vaguely feels,
in the presence of the actual work, how
“irrelevant, incompetent and imperti-
nent” to the purpose of the structure is
this actual tower, with its flat top, of
which the flatness is emphasized by the
projecting conventional cornice copied
from monumental structures of far dif-
ferent conditions and purposes. But one
perceives it in a clear and even in a lu-
dicrous light when he examines the sec-
tion (Fig. 2) in which the course of the
cables is shown, and the form of the en-
veloping structure, which has nothing
whatever to do with the case. The new
architecture of spun metal discredits and
shames the outworn and out-of-place
survivals of the older architecture in
massive masonry. One is a “graphic
linear demonstration” of the mechanical
facts of the case, the other a crude ap-
proximation to an expression of them

Fig. 3. Old East River Bridge — A Street
Crossing.

Fig. 4. Old East River Bridge Warehouses in
Manhattan Approach.

where it is not a senseless departure
from them.

The anchorages of the old bridge share
the defects of the towers. The savage
who essays a suspension bridge across a
gulch in the Andes must drive down
stakes or heap up stones or tie his
grass-woven cable to a tree to hold it
in place while his crazy structure is
swinging. To hold the cable-end firmly
is equally the function of the anchorage
of that wonder of mechanical refinement,
the modern suspension bridge in metal.
But there is no mechanical refinement
about the design of these anchorages.
1 hey are simply huge cubes of masonry
into which the cable disappears, not by
which it is visibly clutched and held.
Most spectators of the Brooklyn Bridge
probably fail to distinguish the anchor-
age, which is an integral part of the
structure, from the approaches of which
the purpose is simply to give access to it.
In these approaches, and in these alone,
of the old bridge, architectural counsel
was invoked by the designer, although
unhappily the design of the sheds at
either end was confided to the untutored
and unassisted engineer, with grievous
results, the most grievous of which is,
perhaps, that the great structure itself is
rendered quite invisible from either end,
and that you have to go out upon the
river or scale a skyscraper to get a look
at it. Upon the whole, the approaches
vindicate the taking of architectural
counsel. But there is one detail of them

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

150

Fig. 5. The Williamsburg Bridge; Department
of Bridges, Engineers.

which in its results is more than a detail,
and that is the employment, in all the
arches of the approach, of the form
called “Florentine,” that is, circular
within and pointed without, and hence
deepest at the crown and shallowest at
the haunches. As was remarked in the
study to which reference has been made,
this disposition is “the reverse of that
which would have been dictated by me-
chanical considerations alone,” and who-
ever discards mechanical considerations
in a great work of utility like this as-
sumes a grave responsibility. It is true
that the form enhances the perspective
effect and the apparent length of a di-
minishing arcade, such as the arcade of
the approach is, looking landward, or
from the larger to the smaller arches.
But it correspondingly shortens the ap-
parent length and diminishes the perspec-
tive effect of the enlarging arcade in the
view toward the river, which is the more
important view. All this, however, does
not prevent the Manhattan approach to
the old bridge from being tremendously
impressive. The great openings that
span the streets (Fig. 3) have the ad-
vantage of giving, what one finds so
rarely in our rectangular town, random
and accidental and picturesque points of
view, and some sense of wonder and ex-
pectation and mystery, as of

an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untraveled world,

And one does not in the least regret, con-
trariwise one welcomes, the effect of the
humble brick fronts, of red and yellow,
which have been put in as filling to the
intermediate arches to utilize them as
practical warehouses and places of stor-
age. (Fig. 4.) The manner in which
these interpolated fronts have weathered
and mildewed, within only a quarter of a
century, makes them as grateful objects
as a hunter after the picturesque can find
in the street architecture of New York,
gives New York, indeed, so far as their
effect goes, that air of an “Eternal City”
which it hardly anywhere else conveys,
excepting in the rough and smoke-stained
masonry and brickwork of the old Har-
lem Tunnel, which such a spectator re-
grets to see being supplanted by frame-
works of metal. The one lamentable ad-
dition to the approaches of the bridge
since its erection is the slim metallic sup-
ports of the widened roadway, which are
not only perfectly unimpressive and unat-
tractive in themselves, but which tend to
vulgarize and destroy the effect of the
massive masonry before which they are
placed, and without any real utilitarian
excuse, since it is quite plain that the
widened roadway could equally have

Fig. G. The Williamsburg Bridge — Base of
Tower.

OUR FOUR BIG BRIDGES.

151

FIG. 7. APPROACH TO WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE.

been carried upon projecting brackets as
upon vertical stilts, and would in that
case have even enhanced the effect which
it now disfigures. But, when all is said
against it that can fairly be said, it will
remain true that the old bridge is a great
credit to its builders, a valuable artistic
possession of the city which it serves
with a service so far transcending the
expectations of its projectors.

The Williamsburg Bridge, not far
from midway, in point of time, between
the old East River Bridge and these two
later, of which one is hardly finished and
the other in an early stage of its con-
struction, doubtless shows a scientific ad-
vance upon its predecessor, so active and
fruitful in the history of engineering was
the decade or more that intervened be-
tween the completion of Roebling’s work
and the beginning of this. But by com-
mon consent there was no corresponding
artistic advance. Quite the contrary.
(Fig. 5.) In fact, the ugliness of the
Williamsburg has been the means of an
increased appreciation of the beauty of
the East River. One does not imagine

what stream the later could suitably
span, unless, indeed, modern progress
should supersede Charon’s ferry by a
bridge for the traffic of the Styx, in
which case passengers outward bound
might perhaps feel that their conveyance
was appropriate to their destination. In
spite of the proverbial prohibition against
speaking ill of the bridge which has car-
ried you safely over, the Williamsburg,
as a work of art, has no friends. The
most conspicuous of the differences be-
tween the two is that the towers are in
the older of masonry and in the later of
metal. Presumably the difference was
primarily economical. One can hardly
imagine an engineer preferring a tower
of attenuated metal to one of massive
stonework if he were free to choose.
And, indeed, it might well be wished that
some architect worthy of the work had
had the opportunity to show what
grandly monumental objects stone towers
as huge as those of the old bridge might
be made by modelling them with refer-
ence to their functions, and not at all
with reference to inapplicable precedents,

152

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

antique or mediaeval. But, even if one
admits that masonry is the more eligible
material, one is not forced to admit that
nothing much better can be done with
metal than was done with it in the
towers of the Williamsburg. The Tour
Eiffel already stood to show what grace
and inspiration could be imparted to a
metallic tower by the right designer.
And Mr. Lindenthal’s unexecuted project
for a suspension bridge across the North

deem. The most effective aspect of these
towers is the view from underneath (Fig.
6), where this deviation of line is not
noticeable, and where the rowers, with
the arch between them, form a really im-
pressive example of the skeletonized ar-
chitecture of metal, in which attenua-
tion and articulation become the elements
of impressiveness, as opposed to the mas-
siveness and solidity of aspect proper to
masonry. Another deviation of line en-

FIG. 8. PROPOSED MANHATTAN PLAZA, WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE.

Palmer & Hornbostel, Architects.

River was also extant (was it not?), re-
producing with great effectiveness, and
on a scale not so very much smaller, the
continuous concave outward curve from
summit to base of the Parisian monu-
ment in metal. The chief ungainliness
of the towers of the Williamsburg is
imparted by the abrupt change of direc-
tion of their bounding lines, from a very
pronounced “batter” above the roadway
to a very nearly vertical line beneath it,
an unhappy change that gives the towers
an uncouth and bandy-legged aspect
which no cleverness of detail could re-

tails almost as disastrous artistic results
as the change of direction in the outline
of the towers. Instead of the continuous
slope of the East River Bridge from ap-
proach to centre and down again, it is
here only the roadway between the
towers which shows a curve, abruptly
changed to a straight line outside them.
And a third deviation of the same kind
puts it quite out of the question that the
structure can ever compete as a thing of
beauty with the older bridge. This is
again an abrupt change of line, the sub-
stitution of the straight backstay for the

OUR FOUR BIG BRIDGES.

153

FIG. 9. ENTRANCE TO

half catenary as the connection of the
cables with their anchorages. Scientific-
ally accurate and competent it may be,
but it is architecturally most injurious.
An eminent engineer to whom I was de-
ploring it observed that I probably did
not understand the real motive of the
substitution — “It saves a heap of compu-
tations.” Which is all very well ; but a
man who is not willing to take trouble
about the appearance of his work must
not call himself an artist. These three
unnecessary and unexplained solutions of
continuity would of themselves be fatal
to the artistic success of the work which
they disfigured. But there is still
another drawback almost equally in-
jurious, and in this case injurious to
the aspect of the suspensory structure
itself, of the bridge between the
towers which in almost all suspension
bridges cannot help being attractive.
That is the enormous depth and the in-
sistent conspicuousness of the stiffening
truss of the roadway. In the old bridge
this member simply suffices to give
needed emphasis to the line of the road-
way, while yet it is obviously subordinate
and accessory to the suspensory struc-
ture, which is “the thing.” In the Will-
iamsburg it becomes so insistent that it

WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE.

Palmer & Hornbostel, Architects.

almost seems a question which of the
constructions is auxiliary to the other,
whether a huge trussed girder is only
assisting a suspension bridge or is only
assisted by it to the extent of a suspen-
sory arrangement to relieve the strain at
the centre. No accessories, it is evident,
could make an admirable or even a pre-
sentable work of art out of a project so
bedevilled in the primary conception. To
invoke an architect to improve its ap-
pearance after it is done were a futile
and ungrateful requisition. As Polonius
has it — “Beautified is a vile phrase.” It
is particularly a vile phrase in bridge-de-
signing. Doubtless it were impossible
that the approaches in metal to this
bridge could have the impressiveness of
the approaches in masonry which we
have been admiring. But it may be
noted that, though a plate-girder offers a
less interesting surface than a bonded
stone wall, the projection of the road-
way beyond the structure of the ap-
proaches themselves is far better man-
aged here (Fig. 7), where the projec-
tions of the roadway are carried on
brackets, than in the East River Bridge,
where they are supported by vertical
posts from the ground. More “evidences
of design” in the brackets would make

154

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FIG. 10. QUEENSBOROUGH BRIDGE FROM MANHATTAN.

Bridge Department, Engineers. Palmer & Hornbostel, Architects.

the arrangement not only presentable, but
attractive. One must also praise the
arrangement by which the structures of
the terminal are sunk so far out of sight
as to preserve the endwise view which
in the old bridge is effaced, and which
would be so much more valuable there
than here, if one could only see it. (Fig.
8.) Moreover, these unobtrusive struc-
tures are in themselves admirably de-
signed and appropriately detailed.
(Fig- 9-)

As monuments, the two latest bridges
show as distinct an advance upon the
earliest as the second shows a retrogres-
sion. And the credit for this advance
cannot be withheld from Mr. Lindenthal,
under whose administration of the Bridge
Department the Queensborough Bridge
was redesigned and virtually begun,
though some progress had already been
made in building the supporting piers,
and Manhattan Bridge re-designed also,
though the engineering changes of the
revised design have again been discarded
in the actual structure. Mr. Lindenthal
had the conviction that the common
method of bridge-building, whereby the
structure is designed by an engineer, and
afterward, if at all, an architect invoked
to give it such form and comeliness as
may still be practicable, was a radically
wrong method ; that the “beautification”
of a great structure originally designed

without reference to beauty or expres-
sion was an impossible operation, too
often a hopeless attempt to retrieve the
irretrievable. He held that in order
to secure an artistic result in these
great works, of which the general
form must remain the chief element of
their impressiveness, and -of which the
general form proceeding from new appli-
cations and in new materials of me-
chanical principles, they must from the
first be the subject of aesthetic as well
as of scientific investigation. In a word,
the artistic constructor must be associ-
ated with the scientific constructor at
every step from the very outset of the
design. Messrs. Palmer and Horn-
bostel were accordingly associated
with the design of the Queensborough
while Messrs. Carrere and Hastings
stood in the same relation to the design
of the Manhattan, with the results for
which we have so much reason to be
grateful.

The intervention of Blackwell’s Island
at the point indicated as the most suit-
able for the Queensborough Bridge made
the construction much more economical-
ly feasible than it would have been had
the whole width of the river, here
some 3,700 feet from shore to shore, been
unbroken by land. From the architec-
tural point of view, the facility involved
an awkwardness, since the western water-

OUR FOUR BIG BRIDGES.

FIG. 11. MANHATTAN ENTRANCE, QUEENSBOROUGH BRIDGE.

Palmer & Hornbostel, Architects.

span is some 200 feet longer than the
eastern. But the cantilever construction
has here been so applied that even this
marked failure of symmetry does not
afflict the observer, and most observers,
one imagines, would not be conscious of
it, from any point of view they would be
likely to take, unless it were pointed out
to them. The curve of the river spans
approximates that of the Mirabeau
Bridge at Neuilly on the Seine, only here
reversed from a “deck span” supported
bv the cantilevers to a “through span.”

depending from them; and the Pont
Mirabeau has imposed itself as the most
artistic of metallic bridges, both in it s
general form and in the rational and ex-
quisite treatment of constructional detail
in metal. In this latter respect it is far
superior to the later, more conspicuous
and more familiar Pont Alexandre III.
by the same authors. For, while the Al-
exander Bridge is very impressive by its
stately and decorated roadway as one
passes over it, and by the boldness and
grace of its arch, of a length of radius

FIG. 12. MANHATTAN APPROACH, QUEENSBOROUGH BRIDGE.

Palmer & Hornbostel, Architects.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

156

and slightness of curvature almost or
quite unprecedented, one’s admiration is
much diminished when he walks under it
and notes such solecisms of detail as the
application, at intervals which must have
been determined simply by the accepted
proportions of a classic column, of capi-
tals and bases in carved marble to posts
of flanged and riveted metal, which are
evidently continuous below the bases and
above the capitals, and with the function
of which the applied ornamentation in
stone has evidently and even ostenta-
tiously nothing whatever to do. Though
the lines of the Queensborough are, in
fact, broken instead of curved, the effect
of the bridge is that of four towers with
three suspended spans, and is doubtless
the best example of a cantilever of any-
thing like equal extent, for the Mirabeau
is, as a piece of construction, child’s play
compared with this gigantic work, of
which the shortest of the three spans is
probably equal to the whole extent of the
French example. (Fig. 10.) Surely
there is no great example of the canti-
lever construction on this side of the
ocean which equals this in effectiveness,
while the most famous example on the
other, Sir Benjamin Baker’s Forth
Bridge, is commonly adduced as an awful
example of ugliness. Considering the
Queensborough, one wonders if it would
not have been better, in view of the con-
spicuousness and the artistic success of
the towers, if the arches of the masonic
substructure had been omitted altogether

Fig. 13. Manhattan Bridge — Manhattan
Tower.

Bridge Department, Engineers.

Carrere & Hastings, Architects.

Fig. 14. Side View of Manhattan Tower.
Bridge Department, Engineers.

Carrere & Hastings, Architects.

and only their stark and massive abutting
piers retained to carry downward the
lines of the so-called towers and prolong
and emphasize the impression made by
these, so that they should in effect be
continuous from base to finial, instead of
being interrupted, as here in effect they
are, by the turning of the arches between
the masonry supports. Be that as it may,
one cannot help seeing and feeling that
“every joint and member” of the super-
structure has been considered with refer-
ence to the expression as well as to the
performance of its mechanical function,
while those “features” of the construc-
tion which by their dimensions are en-
titled to an effect of grandeur without
question convey that effect. Consider,
for example, that westernmost of the
four metallic towers, even from the point
of view of the photograph, which is by
no means the most favorable point of
view. What an expression of power it
conveys, of power and grace, and grace,
you will remember, is analyzed by Her-
bert Spencer into simply the expression
of ease. Certainly that is an apt enough
definition when, as here, it pertains to
the doing of mechanical work, such as is'
imposed upon these erections, of which
the height from base to summit nearly
equals that of the towers of the suspen-
sion bridges, and would of itself make
them very notable in any but the city of
skyscrapers. And consider also the
simplicity and effectiveness, even in its

OUR FOUR BIG BRIDGES.

15 7

actual and uncompleted condition, of the
entrance (Fig. 11) at the extremity of
the Manhattan “shore arm” of the canti-
lever, how much the effectiveness de-
pends upon the simplicity, and how the
simplicity enables and indeed demands a
massiveness in the treatment of metal
akin to the massiveness of the adjoining
masonry. It were to “beat the bones of
the buried,” to point out how this sim-
plicity is the summary and result of a
process of simplification, and what a
complicated and ineffectual network of
bars it was which the associated engi-
neer and architect of the restudy have re-
duced to this simple expression. Observe
also that the “grade” of some three and
a half per cent, is here carried in a grad-
ual and unbroken slope, from the level of
the land on either side to the central span.
For architecture in the academic and
conventional sense, from which the idio-
matic treatment of metal is excluded, we
must resort to the approaches. Even there
we fail to find the academic and the con-
ventional prevailing in the most conspicu-
ous of the features, the arcade in
masonry, interrupted only by the wider
arches of the street crossing. (Fig 12.)
Instead of the conventional “Florentine
arches” of the earliest East River
Bridge, deepest at the crown and shal-
lowest at the impost, the form “the re-
verse of that dictated by mechanical con-
siderations alone,” we find that reversed
form, dictated by mechanical considera-
tions, in which the arches are deepest at
the impost and shallowest at the crown.
So far as I know, this is a novelty on
this scale and “in this connection.” But
it is by no means on that account a ca-
price. It would in any case give, even to
the spectator who did not stop to analyze
it, that grateful sense of reality which a
work of architecture must at least not
contradict. In the present case it has the
obvious practical advantage of giving the
greatest amount of “head room” to a
segment-headed arcade in a situation in
which the maximum of height is a prac-
tical and an aesthetic desideratum. The
filling of the spandrils of the stone arches
with an incrustation of particolored tiling
in relief is an effective novelty, and even
more effective is the ceiling of the in-

teriors of the bays made by Hie piers and
arches with tile-vaulting of low pitch and
shallow curves, a mode of interior finish
which, if not quite a novelty with us, is
by no means as trite as it deserves to be-
come, and which is here carried out in a
particularly interesting way. One can
foresee an even more useful future func-
tion for these sheltered spaces than the
warehouses of the East River Bridge
fulfil, or than is fulfilled in the public
market, only partially sheltered from the
weather, which has accrued under the
projecting roadways of the approaches
to the Williamsburg. In the meantime
a visit to these spaces, as yet unoccupied
and hardly as yet “swept and garnished”
must be of the greatest interest to any

Fig. 15. Cable Holder, Manhattan Bridge.

CarrSre & Hastings, Architects.

mind which is open to scientific convic-
tions or to artistic impressions.

Least of all the four bridges in a con-
dition to be judged is, of course, the
fourth: (Fig. 13.)

Pendent opera interrupta minaeque
Murorum ingentes, aequataque machina coalo.

The Manhattan is absurdly and mean-
inglessly miscalled ; it has no more to
do with this island than any one of the
other three. “The Wallabout” is a des-
ignation that would have local and his-
torical significance. Most Manhattanese,
one may assume, who have no occasion
to cross the Fast River, recall the design

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

158

of the Manhattan mainly in connection
with the contention among the engineers
to which the redesigning of it under
Commissioner Lindenthal gave rise. Far
be it from an incompetent layman to re-
vive that old controversy. But it is ger-
mane to the present purpose to point out
that, whether scientifically preferable or
not to the discarded and now readopted
design, that of Mr. Lindenthal embodied
a most impressive architectural concep-
tion. That was the conception of abol-
ishing the “stiffening truss,” which, as
we have seen, is apt to become an un-

Fig. 16. Flank of Anchorage, Manhattan
Bridge.

Carrere & Hastings, Architects,

sightly appendage to a chain bridge, by
incorporating its functions with that of
the suspensory structure and leaving the
roadway as a great street floor unen-
cumbered at either side from end to end.
And it is only just to acknowledge the
magnanimity of the subsequent adminis-
trations of the department in recognizing
the enormous architectural improvements
which had been evolved, together with
what they regarded as an ineligible engi-
neering design, and in retaining these
improvements, so far as the changed de-
sign admitted. This magnanimity ex-
tends to the succeeding architects who
have re-studied and refined the first de-

sign for the towers instead of dis-
carding it. It is an article of
architectural faith that any con-
struction mechanically sound is
susceptible of artistic expression. It is
true that even the general form and out-
line of the Manhattan are not yet devel-
oped. As one sees it now from the river,
it does not appear, even of the great cate-
nary curve, what it shall be, much less
what the effect of it will be when its line
is supplemented by that of the unbegun
roadway beneath, and of the filaments
which are to connect these two essential
members of a suspension bridge. It is
the metal work of the towers alone and
the masonry of the anchorages alone that
are sufficiently advanced to be judged.
In these there is already abundant evi-
dence of a more skilful and expressive
and successful treatment than is to be
found in any other suspension bridge
anywhere. Mr. Hornbostel’s design for
the towers, as exhibited some years ago
in a model, was universally admired. But
it is clear that this has been vastly im-
proved in the executed work. Instead of
a trellis of metal panels in each of
the three compartments into which the
tower is divided above the roadway, this
trellis is now confined to the lateral com-
partments, the central being opened to
the top, where it is closed by an arch,
with a great gain in expression, the up-
rights which support each its respective
cable being unmistakably specialized for
that function. And there is an equal in-
crease both in power and in refinement
over the original design in tlie spreading
substructure of the tower (Fig. 14), in
which the function of every part speaks
with forcible and eloquent expression,
and the unity in variety of the whole is
so impressive that it is impossible to re-
gret that in these masonry was discarded
for metal. It is instructive to compare
the section of the summit of the towers
of the East River Bridge, in which such
blundering and mistaken pains were
taken to ignore the actual purpose of
their erection, to conceal what they
were, in fact, all about, with the suc-
cessful pains which have been taken in
the exposition and the emphasis of the
offices of the cable holders and the cable
saddles shown in the outline of the tops

OUR FOUR BIG BRIDGES.

159

PIG. 18. SECTION OP ANCHORAGE, MANHATTAN BRIDGE.

FIG. 17. FRONT OF ANCHORAGE, MANHATTAN BRIDGE.

Carrere & Hastings, Architects.

i6o

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

of the towers of the Manhattan (Fig.

IS)-

But the masonry of the anchorages is
at least equally admirable with the metal
of the towers, and equally expressive
(Figs. 16 and 17). The effect of mas-
siveness in these anchorages is almost
more than Roman. They wear, indeed,
an aspect of Egyptian immobility, and
immobility is the very purport of their
erection. Where in the world can one
see a more impressive effect of sheer
power than in the ordered masses of
this Manhattan anchorage, which so few
of us have thus far taken the trouble to

Fig. 19. Section of Anchorage, Old E’ast River
Bridge.

see at all? It is hard to say which is
the more impressive view, that of the
front, with its four great backward-
raking buttresses, each corresponding
to the great cable to restrain which is
its office, or of the flank, in which the
aperture destined for the passage of
Cherry Street serves but to emphasize the
solidity of its abutting masses. The four-
foot torus which is the impost-moulding
of the arch- — and one wishes that it had
been of a single instead of a double
course of masonry — will give the scale
of the monumental work which is given

also by the human figure alongside. And
what a scale !

Why man it doth bestride the narrow street,
Like a Colossus, and we, petty men,

Walk under its huge legs and peep about—

Egyptian mass ! Egyptian immobil-
ity 1 “Pylons” is the only name for these
huge erections, that so recall how the
Egyptians "planting lasting bases, de-
fied the crumbling touches of time and
the misty vaporousness of oblivion.”
These anchorages give visible promise
of a duration equal to that of the great
temple of Ramses, or the great pyramid
of Cheops. And it is as grati-
fying as it is exemplary to note that
all this is so impressive because it is so
expressive, because it is in detail, as well
as in mass, a faithful and skillful follow-
ing of the facts of the case. Each of
the buttresses is modeled to express its
special function of seizing and holding
its allotted cable, which, as the section
shows, it is reaching up to grasp. Even
our old friend, the curved pediment,
finds a meaning as the offset and drip-
stone of a buttress. The contrast is as
vivid and as overwhelmingly in favor of
the modern instance between the section
of this anchorage (Fig. 18) and that of
the crude and amorphous lump of the
anchorage of the old East River Bridge
(Fig. 19), as between the summits of
their respective towers, though the pro-
cess has been in one case that of atten-
uation and in the other that of accum-
ulation. There seem to have been gen-
erations of earnest and artistic workers
between the crudity of the earlier and
the refinement of the later of two works
which, in fact, less than a single genera-
tion divides. It is a great advance.
The Oueensborough and the Manhat-
tan Bridges give promise of a
final and triumphant refutation of the
official European criticism that “public
works in America are executed without
reference to art.”

Montgomery Schuyler.

A Renaissance Chateau of Eastern France

The Chateau de Pailly

No traveller who has visited Eastern
France in search of fine old chateaux
can have failed to notice how very few
specimens of the architecture of the
Middle Ages or the Renaissance there
are in that part of the country. If he
were to set out from Paris in almost any
other direction he would be embarrassed
as regards choice, but in the Depart-
ments of the Aube and the Haute-Marne
he has to be content with a castle or
country house here and there and not be
disappointed should it fail to come up to
his expectations. The reason for this
scarcity of buildings of architectural
importance is not hard to find; it is a
matter of French history. During the
wars with the English and those of the
League and the Fronde, the East of
France, and especially the country
around Langres, was devastated time
after time. Many fine chateaux existed
there in the Middle Ages, but most, if
not all, were destroyed. So complete,
indeed, was the destruction that the
owners, in all but a few rare cases,
abandoned the idea of rebuilding.

Among the mediaeval castles which
were only partly destroyed during that
stormy period, and which were rebuilt
in the style of the Renaissance, the most
remarkable is the Chateau de Pailly. It
is situated in the commune of Longeau,
near Chalindrey, at the base of the
Cognelot, one of the mountains which
form the range on which the fortified
town of Langres is built. The hamlet
and chateau of Pailly belonged in the
thirteenth century to certain nobles who
bore that name, and they were still in
possession at the close of the fourteenth
century. Whether they continued to
hold them during the following century
is unknown. In 1491 a Jean de Dom-
marien was Lord of Pailly, but as he
died without issue the Bishop of
Langres, whom he had recognized as
his souzerain, entered into possession
of the property. The new owner did
not, however, hold it long, for it short-
ly afterwards passed into the hands of

the illustrious house of Saulx. In 1530
Jean de Saulx, Lord of Orrain, was the
possessor, and from him it passed to
his son . Gaspard, who afterwards
adopted his mother’s name, Tavannes.
He later became Marshal de Tavannes,
and one of the most famous men of his
day. The present Chateau de Pailly
was in great part built by him. Re-
maining in the Tavannes family until
1764, the chateau and estate were sold
to Arnoult Rene Toussaint Heudelot de
Letancourt, who in 1777 left it to his
son, Abraham Pierre de Letancourt.
He in turn bequeathed the property to a
relative, Francois Heudelot de 'Pres-
signy, the wife of Jean Etienne Des-
miers de Saint-Simon, Vicomte d’Arch-
iac. His son, Jean Etienne Arnoulphe,
Vicomte d’Archiac de Saint-Simon, be-
came the owner in 1790, but as he fled
the country at the time of the Revolu-
tion the State seized the chateau and
sold it, in August, 1799, to M. Charles
Felice, of Paris. It was again sold on
May 7, 1802, to M. Francois Roulet, of
Neuchatel, and once more in 1821, this
time to M. Jean Francois Moreau du
Breuil, who, in company with his son,
M. Thomas Moreau du Breuil, began its
restoration— a work which has been
continued in a very intelligent manner
by the present owners, M. and Madame
du Breuil de Saint-Germain.

In its main lines the Chateau de
Pailly is much as it was in the days
of Marshal de Tavannes, and for that
reason it is regarded by architects as
one of the most remarkable of the six-
teenth century chateaux of France. It
formerly consisted of four wings sur-
rounding a square courtyard. Three
round towers and a pavilion were at the
corners and defended the curtains,
whilst a square donjon on the north
side commanded the entire block of
buildings. At the top of this keep were
stone turrets for the sentinels who
guarded the castle, which, in addition to
other defences, was surrounded by a
moat. The entrances, all of which were

THE CHATEAU DE PAILLY— PLAN.

CHATEAU DE PAULY.

163

provided with drawbridges, were three
in number: By way of the pavilion on
the southwest, by two doors, one in the
northern- and the other near the south-
ern curtain, and, finally, by an open
postern in the northwest tower.

“At the period at which the Chateau
de Pailly was built,” says an eminent
French archaeologist of the middle of
the last century, “the influence of feu-
dalism had much diminished. The

tained, they were there more as a sou-
venir than as fortifications; and thus
the castles of the end of the sixteenth
century, whilst leaving a good deal of
their miliary character, already began
to have the appearance of dwelling
houses. The Italian campaigns of
Charles \ III, Louis XII and Francis I,
during which French nobles visited the
Renaissance palaces and villas of Italy,
had also largely contributed to the re-

CHATEAU DE PAILLY— GENERAL VIEW OF COURTYARD.

nobles were no longer sufficiently inde-
pendent to raise strongholds in opposi-
tion to the royal authority, which had
gained what feudalism had lost. More-
over, the invention of artillery made the
defence of castles more and more dif-
ficult, and the nobles, as a rule, were
not sufficiently wealthy to build fortifi-
cations of sufficient strength to resist
cannon, or, if they built them, to pro-
vide them with artillery. Consequently
they had almost given up constructing
fortresses. If towers were still re-

placement of feudal castles by less
severe chateaux.”

I11 this respect it is interesting to
compare two other chateaux of the Lan-
gres district with the Chateau de Pailly,
Ancy-le-Franc, which was built in 1555,
is very regular in its architecture, but
it is without either towers or a donjon.
Its moat is the only defence. The
Chateau of Tanley, dating from 1559,
has both moat and towers, but, with its
regular fagades it bears only a slight
resemblance to a stronghold. Con-

1 64

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

VIEWS OF THE CHATEAU DE PAILLY.

Southwest pavilion dating from the Renaissance. Doorway in the courtyard.

Staircase tower in the courtyard. One of the towers and the moat.

IS:

CHATEAU DE PAILLY.

structed about the same time as these
two castles, Pailly has a more military
aspect. Thus, three towers and a
pavilion flank its exterior walls and the
keep still occupies the place it ordi-
narily had in French strongholds. The
windows — numerous on the facade
facing the courtyard — are not so com-
mon at the exterior, especially on the
ground floor, and, with the exception
of the southwest pavilion, which is
richly ornamented with columns and
carving, the exterior walls are almost
plain. A cornice, resembling the
machicolations of older castles, is the
only ornamentation.

It must be remembered that Marshal
de Tavannes was a military man. It
was not natural that he should build his
castle with the regularity of an Italian
palace, deprived of all means of de-
fence. He foresaw that he might find
a use for stout crenalated walls, hence
the embrasures in the towers, which he
likewise roofed in. But what consti-
tuted the principal means of defence
was a terrace with which the castle was
surmounted — a terrace capable of being
armed with cannon. Now, these means
of defence certainly saved the chateau
from complete ruin, for on Prince Cas-
imir’s army passing through Pailly in
1576 the village was pillaged and burnt.
Twice did the Comtois and the Crea-
tions come marauding in August, 1842,
and had the castle been less defended
than it was they would undoubtedly have
pillaged it.

But if the Castle of Pailly, taken as a
whole and especially as regards its ex-
terior, retains the air of a feudal hab-
itation, the architecture of its courtyard
and that of the beautiful southwestern
pavilion belongs to the Renaissance in
its richest and most delightful form.
This southwest pavilion, in which, as I
have said, there was the principal en-
trance, is built on a basis of rusticated
stones, which support two floors, each
ornamented with eight fluted columns.
On the first floor, these are Ionic; on
the second, Corinthian, and, arranged
in pairs, they are separated by mould-
ings enframing marble panels. On the
frieze of the first floor can be seen a

165

curious leaf-like ornamentation, rather
resembling a bunch of plumes, and this
the architect has employed on many
parts of the chateau. The frieze of the
second floor is ornamented with modiR
lions. This graceful fagade was for-
merly surmounted by an attic on which
stood an equestrian statue of Marshal
de Tavannes.

The pavilion in the courtyard is
equally remarkable. The entrance is
surmounted by a marble plaque bearing
a defaced inscription, and on each side
are two fluted and sculptured pilasters,
separated by panels of rusticated stone.
Leaf ornaments appear on the frieze.
The arrangement of the first floor is
similar to that of the ground floor, but
the pilasters are replaced by fluted col-
umns, above the capitals of which is a
finely sculptured frieze. These columns
are separated by empty niches, and un-
der the window is a partly broken bas-
relief, representing a famous jump
which Marshal de Tavannes once made
on horseback in the Forest of Fontaine-
bleau. The rocks of the forest are,
however, replaced by what look like
towers, and the Marshal is mounted on
a Pegasus, which he had adopted as an
emblem. Finally, a dormer-window
with a pilaster and a fluted column on
each side rises from an attic decorated
with a medallion and sculpture. This
window is surmounted by a shield en-
circled by the Cordon of the Order of
the Saint-Esprit and bearing a lion on
an azure field — the arms of the Saulz de
Tavannes family. On each side of the
coat of arms there were formerly three
statues representing three of the sea-
sons, whilst two vases, resting on the
attic, flanked the dormer-window.

The donjon, built of rough-hewn
stone, stands to the right of this pavil-
ion, with the elegant architecture of
which its imposing mass contrasts most
strikingly. It has been said that this
keep dates from the tenth century, but
as buildings with bossages were not con-
structed before the introduction of artil-
lery there is no doubt that it was raised
in the fifteenth century; that is, at the
time the castle was rebuilt, after an at-
tack by the inhabitants of Langres. It

CHATEAU DE PAILLY.

1 67

is the only remaining portion of the
older chateau. Two floors of windows
were made in its sides during the six-
teenth century, and its walls were sur-
mounted by a sort of attic supported by
medallions resembling machiocalations.
Finally, four turrets, open to the air,
were placed at its corners, three for sen-
tinels and the fourth to contain a stair-
case leading to the donjon’s platform.

Along all the western fagade facing
the courtyard is a balcony supported by
cansoles, fluted and ornamented with
animals’ heads. The windows of the
first floor, resting on this balcony, are
separated by pairs of pilasters with
ionic capitals. Above runs an attic.
The building facing the pavilion and the
keep formerly contained prisons in the
basement. On the ground floor is an
open gallery formed of arcades separated
by pilasters of the Doric order. Ionic
pilasters separate the windows of the
first floor, which is reached by means of
a charming turret with openings. The
building which closed the courtyard, in
the center of which there formerly stood
a stone lion, is said to have been built in
the same style as this last named fagade.

Like all old chateaux, the interior of
Pailly contains exceedingly large rooms,
extending in some cases the entire length
of the wings. With one exception all
the rooms are vaulted, and the huge fire-
places which were built to warm them
are veritable monuments. All the an-
cient mantelpieces, save two, still exist.

In the room looking on to the balcony,
and which is now used as a salon, the
windows are separated by fluted col-
umns, supporting the roof. At one end
is a mantelpiece surmounted by a very
fine bas-relief, on which, to the right,
can be seen the Marshal de Tavannes on
his knees, in armor, and behind him his
horse, held by a woman. Minerva is
presenting him with arms, whilst near
her are seated two women, one prepar-
ing laurel wreaths, the other a crown.
To the left two cupids are busy inscrib-
ing the soldier’s exploits upon tablets.
Finally, in the left hand top corner is
Tavanne’s emblem, “A Pegasus.”

The interior of the keep consists of a
large room formerlv called the Salle-

Doree. Instead of being vaulted, it has
a wooden ceiling supported by beams,
which are ornamented with paintings.
The window recesses were also covered
with paintings, enframing medallions,
on which were mythological subjects,
one of which, representing Daphne, can
still be distinguished. A similar dec-
oration ornaments the ceilings of the
windows ; but there all the medallions
enclose the coat of arms of the Saulx de
Tavannes family, a coat of arms which
is united in the case of one of the win-
dows to that of the Tresmes family.
This leads one to believe that these
paintings were executed in the seven-
teenth century, at which time the castle
belonged to Jacques de Tavannes, who
married Louise Flenriette, daughter of
the Due de Tresmes, Captain of the
King’s Guard and Lieutenant General
of Champagne.

In this room should also be noted a
fine mantelpiece supported by consoles,
fluted and ornamented with acanthus
leaves. The mantel consists of fluted
pilasters on either side of the arms of
Saulx de Tavannes, supported by grif-
fins and surmounted by a helmet and a
lion’s head. These arms are surrounded
by an ornamentation of fruit, etc., in
the midst of which are two mere
escutcheons, the arms of which are,
however, defaced. This mantelpiece is
in white stone. At the other end of the
same room is another mantelpiece,
which, though badly damaged, is pleas-
ing in design. The only console it pos-
sesses was found in the park.

Between the Salle-Doree and the
drawing-room is a pretty corridor, lead-
ing to the dining-room and bedrooms of
the chateau. But these are not partic-
ularly noteworthy, except from the
point of view of certain pieces of fur-
mture. In one of the bedrooms is a
beautifully carved Portuguese bedstead
and a seventeenth century wardrobe,
Alsacian work.

In spite of many changes which
were made at Pailly during the seven-
teenth century, the chateau was almost,
at the end of the eighteenth century, in
the same state as when Marshal de
Tavannes left it. But when the Revo-

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

1 68

lution came things changed. About
1792 the inhabitants of the village of
Heuilly-Coton, headed by a Langres no-
tary, invaded the castle, the owner of
which was absent, and as there was
nobody to guard the property, as in
days of old, the band of marauders
wrecked everything they could lay their
hands on. The furniture and hangings
in the rooms were shattered and torn,
the ceiling in the Salon-Doree was much
damaged, some of the columns in the
salon were overthrown, the bas-relief
above the door in the courtyard was de-
faced, the charming turret was attacked

for the oxen of a Swiss cattle breeder.
Fortunate for the still beautiful building
his enterprise failed, and it passed into
the hands of those who could appreciate
its architecture. Following the advice
of M. Pistellet de Saint-Ferieux, an
eminent archaeologist of Langres, the
new owner, M. Thomas du Breuil, de-
cided to restore the castle in the most
thorough and intelligent manner pos-
sible.

Let me say a few concluding words
on the subject of the architect employed
bv Marshal de Tavannes. His name
was Nicolas Ribonnier, a native of Lan-

CHATEAU DE PAILLY— THE CORRIDOR.

and broken, and the equestrian statue of
Marshal de Tavannes was shattered to
atoms. The doors and even the floor-
ing were not spared.

Strange is the fate which overcomes
some of these ancient castles of France.
After being the home of a Marshal of
France, of Francois de la Baume-Mon-
treval, of the daughter of Comte Chabot
de Charny, Grand-Ecuyer of France, of
Francois Brulart, daughter of the First
President of the Bourgoyne Parliament,
and of Marie Athenai d’ Aguesseau,
sister of the celebrated Chancellor of
the same name, the Chateau de Pailly
was used for several years as a stable

gres, and he bore the title of “architect
to the Duchy of Bourgogne.” It can-
not be denied that he showed very
great talent in his work. The sculpture
ornamenting the castle, although in a
coarse-grained stone not at all easy to
work, is admirably executed ; it is evi-
dently the work of skilled artists, prob-
ably Italian workmen and the same
whom Cardinal de Givry employed to
make the magnificent roodloft in the
Cathedral of Langres and the sculpture
in the Chapel of Jean d’Amoncourt,
Bishop of Poitiers, at the north end of
that beautiful church.

Frederic Lees.

Contemporary Swedish Architecture*

The massive Hun mounds on the Up-
sala plains existed centuries before King
Olaf Stotkonung of Sweden was bap-
tised at Husaby well, a thousand years
ago, and who thereafter ceased to lead
the pagan festivals in Upsala’s temple.

Upsala’s Hungraves, those tremen-
dous earth mounds which enclose the
resting places of our ancestors, are proof
of the paganish power of erection and
might. They rise like mighty mountain
crests burrowing the plains and like dull
heavy sounds breaking through the sur-
face from another world, they appear to
us in extraordinary wave lines. Not far
away there stood, as late as the 12th
century, our grand pagan temple, unin-
jured and still in use, with massive walls
of coarse blocks of felspar, covered
within with plates of gold, d here, sur-
rounded by the holy graves, were wor-
shipped the old gods and deities, Odin,
Thor and Frey, until Eric the Holy put
an end to the pagan practices and de-
molished the walls of the temple. On
the site of the ancient edifice he erected
the Christian church which is still stand-
ing between the graves of the Huns. As
in those early days, so do still the monu-
ments of the pagans and those of mediae-
val Christianity, commingle and present
us with the greatest monument of an-
cient times. The early civilization of
the peasantry which existed many cen-

•Aus'wahl Von Schwedlslmr Architektur Per
Gegenwart, 1908 Aktiebolaget Ljus,

Bruno Hessling Co., New York.

Stockholm ;

turies before the introduction of Chris-
tianity gave way slowly before the ad-
vance of the Latin race, which forced its
way with Catholicism during the Middle
Ages. Long after Christian churches
existed in West Gutland, Sigtuna and
in Gotland they were making sacrifices
to their pagan gods in the temple on the
plains of Upsala.

These early churches and the Upsala
temple were built of stone, a material
which was then not much used for build-
ing purposes. The immense forests of
our land permitted the most extensive
timber construction, and house and hut
were generally built of rough wood.
Even churches were often built of wood
and the ordinary granite, limestone and
sandstone, though plentiful, were rarely
used.

In Gothland, however, there arose
early in the Middle Ages a further de-
veloped church architecture, which is
still seen in hundreds of small country
churches, exhibiting peculiar Roman and
Gothic forms with a curious northern
tinge. This was due in part to the for-
eign trade of the island, to its isolation
from the rest of the country and to its
deposits of limestone and sandstone.
Thanks to these rich deposits of easily
hewn stone, the edifices exhibit a rich-
ness in detail and a variety in form rarely
found in the rough structures on the
Swedish mainland. There are still found
peasant homes showing an ancient archi-

i ;o

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

tecture of stone with straw roof. Their
low, wide masses, lying close to the
ground like the Hun’s graves, are es-
pecially interesting when compared with
the forms of the grave mounds. Both

churches, with their simple designs.
Gothic arch roofs, granite walls often
two meters thick, and fortified towers,
served the double purpose of worship
and defense.

FIG. 1. POST OFFICE IN STOCKHOLM.

are round, low, and seem to be part of
the ground, the same being seen in some
of our old round churches built of gran-
ite. The Romanesque church buildings
erected in bare, outlying situations,
as well as the later-erected country

Ferdinand Boberg, Architect.

These edifices, of which the Varn-
heimer church is an example, erected by
the inhabitants under the leadership of
the local monks, exhibit a more original
and more rational architectural character
than the Gothic cathedrals of Upsala,

CONTEMPORARY SWEDISH ARCHITECTURE.

Fig. 2. Detail of Figure 1.

Skara, Linkoping, etc., which were con-
structed under the direction of foreign
architects. At the same time brick came
into more general use as building ma-
terial, and during the Swedish Renais-
sance of the 1 6th century brick, granite
and other hewn stone were used in the
construction of residence houses of the
gentry and the castles of the kings.

Under the rule of Gustavus Vasa, who
consolidated the land as a kingdom, our
greatest progress in architecture was
made. Endowed with a perception of
clearness and strength, and with a royal
appreciation of the dignity of architec-
ture, he personally conducted many
building enterprises in the kingdom. The
most beautiful of these is the palace at
Vadstena. The original plan was like
the early French castles, and of the early
building the centre portion, the side
towers and the moat are still extant. Its
compact mass, immense proportions,
curious grouping of windows, in which
the demands of the Renaissance for a de-
tailed regularity are only considered in a
general way, make this a monument of
true Swedish architecture. Its immense
apartments, some more than ten meters

171

wide, with their straight, heavy timber
roofs, show the characteristic force of
that day. The same architectural ele-
ments of mass and beauty are observable
in the brick castles in Kalmar and
Gripsholm. During the 17th, and es-
pecially, the 1 8th, centuries southern
influences are clearly seen and trace-
able to the active intercourse of Sweden
during its most glorious period with the
rest of Europe. The massive and sedate
forms were still in evidence, and eve 1
the rough character as seen in the pal-
aces at Tido and Leeko; but the sedate
material and construction are not seen to
the same extent as formerly. The walls
are built of brick or brick and stone and
the fagades are covered with mortar to
give a handsome effect.

This tendency toward decorative effect
reached its height during the 18th cen-
tury and was brought about through
the Italian schooling of our great Swed-
ish artists, Tessin the Older and Tessin
the Younger. The former still betrayed
some of the old tendencies of the time of
Vasa, as seen in his palace for Axel Ox-
ensterna, opposite the principal church
of Stockholm. Tessin the Younger,

Fig. 3. Detail of Figure 1.

172

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Fig. o. Detail of Figure 4.

Fig 6. Detail of Figure 4.

CONTEMPORARY SWEDISH ARCHITECTURE.

173

Fig. 7. Brick Church in Orebro Lan.

Magnus Dahlander, Architect.

however, is completely under the influ-
ence of the Italian taste for decorative
effects. The only germ of Swedish art
shown by him is in the imposing mass.
His royal palace in Stockholm, taking in
an area of 30,000 square meters, with its
symmetrical arrangement, its rich pilas-
ter divisions, polished walls and fine sub-
divisions, was the model of Swedish ar-
chitecture for over a century. His deco-
rative tone and the Italian style which he
introduced is still in use, tinged more or
less by French influence. The Caroline
tomb near the Riddarholrns Church in
Stockholm is a shining example of the
art of the two Tessins, exhibiting also a
trace of the Roccoco, which exerted a
noticeable influence at the time of the
completion of the tomb about the middle
of the 1 8th century.

The cosmopolitan character of the
19th century brought to Sweden, per-
haps in a greater degree than to other

civilized nations, a mixture of historic
style, from Greek to the Renaissance of
the Middle Ages and the Baroc, all based
rather upon academic knowledge than
upon the true artistic feeling for archi-
tecture. In our country, as in many
other lands, the excessive amount of for-
eign material has prevented the develop-
ment of a uniform national type of archi-
tecture. It has been recognized during
the last decade that this universal spirit
in an art like architecture, which is in-
fluenced by climatic and local conditions,
presents a distinct danger for the build-
ing art. For this reason the problem of
the day with Swedish architecture is to
develop a national architecture based
upon the study of national edifices.

Ragnar Ostberg.

The volume from which the foregoing
is translated contains a truly remarkable
and representative selection of the con-
temporary buildings of Sweden. To study
them intelligently one should first read
Mr. Ostberg’s review and then seek out
confirmation of the influences of which

Fig. 8. Church of St. Mathew in Stockholm.

Erik Lallerstedt, Architect.

1 74

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Fig. 9. Apartments in Stockholm.

Ekman & Hagstrom, Architects.

he speaks. In most histories of archi-
tecture not even a word of mention is to
be found on the architecture of the Scan-
dinavian lands beyond the North Sea.
From even a cursory inspection of these
Swedish buildings the conclusion is in-
evitable that the historian of the future
will be guilty of palpable injustice if he
fails to give them a due share of atten-
tion.

We cannot agree with Mr. Ostberg
that the universal spirit in architecture
presents a distinct danger {or building
art , if by that universal spirit he
means eclecticism. True, architecture is
strongly influenced by climate and local
conditions. But are there not architec-
tural solutions which are of universal
application and which are as invaluable

to Scandinavia as to any other section of
Europe, and to America, for that mat-
ter? One cannot, moreover, be blind to
the fact that this is an eclectic age in
many departments of mental activity, to
which architecture forms no exception.
No better application could be found of
this proposition than the United States,
which, like Sweden, is young in architec-
tural development, though not, of course,
so susceptible to the multitude of influ-
ences which are traceable in the contem-
porary buildings of that Scandinavian
country. Yet, who can authoritatively
assert that we are not already beginning
to develop something in the direction of
an American architecture? It cannot be
expected that, at the present early stage
of our architectural development, one

• I

Fig. 11. Business Building in Stockholm.

Gustaf Lindgren, Architect.

CONTEMPORARY SWEDISH ARCHITECTURE.

1 75

will be able to designate any one building
as typifying the national style. To get
tangible evidence of such a manifesta-
tion of building which has come to be
called style requires of him who would
find it a study of many examples in
widely scattered sections. As he passes
along he will gradually and uncon-
sciously pick up here and there frag-
mentary impressions which will finally
total up into a definite conclusion show-
ing him whither our ideas in the art of
building are leading us. The expression,

the conscientious artist, who thus be-
comes, to outward appearances, and per-
haps quite unconsciously, the creator of
a new style of architecture.

In the buildings which are published
with Mr. Ostberg’s text, and some of
which we reproduce herewith, are notice-
able certain peculiarities not to be found
in the countries whose architectural
forms they imitate. To state these pe-
culiarities definitely it would be neces-
sary to make an exhaustive study of
Swedish buildings from every possible

FIG. 10. PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, STOCKHOLM.

Aron Johansson, Architect.

an epoch-making building, is so often
used to denote a structure which pre-
cisely typifies a given style and which is
made to appear the signal that the style
has suddenly been created from appar-
ently no basis. History is sufficient tes-
timony that in the art of building the de-
velopment of a marked change from the
prevailing form is of the slowest of
processes. Little by little the prevailing
tendencies of the time lead the art in one
direction or another, until finally the cu-
mulative results of years of growth begin
to crystallize and combine in the hands of

standpoint. It would be necessary to in-
form oneself precisely of the conditions
under which they were built, the nature
of the materials entering their construc-
tion and the character of the labor avail-
able, for which the opportunity does not
offer.

Attention may, however, be called to the
fact that the northern coumries are rich
in excellent building materials ; the tim-
ber supply has been and still is so plenti-
ful and so good that most of the build-
ings of the peninsula for centuries were
of timber construction, as the author

176

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

points out in the foregoing, yet stone
was to be had in unlimited quantities and
of excellent quality. The financial con-
dition of the country did not, however,
warrant the expenditure of money to
secure work and employ stone in build-
ings until modern times. But after the
employment of the more permanent
building material there followed the use
of brick and tile and ironwork, and
finally of all the other materials which
are used elsewhere in permanent struc-
tures.

It is natural that the Swedes, with
their inexperience in the use of these ma-
terials, should adapt them to their bor-
rowed architectural forms in ways which
most closely resemble those of the old
wooden architecture of their churches
and thatched dwelling houses. The min-
ute scale of much of their ornament
clearly reveals its origin from wood
carving. In some instances a little ex-
perience in the art of stone carving has
enabled them to produce some splendid
pieces of ornamental design, while in
other instances their genius for intricate
ornament has led them to imitate, in their
own way, the extravagances of the Roc-
coco. The decorative use of brick they
seem to delight in, and their expertness
in the use of wood is admirably shown
in their treatment of interiors, which be-
tray the Swedish love of ornament in
their richly decorated plaster ceilings.

To point out specifically the more
marked characteristics as shown in our
illustrations, we select as a fairly repre-
sentative instance of the use of brick and
stone the Post Office in Stockholm
(Fig. 1). in which the heavy material is
made to serve as the border of the com-
position, the brick filling in the field.
The architecture suggests, if any direct
influence, that of the Modern Rhennish,
but even such a statement must seem
rather far-fetched in view of the novelty
of handling the materials in the faqade.
Figures 2 and 3, which are details of
Fig. 1, will serve to illustrate the minute
character of the ornament, which betrays
its imitation from wooden forms. Over
the arched entrance in Fig. 2 is to be
seen, though the illustration is not very

clear, an instance of the Roccoco extrav-
agance, which might be done with a
saving grace in wood, but hardly in
stone. On the whole, the modeling of
the ornament is brilliant and its distribu-
tion good.

Figure 4 shows some influence of the
Early English Renaissance in its general
box-like appearance, caused by shallow'
window reveals, and in its fenestration,
though on closer inspection (Figs. 5 and
6) one fails to find anything English
about it. In Fig. 5 the intricacy and
beauty of the ornament is especially to
be noted.

Scandinavian architecture, wffien not
too strongly influenced by southern tra-
dition, is essentially picturesque, as wit-
ness, for example, the little parish
churches shown in Figs. 7 and 8, or the
pair of apartment houses in Fig. 9. Here
we have modern Swedish architecture at
its best, simple and unaffected, pretend-
ing to no virtues which it does not pos-
sess. If one carried the inspection of
Swedish architecture no further, how
high would be our estimate of it. But
the impartial reviewer is not permitted to
blink the other side of the story, to which
our next illustration (Fig. 10) offers
a fitting introduction, the Parliament
Buildings in Stockholm, in a heavy ver-
sion of its already heavy prototype, the
German Renaissance, for which it might
be readily mistaken. In fact, there is a
reminiscence, though just where it
would be hard to say, in this building,
which could render it liable to be mis-
taken for the Berlin Parliament.

An interesting composition, though not
so admirable in its details, is the faqade
of the commercial building shown in Fig.
11. It is difficult to undertand how a
designer could make such a promising
start at a design and complete it in so
ineffectual a manner. Taken in its bare
elements, the composition, one must ad-
mit, shows skill in the grouping of the
windows and the placing of the hori-
zontal moulding-bands, but in the treat-
ment of these features there is nothing
but disappointment. Note, for instance,
the scale of the ornament on the balus-
trades of the bow-windows, and then

CONTEMPORARY SWEDISH ARCHITECTURE.

1 77

FIG. 12. TJOLEHOLMER CASTLE.

compare it with the minute scale of the
ornamental roof balustrade which is so
much further above the eye.

A typical example of a Swedish coun-
try estate is to be seen in our next il-
lustration (Figs. 12, 13), which clearly
betrays its English origin, not alone in

its architectural features, but also in its
rambling plan. A characteristic interior is
the dining-room of this same castle (Fig.
14), which shows the Swedish facility in
the use of carved wood and the applica-
tion of the forms of wood ornament to
plaster decoration. — Editor.

FIG. 13. TJOLEHOLMER CASTLE— PLAN.

Lars Wahlman, Architect.

■

FIG. 14. TJOLEHOLMER CASTLE— DINING ROOM.

The Architect in History

ii.

Roman Architects— Part I.

A far more complex condition of
architects and architecture prevailed
under Roman rule than in Greek days,
for there were now two currents and
two ideals — the Italian and the Greek.
In architecture, as in law and politics,
Rome had a comprehensive and prac-
tical scheme to which she held most
tenaciously, even forcing into its groove
as far as possible the Greek talent of
which she made use. She made her art
subservient to her unifying programme
of life and of social propaganda, with-
out allowing free scope to the old Hel-
lenic particularism. Creature comforts
and amusements were lavished on the
people to make them forget the loss of
liberty ; and architecture was given a
leading part in the programme, which
involved baths, amphitheatres, circuses,
theatres, colonnades, basilicas.

The spacious interiors required in the
orthodox Roman type of some of these
classes of structures, especially the im-
perial thermae and basilicas, brought
architects face to face with problems
that had never arisen before and which
they managed to solve along lines of
mingled boldness and common sense,
showing how plastic Greek architectural
genius was even in its period of subjec-
tion to Rome. Nor was this the only
important difference. The interiors
were not only on a far larger scale ;
there was a more elaborate co-ordina-
tion of structural units. The imperial
thermae in Rome, the villa of Hadrian
at Tivoli are architectural worlds' —
microcosms of immense possibilities.
The new cities that Rome founded
throughout the world often arose mush-
room like, according to a pre-ordained
plan — something only seldom seen in
Greek times and then mainly in the last
days, after Alexander the Great.

A personal difference that is at first
confusing is due to the fact that among

Roman architects social distinctions did
not imply what they had among the
Greeks in regard to artistic ability and
education. While in Greece all promi-
nent artichitects were free citizens, a
Roman architect who was a free citizen
might be ignorant, narrow and in-
artistic, compared with a slave-architect
or a freedman ( libertus ) who was so-
cially a pariah; usually the reason for
the superiority of such social inferiors
was that they were Greeks.

It is but too true that under the in-
fluence of the Roman practical spirit
architects lost much of the love of
plastic and linear refinements and the
aesthetic delight in solving delicate
questions of proportion. It is a matter
of doubt whether this was compensated
by the greater opportunity for composi-
tion on a grand scale afforded by the
colossal civil structures of the empire.
The effect was to wean the architect
from the study of optics and perspec-
tive and from the higher and theoretical
mathematics ; to make him more of an
engineer and builder; less of an aesthe-
tician. He lost the Greek perception
for beauty of line and surface.

Perhaps the architect had as broad a
culture as before but it was partly of a
different sort, with a preponderance of
practical elements such as mechanics
and sanitation. As a useful art, Cicero
classes it by the side of medicine.

The Roman architect was, conse-
quently, not a writer or theorizer. He
had no views, no aesthetic canons ; gave
no literary explanation of his master-
pieces as the Greeks had done. It was
only at the very threshold of Roman
art in the early part of the reign of
Augustus that Vitruvius seems to form
an exception, in his classic handbook of
architecture. But Vitruvius was really
less representative of Roman than of
Greek ideas and summed up like an

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

181

encyclopaedist the period just then clos-
ing rather than ushered in a new one.
He knew little or nothing of the pos-
sibilities of concrete, the basis of so
much Roman imperial construction, nor
of the dome and vault as the basis of
Roman interiors, nor of the thermae in
which the new ideas of composition was
to be most successfully embodied.

In connection with this Greco-Roman
amalgamation, while it is true that the
influence of Greek temple architecture
on Rome during the formative period of
the last two centuries of the Republic
was commanding, it not only did not
drive out Etruscan traditions (note the
persistence of the plan in antis), but
was in turn reacted upon. While Greek
architects invaded Rome, the fresh and
lively Roman- genius was grasping and
adapting the precepts of their masters
so quickly that Roman architects were
being called to Greece. While the Greek
Hermodorus of Salamis built the tem-
ple of Jupiter Stator in Rome, the
Roman Cossutius finished for Antiochus
the Great the colossal temple of Jupiter
Olympius at Athens, and the Romans
C. and M. Stallius rebuilt the Odeum at
Athens for Ariobarzanes.

At the close of this Republican stage
Vitruvius mentions, as sources of his
manual, thirty-six Greek writers on
architecture and its kindred subjects,
and contrasts this abundance with the
scarcity of Roman architectural writers,
of whom he can enumerate but three.
He says: “From the writings of these
(thirty-six Greeks) I have gathered
what seemed to me useful, especially as
I have observed that on this subject the
Greeks have published much and our own
countrymen very little.” After mention-
ing the writings of these three Romans
— Fuffitius, Varro and Publius Septi-
mius — he adds : “Beside these I do not
recollect any one who up to this time
has written anything, though we have
formerly produced great architects and
such as were well qualified to write with
elegance.” Nor was later Roman lit-
erature more prolific, as not a trace has
remained of any work beside that of
Vitruvius.

Then follows a passage in which

Vitruvius deplores the inaccurate esti-
mates of architects in connection, par-
ticularly, with work done for private
owners, undeterred as they were by the
fear of any punitive law like that of
Ephesus, a law which was explained
in my paper on Greek architects :
“Would to God that such a law existed
among the Roman people with regard
to their public, but also to their private
buildings, for then the blunderers could
not commit their depredations with im-
punity, and those most skillful in the
intricacies of the art would follow the
profession. Proprietors would not be
led into ruinous expense and architects,
through fear of punishment, would be
more careful in their estimates.”

Already in the times of Cicero and
Augustus it had become the custom for
wealthy Romans of taste to not only
take an active part in overseeing, as
Cicero did, the details of the work, but
to be their own architects, and deal di-
rectly with their contractors. Vitru-
vius, as we see, thinks this due to the
fact that there was no Roman law to
make the architect financially responsible
when the estimate he had given as to
the cost of a house was far exceeded in
the building.

Vitruvius does not spare his fellow
architects, and, unlike his contemporary,
Cicero, refers to the great number of
“cheeky” ignoramuses who sullied the
profession. He shows, perhaps, a trace
of personal disappointment and disillu-
sion when he says that it takes more
than scientific knowledge to bring suc-
cess, and that money, influential connec-
tions or a good address are necessary
for an architect to be successful and to
have the chance to show his ability. He
confesses to his own lack of personal
attractiveness — “nature has denied me
ample stature, my face is wrinkled, and
sickness has impaired my constitution.”
He adds that he did not enter the pro-
fession to make money and would thinh
it undignified to run after clients as the
majority do, to drum up trade. “No
wonder,” he says, “that I am so little
known, but when this book is published
I hope I shall obtain fame with posr
terity.”

182

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

In another place he says, speaking
evidently at first of the Greeks and early
Romans : “The ancients entrusted their
works to those architects only who were
of good family and well educated, think-
ing it better to trust the modest than the
bold and arrogant man. These artists
instructed only their own children or re-
lations, with due regard to their honor-
able character, so that property might
be safely committed to their charge.
When, therefore, I see this noble science
in the hands of the unlearned and un-
skillful, ignorant not only of architec-
ture but of everything relating to build-
ings, I cannot blame proprietors who,
relying on their own intelligence, are
their own architects.’’

It was probably the invasion of the
profession in his own time by numerous
freedmen and slaves that largely caused
this bitterness of Vitruvius, himself a
Roman citizen of good family and wide
culture, and naturally scornful of men
so far below him in position. Another
reason may be that he belonged to the
school that was then dying out, the ex-
clusive school of the Greek architrave
and the flat roof; still another, that so
many persons who were not architects
entered into the building business as a
speculation.

So much has been here said about
Vitruvius and so pronounced was his
influence even in the early Middle Ages
and especially during the entire Renais-
sance that I shall add a synopsis of his
treatise. It still remains the principal
basis for our scientific study of the
classic styles and shows what sort of
handbook was available for Roman
architects. We must imagine it to have
been accompanied by illustrative draw-
ings. Vitruvius dedicated his book to
an Emperor whom he does not name,
but who can only be Augustus, and
wrote it in his old age. The general
opinion is that he was a military en-
gineer and architect under Julius Caesar
and Augustus and built under the latter
a basilica at Fano. He leads the series
of Roman architects known by name to
have been in the employ of the State
and especially of the Emperors, a class

of architects who were given ever in-
creasing opportunities.

Imperial Architects. — The greater
of these opportunities came in Rome
itself mostly in consequence of its per-
iodical great fires. It is true that
Roman authors do not specify the archi-
tects who were employed by Augustus
and Agrippa to turn Rome from a brick
into a marble city, but we know the
names of several architects who might
have done this. There was Valerius of
Ostia, who covered a theatre in Rome
for Agrippa ; Vitruvius himself, and
probably also a pupil of his, Vitruvius
Cerdo, who signed the Colony arch at
Verona; Artorius Primus, who built
the large theatre at Pompeii and Nu-
misius, who constructed that of Hercu-
laneum; Postumius Pollio, author of the
forum and temple at Terracina, and his
pupil, Cocceius Auctus, who built the
“temple” at Pozzuoli. No later reign
furnishes the names of so many archi-
tects.

But, after all, the aspect of the city
was not affected so radically by the
works of Augustus, exquisite and nu-
merous as they were, as it was by Nero
after the great fire of 64 A. D. ; and we
are so fortunate as to have preserved
to us by Tacitus the names of the two
architects and engineers, Sever us and
Celer, to whom Nero entrusted the
spending of the hundreds of millions he
must have devoted to the work of re-
construction.

The city rose again, according to a
careful plan, with more regular and
broader streets ; long lines of porticoes
and great squares forming a monu-
mental composition in which the private
architecture was so much better in qual-
itv as not to make the public structures
seem like oases in a wilderness, as in
old Rome, but parts of a harmonious
whole. The height of the new houses
was limited to sixty feet, and in front
of the lines of private mansions the
Emperor built porticoes at his own ex-
pense. Inner courts were required in
the house-plans and wood was forbidden
in walls. Division walls were to be of
stone from the quarries of Gabii or
Alba.

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

These plans of Severus and Celer,
who seem to have been given carte
blanche, are characterized by Tacitus as
exceedingly clever and daring, and as
changing the face of nature. This was
certainly true of their masterpiece, the
Golden House of Nero, the colossal pal-
ace with its park which occupied about
a square mile in the heart of the city,
covering nearly the entire Esquiline
Hill.

In Lanciani’s opinion there still re-
mains part of the marble mausoleum of
one of these architects, Celer. It stands
in the garden of S. Agnese outside the
walls, and its epitaph reads :

CELERI. NERO N IS. AVGVSTI.

L (iberto ).A( rchitect )0.

183

to have been supreme, but he fell into
imperial disfavor by criticising the
drawings Hadrian himself had made,
for his new temple of Venus and Rome,
and was superseded by other men, such
as Decrianus, who, if we may judge
from the historian Spartian, was Had-
rian’s favorite.

Such stray notices in Roman writers,
desultory as they are, show that there
was no hesitation in the public mind
about giying leading architects due
credit. Certainly no architects in his-
tory had greater opportunities to show
their genius than those who were backed
by the unlimited imperial treasury, for
they seem to have been given a freer
hand than in Greece. Cities were re-
modeled or built anew throughout the
world, even the great capitals, such as
Antioch. The late Greek or Alexan-
drian scheme was married to the Ro-
man in these works, and imperial archi-
tects were usually recruited in Hellerdc
lands, as Trajan himself later testified.
There were also architects of lesser de-
gree who were regular officials of the
imperial household, freedmen and slaves,
who had charge of the ever-increasing
mass of imperial buildings.

After severe earthquakes, such as
those which ruined some of the largest
Eastern cities — Antioch, Nicomedia,
Nicaea and many more, especially in
the time of Trajan and Hadrian, the im-
perial treasury was opened wide for the
work of reconstruction. Provincial
governors, such as Pliny the Younger
under Trajan, were given authority to
call in imperial engineers and architects
who were placed in charge of the public
works.

City Architects. — Next in import-
ance to the imperial architects were
the official city architects. The cus-
tom that had prevailed, especially in
late Greek times, among the cities of
Asia Minor, such as Rhodes, Cyzicus
and Ephesus, of electing a city architect,
responsible for all city buildings, old
and new, appears to have survived there
under the Empire. For example, in the
time of Marcus Aurelius, Zeno, son of
Theodorus, was not only the architect of
the theatre of Aspendos, but had charge

The next great fire in Rome was only
sixteen years later, in 80 A. D., under
Titus, and it was Domitian by whom
the work of reconstruction was planned
though not completed.

From Martial, the poet-satyrist, we
learn that Domitian’s chief architect
was Rabirius, who probably not only
built Domitian’s palace on the Palatine
but had general charge of the work
throughout the city. Trajan completed
a number of Domitian’s undertakings,
such as the Circus Maximus and the
Thermae of Trajan. Early in his reign he
placed the architect and engineer Apol-
lodorus of Damascus in charge of his
public works. He probably completed
the extinction of that pet antipathy of
the Romans, the Golden House of Nero,
which had usurped so much of the city,
by adding above its ruins imperial Baths
of Trajan next to those of Titus, facing
the Colosseum.

It is to Apollodorus, therefore, that
we owe the crowning glory of recon-
structed Rome, and one of the archi-
tectural wonders of the world, the Fo-
rum of Trajan, with its group of colos-
sal structures, and apparently also other
works of this time in Rome and Italy,
such as the ports and arches and palaces
at Ostia, Civitavecchia, Ancona, Bene-
ventum and many more. Even during
the early part of the reign of Hadrian,
Trajan’s successor, Apollodorus seems

184

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

of the other public works of the city.
Fortunately, this theatre is one of the
best preserved in the world, and it re-
quires but little imagination to refurnish
and repeople it. In the illustrations
given here there is nothing fantastic.

A little later, between 220 and 240
A.D., the architect, Aurelius Antoninus,
held a similar position at Tana'is, on the
Bosphorus, where he rebuilt the walls,
gates, forum and other public buildings,
and was recorded publicly as their au-
thor in several monumental inscriptions.

Architects’ Signatures. — It was
natural that architects should hardly
have been allowed to sign their works.
Pliny says that they were expressly pro-
hibited from doing so. This was a pro-
hibition that may have been an inherit-
ance from the Greeks, who attached their
names only to the buildings of which
they were the donors as well as the arch-
itects. But with the Romans, the prohi-
bition was neither absolute nor universal,
and gradually died out.

Pliny cites as an instance of the tricks
to which architects had recourse to evade
the prohibition, the case of Batrachus
and Saurus, who, disappointed at not
being allowed to inscribe their names
even on a part of the Portico of Octavia,
in Rome, which they had built at their
own expense, did so practically by carv-
ing a frog and a lizard on the capitals,
animals that were emblematic of their
names.

Roman law is certainly very clear on
this point. In Justinian’s Digest is a
statement of the famous early juris-
consult Macer: “It is not permissible to
inscribe on a public building the names
of any other person except that of the
Emperor or of the person at whose ex-
pense the building is erected.”

Sometimes the architect succeeded in
inscribing his name by copying this
Greek subterfuge and devoting some of
his honorarium to building part of the
structure at his own expense so as to
have a place where he could legally place
his signature. We may imagine this
to have been the case with C. Julius
Lacer, who built the superb high bridge
viaduct of Alcantara, over the Tagus in
Spain with funds contributed by several

towns of Lusitania. The little temple
on the bridge, dedicated to Trajan, was
built, as the inscription informs us, at
the expense of the architect, who was
able, therefore, to have himself praised
in flowing verse as author of the entire
structure and in the time-worn role of
overcoming nature by art.

But signatures of architects are not
uncommon even on works to which they
contributed nothing but their genius.
This was especially the case at the be-
ginning, under Augustus, before Roman
law had become so thoroughly organ-
ized and consistent. Some of these
works are particularly interesting. For
example, one of the most charming
groups of buildings of the Augustan
age in a provincial town is that of the
forum of Terracina, not far south of
Rome. The temple of Jupiter, now the
cathedral, was its “Capitolium,” and
still preserves a considerable part of the
rich marble facing of its cella — a most
unusual good fortune. Where the Via
Appia skirted this forum it was spanned
by a memorial arch, and the open square
was surrounded by porticoes and an im-
perial shrine. Part of the pavement of
the square still remains, and in this orig-
inal place the architect of the whole
scheme set his name in large letters :

C. POSTVMIVS, C. F.
POLLIO
ARCHITECTVS.

This architect was, of course, not a
freedman or slave, but a citizen. But
among his pupils was his freedman, L.
Cocceius Auctus, whom I have men-
tioned as a practising architect at Pu-
teoli (Pozzuoli), where he left his sig-
nature. In fact, in the time of Augus-
tus it was not unusual for freedmen to
be allowed to sign their works. The
L. Vitruvius Cerdo, whose signature
was extremely prominent under the ar-
cade of the colonial arch of the Gavii
at Verona, was probably a freedman of
the famous architectural writer Vitru-
vius. Another freedman, Artorius Pri-
mus, was, at about this time, the author
of the larger theatre at Pompeii, where
his signature reads :

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

M. ARTORIVS M. L. PRIMUS
ARCHITECTUS.

Architects and Clients. Draw-
ings. — The relations of architects to
their private clients must have been both
pleasanter and more lucrative than they
had been among the Greeks, owing to
the far greater luxury prevalent among
the wealthy Romans.

Aulus Gellius, who flourished under
the early Antonine emperors, has an il-
luminating anecdote in his Attic Eve-
nings: “I remember going once,” he
says, ‘‘with Julius Celsinus to visit Cor-
nelius Fronto, who was laid up from
trouble with his feet. When we entered
we found him holding a sort of Greek
symposium, surrounded by many men
noted for learning, family or fortune.
A number of architects were present,
who were called in with a view to the
erection of some new baths, and they
were showing drawings of various kinds
of baths depicted on parchment. He
selected from among these one that
seemed the best in plan and appearance,
and asked what it would cost to build,
everything included. And when the
architect replied that he thought a good
three hundred thousand sestercia would
be necessary, one of Fronto’s friends
remarked, “And fifty thousand to boot’
(c., $15,000).”

Among the few letters addressed by
a Roman gentleman to his architect is
one by the younger Pliny, which goes to
show the confidence he felt in this freed-
man, for he attaches no conditions to
the commission he gives him. “I in-
tend,” he writes to this Mustius, “to
enlarge and beautify the temple of
Ceres, which stands on my estate. It is
indeed a very ancient structure, and
though extremely small, is much fre-
quented on a certain anniversary. On
September 13 great numbers of people
from all the countryside assemble here,
at which time many affairs are trans-
acted and many vows paid and offered ;
but there is no shelter at hand for them,
either from sun or rain. * * * I shall
perform an act both of piety and munifi-
cence if, at the same time that I build
a beautiful temple, I add to it a spacious
portico * * * for the use of the people.

185

I beg, therefore, that you should pur-
chase for me four marble columns of
whatever kind you think proper, as well
as a quantity of marble for laying the
floor and encrusting the walls. You
must also either buy a statue of the
goddess or get one made, for age has
maimed in some parts the ancient one
of wood which stands there at present.

“With respect to the portico, I do not
think of anything you can send me that
will be serviceable, unless you will
sketch me out a plan suitable to the
situation of the place. It is not practi-
cable to build it around the temple [like
a four-sided court] , because the latter
is closely flanked on one side by the
river * * * and on the other by the high-
way. But beyond this road lies a very
large meadow, in which the portico may
be conveniently enough placed, opposite
the temple ; unless you, who know so
well how to conquer the inconveniences
of nature by art, can hit upon some bet-
ter plan.”

Nationality and Organization. —
The majority of architects under the
Empire were men of Greek blood. This
is not a mere inference from the fact
that the private architects of men like
Cicero bear Greek names, but because
even much later we find the Emperor
Trajan not only placing a Greek from
the Orient, Apollodorus of Damascus,
in charge of his building enterprises, but
plainly writing to Pliny the younger,
then imperial governor in Asia Minor,
that he had better get a Greek architect
for his work in Bithynia because he
himself got most of his architects from
Greece.

This ubiquity of the Greeks partly ex-
plains the similarity of so much Roman
work in countries so far apart ; it also
explains the rapidity with which archi-
tecture decayed in Italy when imperial
patronage was once transferred east-
ward, as there was so little local Italian
talent. It was Antioch, Constantinople
and other cities of the East and of Asia
Minor that drew the floating crowds of
Greeks, because the greatest building
operations were carried on in this part
of the Roman world after the beginning
of the third century.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

1 86

The Army Architects. — Another of
the unusual and unifying features of the
situation was the relation of the Roman
army to architecture. In the outlying
provinces, which possessed large per-
manent garrisons, requiring regular em-
ployment in times of peace, such as
north Africa, inland Syria, and the re-
gions of the Rhine and the Danube, the
new cities as well as the permanent
camps and the works of engineering,
were built by the army. Architects, as
well as engineers, were attached to each
legion, which always comprised a cer-
tain number of stonecutters, bricklayers,
painters, masons and carpenters, so that
every legion possessed the elements of
a complete corps of builders and deco-
rators and needed no outside help. The
military colonies and camps which
sprang up in these provinces might not,
therefore, be in the least influenced by
local art; the legions were, like the me-
diaeval monks, international art agents.
Such work was anonymous, and from
its very nature lacked the finish and or-
namentation of secular work.

The activity of the army in building
operations was by no means confined to
the actual construction of works con-
trolled by the military authorities. Not
only were the soldiers used in quar-
rying operations, in the manufacture
of bricks and other preliminaries, but
the proconsuls, legates and other mil-
itary authorities were authorized to
place the soldiery at the service of
the curators of public works. In such
cases the province for whose benefit
the military worked was expected to
provide for them at its own cost. The
only limit to this use of the legions was
the prohibition to use them for private
undertakings. Some of the best pre-
served Roman cities, like Aosta, in the
Alps, and Thimgad (Thamugadi) ; in
north Africa, were the work of the
army.

More than this, a semi-civil, semi-
military scheme was initiated by Had-
rian, which explains the wonderful
mushroom growth of newly built and
renovated cities under him and the suc-
ceeding Antonines. He organized a
train of architects, engineers, decorators,

sculptors, stonecutters and carpenters,
belonging to all branches of the build-
ing trades. The men were grouped and
managed in military fashion, divided
into squads under regular bosses. Of
course, this mode of organization ap-
plied to the mass of workmen, not to the
chief architects and engineers. The ob-
ject was to have a large body of men
always in the Emperor’s train as he
traveled through the provinces, ready to
carry out any of his numerous building
schemes. They were, of course, far more
highly trained than the common military
staff described above ; were, in fact, the
cream of their professions, as their work
shows, from the Hellespont to the Nile.
The bulk of them were probably Greek,
as Hadrian’s predilection for Greek art
is well known, and they were doubtless
great agents for spreading the best neo-
Hellenic taste, for Hadrian spent the
larger part of his long reign in travel,
and his building operations were con-
stant and universal. In his villa at Ti-
voli he made an architectural compen-
dium of the ancient world, a multum in
parvo, where the various most famous
types of buildings were reproduced, not
only those of Greece and Rome, but
those of Egypt.

Salary . 1 — Theoretically, an architect
had as high a position among the Ro-
mans as among the Greeks. Roman law
and society also made the strictest dis-
tinction between a craftsman who
worked with his hands for wages and a
follower of the liberal arts who prac-
tised his profession for its own sake.
The former was a menial, the latter a
gentleman. The gulf between the archi-
tect and the workman was even more
enormous than in Greece, because, while
the greater part of the finer work seems
to have been done in Greece by citizens
and foreigners (metics), free labor was
almost completely superseded by slave
labor in Rome before the close of the
republic.

The word honorarium was used to
express the remuneration of men who
followed the liberal arts and did not
render personal service under contract.
Labor by contract was regarded as viti-
ating their character as freedmen and

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

citizens by those who, according to the
early traditions of prehistoric Greece
and Rome, looked upon the liberal pro-
fessions as priestly offices, whose knowl-
edge was a heavenly endowment. The
lawyer, for example, was not supposed
to contract for the amount of his re-
muneration before rendering service.

It was not until Septimius Severus, it
is true, that Roman law appears actually
to have classified both the architect and
the contractor, as well as the surveyor,
among members of the liberal arts, but
this had previously been commonly un-
derstood. Quintilian, for instance, in his
famous treatise on rhetoric, includes
architecture in all its branches among
the liberal arts. Even as late as Jus-
tinian, Roman law (Digest) describes as
an “honorarium” the payment made to
the architect.

Social Position. — In fact, the Ro-
mans held even more strongly than the
Greeks, until the time of decadence, to
the fundamental difference between
architecture as a liberal art, practised
by gentlemen, and sculpture and paint-
ing as degrading occupations, suited to
slaves and freedmen. It is Plutarch
who uttered the famous dictum: “No
well-born young man, even after seeing
the statue of Jupiter at Pisa, or that of
Juno at Argos, will wish to be a Phei-
dias or a Polycleitos ; the work may
charm us with its grace, but we are not
forced to esteem its author.” Lucian
elaborated the same idea when he ad-
dresses young men: “Even if thou wert
a Pheidias or a Polycleitos, and should
execute a thousand masterpieces, the
praises would be only for thine art, and
among the applauders there would not
be one who, had he common sense,
would wish to be in thy place. * * * If
thou become a sculptor, thou wilt be but
a day laborer, using up thy body for a
paltry wage ; thy mind will shrivel ; thou
wilt be cut off from all, powerless to
defend thy friends, intimidate thine
enemies, or excite envy in thy fellow
citizens. However talented, thou wilt
always pass for an artisan, a low work-
man, a man living from the labor of his
hands.”

This social ostracism was evidentlv

187

not pronounced against architects ipso
facto , but their social standing was de-
termined by the usual canons applied to
all. We have already seen that as in
so many other professions, some archi-
tects were slaves, some freedmen, some
Roman citizens. The very full list of
architects given by Ruggiero in his
Roman Epigraphical Dictionary con-
tains names belonging to all three of
these branches of the Roman population
in almost equal proportions.

It would therefore be absurd to draw
any conclusions as to the education and
standing of architects as a class that
should apply to all. Still it is evident
that even the architects who were slaves
— Greeks, for the most part — stood in
the very front ranks of slavery, were
given a position of confidence, responsi-
bility, and were often more learned and
able than their colleagues of free con-
dition.

These slave architects were, of course,
in private employ and worked exclu-
sively for their owners, except when
loaned to a friend or hired out. But
we must imagine that most of the Ro-
man aristocracy and nouveaux riches ,
after the age of the Gracchi, had one or
more architects among their slaves, as
Cicero, Sextus Pompey, Crassus and
others are known to have had. The let-
ters of Cicero will give us, later, a
glimpse of these private architects, both
slaves and freedmen. In such enormous
establishments as those of great land-
owners like Crassus, which were as
self-sufficient as small towns, there were
a number of architects of the different
social classes.

Contractors. — The presence of these
numerous slaves and freedmen in the
profession probably affected the rela-
tion of architects to the contracting bus-
iness, with which they seem to have been
but little concerned. There are a few
cases, certainly, in which a Roman con-
tractor was also the architect. Lucius
Cocceius Auctus, of Puteoli, already
referred to, was an instance. But such
cases were far rarer than among the
Greeks.

In fact, the contracting business seems
to have been largely a mere matter of

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

THEATRE OF ASPENDOS (ASIA MINOR), BY ARCHITECT ZENO.

THEATRE OF ASPENDOS, RESTORED.

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

189

unprofessional speculation, in which
only the sub-contractors were profes-
sional builders. Speculators were in
the habit of making bids and furnish-
ing capital, for the method of payment
was not as favorable to the builders as
it had been with the Greeks, so that the
professional man of small means was
at a disadvantage and needed the aid
of capitalists. In Greece the contractor
worked with the capital of the state or
the owner, by means of the prepayment
system ; whereas, among the Romans,
the usual custom, under the Empire at
least, was to begin payment only when
a certain proportion of the work had
been done. Still, the Puteoli contract,
which I shall soon quote, shows that in
republican times the Greek method was
also followed.

Contracts by measurement or for a
lump sum were both in use, and will be
described in connection with both pub-
lic and private architecture. So enam-
ored were the Romans with speculative
contracting that practically all repairing
and running of public buildings was let
out on contract, subject merely to the
supervision of the proper city officials.
In all this the architect took but an in-
finitesimal share of responsibility.

Engineers and the State. — The re-
markable preponderance of engineers in
the field of architecture, which is be-
coming so characteristic of modern
times, especially in the United States,
was a trait also of Roman building:
this is only one of the many ways in
which we are now reproducing Roman
conditions and characteristics. This
was especially true in the earlier times
of the republic, when drains, bridges,
aqueducts, viaducts and such works of
public utility exceeded in number and
importance the structures of a more
aesthetic character.

In the opinion of Promis, architecture
among the Romans was at first not
strictly an art, but a useful function of
the state, and when, in the time of the
Scipios, an architectural art arose under
Greek influence, then, in about 200
B. C., the distinction was made for the
first time between engineers and archi-
tects. The functions of the engineer

continued after this to be exercised by
State officials; bridges, roads, aqueducts,
fortifications were still built by the army
under official direction, while the Greek
art nouveau, with its houses, for the
first time artistic, its temples, basilicas
and porticoes, came largely into the
hands of Greeks and their pupils, of
whom the majority were slaves or freed-
men, though some were free citizens.

As we moderns understand the terms,
then, engineers were public, architects
private, in their work. But the term
architect had with the Romans a more
general meaning, including both classes.
The military engineers attached to the
legions were called architects, though
they were also called “masters” and
“machine-makers.” A decree of the
Senate under Augustus orders that each
of the Curators of Aqueducts should be
accompanied by an architect in his in-
spection of the aqueducts outside the
city.

Architects were also attached by law
to the commissioners charged with
founding and regulating Roman colo-
nies. They were among the regular at-
tendants or apparitores of the magis-
trates. The magnificent network of
colonies established as centers of Roman
life throughout the world required a
regular staff of architects and engineers ;
and the official building activity of this
sort continued unceasingly up to the
close of the third century A. D.

We can see, by reading the building
regulations preserved in the constitu-
tions of some of these colonies (e. g..
Lex Ursonensis, in Spain), that there
was plenty of work for an official group
or familia of such architects under the
direction of the local magistrates.

Teaching. — While the value of arch-
itects to the state was fully recognized,
it seems doubtful whether the state ever
officially encouraged independent instruc-
tion in the profession until the period
of decadence had set in. Until then pri-
vate initiative had been sufficient ; pri-
vate schools and ateliers, with practical
work in the chantiers, seem to have
formed the total of a young aspirant’s
possibilities. Vitruvius has been already
quoted on the subject of architects as

190

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Type I.

Type II.

teaching their profession to their sons
and relatives, or as opening up their
schools more generally to students.

But at a later period, when the labor
guilds were being organized in govern-
ment service, during the third century
A. D., the emperors turned their atten-
tion to the encouragement of the higher
branches. The advantages granted to
architects in the legislation of Septimius
Severus, who confirmed the liberal char-
acter of their profession, were closely
followed by those of Alexander Severus.
They were freed from taxation and mu-
nicipal duties, together with teachers of
rhetoric, grammar, medicine and mathe-
matics. Diocletian even established, at
the close of the century, a rate for the
remuneration of teachers of practical
and theoretical architecture ; and Con-
stantine initiated, or perhaps only re-

newed, the plan of giving teachers of
architecture a regular salary out of the
imperial treasury.

The famous Edict of Diocletian, of
301 A. D., to which I allude elsewhere
as giving standard prices for every con-
ceivable object or subject, contains a list
of the proper honoraria for different
classes of teachers. It is reckoned some-
what after the German fashion, for out-
side of any state salary each professor
is allowed to charge a certain sum each
month for each pupil. We find the fol-
lowing rates :

Pedagogues and teachers of reading,
$0.60 per month, each pupil.

Teachers of arithmetic and stenography,
$0.90 per month, each pupil.

Master architects, $1.20 per month, each
pupil.

Type III. Type 1V -

TYPES OF CRANES OF THE AUGUSTAN AGE — RECONSTRUCTED FROM DESCRIPTIONS IN

VITRUVIUS.

(From Daremberg & Saglio.)

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY. .

Construction of the Port of Terracina— The
Architect and His Workmen.

Greek and Latin teachers, $2.40 per

month, each pupil.

Geometricians, $2.40 per month, each

pupil.

Orators, sophists, lawyers, $2.40 per

month, each pupil.

It is an interesting scale of rates. One
thing seems clear. The teacher of prac-
tical architecture, the master architect,
architectus magister, receives only half
as much as the expounder of the
theory of the subject, the so-called geo-
metrician ; for though the latter might
otherwise be regarded as simply a
teacher of higher mathematics, we know
from other sources that at this time the
scientific architect was distinguished
from the mere builder by the names me-
chanician and geometrician , and that the
theory of architectural construction must
have formed a part, if not the whole,
of the instruction classified by Diocletian
under this head.

Models and Drawings. — There is
not much indication that models of
buildings were made by Roman archi-
tects ; yet they cannot have been un-
known. An interesting passage in Fron-
tinus’ monograph on the aqueducts of
Rome explains how he found it neces-
sary, in order to properly superintend
their management and repairs, ‘'to have
models made of the aqueducts that show
where the valleys are and how deep,
where the rivers are passed, where the
necessity most occurs of protecting the

191

conduits where they run along mountain
slopes. The usefulness of these [models]
is that we can see everything before us
at once, and can make our arrangements
as if we were on the spot.” These raised
maps of the district between Rome and
the hills where the water supplies were
drawn covered a length of some fifty
miles, and to be as accurate as Frontinus
says must have required great technical
skill in modeling, as well as minute ac-
curacy in reproducing surveys. It is
strange that we have even less knowl-
edge of Roman than of Greek architec-
tural models.

As for drawings, we may well sup-
pose that the three classes mentioned by
Vitruvius were all in use — sketches,
plans and elevations. They were men-
tioned in more detail in my article on
Greek architects.

Machines. — The dimensions of Ro-
man buildings far exceeded those of the
Greeks, and they required different and
more powerful mechanical means. The
substitution of immense masses of con-
crete and brick for Hellenic stonework,
the use of vault and dome, and the de-
velopment of vast interiors entirely rev-
olutionized building processes.

Under Greek architects, I omitted the
question of machinery because there was
so little to say. It seems practically cer-
tain that during the first two centuries
of temple building in Greece almost up

Work on the Amphitheatre of Capua.

to the time of the Parthenon, Greek
architects had recourse to the primitive
Egyptian method of burying the col-
umns of a temple in sand when they
wanted to put the architrave blocks in
place ; that they rolled the blocks up by
hand and then excavated the columns !

*The Architectural Record, Feb., 1908, Nov.,
190S.

192

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Although the Greeks of the Golden
Age appear to have known something
of hoisting machinery, we cannot say
how much, and it was not until Greek
architecture was tottering to its grave
that the great practical mathematicians
of the late Alexandrian age applied ge-
ometry to mechanics for the purpose
of inventing hoisting machines of tre-
mendous force. The great inventors
were Hero, of Alexandria, and Philo,
of Byzantium. The Romans, beginning
with Vitruvius, simply utilized their in-
ventions.

In Book X. of the Roman architects’
manual, these machines are so carefully
described that we could easily recon-
struct them. Only one of these cranes
or derricks, the least powerful, has a
single beam, and though easily set up,
is not so easy to handle as the others.
The most powerful consists of two
heavy beams, planted in the ground,
bolted and roped at the top, and held
by four ropes. The double tackle-block
has four pulleys and a heavy tongs to
hold the blocks of stone. The hoisting
cable was passed around a wheel fast-
ened to the center of an axle across the
lower part of the timbers and then
passed on to a windlass set up a little
forward. Still, with the development of
the colossal in architecture under the
Antonine Emperors, there came un-
doubtedly into use larger and more
elaborate machines than those of
Vitruvius.

One of these machines is reproduced
on a relief from Terracina, which repre-
sents the building of the port in the time
of Antoninus Pius. The architect is
standing, wand in hand, directing. Two
stonecutters are preparing the stone
roughly with hammers. On the top of
the wall a man is leaning forward,
bringing into place a stone that has been
raised by the machine which stands in
the background.

Less strictly accurate seems an inter-
esting relief from Capua, which repre-
sents the building of the proscenium of
the amphitheatre by the contractor, Luc-
ceius Peculiaris. He is seated, oversee-
ing the work. An enormous wheel, at-
tached to a derrick, is being turned by
a treadmill worked bv two men, who walk

inside the wheel. The cable is hoisting
the shaft of a column, while a marble-
cutter is carving its capital on the
ground. We must believe that in real-
ity the wheel was not as large in pro-
portion to the height of the derrick.

The most important artistic represen-
tation of a machine is that of one more
elaborate than any described by Vitru-

Lifting Crane on Relief of the Tomb of the
Haterii — Lateran Museum.

vius, and probably invented after his
time. It is on a relief in the Lateran
Museum, which represents the construc-
tion, perhaps, of the Mausoleum of the
Haterii. Several workmen are in the
treadmill wheel that winds up the fall,
while two more workmen are perched
on the top of the derrick, attending to
the working of the cable and ropes.

Neither in Vitruvius nor in the re-
liefs have I found any trace of swinging
cranes used in construction, and one
might doubt their existence were it not
for the description of certain swinging
grappling machines used in defending
city walls, which prove that they were
in use in military engineering, at least,
even in the republican age.

A. L. Frothingham.

THE PIAZZA OF ST. PETER'S, ROME.

The Significance of Architectural Form

The expressive power of architecture
is worthy of greater consideration and
more thorough study than it usually re-
ceives. We have been for so long repro-
ducing and setting one beside the other,
scattered motifs of the styles from
Egypt to Louis Seize, that we have to a
great extent lost sight of what varied
ideals and racial character they original-
ly symbolized and how perfectly they
mirrored the times out of which they
grew.

Everyone, to be sure, distinguishes
Greek forms as severe and chaste, the
acme of symmetry, Roman as grandiose,
Gothic as picturesque and suitable for
ecclesiastical purposes, and the Renais-
sance as useful upon any ordinary oc-
casion. Upon these lines there is usu-
ally an appropriate selection, since draw
from the past we must in this age, ac-
cording to the varied requirements and
character of our many kinds of build-
ings. The Greek style is seldom used,
except in fragments and in small build-
ings devoted to learning. Banks and
railroad stations show a leaning to Ro-
man forms. The Church naturally holds
its own with Gothic. The French
“epochs” are mostly devoted to drawing-
rooms and other apartments devoted to
formality and luxury. But the signifi-
cance of the classic order, the Gothic
arcade, the Moslem dome, is a deeper
one than associations of this kind,

though propriety is our guide in
the selection of a style best suited
to express or harmonize with par-
ticular phases of a kaleidoscopic civili-
zation. There was nothing, however,
haphazard in the birth of the styles,
and their growth has been gov-
erned by the great laws of evolution.
There is no need to prove, since it has
been a subject dwelt upon by many
brilliant writers, that, through use of line
and surface, mass and proportion, archi-
tecture may give expression to many at-
tributes of mind, as power, grandeur,
beauty, refinement ; and that climate and
the temperament of different nations, as
well as utility and available materials,
have been important factors in the devel-
opment of architectural styles.

While even reiteration of this truth
may not be amiss in this time of inap-
propriate borrowing from the past, what
has usually been lost sight of is the ex-
tent to which every “style” has been a
reflection of the life of the particular
time and place which gave it birth ; or,
putting it reversely, with what complete-
ness the arts, and, particularly, architec-
ture, receive the impress of humanity in
those variations of character and aspira-
tions which produce racial and national
distinctions, and in the homogenity of
thought and action which individualize
one epoch from another and the local
fragments of epochs from each other.

194

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

It would require a lengthy work of ex-
haustive analysis of the buildings and of
the civilization of all ages to prove in
detail the amount of truth in this state-
ment ; but its basis, in fact, and its in-
evitableness need no very lengthy dem-
onstration, and to many, no doubt, it is
a truth not requiring establishment.

The perception of a significance of this
kind cannot, it is true, be weighed or
measured with any more actual scale
than can the perception of any artistic
verity; but the relation is not a fanciful,
but an actual, one.

Besides receiving impressions of such
broad character, every design necessi-
tates some individual expression, no

The Parthenon, Athens.

matter how old the language in which
it is conveyed. So it is that old phrases,
whether coined in the Forum or Ver-
sailles, may voice the thoughts which
germinate in the breezy prairies or in
frenzied Wall Street. However correct-
ly do we reproduce details and keep each
feature pure in style, the modernity of
a whole design speaks loudly. But it
is, of course, from the older styles, the
times when only one language was
spoken at a time, and that one in the
course of making, that we can derive
the clearest knowledge of how closely
the form is the outcome of the spirit of
its day.

Architecture is, first of all, expressive
of necessity; thus it is always in touch
with every-day life. Domestic architec-
ture forms by far the largest, though
not the most permanent, class of build-

ing; and in our more ambitious and
monumental efforts even, practical and
utilitarian requirements are always of
foremost necessity. Then enters design.
Walls, columns, roofs and other fea-
tures of structure are not to remain
merely useful ; we want them pleasingly
disposed and proportioned, even made
beautiful, if may be. Now, the mental-
ity of the designer must, inevitably, be
expressed to some degree in his design,
and, the limitations of architecture be-
ing such that the individuality of each
designer can never be very prominent,
it is chiefly the collective individuality
of the day, the place, the nation which
will stamp itself upon the work. Com-
parative study of the architecture of dif-
ferent times and people will show that
it is always an embodiment of human
character and national traits, more
veiled and unconscious than in other
arts, but none the less exact and also
more comprehensible perhaps than any
other. The emotional range is less, but
it is the most complete record in art,
outside of literature, of racial character
and development.

The preferences of particular nations
or epochs for certain lines and charac-
teristic form, as the Greeks for the col-
umn and the horizontal line, evidenced
in their faithfulness to the systems of
the entablature, or the mediaevalist, on
the other hand, for perpendicular lines
and arch construction, which is shown
in the development of the lofty but-
tressed vault, tower and spire ; such
preferences are indices of character and
ideals. We will first compare and con-
trast some of the most marked generali-
ties and then attempt a more detailed
analysis to account for these variations
of type. Greek design is pre-eminent
for symmetry, unity and simplicity.
These characteristics are also to be
found in Egyptian architecture, but
monotony and massiveness rule in place
of delicacy and fineness of rhythm. In
the Middle Ages the fundamental ideals
of classicism were reversed. Precision
of detail and orderly refinement of a
limited number of forma were rejected
in favor of a multitude of forms massed
and harmonized together, but with

SIGNIFICANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL FORM.

J 9S

symmetry a very minor quantity. The
arch and vault systems in the Gothic
development lent themselves readily to
the expression of ideas of variety, bal-
ance and complexity of harmony. Here,
then, we have two great types of design
and construction radically opposite to
each other, just as the creators of each
were diametrically the opposite in tem-
perament, ideals and customs and their
manner of looking upon life.

It is true that all original styles took
form very gradually through centuries

the matter if we say that inevitable de-
velopment of an engineering problem
fully accounts for the really characteris-
tic features of the style, and that the
artist had little to do with its significance
beyond clothing the form with harmoni-
ous ornament. The question still re-
mains : Why did this particular develop-
ment take place in the northern countries
and not in Italy? Also, Why should it
have taken place at all, along such lines,
that, when harmoniously proportioned
and adorned, it is in its entirety such

GRAECO-ROMAN SCULPTURE.
A Sarcophagus in the Vatican.

of growth, and that the way of progress
and change was always shown by struc-
tural invention or experiment. How-
ever, we have not sounded the depths of
meaning or entirely “explained” Gothic
architecture, let us say, when we have
carefully followed the logical evolution
of the vault construction which took
place, as is well known, in step-by-step
modifications from the Latin barrel vault
and Byzantine dome until it culminated
in the thirteenth-century cathedrals of
France. We miss the whole kernel of

a vital and consistent expression of the
dominant notes of thought of its day?
Only because of the intimate and con-
stant relation which exists between
man’s constructive works, and not only
his ideas of utility, which are directly
expressed, but, at the same time, and
seldom in conflict with utility, his
aesthetic preferences and his every
marked trait of character or mentality,
in a limited way as an individual, but
more particularly as a nation, a race or
an epoch.

196

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

That is the basic principle which ac-
counts for the evolution of architectural
form, and is the ultimate meaning of all
style.*

In its application, this law cannot be
reduced to the precision of a formula,
but its bearing is universal and constant.
As the clay, under the hands of the
sculptor, takes form, there goes with
every impression of his fingers some-
thing of his personality. When the mu-

Sainte Chapelle, Paris — Gothic Idealism.

sician composes and the painter lays on
his colors, though thinking of nothing
beyond the tonal or color harmonies they
are creating or recording, yet the work
conveys, in greater or less degree, im-
pressions of much further truth. Just

^Santayana says concerning the fine arts, in
his “Reason In Art”:

“There is no conceiving or creating them ex-
cept as they spring out of social exigencies.
Their types are imposed by utility; their orna-
mentation betrays the tradition that happens
to envelop and diversify them; their expression
and dignity are borrowed from the company
they keep in the world. . . .

“Structure by itself is no more beautiful than
existence by itself is good. These are only po-
tentialities or conditions of excellence.”

so, beautiful form has its inevitable ac-
companiment of idealistic or emotional
suggestion. Not that it needs symbolism
to explain it, nor labored expression of
idea or purpose to justify it; in a way it
is sufficient unto itself and for its own
sake. Yet the distinction between the
fine and the commonplace is precisely in
the acquisition of an expression of things
beyond the range of superficial imita-
tion. So it is that, into the geometry of
design, into the organism of construc-
tion and the rationale of material, just
as in the mathematics of music, does
there creep at times emotional expres-
sion. Forms, in which appear to be con-
cerned only questions of proportion of
masses of material in light and shade
and of the virtue of line, imprison in
their rigid substance the poetry of life,
the genius that distinguishes its day from
all the yesterdays.

As architecture is so closely bound to
every-day life, so is its expression par-
ticularly intimate. It is very observable
that strong personalities leave their in-
dividual mark in designs, creating, too,
an influence for particular proportions
or quality of line, color or ornament.
Nor is it hard to read certain attributes
of the temperament of the individual
therefrom. Still truer is this influence
and this reflex expression in the aggre-
gate work of a century. Then does the
harmony we speak of stand out boldly.
It may be of interest to glance at some
of the great periods of architecture’s
history with this idea in mind.

The Greeks expressed in their art a
moral simplicity, a sensuous gladness
and a mind clear, concise and logical.
Architecture and sculpture were mutu-
ally dependent, and each had a part in
the perfect embodiment of these ideals.
They share in revealing an unequaled
sense of beauty, beauty which was
rhythmic, pure, serene.

Sculpture spoke more of man’s near-
ness to nature, and architecture of his
superiority, not so much from his pos-
session of a soul or an imagination as
from his power to reason. Though all
Greek art is rational, her architecture is
exclusively so. It is amazingly beauti-
ful, but it is such beauty as arrives

SIGNIFICANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL FORM.

197

through calm study of the accurate ad-
justment of parts and the minute refine-
ments of line. It is unswerving in its
obedience to the laws of symmetry, har-
mony and fitness. So also was the
Greek’s conception of life and the man-
ner of his ordering it. The foundation
of his jesthetic creed was to give
rhythmic expression to form. He was
both poet and philosopher, but mostly
man and pagan, very alive and very
beautiful. Form, rather than emotional
expression, is the tendency of his art,
though it has always life. The visual
effect of smooth surface and delight-
ful contour to be perfected, even at the
risk of coldness. Every work, however,
is spontaneous and instinct with life, in
which the original differs from its at-
tempted revivals.

In the Greek order there is nothing
vague, nothing crude ; every moulding is
studied for its exact effect upon the
whole design. Every ornament is cut
with finished, though scarcely mechan-
ical, precision. The long, horizontal
lines of the stylobate and entablature are
given subtle curves, and similar refine-
ments are carried through all details.
Simplicity in masses and in detail : in
everything the mark of restraint and re-
finement. In all this we see the same
predominating features of character
that we may gather from Hellenic litera-
ture and history. We may find tragedy
there, it is true, which we will not in
her architecture ; the latter has much
poetry, but it is lyric, not tragic. The
disposition of the Greek is, however,
normally lyric, as may be expected from
the healthful life of the man fond of
sunlight and the blessings of the earth.
Aiming at physical perfection, he was
not bothered with the emotional possi-
bilities of his soul, but possessed a won-
derful sense of that harmony which
translates the beauty of life and nature,
and which we call art. His art was
himself at his best.

Breadth of surface and delicacy of de-
tail are characteristic not only of Greek,
but of all good architecture, as are also
repose, proportion, the essential element,
at least, of symmetry, and, above all, life.
Incidentally, it may be said that good

art, whether classic or mediaeval, pres-
ent-day or future, goes back, or will go
back, to these same rudimentary princi-
ples. To conform to the usual dogma
as to the common root of these first

Entrance to Sacristy, Bourges Cathedral —
Gothic Lights and Shadows.

principles, it would be proper to speak
in this connection of “getting back to
nature,” “expressing natural law,” etc.
But this is merely a formula which elu-
cidates nothing. And it cannot explain

198

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

anything, because, as a matter of fact,
it is inaccurately vague. It is not to
nature, but to humanity, to human na-
ture, or nature in man, if you will, that
we must look for the source of inspira-
tion of architecture and also of music.
It is in the mental faculties of man, in
his imagination and emotions, and the
harmony which these bear to nature,
that her laws and her meanings are

Assimilating Greek art and learning, the
Romans missed its finer shades of mean-
ing, but developed its art language to
express their own coarser, but vigorous,
ideals. Their two most typical motives,
the arcade with attached columns, with
a ponderous high and flat “attic,” usu-
ally superimposed, and the flat dome lent
themselves as perfectly as anything the
mind can conceive to the complete and

ST. MARK’S, VENICE — WHERE THE ORIENTAL AND THE ROMANIZED BARBARIAN WERE

FUSED.

hidden. It is to these that we must look
for the key to her progress.

Roman architecture is interestingly
significant. The Greek orders were bor-
rowed, but enriched with greater pro-
fusion of ornament and moulding — los-
ing in refinement and in delicacy of line
and surface, and becoming grandiose
and superlative. The massive and grand-
ly conceived structures of Rome bear
the seal of imperialism : the triumph of
ambition, the dignity of fame, the lux-
ury and also the arrogance of power.

exact expression of imperial Rome. The
Coliseum, the Pantheon, the baths, the
triumphal arches ; no works could be
more indelibly stamped as the creation
of the world-conquering power — Rome,
the Eternal. Urbis et Orbis. Witness
this spirit reincarnated in St. Peter’s.

If we turn now to a glimpse of me-
diaeval architecture, we find the direct
opposite of the classic idea of symmetry
and severity of line precisely as the me-
diaeval mind is the opposite of the Greek
in all its leading attributes, its philosophy

SIGNIFICANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL FORM.

l 99

and idealism. The means used to carry
into effect so radical a departure may
be summarized as the discarding of the
horizontal line in favor of the perpen-
dicular and of the entablature for the
arch. Gothic construction is extremely
rational, but the logical spirit is not su-
preme in the moulding of the structure
into architecture as it is with the Greeks.
The hand of the poet is evident in the
massing, the dividing and proportioning
of the whole, and in the carving of its

cruel. He had an imagination which
carried him where reason never would
have. So is his architecture intense and
fanciful. Complex, fond of light and
color, at times fair and lightsome, at
others gloomy.

And so we may turn the pages of his-
tory and always observe the reflection
of man’s life in his buildings. We may
pause with interest at the works of Louis
XIV. and the succeeding “periods.”
Here, is the style of the court, sensuous

•

Mr* iMitfitM iZS WH Mtt' -fW HfsVvs MM-..

THE CAPITOL, ROME— THE DIGNITY OF THE RENAISSANCE MOTIVES THAT ARE STILL

SIGNIFICANT.

members. No written book could reveal
more thoroughly the spirit of the Middle
Ages than do her cathedrals and her
feudal buildings. Into them her lofti-
ness and narrowness, sensitiveness and
barbarism have been breathed. The
soaring lines of the Gothic church, its
rich complexity of composition, down to
the least of its carvings, reveal the active
imagination, strong individuality and
ardent spirituality of the northerner
and the Christian, and also his warlike
impulses and his comparative savagery
of taste. The man of this age was intense
and full of extremes, both tender and

softness of form, as of life; the refine-
ments of luxury and ceremonial, the
apogee of the monarchial regime, and,
at the same time, of the courtier and the
courtisan. Refined to an extreme de-
gree, admirable in the largeness of its
conceptions, the completeness of its ef-
fects, and perfect in the delicacy and
consistency of its detail, it is fatally arti-
ficial, because the product of artificial
conditions.

England, during the same period, was
making its own use of the imported
Italian forms. A dignified, if somewhat
sombre, style was created in keeping

200

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

with national traditions and ideas. In-
ferior to the French both in splendor
and refinement, it excelled in one type
of building — the country home. From
cottage to manor house, it displays a
wonderful harmony with surroundings
and an expression of the most fitting
and lasting meanings of country life and
home.

Germany, too, interpreted the Ren-
aissance in an individual way and in-
fused its fanciful conceptions, half mys-
tic, half materialistic. The low coun-

The Gardens at Tivoli — The Poetry of the
Renaissance.

tries found still another rendering, fitting
easily to local variations of thought. The
sensitiveness of architecture and its fa-
cility of expression are forcibly illus-
trated by this wide divergence, as to the
product in various parts of Europe,
growing out of the same Italian Renais-
sance heritage.

A period of artistic barrenness set in
throughout Europe during the last cen-
tury. Political reconstruction and the
progress of science and mechanical in-
vention engrossed men’s thoughts.
Architecture fell back on imitation and

reproduction ; then the spread of com-
merce and the rapid development of
means of communication destroyed the
exclusiveness of nations which had been
an essential factor in creating their in-
dividuality and in maintaining the char-
acter of their art. The commercial idea
became dominant in affairs, and archi-
tecture had to conform as best it could,
with much resultant compromise. Also,
the mechanical complexity which distin-
guishes modern building has forced
many inconsistencies upon design.

The typical constructive motive of to-
day — the steel frame — has scarcely a
vestige of suggestion of anything worth
while to art; it is necessary to do more
than ornament or model this skeleton,
since it is too rigid, too elementary to
allow anything of the kind. What ap-
pears to be the building is a mask, a
make-believe, in which an imaginary
construction has to be more or less re-
sorted to in order to convey even the
rudimentary necessities of proportion
and the composing of elements, without
which there can be no design or archi-
tecture whatever, nor any beauty in
constructed form, since the latter is not
an accidental, not a necessary, thing.
In these times, to be sure, we have come
to an end of the direct relations that had
existed between form and expression; a
matter not without a simple explanation.

This is an age in which everything
has become specialized. The field of
knowledge has become so large that no
one mind can command more than a
limited range in detail, and must be sat-
isfied with a superficial inkling of the
rest. So we are separated in groups,
mentally, each group knowing little of
the labors of the others, but having full
power in its own sphere and buying as
it needs of the works of the others.
Scientists of many kinds, the great mer-
cantile and financial body, artists in
their several branches, and so on. So
we may naturally expect much less con-
sistency and less breadth of expression
in an art where utility and the aesthetic
sense are joined.

Our modern buildings have their sig-
nificance, but it is one full of contradic-
tion, pretense and irrelevant use of

SIGNIFICANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL FORM.

201

HOTEL KNICKERBOCKER, NEW YORK— MODERN COMMERCIALISM

202

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

form. However, the dominant passions
of the time are just as much as ever to
the front, though expressed between the
lines, so to speak, and often in the very
limitations and inconsistencies imposed
by commercialism and engineering. But
in spite of all the confusion of styles and
lack of consistent development, if we
look beneath the borrowed language to
the very different purposes it serves, to
the revolutionary construction and plan-
ning it is forced to conform to, we may
see great changes in the matter ex-
pressed, though each individual form
may be so little modified. Though we
have no modern style, in the complete
sense of the word, we give abundance of
present-day character to the old styles
of which we make use. This is especi-
ally true of the French school, withal
that the Beaux Arts is usually supposed
to stand for the academic, in form and
formula, rather than for a grasp upon
new thought of radical innovation. The
most important lesson taught by the
French, however, though not the most
readily learned, is precisely to apply the
rudimentary principles of design in a ra-
tional manner to the solution of each
problem. Of comparatively secondary
importance, are the grammar and con-
vention of form.

As a matter of fact, for many classes
of building, more especially the com-
mercial, it is a matter of small impor-
tance whether the ornamental detail is
Italian or French Renaissance, or is Ro-
man in flavor or some other. So long
as the selected forms maintain correct-
ness, decorum and scale, one style is
often as well as another. What counts
more in distinguishing such a design is
whether it has secured good proportion
and composition, harmony and scale in
primary features, and, lastly, whether
detail has been managed with the not-
eaisily defined intuition of fitness. It
conveys little meaning to say that a cer-
tain skyscraper is early French Gothic
or pseudo Roman, or this or that in
style. It is nothing of the kind, except
as to some of its detail. Essentially,
it is just skyscraper or steel-framed
architecture. This is the extreme type,
of course, of the new order.

Smaller buildings in which the
proportions and construction are not so
radically different from the old, permit
of a closer adherence to the real manner
of the style which is copied. In domes-
tic architecture, of course, commercial
necessities are less in evidence, and
work in this field, particularly in Amer-
ica, has not only produced some of the
most admirable examples of artistic ex-
pression, but also affirms the irresistible
'influence of contemporaneous life.

In one new material, or rather in the
original use of an old one, there is much
inherent possibility of consistent expres-
sion. We refer to reinforced monolithic
concrete construction. Ready-made con-
vention need control the designer little,
for here is a material and constructive
system, in fact, in which the gamut of
suggestive expression has not already
been run through by more masterful, or,
at any rate, more fortunately environed
minds than ours. And it has this ad-
vantage that its apparent form is an
essential expression of its real form ;
whereas in the steel skeleton there is no
organic relation between the real and the
apparent construction, with the result
for the latter that it can never create
new detail or distinctive treatment (ex-
cept in an abortional manner) beyond
that given by its novel lines and plan
system. Yet, as we have pointed out,
even familiar, hackneyed forms brought
into new combinations, modified to fit
new conditions, require the power of
expressive design, and, where the latter
is present, they become inevitably sig-
nificant of new thought.

Limited and full of inconsistencies as
is architecture’s present power of ex-
pression, it is even yet a plastic and im-
pressionable medium for the subtle re-
cording of character.

The arts are, among other things, the
pictured and poetic history of man. In
this living book the pages written by
architecture are marked less by person-
alities than those of painting, literature
or music ; yet they have pictured faith-
fully creeds and philosophies, the souls
of nations, the essence of civilizations.

H. Toler Booraeni.

THE INTERLACING SWASTIKA.

Old Chinese Rugs

A novelty among fine old rugs is al-
most incredible to connoisseurs who
have studied and perhaps collected Per-
sian and Indian marvels of the hand
loom all their lives. But if old masters
of oil paintings are “discovered” from
time to time, that is to say, if the su-
perior merit of certain old masters of
painting hitherto neglected is all at
once appreciated, why should there not
be similar finds in woven works of art?

Of course Chinese rugs have always
been known to exist and in the bales of
rugs coming from Smyrna they were
not infrequent. But not long ago such
intruders were regarded askance as
lowering the average value of the bale
— now they are picked out and carefully
cleansed, repaired and put in shape.
Why is this? Simply because it has been
recognized tardily enough that China
has once more shown her superiority
over other nations in a subordinate but
none the less important branch of art,
just as she has shown it in porcelain
and pottery, in brocades and silk
shawls, in jade and ivory.

The rugs of China are now eagerlv
sought all over the world. That eag-

erness shows in the way in which good
examples are snapped up at sales when
a collection proves to have some.

One curious psychological effect,
however, may be observed in such
changes of estimate on the part of col-
lectors. For example: in ceramics the
connoisseur who has made Japanese
porcelains and potteries a special study
and then turns to Chinese, is almost
certain to go over to the older nation
with so much zest that he does his for-
mer love injustice. It is very much
like one who admires a pupil’s work
hugely until he finds that of the master
and then proceeds to scorn the disciple’s
pictures.

Yet m the matter of Chinese rugs
this analogy of master and pupil may
seem strained, for it is extremely doubt-
ful if China will ever be proved to be
the earliest home of beautiful and artis-
tic rugs. Of course, mats of rushes and
colored rugs and carpets of wool and
hair and cotton must have existed prac-
tically from prehistoric days ; but the
high plateaus of Central Asia seem to
be the original homes of the rug as a
thing of beauty, an object connected

204

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

with the most intimate home life, with
all public functions like law giving and
justice, with ceremonies of all kinds
not excluding religion. So far as we can
gather from the Chinese annals the
making of beautiful rugs is compara-
tively recent, not going back far beyond
the middle ages.

A lot of Chinese rugs thrown to-
gether on a floor near a lot of Persian
or Indian or Anatolian is instantly rec-
ognized as Chinese by a kind of warm,
dull tone pervading them, a predomin-
ance of browns and gray-browns, of
blues dark and light, of dull reds. As
one turns them over the Chinese ap-
pear less vivid in colors, or at any rate
less broken up into small details. They
have large restful spaces and are prone
to offer big simple structural designs
that give them great significance and
allow them to be used to good effect in

The Sacred Deer.

The Swallow Myth.

rooms or galleries of a certain size.
There are many Persian rugs for which
it is difficult to provide a suitable inter-
ior, so pronounced are the colors, so
brilliant the scheme, so lively the design.
Chinese rugs on the other hand are
very commonly, though of course not
always, grave and unobtrusive, form-
ing a warm but not noisy ground for
furniture and pictures, decorative walls
and ceilings, or masses of gaily clad
women and men. In fact, the char-
acter of the Chinese may be felt in the
superior classes of their rugs which re-
flect their seriousness, respect for tradi-
tion and thoroughness as artisans.

What strikes one after the color ef-
fects is their feeling for composition
and decorative design, not merely as
they treat the middle parts of the rug,
but as they treat the borders — their
number, width and colors.

When the new taste for old Chinese
rugs first asserted itself it seemed com-
paratively an easy task to separate them
into rugs of different provinces and of
different reigns. But the huge empire
soon proved so great a reservoir to

OLD CHINESE RUGS.

205

draw from that the number and variety
of old and antique rugs bewildered the
stoutest. It is like the scientists with
the ancient bones of the Bad Lands.
Marsh and Cope gaily sallied forth to
reduce these extinct lizards and fish to
nomenclature, each being their Adam,
each giving his own set of names. But
the wealth of material has overwhelmed
the tabulator. It is only by comparison
and long pondering that one can make
up one’s mind whether a rug belongs to
the fifteenth or the nineteenth century.

Now though in rugs the color stands
first and is followed by design, the art
of the rug does not exclude figures of
men, birds and beasts, or fabulous ani-
mals and of stars. Some Chinese rugs
are prominently marked with objects
that give them a class value, such as
sceptres and books and incense burners
and ink-wells. Such pieces are for the
literary class, others, little different, for
mandarins. We find the Happiness
rug marked with the character which
means happiness, and bats which in
their forms spell happiness, because in
Chinese the sound for bat and happi-
ness is the same. The Longevity rug
lias symbols that are believed to act as
talismans prove to avert sickness and
death. Some rugs show in an extreme-
ly conventional way the Sacred Moun-
tain in especial, as distinguished from
many sacred mountains in different
parts of the country. This mountain
may be a reflection from the mountain
plateau of Thibet, over which came
from India many legends and tales ; but
its significance is larger than that, for
in many cases it seems to represent the
whole world, or its three peaks the
triple world.

Another class which can be made
fairly definite, owing to symbols inter-
woven in the borders or the general
field, consists of Buddhist pieces, while
a seventh may be formed to take in the
mythological rugs, that is to say, those
which have more than conventional
dragons, we will say, as a decorative
motif solely, but go so far as to tell a
story.

There is among our illustrations a
very unusual specimen for the Chinese,
a landscape with temple and platforms

for buildings and flowers, both tree and
bush. The Stag, a symbol of longevity,
has ascended the stairway and is nib-
bling at some Peach blossoms, emblems
of generative life, while above are
swallows disporting themselves in the air
or comfortably resting on the roof tree.

The Greeks loved the swallow, and
ancient as well as modern Greeks hail
its advent with the swallow song. Like
most peoples of Europe the Chinese be-
lieve that luck attends the nesting of

Six-Dragon Geometric Rug.

the swallow, particularly so if it builds
in a newly erected house.

But this kind of a rug is rare. Usual-
ly the weavers are less concerned than
the bronze casters and decorators of
porcelain to insist on mythological fig-
ures save by implication, as lage-makers
will include figures of human beings or
animals for decorative purposes.

Among the favorite figures are Lung
the dragon, playing with the mystic
Chin, a pearl or egg which reminds one
so keenly of what Caesar and others tell
us regarding the Druids— how they
sought the mystic Serpent Egg and

206

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

strove to take it from a coil of snakes,
in order to gain from it wisdom of all
kinds, including a knowledge of the
speech of birds and beasts. The dragon
of the Emperor has five claws— the
symbolic five of Asia — while that of
other mortals including the Japanese
Mikado has three.

Another creature fitted for decorative
use is the Ki-Lin, the four-footed crea-
ture of both sexes and one horn which
appears in mediaeval European litera-
ture as the unicorn and still holds a re-
sponsible place beside the shield of

of men and animals, like the “hunting”
rugs of Persia.

A good example of rug with figures
is that called “The Hundred Antiques”,
which holds a place of honor in this in-
teresting branch of Chinese art. The
ground is a warm apricot color on
which the designs are expressed in a
light and a dark tone of blue. It was
evidently made for some Chinese collec-
tor who liked to be reminded of the ob-
jects which appealed most to his heart
— for your Oriental collector ends by
holding such objects dearer than wife

RUG FOR A CONNOISSEUR.

Great Britain and Ireland. The uni-
corn loved virgins and could be caught
and ridden only by virgins. Like the
angels it had both sexes in one — or no
sex at all. As late as 1840 Father Hue
reports that there is an actual one-
horned deer of the chamois kind in the
eastern mountains of Central Asia.

Sometimes we find the animals of the
zodiac disposed about the border,
not always in correct sequence, but
fitted to their places in the spirit of
decoration. The Chinese, however,
seem chary of devoting the chief
breadths of carpets to trees and figures

and children. The border contains run-
ning bands which cross each other reg-
ularly to form the Swastika, as the
East Indians call it, a cross with ends
bent so as to signify revolution like that
of a wheel, a symbol of various import
in different places of the world, but in
India more particularly specialised for
the wheel of Indra’s chariot, the
wheel of the sun. From space to space
this swastika repetition is interrupted
by oval spaces to receive the sign called
Shou, a sign that signifies good luck,
prosperity. There are six of these med-
allions to each long side and three to

OLD CHINESE RUGS.

20 /

each short side of the rug. The char-
acter Shou assumes a singular likeness
to the scarab of the Egyptians, though
such a resemblance must be considered
accidental.

In this example the objects of the
main field are placed without much
art so far as composition is
concerned, the weaver feeling more
desire to be exact than to com-
pose them round a centre or vari-
ous centres, as we find to be the case
with later work more purely decorative.

brush. There are musical instruments
and cases for books, dwarf trees grow-
ing from ornamental pots on teakwood
stands — in fact we have by means of
this rug a glimpse of the objects sur-
rounding a man of literary and artistic
tastes many centuries ago.

Much more carefully considered as a
composition is the five-medallion rug,
which has in its central medallion the
phoenix flying above the horse of the
clouds. Two large butterflies are above'
and below the centerpiece. The medal-

THE PHOENIX AND CELESTIAL HORSE.

This arrangement is quite naive.
Here is the chess or chequer board
with a piece beside it ; yonder a fine
blue vase of porcelain ; to the left a
screen to place before one’s writing,
and to the right a three-pronged rest
for pencils or brushes of a shape which
is still used in China. Incense burners
are not lacking, nor flower-holders, nor
a specimen of the rhinoceros horn or
rather the conventional carving that is
so called. There are scrolls with designs
on them, books and ink-stones on which
to rub India ink for writing with the

lions in the corners have a geometrical
cast while the inner border has a run-
ning decoration of “hollow Ts” and the
broader outer border a floral decoration
broken by flower forms in profile.

Among our illustrations are many
examples of the dragon, ranging from
realistic forms with fierce eyes and
carefully defined talons to others which
are so resolved into pure decoration
that one could scarcely guess their or-
igin if it were not for intermediate
shapes that show the progressive
changes.

208

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Here is a “Six Dragon Geometric”
rug as it may be termed, quite formal,
with an outer border of running swas-
tikas and the severe corner decorations
repeated in the four designs about the
central medallion. As a relief to the
square modeling of these geometric de-
signs the six dragons are fanciful crea-
tures with fairly well defined heads, but
with legs and tails flowering into fan-
tastic foliage.

Again on a light toned ground
against which the objects are clearly de-
fined we have suggestions for a literary
mandarin in the books and scrolls
bound with fillets, in the tripods bear-
ing conspicuously the swastika cross, in
the precious porcelain vases on teak-
wood stands holding flowers, in the
sprays of tree-blossoms and stalks of
growing flowers. But in this case there
is a grouping about a central medallion,
in which the ground between two rings
of blossom forms, the petals separated
and drawn in profile, is sown with little
swastikas. The weaver of this rug
could not get enough of this lucky em-
blem. Not content with putting it on
the book-box and six of the vases,
he must use it in its running form for
the outer border. Observe also the two
examples of Nine-Swastika rugs.

The Nine Lion rug is a beautiful bit
of tone upon which the lions are at play
like exotic dogs with bushy tails and
are more humorous than terrible. Their
manes and tails of a different color
from the rest of their bodies supply a
charming decorative note. The rest of
the field is strewn with branches. The
central “lion” sits peaceful and graceful
as a squirrel, or say a pet spaniel ; the
four about him are seen from above,
their heads only in profile, while the
four in the corners are adapted to their
places in a frankly decorative spirit.

Another Nine Lion piece has five of
the beasts crowded into the central me-
dallion.

As a rule we do not make clear to
ourselves what it is that gives us pleas-
ure in old rugs and brocades. We can
understand it better if we take the an-
alogy of music, which does not tell a
definite story, but interprets moods and
suggests trains of thought that are

more akin to sensation than reasoning.
That harmony is agreeable to the ear is
proved by the effect of music, not upon
man alone, but upon birds and beasts
and insects ; that harmony is delightful
to the eye is also certain regarding a
large part of animate creation. The
effect produced by the soft colors and
their clever combination in Oriental
rugs is fairly analogous to that of musi-
cal harmonies which have no clearly
defined message to deliver, but are none
the less valued on that account.

Rugs are indeed scarcely less import-
ant to a household than paintings. In-
deed, nowadays, that modern architec-
ture in cities leaves comparatively
few interior walls proper to the hang-
ing of pictures, it may be that for town
folk the rugs are of more avail. It is
necessary to try them where it is pro-
posed they are to remain, whether they
hold their usual place on the floor or for
some special reason are to cover a
door, a wall or a piece of furniture. So
that it needs taste and knowledge to so
much as arrange a fine rug in a room,
as much taste, for example, as to hang
a picture. Indeed the picture may be
said to be easier to place, owing to its
frame, which sometimes is reinforced
by a shadow box ; this in some sort
puts it apart from the rest of the wall ;
whereas the rug is in immediate con-
tact with its environment, not fenced
off like the picture in a little domain of
its own. Then the daylight and artifi-
cial light have to be considered in or-
der that, if possible, the light shall fall
so as to go against the lay of the pile on
the rug, that angle being the best for
a display of colors.

Among Chinese rugs not included in
these illustrations is one that shows the
spotted Ki-Lin or unicorn with spray of
fungus in its mouth, the same fungus
that is used for the curving ends of
sceptres, commonly carved 'in jad*e.
This fungus is sometimes found with
blades of grass piercing it and the fact
seems to have impressed the Chinese
imagination, for it is not infrequently
represented. Then there are : the scep-
tre or wand itself, a sword of authority,
castanets, or, as we should call them
“bones”, the red-tufted crane of north-

OLD CHINESE RUGS.

209

ern China, etc. Another has emblems
of the Eight Immortals who are spe-
cially favored as saints by the followers
of Taotse.

Another scorns to call attention by
folk lore or mythic animals and rests
its case on the taste the weaver has
shown in distributing eight rings
formed of conventional blossoms, each
enclosing a Shou sign, and decorating
the spaces between these eight rings
with graceful floral sprays.

In regard to rugs one should never
forget the origin of the art rug among

have been simple folk for the most part
who generally followed ancient prece-
dent and only slowly took ideas relig-
ious or artistic from those about them.
In their designs, it is true, they show
less scruple, for we find ancient carved
jades and bronzes, old pots of pottery,
porcelain and even of iron which have
lent weavers ideas of form and some-
times of color. Yet we cannot withhold
the name of artist from some of these un-
named craftsmen who made the designs
and fixed the color schemes for certain
rugs. They must have been men who

A NINE-LION PATTERN.

dwellers in tents. It is to make up for
the ugly black canvas or the coarse hides
of the nomad tent, for its floor of loose
grass or unprotected earth that the weav-
ers of Central Asia have put forth their
craft and those of China have followed
suit. The rug is a saddle covering and
a prayer-mat ; it is part of the bedding at
night and is a brilliant covering of the
sitting-place by day. It makes portieres
to tents of chiefs and clothes the walls
of elaborate hunting tents and movable
headquarters for magnates.

The rug weavers of China seem to

viewed with poetical emotions the green-
sward pied with white and gold and pur-
ple flowers, the hedges gay with blos-
soms, gardens crowded with tulips and
hyacinth, hedges of the tree-paeony,
brown arable lands and black stretches of
mud and water of the rice plantations, to
have reached such inarticulate harmony
as their works evince. They must have
enjoyed the landscape set with towns
and lakes, the sunset gilding snowclad
ranges. Vague impressions of such
sights must have sunk into the conscious-
ness of generations of artisans before

210

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

they blossomed in one of the great rugs
that connoisseurs cherish now.

They are painters who make color-
symphonies with the same impulse that
guides the country-woman who sews
a “crazy-quilt” — but to more fortunate
results. Rather should they be com-
pared with the old fashioned rugs of a
hundred years ago, made on hand
looms which are now hauled out of
garrets and put to similar work again.

The study of rugs and their effect on
the art sense will go far to explain cer-

than from that of a human message.
Nature in some of her myriad manifes-
tations is caught on the canvas, just as
she is in the rug, that is to say remotely,
allusively, poetically. The good curators
and professors help to swell the crowd
that scoffs, or sniffs, or stands in amaze.
They are like the literary critics who
find Poe’s verses merely jingle — because
at bottom of their minds there is no
room in the world for several — not to
speak of many — aspects of art.

The Chinese have some very definite

A NINE'-LION PATTERN, IN WHICH FIVE OF THE BEASTS ARE IN THE CENTRAL,

MEDALLION.

tain eccentric painters of modern times
who in their horror of “telling a story,”
and in their love for color as such, have
hurt the feelings of a good many worthy
persons, including curators of museums
and professors of art at college, by mak-
ing paintings which appeal almost ex-
clusively to one’s feeling for decoration
and have nothing to say to the intellect.
Let us mention a Diaz and a Monticelli,
a Whistler, a Brangwyn and a Sorolla.
These men regard a picture more from
the point of a beautiful hanging or rug

connecting ideas between certain colors
and certain metals, planets, points of the
compass and seasons of the year. So
have some of our American Indians.
Fortunately for art the artists do not
take the connection too rigidly, so that
while there is often a guiding thread
there is not prescription, there is not
compulsion enough to do any harm.
Thus they take five colors, because there
are five fingers and five toes, four points
of the compass and one center, etc., and
they range them thus : black, green, red,

OLD CHINESE RUGS.

21 1

white, yellow — and make a parallel of
these five metals in this order : iron, lead
or tin, copper, silver and gold —
all obvious enough, except that green
does not seem to suit exactly lead
or tin. Then we have black for
the North, green for the East, red
for the South, white for the West
and yellow for the center. You see that
they reserve the gold color for their own
Central Flowery Kingdom, since they
are naturally the center of the uni-
verse, and effect one yellow for the
Emperor, other yellows for high per-
sons, and yellow for the national flag.
And speaking astrologicallv one might
say of their arrangement of colors and
planets, which is thus :

Black

Mercury

Green

. Jupiter

Red'

Mars

White

Venus

Yellow

Saturn

that Saturn as he is supposed to influ-
ence character is by no means inap-
propriate to that of the Chinese as a
race.

Color being so marked a characteristic
of rugs, followed after some interval by
design or form, and after a longer in-
terval by content or meaning, it may
be curious to note that while imperial

yellow and mandarin yellow and brown-
reds are common, on the other hand we
rarely, if ever, get a primary or a blood-
red. In place of the strong crying reds
we get fine peach colors, apricot, pome-
granate, or whatever other name of fruit
or flower is chosen to define a hue.
Strong direct greens are very rare, ex-
cept in rugs under the Mohammedan
tradition, which is still strong in western
China. Orange is not so often seen as
hues of yellow, nor is there much of
cherry or of rose. These tones are

oftener seen in Japan. A robin’s egg-
blue and blues of dark and light shade
are not uncommon. Dull browns, liver
colors, mixed yellows, are perhaps the
commonest of all and tend to give Chi-
nese rugs that architectural, impassive,
massive look which separates them from
Persian rugs on the one side and Japa-
nese on the other. The duller reds and
blues used with cream-white to lighten
these grave grounds result in a tone
very difficult to describe, but one that
gives aesthetic satisfaction to those who
lend themselves to contemplation. For
just as good music cannot be compre-
hended by the casual comer, and de-
mands a long apprenticeship of the ears ;
so the eyes must have time to absorb
the beauties of rugs before one can hope
to appreciate their charm.

Charles de Kay.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

212

it u

m o
II o

THE PROCTOR HOUSE.

NOTES ^COMMENTS

THE.

FINE, ARTS
COUNCIL

The agitation on be-
half of the granting of
some substantial recog-
nition to the fine arts
by the national gov-
ernment has made, in
a few months, encour-
aging progress. A bill
has been introduced into the Senate by Mr.
Newlands, providing for a Fine Arts Coun-
cil of thirty members, consisting mostly of
architects, but also of one landscape archi-
tect and several painters and sculptors,
and providing, also, that this council shall
supervise the business of designing and lo-
cating new government buildings, and shall
be consulted about all important matters of
government policy, in which any question
of the fine arts is involved. At the same
time, the first step is taken looking in the
direction of the formation of a Fine Arts
Department of the central government by
an enlargement of the functions of the Su-
pervising Architect of the Treasury. The
fate of this bill during the short session of
Congress is at this writing extremely doubt-
ful; and it is probable that the agitation
will have to be pursued for some years be-
fore any legislative action is taken; but in
the meantime it is encouraging that the
executive branch of the government has
done all that it can to effect the same ob-
ject. President Roosevelt has actually ap-
pointed a Fine Arts Council, and has or-
dered that all subordinate administration
officials shall seek and follow its advice. The
action has been denounced as illegal by
Mr. Roosevelt’s opponents, but manifestly
it is nothing of the sort. Mr. Roosevelt's
order merely means that administrative
officials, subject to the President’s author-
ity, shall take the expert advice of the coun-
cil before acting on any matter involving a
question of aesthetic propriety. If in any
particular case those officials are acting by
virtue of a law which leaves them no dis-
cretion, they must, of course, merely do
what Congress directs; but wherever they
have discretion they will be obliged to seek
expert advice, and this executive order is
in itself a great gain, because in the past
executive officials have been responsible for
some of the grossest aesthetic improprieties
perpetrated in the name of the national
government.

THE

IMPORTANCE
OF THE
NEWLANDS
BILL

The work will not be
made complete, how-
ever, until the New-
lands bill is passed; and
its passage will un-
doubtedly be a diffi-
cult and perhaps a
tedious business. The

only arguments which can be used on behalf
of the bill are ones which make no great ap-
peal to the ordinary Congressman. The
measure would have the support of substan-
tially every inhabitant of the United States,
possessing any intelligent interest in the
fine arts; but there are not many such peo-
ple, and no opponent of the bill would suf-
fer because of his opposition either in repu-
tation or in popularity. Moreover, the

bill implies a violation of the traditional

American way of dealing with such mat-
ters, and as Senator Newlands pointed out
in his speech at the Washington meeting of
the Institute, the average American Con-

gressman is a more conservative person
than an English peer. There is little or no
popular recognition in this country of the
necessity or authority of expert supervision
of all action involving questions of aesthetic
values. A body of legislators, which would
be willing to pay thousands of dollars for
the very best engineering advice about the
construction of a bridge or a dam, com-
placently ignores the best expert advice in
respect to the design or the location of a
building, even when it can be had for noth-
ing. The average American believes that
his own opinion about such matters is by
way of being as good as that of any other
person; and usually this belief is strength-
ened by the fact that in relation to every
public improvement there are private in-
terests with special reasons for wishing a
certain building shall be erected in a cer-
tain place, irrespective of all merely archi-
tectural considerations. It will take a good
deal of agitation to make Congressmen rec-
ognize that expert advice in relation to all
matters involving aesthetic values deserves
consideration similar to that which is ac-
corded to the advice of engineers; and in
the meantime the small company of Amer-
cans who believe in this Fine Arts Council,
and want its authority combined and ex-
tended, must place their reliance chiefly in
the President. The President cannot, of

212

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

course, give the Fine Arts Council the un-
impeachable legal standing it needs, but he
can do more than ans^ other single man to
make Congress see the desirability of seek-
ing the advice of such a body in relation
to all matters within its province. He can
supplement the executive order recently
promulgated, constituting the council as the
aesthetic adviser of the aesthetic branch of
the government by vetoing all bills for pub-
lic improvements which made no provision
for seeking and accepting such advice; and
if Mr. Taft shows as much interest in this
matter as Mr. Roosevelt has done, he can,
in all probability, be persuaded to put such
a policy into practice.

The inability of the
average Congressman
CONGRESS to attach very much

„ „ authority to expert ad-

AND THE ,. .

vice m aesthetic mat-

ARTIST ters seems barbarous to

men whose aesthetic
intelligence and sense
have been highly trained; but it should
always be remembered that this lack of
aesthetic intelligence is the result not mere-
ly of provincial prejudice, but of tradition
founded deep in social and economic con-
ditions. American architects and artists
have very little aesthetic authority with the
mass of their fellow countrymen, because
for a long period they did not deserve to
have any authority at all; and if they do
deserve some such authority at the present
time, they can hardly expect to get it on
easy terms or merely for the asking. Dur-
ing the whole of that Middle Period, begin-
ning in 1825, and not terminated, in rela-
tion to architecture and art, until about
1880, public art was practically dead in this
country; and any public improvements un-
dertaken during that half a century were
untainted by the slightest alloy of disin-
terested artistic purpose of knowledge.
Congress and the executive drifted into the
habit of ignoring expert aesthetic advice,
not only because it placed no value upon
it, but because there was little or no ex-
pert aesthetic advice to be had. By saying
that there was little or no aesthetic advice
to be had, we do not mean, of course, that
in these awful years succeeding the Civil
War there were not architects in the coun-
try who could not have designed better
buildings than the Pension Office in Wash-
ing or the Post Office in New York. What
we mean is that, considering the composi-
tion of Congress and the character of our
national government, it could hardly be ex-

pected that the improvement then taking
place in American architectural practice
would be immediately recognized. It could
hardly be expected that because a dozen or
more competent architects bad come into
practice in a few of the larger cities, their
ability to give authoritative and indispens-
able advice about the design and location
of public buildings, monuments and parks,
should be obvious to the average Congress-
man. A limited company of architectural
enthusiasts in New York, Boston and Chi-
cago might know that a half a dozen men
really deserved to be consulted in relation
to such matters; but Congressmen are, of
course, fundamentally merely local repre-
sentatives, and the localities which they
represented were no more able to make in-
telligent discriminations of aesthetic values
than were New Yorkers a generation be-
fore. When claims began to be made that
a New York architect, such as Mr. Richard
Morris Hunt or Robert Cook Willard had,
because of their ability and achievements,
earned the right to be consulted about tech-
nical aesthetic questions, the average Con-
gressman — to whom their names were un-
known, and in whose eyes an architectur-
ally impressive building was one with plenty
of columns — regarded such claims as an un-
fair discriminaton on behalf of a crowd of
New Yorkers. His motion of a “fair” gov-
ernment policy, in the matter of public im-
provements, was that of distributing the
contracts both for designing and construct-
ing these improvements over the largest
possible area, so that the citizens of his own
and other districts could all get their
chance; and the systematic preference of
any on®>» group of men for the supervision
and erection of such work would have
seemed to him mere “graft.” He had been
educated and trained to believe that com-
mon sense was a very good substitute for
special knowledge and skill, and the ap-
plication of common sense to the matter of
planning and designing a particular govern-
ment building meant that the local Con-
gressman was to get all that he could out
of it for his own constituents.

Such was the general point of view of our
national legislators in respect to all pub-
lic improvements involving questions of
aesthetic propriety. It absolutely prevailed
until a few years ago, when a law was
passed revolutionizing the methods em-
ployed in the office of the Supervising Arch-
itect, and when the attempt was made to
give renewed life to the original plan for
the layout of Washington. The constitution
of a Fine Arts Council merely carries a step

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

further the work of securing some recog-
nition by the national government of the
value of expert architectural and artistic
knowledge and advice. The whole campaign
is based upon the need that only good art
deserves government recognition, and that
discrimination in favor of the best prevail-
ing professional and technical standards is
merely discrimination in favor of excellence.
A generally national policy in relation to
the arts means, not a policy of a widely
distributing governmental artistic and archi-
tectural patronage and opportunities, but a
policy of preferring and selecting the very
best professional practitioners. Such a
policy will still seem to the majority of Con-
gressmen a policy of unfair discrimination
against local artists and of undue favoritism
on behalf of a small professional clique, and
this inheritance from the Dark Ages of
American art can only gradually be won
away. In spite of its continued vitality, it is
gradually disappearing, because as a mat-
ter of fact the best professional and techni-
cal standards in relation to architectural and
the other arts are constantly gaining in au-
thority. They are constantly creating for
their own benefit a body of public opinion
which is capable of intelligently discriminat-
ing between good and bad art, and good and
bad artists. A National Fine Arts Council
would merely be the official representative
of such a body of public opinion. It will
increase in authority and in function just
in so far as the body of public opinion it
represents becomes larger, more coherent,
better informed and more discriminating.

American art and
architecture has reach-
ed a stage in its de-
velopment which justi-
fies the demand for offi-
cial recognition, and
precisely and only be-
cause it has reached an
excellence of performance which deserves
recognition. In the future, if it wants more
emphatic and remunerative recognition,
there is but one way to obtain it, and that
is the same old way of continuing to de-
serve it. The situation of the arts in this
country is such that they cannot count upon
any preference which they do not clearly
and substantially earn; and this situation,
instead of being one on which architects
and artists should commiserate one another,
should be a matter for mutual congratula-
tion. A= long as this condition lasts it will

21 3

at least keep them on their mettle, and when
it is on the wane — when the tradition of offi-
cial encouragement of the arts becomes
nrmly established in this country, as it will
be some day— then will be the time to be-
ware of degeneration. Just at present, how-
ever, American architecture and art is not
in any danger of being pampered either by
government or by public opinion. It still
has enormous strides to make before it can
conquer really encouraging recognition, both
from official and unofficial sources; and there
is, we repeat, only one way to bring about
this result. American architecture and art
must become constantly worthy of more em-
phatic, general and remunerative recognition.
Tfiie education of American public opinion to
take more interest in the arts, and to bring
to bear upon them a more intelligent
standard of discrimination rests at bottom
entirely with the American artist. The pub-
lic will take more interest in his work, in
proportion as that work becomes more really
interesting. It will grant the artist more
authority in proportion as his work and the
prevailing standard of professional judgment
becomes more authoritative. At the pres-
ent time these standards are more authori-
tative than they used to be, and conse-
quently deserve more recognition; but they
are by no means as authoritative as they
should be. They do not discriminate as
severely as they should against inferior
work, however popular or unpopular it may
be, and they do not discriminate sufficiently
in favor of the really superior work. Only
by uncompromising and incorruptible dis-
crimination of this kind can American artis-
tic performance be steadily improved and
American popular taste be educated. Edu-
cation in the arts like charity must begin
at home. No architect, who has ever sacri-
ficed in some essential matter the integrity
of his own work for the sake of getting or
keeping a job, has any license to talk dis-
paragingly of American popular taste. It
is he and his like who are keeping American
popular taste at its existing level, and every
really good architect knows that there are
plenty of architects of unimpeachable stand-
ard in this country, who make a business of
doing work, which is just good enough for
their clients. The real enemy to the increas-
ing and accelerating national recognition of
the fine arts in this country is not the aver-
age benighted Congressman, but the average
instructed architect— the architect who
wishes recognition which he and his like
have not earned by the sacrifices they have
made or by the disinterestedly excellent
work they have achieved.

ART

AND THE
ARTIST

214

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FOR

A PALACE
OF THE
STATES

Our national capital
has never in its history
been the scene of a
more concerted agitation
for the advancement of
architectural and art
interests. Steps are be-
ing taken to have the
duty on works of art removed, or made so
nominal as to be inappreciable. The archi-
tectural societies, with apparently excellent
backing are clamoring for the independence
of artistic and constructional work from the
bondage of the Treasury and other depart-
ments which are not in position to handle
the work to the best advantage of the gov-
ernment. And now comes into action again
the plea of a decade ago for a structure to
house those national functions in which the
states are collectively interested, to provide
social and educational headquarters and
auditorium facilities of sufficient extent for
the many conventions for which the capital
at present affords such inadequate accom-
modations.

No doubt, each state could derive sub-
stantial benefits from a building of this
character in Washington, making it exceed-
ingly worth its while to contribute its pro-
portional shar^ of the fund required. The
contact to be had in its halls with the vast
store of state intelligence would make it a
sort of perpetual national exposition for
visitors from widely scattered districts and
thus would be founded a popular educational
institution of undeniable value.

If the designs of
Dwight H. Perkins, the
architect to the Board
of Education, of Chi-
cago, are accepted by
that body, the Windy
City will be the first
municipality to possess
a “skyscraper school.” To picture, in the
mind’s eye, just how such a school would
or should look, is not easy, but the accom-

A NOVEL
USE

FOR THE
SKYSCRAPER

panying perspective shows how the archi-
tect has conceived it exteriorly in a seven-

teen-story structure of not unobtrusive ap-
pearance. It is planned to accommodate
the various departments of administration
of the department of education, the supply
department, a spacious auditorium and sev-
eral school museums, besides a large com-
mercial high school.

The idea of housing a large number of
school children in a skyscraper is, on first
thought, a bit revolutionary, but when it is
called to mind that this plan proposes a

school in which the pupils are no longer
children, and, moreover, are in search of a
commercial education, the case is somewhat
altered, and the natural rejoinder is, “Why
not a skyscraper for this purpose?” The
pupils are preparing for a business career,
which in the majority of cases will be pur-
sued in surroundings not very dissimilar to
those to which they would thus become
accustomed. Their quarters could be
made to exercise upon their minds a valu-
able influence in their training for their life-
work, and there is no good reason why the
essential features of a school building for
this purpose should not be equally well at-
tainable in a building such as Mr. Perkins

Proposed Skyscraper High School for Chicago.

Dwight H. Perkins, Architect.

proposes as in the accepted type. The sur-
roundings would naturally not be as free
as those of a lower structure, with exposure
and view round about, but these disad-
vantages had as well be impressed upon
those preparing for the exacting life of
confinement which is inevitable in present-
day business.

The fate of the idea will doubtless be
awaited with interest by other large cities,
who have similar school problems to solve.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

215

HALF ELEVATION OF FRONT— COLUMBUS PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Columbus, Ohio.

DRAUGHTS*

MANSHIP

AND

ARCHITEC-

TURE

In the Architectural
Review (Boston) of last
November is to be
found a good illustra-
tion of the proposition
that brilliant draughts-
manship does not ne-
cessarily result in good
architecture. The reference intended is to
the Columbus Public Library, which is
shown in this journal in photographs and in
working drawings, those clever and widely
admired handiworks for which their author
has become justly popular with the younger
element in the profession. A comparison of
these drawings with the photographic views

which accompany them cannot but lead to
the conclusion that the designer in this case
did not have clearly in mind how his de-
sign was going to look, especially in that
dimension which the elevational drawing
does not depict. After a designer has en-
tered the second stage in designing, which
usually consists in setting more or less
definite limits for the large parts of his
composition, he has got to a point where
he is no longer in position to see the entire
building as he did when recording its in-
itial conception. He has established certain
masses and proportions, and it is to refin-
ing these that his efforts are concentrated.
To all intents and purposes the design of a

Columbus, Ohio.

VIEW OF FRONT— COLUMBUS PUBLIC LIBRARY.

2l6

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

building is determined after this first stage,
which apparently produces only the rough-
est of sketches; the elaborate and careful
drawings which are subsequently made are
powerless to materially make or mar a de-
sign. In the Columbus Library, apparently

impost caps of the piers, whereas in the
executed building one is amazed and dis-
appointed to note that what seemed the
projecting, emphatic horizontal member in
the drawing has wihdrawn to a discreet re-
tirement to afford the great arches an ade-

■ T,- ' ' ;

NO. 7 STATE STREET, NEW YORK CITY (ABOUT 1800 ).

excessive zeal in draughtsmanship was the
cause of the unfortunate result which is so
apparent in the executed building, and may
be readily detected by comparing the two
accompanying illustrations. In the draw-
ing it will be noticed that the treatment of
the filling for the great window arches ap-
pears most emphatic at the level of the

quate depth and give them the appearance
of great massiveness. The emphatic hori-
zontal member, which is a string course,
has slipped to an uncomfortably low level,
which a closer examination shows to be the
second-floor beams. The result speaks for
itself, and the profession will not be ready
to believe that the author of this design

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

217

knowingly produced the infelicity shown in
this building, but the outcome should serve
as a reminder to architects not to allow
themselves to be carried away by mere
draughtsmanship.

It seems a pious
scheme, and eke an in-
A RELIC teresting “proposition”

to rescue from obliv-

OF OLD

ion, so far as the cam-
NEW YORK era can do it, the last
remaining of the man-
sions which fronted the
Battery, when the Battery was the social

center of New York. In fact, it never quite
was, but being big enough, for one thing.

“Government House” (Which Stood Opposite
Bowling Green, 1791-1815).

The first “social center” of New York, and,
for that matter, of New Amsterdam, was
undoubtedly here, or hereabouts, in proxim-
ity to the “Fort,” of which some bricks were
turned up in the excavations for the present
Custom House. Under the walls of the fort,
and in view of “The Battery,” the earliest
inhabitants clustered or huddled. But com-
merce established itself on the East River,
not on the North. The “slips” looking
towards Brooklyn were busy when there
were as yet no preparations for traffic on
the Hudson. Colonial New York grew
northward and eastward. Of course the
lookout from the Battery was in colonial
days, as in these days, the finest that Man-
hattan Island afforded. Only it could not be
had for residences, the forts and govern-
ment buildings cutting it off from inland.
Whitehall Street was a mere lane under the
landward wall of the fort.

The British evacuation, November 25,
1783, followed on the same day by the oc-
cupation of

The Old Continentals

In their ragged regimentals

was really the first signal for the opening

of Battery Park to settlement. That famous
farewell luncheon at Fraunces’ Tavern oc-
curred ten days afterwards, December 4,
just around the corner. It -was some years
afterwards before the question of the “final
disposition” of the Battery really came up.
When Washington came on in 1789 to be
inaugurated President, Wall Street was the
site of the most “elegant” residences, and
the swellest house that could be found for
the President-elect was at the corner of
Franklin Square and Cherry Street. Think
of that! Franklin Square, by the way, was
not named after Benjamin, but after one
Walter, the owner of the house which Wash-
ington took over, and so the statue of Ben,
on the front of the Harper Building, “has
nothing to do with the case.” It is true
that, a little later, Washington found his
residence too far away, and migrated to
lower Broadway, which continued to be the
seat of fashion for another generation.
South William Street wp.s at the same time
“the shopping district. So late as 1835, when
the Astor House was building, the New
York Mirror complained that Broadway was
being invaded not only by “boarding
houses,” but actually by “stores.”

That the Battery was the most eligible
place of residence in Manhattan was pres-
ently recognized, and in the most striking
way. One of the baits that New York of-
fered to be made the “Federal City” was
the building, in 1790, of “Government

No. 9 State Street (about 1795), the Scene of the
Grand Ball in Honor of Lafayette, 1824.

2l8

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

House,” opposite the Bowling Green, and
on the very site of the demolished fort.
There it stood for twenty-five years. The
Federal government had in the meantime
migrated to Philadelphia and thence to
Washington, and of course the house was
never occupied for the purpose of a “White
House,” for which it was intended. Note,
also, that the British title reverted not to
the government of the United States, which
did not really yet exist in a condition to
“take title,” but to the Province, now be-
come the State of New York. This change
of status is recognized in the name of “State”
Street. Government House was appropri-
ated to the official uses of the Governor of
New York, and was successively inhabited
by Governors Clinton and Jay. John Mc-
Comb, the putative architect of the City
Hall and of St. John’s Chapel, is also the
putative architect of this building. But
it may be questioned whether the ascription
be not a confusion,. The John McComb
to whom the other buildings were ascribed,
was only 27 when “Government House” was
built. He continued to be “junior” until
about 1S10. Most likely it was his father
who was the builder of “Government
House,” and hired a draughtsman of the
plans. Not that it matters much who

drew them. It was demolished in 1815,
and its place taken by the row of
seven houses which was in turn torn
down only the other year to make room
for the new Custom House, remaining fa-
miliar to the contemporaneous New Yorker
as, in its latest estate, the abode of steam-
ship companies and foreigtf consulates. In
its earlier estate it was a very fashionable
row of houses. In one of them lived, and
continued to live until within the sixties of
the last century, Stephen Whitney, one of
the richest New Yorkers of his time; in
another, John Hone, brother and partner of
the Mayor and diarist Philip; in a third,
Samuel Ward, the banker, brother-in-law
of Dr. Francis, the local antiquary and his-
torian. So you will observe that the actual
occupant of the Bowling Green site, the new
Custom House, is the fourth occupant, hav-
ing been preceded by the row of dwellings,
the “Government House” and the Dutch
fort. In spite of which, some remains of
the earliest occupant were exhumed in the
excavations for the latest, the “Holland
bricks” of the old Dutch fort, as already
hereinbefore set forth.

Curiously, no information can be had
about the history of this house, probably
the most important and pretentious of the
whole row. I say so, because we have

abundant information about its next-door
neighbor but one, No. 9. There was a New
Yorker in New York at the outbreak of the
Revolution, John Morton, who was so ac-
tive and bitter a Whig that the officers of
the British garrison called him “the rebel
banker.” He found it convenient, and
agreeable to retire to Morristown during-
ihe British occupation of New York. His
son Jacob married the daughter of Carey
Ludlow, who, in the closing years of the
eighteenth century or the opening year of
the nineteenth, had built upon his land,
from which the demolition of the fort had
opened the view down the bay, a mansion
very famous in its day, the wonder of New
York; in fact, containing, as it did, twenty-
six apartments, exclusive of servants’ quar-
ters. The house now survives only in an
old print, from which it is evident that
there was then no house adjoining it to the
east, that is, no No. 8. But Jacob went to
live with his father-in-law at No. 7, and
made it a “social center” for many years.
No. 7 is noteworthy as the scene of
the grand ball given to Lafayette in 1824,
and it is an entirely safe “postdiction” that
the eyes of the aged Marquis rested upon
this very front that we see. Nay, a lady of
an old New York family recalls a family
legend that for the purpose of the Lafay-
ette ball, a bridge was thrown across the
garden at the side to the next house, that
is, to No. 7, which was also employed for
the festal purpose. But even though No. 7
had no recorded or traditional history, it
were quite safe to join the poet in saying:

Here there was laughing of old, there was weeping.
Haply, of lovers none ever will know.

Whose eyes went seaward a hundred sleeping
Years ago.

It must, in truth, have been a hospitable
house and a merry one in its time, being
evidently designed and built for an owner
of social tastes and aspirations. The archi-
tectural motive of the front is striking.
One wishes the good man had had a better
architect to carry it out. The curve of
State Street is specially sharpened just here,
and is recognized in the design of the house.
One wishes it had been recognized in a con-
tinuous curve instead of the rather awk-
ward and abrupt jog. That would have cost
some money, doubtless, but would have been
worth it. One doubts whether the good
man had an architect at all. The very un-
classical attenuation of the columns, in-
cluding two stories, would have made a
regular practitioner of the period “stare and
gasp.” It took a carpenter, who was no re-
specter of “orders,” to design the actual

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

219

loggia (not that they probably called it
that). Moreover, there is not much prac-
tical reason for the attenuation. Another
platform over the second story, like that
over the first, would have made an addi-
tional and eligible veranda, which would
have enabled the columns to be reduced to
the classical proportions of those of the
basement. And this interpolation would not
have darkened the upper rooms unduly, for
you see the successful pains which the
builder has taken to secure direct and un-
interrupted light for them from the sides,
in addition to the interrupted light from
the front. It is a nice old house, all the
same, and gives us the impression of hav-
ing been inhabited by nice people. How
immensely more civilized it looks than its
either of its two tin-corniced neighbors!
The chances are that the plainly impending
skyscraper of the first decade of the twen-
tieth century, which is to wipe them all out,
will not be so grateful an object to con-
template as this relic of the first decade of
the nineteenth. M. S.

SWEET’S
INDEXED
CATALOGUE
OF BUILDING
CONSTRUC =
TION OUT
FOR 1909

To-day the archi-
tectural profession

finds itself in better
shape than ever in re-
gard to trade cata-
logues, due to the pub-
lication of the third
annual edition of
“SWEET’S.” This volume of catalogues
and other trade literature, organically ar-
ranged and thoroughly indexed and cross-
indexed, is bigger and more complete than
ever. More than seven hundred of the big-
gest building material manufacturers are
represented in the book, which has now as-
sumed formidable proportions, proportions
that perhaps tend very closely to the un-
wieldy. The publishers, however, have a
book of reference to deal with, and books
of reference are governed by rules that do
not pertain to books of literature* It is cer-
tainly extremely annoying in, say, the case
of a many volume dictionary, to turn to a
word in one volume and then find it neces-
sary to turn to another volume, and per-
haps still another, before the final definition
afforded by the work is elicited. “SWEET’S,”
of course, is a book for the specification
table and once there, it is complete and
ready to answer practically any question
that the architect or draughtsman may ask.
The book is well printed on handsome paper,
is finely bound and is, in its way, monu-
mental. The profession is gradually elimi-
nating its trade literature lumber, al-

most entirely due to the service which
“SWEET’S” offers as a substitute.

The volume is very thoroughly indexed.
Indeed, the index covers some ninety-two’
pages of three-column type. A careful
■search through the book shows it has been
improved very materially, but in nothing
more than by the addition at the end of the
volume of a “Checking List.” This Check-
ing List is invaluable to architects and to
others. Here we find every element of
building construction and equipment enume-
rated in the order called for by the speci-
fication writer. “General Conditions, Pre-
liminary Work, Foundation Work, Excava-
tion, Cement, Portland, Concrete, Concrete
Reinforcement, Dampproofing and Water-
proofing, Concrete Block Work, Lime, Sand,
Cement, Mortar, Lime Mortar, Cement and
Lime Mortar, Structural Steel” and so on
to “Furniture and Fixtures, Organs,” etc. r
are covered, detail within detail. Archi-
tects have been looking for a work of this
kind for some time and here it is, logically
and scientifically done. The work of making
this index has been entrusted to Mr. Duncan
M. Robertson, the well-known specification
expert, one of the few men to-day who has
a scientific grasp of the complexities of mod-
ern specification work in all its bearings.

To general readers the
most interesting portion
PROGRESS of the Report of the

IN South Park Commis-

GRANT PARK, sioners in Chicago, for

CHICAGO the period ending Feb-

ruary, 29, 1908 — though
the work of this Com-
mission has long been unusually interesting
and broad — will be that which deals with
Grant Park, the big lake front park oppo-
site the centre of the city. The reclamation
of all the submerged area was completed, the
final grading was begun, driveways and

walks were being graded, sewage and water
supply pipes installed, and planting was well
under way. The trustees of the Field Mu-
seum formally entered into contract for the
erection in the park of a museum building
to cost $4,000,000, the preliminaries were ar-
ranged for the construction there of the mil-
lion dollar Crerar Library, and the site se-
lected for the new St. Gaudens statue of
Lincoln. Yet, as the park covers an area of
205 acres, it will be much more than simply
a building site even for two buildings so
large as contemplated, and one is inclined
to look with kindness on the statement of
the Report, that it “will be the most beauti-

220

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ful and most serviceable park contiguous to
the business district of any city in the world.”
Included in the Report is an interesting
statement prepared by the Olmsted Brothers,
who are the landscape architects of the park,
concerning the difficulty Qf the problem of
design which it presented. The railroad is to
be electrified, and in making the plans it
was assumed that it would be decked over,
the space above it being treated partly as a
great paved plaza and partly in terraces
clothed with turf, flower beds and trees. It
was then required so to locate the Museum
that it would be seen effectively from Michi-
gan Avenue. This meant that as it would be
far eastward of the railroad it would have
to set at such height over the cover of the
tracks that when seen from Michigan Ave-
nue its base would not seem to be cut off.
Further, it stands so far beyond the western
edge of the tracks that it would not be pos-
sible to treat the space between Michigan
Avenue and the tracks at the avenue level
and then step up by a terrace treatment to
the level of the ground about the Museum,
for that would have precisely the effect
which it was desired to avoid. Again, it
was found that if the terrace were just high
enough to cover the railroad and the Museum
w T ere stilted up above the terrace level so
high as to be seen over the edge of it from
Michigan Avenue, there would result an un-
gainly proportioning of space, and that the
terrace being wider than the space that it
overlooked would have the effect of convert-
ing that into a mere depression. It was a
most interesting problem. The device
adopted to solve it is a continuous sloping
surface, rising from Michigan Avenue across

the tracks to a point comparatively near the
building. It is necessary to make the slope
of this plaza almost exactly three per cent.,
which is steeper than is aesthetically desir-
able. However, this is not enough seriously
to detract from the design, and the Olmsteds
point out that the grade of the great plaza
rising to the Museum and palace of Ver-
sailles is slightly more than three per cent.
For the rest, the park design shows the
Crerar Library as balancing the Art Mu-
seum, at about the Congress Street axis.
Jackson Boulevard and Harrison Street are
carried straight through to the water as park
drives. Beyond the tracks, to either side of
the Field Museum, and separated from it by
space and planting, are large meadows and
ample provision for athletics. Along the
water front extends a mall shaded by six
rows of trees and overlooking the quay, or
strand, which forms the actual water mar-
gin. At its north and south ends the mall,
rising, terminates in great quadrangles sur-
rounded by colonnades serving as shelters
and places of refreshment — to be ‘‘great pub-
lic verandas for the people of the city.”

The Architectural Record regrets an error
in its February issue in the name of Mr.
George C. Boldt, whose Heart Island estate
is described in that issue. The name ap-
pears there erroneously under the illustra-
tions as ‘‘Charles C.”

In the leading art : ^,le of this issue the
title to illustration Fig. 5 should read “L.
L. Buck, Engineer,” instead of “Department
of Bridges, Engineers.”

RUSSELL STURGIS

(Continued from frontispiece.)

in his case, knowledge was power. But
knowledge combined with geniality, with
a desire to find out the good rather than
the bad in the work he set himself to
judge. Combined also with perfect and
unsuspectible disinterestedness. Never
among the leaders of the architectural
profession, he was never among its mili-
tant members. From the time when he
became conspicuous in the councils of our
art world, and received all the honors it
had to pay, in the shape of presidencies
and the like distinctions, he was already
“hors concours.” Everybody knew that
he had no “axes to grind,” that whatever
he did or said was done or said simply in
obedience to the dictates of an unselfish

and impersonal interest in art, and from
a desire for its advancement. In no age
can there have been any more uncommer-
cial interest in matters which are “mat-
ters of business” to so many than the
interest of Russell Sturgis in art, in this
very commercial generation. It was this
disinterested interest which gave him his
unique position, and enabled him to exert
a unique influence. Not only will the
readers of the Architectural Record miss
him sorely. He will be missed on many
and many an occasion when the question
is of public art, and the realized public
need is of a counsellor in regard to whom
there is no question either of his knowl-
edge or of his unselfishness.

MONTGOMERY SCHUYLER.

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d 1879

Vol. XXV. No. 4.

APRIL, 1909.

Whole No. 127 .

THE AIK'HI'IBC JVRAL- RECORD 1

•,C © -N ; T-.*E -NT T 5:‘*:

Page

HOW TO GET A WELL-DESIGNED HOUSE Illustrated. 221

William Herbert.

STUDY OF A NEW YORK SUBURB: NEW ROCHELLE 235

Illustrated.

A CONTEMPORARY "WESTOVER" Illustrated. 249

The Residence of Mr. George T. Palmer, New
.London, Conn.

CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE 259

H. W. Frohne. Illustrated.

THE NEW CAPITOL AT SAN JUAN. PORTO RICO. . . .Illustrated. 271

Frank E. Perkins.

the economic development of building ESTATES 275

George F. Pentecost, J r. Illustrated

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY Illustrated. 281

II. The Roman Architects (Part II).

A. L. Frothingham.

LETTER FROM AN AMERICAN ARCHITECT 304

NOTES AND COMMENTS 305

Pennsylvania State Association of Architects—
Evening Courses in Architecture— Prize Designs for
an Exhibition— Portland Architectural Club Exhibi-
tion— Artistic Homes for German Workers— Citv
Plan Commission of Hartford-Pittsburgh Studies
Improvement-Architecture for Boston Oommon-
Keport on Comfort Stations— Competition for Auto-
mobile Trophy-American Competition-New Prob-
lems tor the Ameri can Architect.

PUBLISHED BY

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD CO

President, Clinton W. Swbet Treasurer, F. W. Dodoe

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Genl. Mgr., w - Desmond Secretary, F. T. Miiler
-15 EAST 24th STREET, MANHATTAN

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THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The Fireproof-House Number

of the

Architectural Record

May, 1909

N ENTIRE ISSUE of the Architectural Record
will be devoted to the subject of country
and suburban houses built of incombustible
materials.

A combination of conditions which have
for the past five years been taking on yearly a
more serious aspect are fast coming to an issue.

Present indications point to an innovation in the art of
home building which promises to be more far-reaching and
revolutionary in its effect than was the introduction into
business buildings of the metal skeleton construction.

The permanent, imperishable home is no longer a subject
for conjecture; it is an established fact, the advantages of
which are only beginning to be realized. Its artistic future will
depend on the close cooperation, in solving its problems, of
architect and engineer. Whatever difficulties of construction
are presented will, it is to be hoped, gradually remove the
planning and designing of the homes of our great middle class
by partly or wholly uninstructed parties. If such proves to
be the case, a long stride in the direction of better archi-
tecture and building will have been taken.

The subject will be thoroughly presented, both de-
scriptively and pictorially, in the next issue of this journal.

Gbe

Jlfcljltfctuval Jltcofii

Vol XXV. APRIL, 1909 No. 4

How to Get a Well-Designed House

(Photos by Floyd E. Baker)

In estimating the value of current
architectural work, it is of far more
importance to discriminate between
houses that are really good in design
and houses that are only pretend-
ing to be good than it is between
those which are really good and those
which are obviously bad. The stand-
ard of popular taste in relation to do-
mestic architecture has so improved in
this country that egregious and per-
verse architectural aberrations are far
less common than they were ten or
fifteen years ago ; and when they hap-
pen to occur they more often serve as
warnings than as examples. The well-
to-do American who builds a house
costing from $30,000 upwards usually
wants a house of some architectural
merit. He may not be prepared to
make the sacrifices either in money or
in arbitrary personal preferences, which
are required by the successful attempt
to design a really meritorious residence
for the particular site he has chosen;
but his intentions are good, and he
usually selects an architect, who, he has
some reason to believe, will give him an
architecturally interesting building.
Under such circumstances any archi-
tect possessed of real ability and of the
personal authority which accompanies
real ability, can usually obtain from his
employer a sufficiently free hand; and
if the result is inferior it is more likely

to be the fault of the architect than of
the client. The client has acted
throughout in good faith. He has in-
tended to build a meritorious and at-
tractive residence, and for that purpose
he has called in the assistance of a
supposed expert. When, consequently,
he fails to get for a residence an inter-
esting and meritorious piece of archi-
tectural design, it usually means that
he has happened to make a mistake in
selecting his architect.

Assuredly the most important act
bearing upon his future residence,
which an intending builder performs,
is that of selecting his architect. The
making of such a selection seems to be
a comparatively simple matter ; but
every one who is acquainted with the
special and varying abilities of the
leading American architectural design-
ers, knows that such is not the case.
American architects usually have their
special gifts and merits. There are
some who have been very successful
with office buildings, but whose resi-
dences have been comparatively in-
ferior. There are others to whom one
would gladly confide the design of a
monumental bank-building, but who
are unable to do justice to structures,
whose merits are necessarily more
realistic. Many architects, who could
make a brilliant success of city resi-
dences, would make a comparative fail-

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d, 1879.

222

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ure of a house, whose location involved
some difficult problems of landscape
design, and finally there are wide varia-
tions among good architects, all of
whom must be pronounced to be suc-
cessful makers of country residences.
Some of them do well with a small and
comparatively modest house, but fall
down completely when they attempt to
design a more pretentious mansion,

tect who is supposed to have some merit
or standing as a designer ; and whether
or not that particular architect is a
really good selection for that particular
job is, of course, not a matter which
receives any consideration. Yet upon
this question depends the real success of
the house. The building and habitation
of a really successful house does more
to improve the taste and give meaning

Portchester, N. Y.

RESIDENCE OF MR. NICHOLAS F. PALMER.

while others seem to need a big build-
ing and a large appropriation in order
to bring out their best qualities. Ob-
viously the ordinary house-builder can
hardly be expected to discriminate
with any real knowledge and intelli-
gence among such a variety of special
qualifications. His selection is usually
dictated by some accident of personal
acquaintanceship. Either he or some
friend of his happens to know an archi-

to the aesthetic standards of its owner
than does any single influence of that
kind, which can come into his life; and
it should be an equally and differently
illuminative experience to its architect.
On the other hand a house that merely
has the appearances of being successful,
but which does not represent the best
disinterested efforts of its designer is
not only comparatively sterilizing to its
maker, but it also necessarily limits and

HOW TO GET A WELL-DESIGNED HOUSE.

223

injures the taste of its inhabitants.
Such a house may not be aesthetically
demoralizing to those, who have a
peculiar personal interest in it, but it is
usually barren of any edifying results.
A family’s standard of taste can never be
much better than the one which is em-
bodied in the house it inhabits, and
when that house lacks any final distinc-
tion and propriety of effect, its inhabi-
tants can in other respects rarely rise
above the aesthetically commonplace.

mitting the most dangerous mistakes.
The success of the failure of a house-
builder to obtain an appropriate dwell-
ing depends more than anything else
upon the influence and ideas, which
have prompted him to select a particu-
lar architect, and which subsequently
determined his relation to his profes-
sional assistant. If those ideas are
sound, it may be possible to get a com-
paratively good house out of a com-
paratively inferior designer, whereas if

RESIDENCE OF MR. NICHOLAS F. PALMER.

Portchester, N. Y.

Errors in the selection of architects
are of course unavoidable because the
ordinary house-builder cannot be ex-
pected to have any wide knowledge of
the peculiar qualifications of different
American architects ; but there are sev-
eral ways in which the liability to error
can be diminished and the more im-
portant of these ways consists of the
inculcation among Americans of certain
general ideas in respect to house build-
ing, which will prevent them from com-

they are unsound the work of the best
architect may partially be spoiled. The
owner has every right to make certain
demands upon the architect. He has
the right to demand, for instance, that
his money be laid out with scrupulous
economy, that he gets a dollar in value
for every dollar that is spent, and that
every practical requirement in the way
of comfort and convenience, upon which
lie has insisted, shall be met. On the
other hand the architect has the right

224

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Portchester, N. Y.

Living Hall.

RESIDENCE OF MR. NICHOLAS F. PALME’R.

HOW TO GET A WELL-DESIGNED HOUSE.

22 5

on his side to make corresponding de-
mands upon his client. He has a right
to ask in the first place for complete
confidence in his judgment in respect
to all matters of architectural design.
If the client is not prepared to grant
such confidence, if he has definite and
uncompromising ideas of his own as
to how he wants his house to look, he
should not call in a supposed expert to
his assistance. All that he needs is a
draftsman and a builder, who are cap-
able and willing to carry out his
ideas, but who have no ideas and stand-
ards of their own. Unless a man fully
intends to place confidence in expert
advice, it should not be solicited. Of
course, we do not mean that a man by
placing confidence in his architect sur-
renders all right to criticize the design
of his house and to suggest changes
and emendations. Every architect in
his senses is perfectly willing to consult
constantly with his client about all mat-
ters of detail, aesthetic or otherwise,
and to accept emendations which do not
interfere with the integrity of his de-
sign. But if he is a thoroughly sincere
and capable practitioner, he cannot ac-
cept any similar modifications in respect
to certain essential characteristics of
his work. He is not simply an agent,
whose duty it is to carry out the ideas
of his client. He is a professional ex-
pert, whose opinions should have au-
thority in relation to all matters con-
sidered by him of fundamental impor-
tance. If the house-owner is not pre-
pared to grant him such confidence,
he should never have been employed.
Before giving any unknown architect
a commission, a house-builder should
familiarize himself thoroughly with the
methods and work of his professional
assistant, so that he can be tolerably
sure that he is going to get in general
a building suitable to his own ideas and
tastes, if he has any.

The proper relation between the
architect and his client demands, con-
sequently, loyalty on the part of the
latter, and, on the part of the former,
disinterested and capable service. The
whole relation is absolutely falsified in

case the designer has any motive in
making and carrying out his design ex-
cept the motive of placing at the dis-
posal of his client his best expert know-
ledge and ability, because only on that
basis can the confidence of his client be
justified. And this consideration brings
us to our leading contention. The
house-builder, should never employ
any one, no matter how great his ability,
to design his house, who has any inter-
est in doing anything but his best work.
He should not, for instance go to a
builder, or a decorator and ask the lat-
ter to have the designs of his house
prepared because the interest of the
builder and the decorator would be, not
to give his best professional advice, but
in part to make a good profit on the
job. Of course, this rule would not
apply, as we have already admitted, in
case the owner had certain very definite
ideas of his own, and merely wished an
agent to carry them out. Under such
circumstances, he would not require
disinterested expert advice. The re-
sponsibility for getting what he wanted
would rest on his own shoulders ; and
it would be up to him to see that his
agent gave him the value of his money
and an architectural embodiment of his
ideas. But in all other cases the rule
does apply. Wherever the owner is
obliged or prefers to delegate the re-
sponsibility for getting a suitable house
to an expert, it is absolutely essential
that the expert in question should have
the disinterested motives and the spec-
ial training of a professional expert.
The expert he selects may, no doubt,
fall below the proper professional stand-
ard, but he should guard against such
a possibility by choosing his architect
with sufficient care. If his designer is
not both disinterested and competent,
he loses the great advantage which he
may be expected to get from employ-
ing expert advice. The object of a de-
signer who is not disinterested is that
of making money for himself by pleas-
ing his employer at any cost. He will,
consequently, satisfy almost any whim
of his employer, no matter how deplor-
able the effect of the whim upon the

Entrance Drive.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

220

Garden Side.

RESIDENCE OF MR. FRANCIS F. PALMER.

Portchester, N. Y.

HOW TO GET A WELL-DESIGNED HOUSE.

227

general appearance of the building; and
if he is a decorator as well as a builder,
lie will usually spend as much as pos-
sible of his employer’s money upon
the stock, which he himself is in a
position to supply. Out of a total ap-
propriation, say of $50,000, he will in-
evitably save as much as he can upon
construction, in order to spend as much
as he can upon the furniture and
embellishments, because it is that part

of the responsibility which is right-
fully his, and is obliged to subordinate
the integrity and the propriety of the
whole design, for the benefit of only one
part of it — viz, the lavish decoration ol
certain rooms. The decorator, has, of
course, his appropriate function, which
is that of carrying out, like any other
contractor, the designs of the architects,
but in case he is granted any responsi-
bility, except for the conscientious per-

RESIDENCE OF MR. FRANCIS F. PALMER— LIBRARY.

Portchester, N. Y.

of the job, which brings him in his
largest profits.

No good, consequently, can come
either to individual house-owners or to
American domestic architecture from
the employment of a decorator to de-
sign buildings. The architect must
either be master of the whole design
and its carrying out, or else, his services
should be dispensed with entirely. If
the decorator employs the architect, the
architect is placed in a situation, which
forbids his best work. He is deprived

formance of a specific contract, it be-
comes a case of the tail wagging the
dog. The house-builder, who is not
capable of originating his own design —
and how many are? — falls into a trap,
in case he adopts any other course save
that of employing some competent arch-
itect, whose work and methods suit
him. By employing a decorator he may
get a building, which looks to his inex-
perienced eyes like the real thing but
which would be none the less almost
necessarily a fraud and a sham.

228

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Dining Room.

Living Hall.

RESIDENCE OF MR. FRANCIS F. PALMER.

Portchester, N. Y.

HOW TO GET A WELL-DESIGNED HOUSE.

229

The practice of entrusting the design
of residences to decorating companies
is very popular in England, but fortu-
nately it has gained comparatively little
headway in this country. Certain con-
spicuous cases could be named, in which
the architectural design of prominent
houses has been subordinated to the
ideas and interests of some company of
decorators ; but the practice is, we
imagine, on the wane rather than on
the increase. As a rule in case decora-
tors are allowed a larger responsibility
for the design of the interior of a
house than they ought to have, it is the
fault of the architect rather than the
owner. Nevertheless cases frequently
occur, in which house-builders commit
the error of entrusting specifically archi-
tectural responsibilities to decorative
companies which are necessarily de-
void of disinterested professional or
artistic standards, and whose chief ob-
ject usually is that of unloading on their
employer a large amount of wood-work,
furniture, rugs and hangings; and when
such cases do occur, they are worth
some attention particularly, when, as
frequently happens, their work might
be confused by inexperienced people
with much more architecturally meri-
torious houses.

The three houses, illustrations of
which accompany this article, may be
taken as fair illustrations of the sort of
thing, which an unsuspecting builder will
get when he places himself in the hands
of a decorator rather than an architect.
These houses all belong to different
members of the same family, and are
all situated near one another on the
same piece of property. They were all
designed in the office of the same decor-
ating company, whose employers have
obviously placed most liberal appropria-
tions at its service. The designer had,
consequently, almost a unique oppor-
tunity for a complete and effective
scheme of landscape design. He had
an opportunity, not merely of connect-
ing the houses one with another, but of
tieing them together by a suitable lay-
out of the whole place ; and this oppor-
tunity has been almost entirely neglec-
ted. It is natural that an interior

decorating company would fail most
completely in arranging for an appro-
priate landscape treatment, because
the out-door part of the work would be
least interesting and profitable to the
designer ; and the company would not
save itself from such a failure, even
if it called to its assistance a profes-
sional landscape architect, because the
decorator would have no interest in
spending any sufficient fraction of the
total appropriation in out-door work.
In the instance of the three houses il-
lustrated herewith, the landscape archi-
tectural scheme, which should have been
most carefully planned and carried out
with a considerable expenditure of
money has been comparatively neglec-
ted. The devices, used by the designer
in order to tie the several houses to-
gether and make them look well in their
natural surroundings are commonplace,
trivial and cheap; and the same adjec-
tives apply to the devices, whereby the
landscape, in itself very beautiful, is sup-
posed to be made more effective from
the entrances of the several houses. The
only garden shown in the photographs
lacks all propriety of location, or any
sufficient definition of treatment, and is
almost absurd in its wholly episodic re-
lation to any general landscape scheme.

The designer has sought to obtain
unity of architectural effect by giving
the three houses the same general char-
acter. They are all of them adapta-
tions of the Spanish mission style to
the needs of a modern American subur-
ban house in a cold climate. The use
of this style is extremely popular in
California, where it is supposed to have
some local propriety, and it is no won-
der that such is the case, because the old
Missions combined certain solid archi-
tectural merits with an attractive and
popular picturesqueness of aspect. But
the style cannot be recommended for
contemporary suburban houses in a
cold climate, because in adapting it to
its conditions its merits are mostly
lost and its faults emphasized. Its
merits consisted in the masses and
stretches of solid wall, broken with only
a few openings, surmounted by a red
tiled roof, and varied by a picturesque

HOW TO GET A WELL-DESIGNED HOUSE.

231

bell-tower and the deep shadows of
the arcade. They were essentially con-
ventual buildings, which were intended
both as a protection and as a retreat
from the outer world, and in which sim-
plicity and economy of effect was the
result of primitive economical, social
and technical conditions. It was in-
evitable that when the attempt to repro-
duce this style was made under social
and economic conditions, which had

itations of the Mission style are of this
character ; and so are the houses repro-
duced herewith. The latter are indeed,
a distinct improvement on the majority
of their Californian prototypes. It
would be going too far to say that they
are examples of sheer architectural
frivolity, because the designer has used
a good deal of intelligence in adapting
the forms of mission architecture to
the needs of a contemporary American

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE Q.

Portchester, N. Y.

ceased to be primitive, the style itself
tended to become sophisticated. The
imitation fastened merely on the details
and picturesque features of the old Mis-
sion buildings and neglected or repu-
diated the more substantial qualities,
which gave those details dignity and
propriety. In the place of the solid al-
most unbroken walls of primitive con-
crete, there was substituted flimsy plas-
ter constructions, broken necessarily by
many windows, and essentially frivolous
and restless in architectural feeling.
Nearly all the modern Californian im-

PALMER— DETAIL OF GARDEN.

suburban residence, and he was shown
some originality and taste in decorating
his structure with vines and trailing
plants. But he was hampered by an
essentially false and vicious point of
departure. In order to meet the legiti-
mate needs of the inhabitants of the
houses, he was obliged to break the
wall spaces by openings so numerous
and so conspicuous that nothing is left
of the solid walls, which gave the mis-
sion style its dignity, and with the solid
walls should also have disappeared the
heavy arches and gables, which were

232

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

their natural supplement. Every con-
cession the designer was obliged to
make to modern methods and needs
— the brick chimneys, the little wooden
balconies and porches, the complicated
plan, the verandas and the awnings- -
all these incidents and details violate
in their effect the integrity of the origi-
nal idea ; and the best one can say is
that the violations have been made, not
with perversity and unintelligence,
but with some discretion and taste. The

In the design of the interiors, no
attempt has been made to stick to the
Mission forms. The bare simple wood-
work and furniture of that style has
been used with some success in many
western dwellings, but in the present
instance the designer, as soon as he
passed the threshold, lost all interest in
Mission detail and economy, and in-
dulged in a riot of ostentatious Colon-
ialism. All the rooms in all the houses
are finished in white wood, and furn-

RESIDBNCE OF MR. GEORGE Q. PALMER— THE FORMAL GARDEN.
Portchester, N. Y.

effect would, however, have been in-
finitely better, in case the design, while
keeping the general aspect of an old
Spanish house, had dispensed entirely
with the peculiar characteristics of the
Mission style. He could have designed
a series of white walled red-roofed
villas, with details derived from Spanish
and Italian Renaissance buildings,
which would have avoided entirely the
incongruity of effect characteristic of
these three houses.

islied in heavy mahogany ; and the de-
sign of these interiors has the same
pretence of adhering to a style as has
the design of the exteriors. On the
outside an affectation is displayed of
Mission simplicity. On the inside there
is a similar affectation of Colonial sim-
plicity. But in both cases the pretence
cannot disguise the absence of any de-
sire for genuine simplicity and economy
of effect. The wood-work is not, in-
deed, over-wrought with classic detail,

HOW TO GET A WELL-DESIGNED HOUSE

233

and in some instances the scale of the
mouldings and of the panelling is rather
too low than too high. But the detail
if not over-wrought, is commonplace in
appearance and in design. It may
well have been designed and made par-
ticularly for these rooms; but it looks
as if it were supplied out of stock and
it has the lack of distinction, which is
the usual mark of manufactured wood-
work. A Colonial room is nothing at

excessively obtruded or appear to ap-
propriate the room. In every one of
these apartments one loses all sense of
the whole by a forced preoccupation
with the details. The only general effect
they give is that of a miscellaneous
collection of things. It looks as if the
rooms had been designed for the furni-
ture and the hangings, rather than the
furniture and the hangings designed
or selected for the rooms. The mere

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE Q. PALMER— LIVING HALL
Portch ester, N. Y.

all unless it is expressive of a certain
refined simplicity of taste; and refine-
ment and simplicity, cannot be achieved
merely by the use of white panelling,
classic mouldings and columns. It de-
mands primarily the subordination of
everything in and around a room to a
total effect derived from an appropriate
treatment of the walls, the ceiling, and
the more important structural incidents,
such as the mantelpiece, the doors and
the windows. All the particular pieces
of furniture and decoration must find
a natural and inevitable place in the
total effect and none of them must be

details of the picture absolutely appro-
priate one’s attention — which has been
pretty well exhausted by the time it
passes from the contents of the room
to the room itself, and we do not ex-
aggerate in saying that apartments de-
signed by decorators are usually vitiated
by precisely this fault.

Before closing this article, however,
the reader must thoroughly under-
stand the spirit in which, and the pur-
poses for which the foregoing criti-
cisms have been made. The houses il-
lustrated herewith have been character-
ized in plain but carefully discriminated

234

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

language. They are not architecturally
vicious in the sense that certain New-
port and Fifth Avenue houses are
vicious. They are not the issue of
socially vulgar outlook, or of mere
architectural ignorance, perversity or
ostentation. Not so many years ago they
might have been accepted as decidedly
superior to the average dwelling of the
same grade. But the standards of
dwelling-house design have been rap-
idly improving, and at the present time
these houses, illustrate, not an absence
of aesthetic standards, but a dangerous
falsification thereof. They illustrate
the kind of faults, which every owner
is in danger of committing, when a
really wholesome relation does not sub-
sist "between the client and the archi-
tect. These residences are character-
ized throughout by a total lack of archi-
tectural integrity. Professional training
has had a hand in their design, but not
professional conscience ; and this ele-
ment of conscience will always be lack-
ing, so long as the architect is not an
independent expert, who has the recog-
nized authority to impose his ideas in
all essential matters upon his clients.
When such authority is lacking the re-
sult is sure to be more or less of a

hodge-podge ; and it is necessarily
lacking in the relation between a decor-
ator and his client. The decorator may
have as much training and taste as the
architect, and on the average he is
doubtless just as honest a man; but
he is only an agent, without any final
authority, and with his profits depend-
ing upon his ability to please his em-
ployer. He has no professional tradi-
tion and standard behind him ; and in
case he should wish to assert his own
personal ideas, he really goes beyond
his rights. Thus he inevitably falls
into the habit merely of dangling archi-
tectural baits before his clients — de-
signed to tickle the latter’s palate. Of
course many architects are no better :
but the point is that an ever larger
proportion of architects are attaining
the personal and professional indepen-
dence necessary for personal self-asser-
tion. It is these designers who insist
upon building for their clients, houses,
which will not merely tickle their
aesthetic palates, but will educate and
clarify _ their whole aesthetic outlook.
The improvement which is taking
place hi 'American architectural de-
sign is traceable to these architects and
to them only. William Herbert.

RESIDENCE OF MR. NICHOLAS F. PALMER — ENTRANCE.
Portchester, N. Y.

FIG. 1. TYPICAL RESIDENCE BLOCK.

Charles A. Lupprian, Architect.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Study of a New York Suburb, New Rochelle

(Photos by J. H. Symmons)

A writer in the “Point of View’’ of
Scribner’s Magazine, in a recent num-
ber of that periodical, made a remark
which may perhaps be profitable for
reproof and “re” edification. He said
that the efforts of the private owners
of realty in the suburbs of our great
cities, and equally or more in our sum-
mer or winter resorts, towards beauty
and comity in the aspect of their re-
spective places of abode or sojourn
were apt to be nullified by the selfish
insistence upon mere conspicuousness
and difference of the owners and pro-
jectors of the commercial building.
Nothing, he went on in effect, is
commoner than to come upon a
suburb of which the residences express
and attest a high degree of refinement
and the business buildings a low degree
of vulgarity. And thus, quite curiously,
it is the local tradesmen, the very class
which is most immediately interested in

the prosperity of a place of which the
prosperity depends on its picturesque
attractiveness, which goes about,
in its own erections, to destroy that at-
tractiveness, and to kill the goose which
lays the golden eggs.

1 hese reflections might have been
suggested by the aspect of New
Rochelle. Whether they were or not,
they are vividly illustrated by that as-
pect. Without any striking features of
landscape, for an “aequor” of water can
no more be called such a feature than
a gently undulating surface of land,
New Rochelle shares with the other
suburbs, its neighbors on the West-
chester shore of Long Island Sound,
the quiet beauty of the low alluvial
coast, and the historic interest which
during the Revolution made the Debat-
able Land one of the most interesting
regions of all the thirteen revolted col-
onies. Cooper’s “Spy” was the pre-

236

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Fig. 2. Typical Business Block.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

cursor of a long line of romances, ex-
tending down to to-day, which deal
with the conditions of this Westchester
shore. During the Revolution and even
before the Revolution, since this was
one of the chief scenes of the irrepres-
sible conflict between strenuous Puritan
Yankee and ruminant Arminian Dutch-
man. And New Rochelle has a special
historical interest for having been the
goal of the Huguenot migration, which

Fig. 3. A Spoiled Piece of Architecture— The
New Rochelle Trust Co.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

F. C. Merry, Architect of Lower Stories.

introduced a special element into the
strife, that element, Gallic, however Pro-
testantized, under which Calvinism it-
self lost half its evil by losing all its
cantankerousness.

There is thus every natural and hered-
itary reason why New Rochelle should
be a throughly charming suburb, a place
to which the commuter should repair
with particular alacrity after his day’s
work was done and spend his evenings
with particular delight in what poor
Homer Martin used to describe as “the
pursuit of his family,” and to which he

Fig. 4. A Bit of the Beaux Arts— The National
City Bank.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

should hie for his week-end with glad
relief. So indeed, it is a charming sub-
urb, as suburbs go. But it might be so
much more charming : —

every prospect pleases
And only man is vile

not even man in all his operations,
as we shall presently see more at large.
Only business man, and he is so only
in some of his operations. In so
far as the suburb is residential it is
attractive. In so far as it is commercial,
it is largely repulsive. T ake this typical
residence block, on the one hand (Fig.
i) which has been chosen for illustra-
tion, not because it is the most artistic
or attractive of the residence blocks,
but only as an average, and also, to tell

STUDY OF A NEW YORK SUBURB.

237

the truth, because the trees have not
yet grown big enough to hide the
houses, and the foliage and ampelopsis
which, at the time of the picture taking,
obscured even more attractive residence
blocks did not obscure this. Then take
this typical business block (Fig. 2) and
note the absence of all the qualities
which go to make the residence block
attractive. Instead of comity, we have
disputatiousness, instead of sociability,
rampant individualism, in a word, the
height of unneighborliness substituted
for the state of brethren dwelling in
unity. Imprimis, there is no skyline,
but instead thereof a jagged sierra, and
a high degree of inconsideration for the

Fig. 6. The Masonic Temple.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Geo. K. Thompson, Architect.

neighbors in material as well as in
height, to say nothing about “style."
First, buildings of four stories, now in
brick, now in stone, secondly a Jaco-
bean edifice in three stories in brick,
succeeded by a ditto in Victorian
Gothic, then a single story, then three
stories in brick, then two in clapboards,
then two in yellow brick, surmounting
two in brownstone, and so forth. Open
contempt for the neighbors is what they
all exhibit, and shed new light on Rus-
kin’s saying that “the chief object of
commercial art is conspiciousness.” To
be conspicious the easiest way is to be
different, to build higher and bigger

Fig. 5. The Post Office.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Franklin D. Pagan, Architect.

than your neighbor and possible com-
petitor, and to emphasize your aloof-
ness from him. Not, of course, that the
builders of new shop fronts should con-
form to the humble clapboard edifices
which they supplant, and which exist
merely provisionally, as relics of an
humble past. But that there must be
some common height, which in
a place of the actual size of New
Rochelle, or its size in the near
future, would commend or even impose
itself, is a proposition which has failed
to impose itself on the builders of the
commercial part of the New Rochelle
that we see. And yet it is a kind of
primary precept of that social civiliza-
tion to which the appearance of the com-
mercial part of New Rochelle is a dis-
grace and a defiance. I11 some coun-
tries, for example, in France, this pri-

Fig. 7. St. Gabriel’s School.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

J. C. Cady & Co., Architects.

238

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Fig. 8. Trinity Church.

New Rochelle, N. Y. R. M. Upjohn, Architect.

mary requirement of civilization would
be officially imposed. In other countries,
in which individualism is as rampant, in
many ways, as it is in our own, the same
result is attained by the feeling of neigh-
borliness. A tradesman would be as
much ashamed to annoy his neighbors
by the overweening pretentiousness of
his store as of his house. In this latter
respect our tradesman seldom errs as he
habitually does in the former. But he
has a notion that his right to advertise
takes precedence of social decency. This
feeling is one of the most awful results
of our commercialism.

It ascends to regions where you would
not suspect its existence. It extends to
what you may call “institutions.” A vil-
lage bank is, or clearly ought to be, a
village institution. It has the right, and
one may say the duty, of building for
itself a modest and suitable home, which
shall be exempt from the more vulgar
manifestations of the dollar hunt. Sure-
ly a bank should have more dignity and
self-respect in these matters than can be
exacted of a hustling Yiddish store-
keeper, for example. Wherefore the
“new” building of the New Rochelle
Trust Company is about the most de-
pressing erection on the main street of
New Rochelle (Fig. 3). For it happens

that this institution did possess a per-
fectly appropriate and even charming
little banking house of its own, which
was one of the chief attractions
of the main street. It was orig-
inally built from the designs of
the late Mr. F. C. Merry some
sixteen years ago. Only a door and a
big window, wide and two stories high,
afterwards extended laterally, but not
vertically. In its original state, or aftei
the first administration, it did equal
credit to the architect and owner. With
its modest two stories in brownstone, its
studied and effective fenestration, and
its artistic carved work, even though
wavering in “style” between Renais-
sance and Byzantine, it was a most
grateful object, almost the beau ideal of
a village bank, one would have said, be-
fore the erection of that sparkling little
work of Mr. Sullivan’s in distant Min-
nesota. But the bank officers were ap-
parently the least appreciative of the
New Rochellers of the value of their
habitation. It is true that it may be a
case of “the laurels of Miltiades.” For
the other and younger of the “local”
financial institutions, the City Bank had
just “come from” erecting a building
for its own use which was bigger and
more conspicuous than the brownstone

Fig. 9. Trinity Tower and Church.

R. M. Upjohn, Architect.

STUDY OF A NEW YORK SUBURB.

239

front of the elder, and which might be
suspected of a disposition to domineer
over the main street to its elder's detri-
ment. But, really, there is no radical
fault to be found with this latter edifice
(Fig. 4). It is a monochrome of red
brick, in the prevailing mode of the
Beaux Arts, successfully simplified and
owing its impressiveness to simplicity
and “scale.” It is part of the simplicity
which makes the success that it evident-
ly exists sole.y for the accommodation
of the institution, its owner, and makes
no provision whatever for “the pig that
pays the rint." Moreover, its altitude
does not exceed the three-story limit
which is the normal cornice-line of a
place of the size of New Rochelle. It
is also, like the building which it may
have overtopped and may have tended to
efface, a dignified fulfillment of a re-
spectable requirement. But, in fact, re-
spectable as it is, it did not, to the judi-
cious and sensitive observer, succeed in
effacing or eclipsing the older two-story
bank. On the contrary, to such an ob-
server, the elder remained the better, in
spite of the superior smartness and mod-
ishness of the newer. If such an ob-
server had had no other means of judg-
ing the comparative solvency and mag-
nitude of the institutions than the fronts
they respectively put up, he would have

Fig. 10. Methodist Church.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Weary & Kramer, Architects.

Fig. 11. St. Gabriel’s Church.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

William Schickel, Architect.

been cpiite as apt to put his money in
the two-story brownstone edifice as in
the colossal single story of the red brick
repository. In either case it was mani-
fest that the institution was enough of
an institution to build quarters for it-
self and to occupy them exclusively.
But, in an evil hour, the Trust Com-
pany was inspired to proclaim that it
could no longer afford this isolation, and
to build two additional stories, which is
to sav, as superfluous and irrelevant to
the banking business as to the architec-
ture, obviously to reduce expenses by
making them pay rental. Add that the
additional stories necessitated the de-
struction of the cornice of the original
building, which was an integral part of
its architecture, that they themselves do
not conform to tlie substructure even in
material, and that they have not in them-
selves the slightest architectural interest,
and you come near spelling vandalism.
In truth, the superstructure so suggests
a cornice of sheet metal that you have
to go about to the side to assure your-
self that this iniquity at least has been
foregone and that the cornice is, in fact,
of honest brownstone, honestly bonded
into the buff brick wall. The super-
structure is, all the same, a depressing
performance, the more depressing, para-
doxically, the higher it goes.

240

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The general aspect of the business
quarter of New Rochelle, like the gen-
eral aspect of any other suburban town,
like the general aspect of the tenement
house quarter of any great city, strongly
suggests that this same sheet-metal cor-
nice is the fount and origin of architec-
tural vulgarity. It is by its nature a
piece of cheap finery, and cheap finery is
the very symptom of vulgarity. Im-
agine, in any of the suburbs or any of
the tenement house quarters aforesaid,
an effective prohibition against the erec-
tion of any sheet-metal cornices or pro-
jections whatever made to imitate ma-
sonry, and that the builder had to con-
struct his cornice, such as it was, of
honest brickwork or masonry. Can you
imagine a more wholesome and benefi-
cent regulation, from the architectural
point of view, any other one restriction
which would do as much to banish vul-
garity from the street architecture and
render it impossible? Try it, and you
will be likely to give it up. Wherefore
it is a pleasure to say that from this par-
ticular form of vulgarity and vandali-
zation the business quarter of New
Rochelle is comparatively free. Not
absolutely, of course. That were much,
too much, to hope. But, a good many
years ago, it occurred to some architect,
possibly only to some builder of sound
and honest instincts, that the tin cornice
was an ugly fraud and sham, and that he
would make his cornices out of the ma-

Fig. 13. Methodist Church.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

W. H. W. Young, Architect.

Fig. 12. Presbyterian Church, North Ave.
New Rochelle, N. Y.

Frank E. Wallis, Architect of Church.

Frank Rosh, Architect of Tower and Additions.

terial of his walls. He thus put it out
of his power to be vulgar and repulsive
bevond a certain point. And, in every
one of the principal streets, you may
see business buildings which have no
other claim to admiration than this neg-
ative one that they do not flaunt a sheet-
metal cornice, and which by that mere
omission become at least comparatively
respectable. The building in Huguenot
Street, occupied as a post office, and, in-
deed, I believe, designed with a view to
that occupancy, though not a govern-
ment building, becomes, largely in virtue
of this omission, almost exemplary (Fig.
5). It has other points in its favor, to
be sure. While it seems to be amply
lighted, the proportion of voids to solids
is large enough to assure the eye and
the mind of stability ; the fenestration is
throughout well managed, and the prob-
lem of a shop or show window which
shall fulfill its commercial purpose with-
out destroying the apparent stability of
the walls is particularly well studied in
outline and in detail. The architect was
rather puzzled on being complimented
on so simple, hum-drum and unpreten-
tious a front. But, one was tempted to
answer, that is “just it.” A suburban
commercial front which can justly be
accused of unpretentiousness, even hum-
drum and monotony, and of nothing
worse, has vindicated itself. Imagine a
whole village street lined with buildings
like this for stores and offices, against
the background of which the buildings

STUDY OF A NEW YORK SUBURB.

241

Fig. 14. “Tuscan Villa,” 1851.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Alexander J. Davis, Architect.

properly more costly and pretentious, the
public buildings and such quasi-public
buildings as the banks, might be effec-
tively relieved and set off, and would
you not rejoice in the sight and be grate-
ful for it if of a sensitive and thankful
constitution? Nay, compare it with the
new building adjoining it, which is much
more “the regular thing” in suburban
commercial architecture. The author of
this has at least had grace enough given
to him to conform to the cornice-line of
his neighbor, and, in general, to the di-
vision of its stories. For this relief,
much thanks. But you cannot help see-
ing that his building is, in the first place,
impossible. If it were what it purports
to be, it could not stand up for an hour,
the whole superstructure being without
visible means of support. The absence
of anything to be called design, either in
composition or in detail, is complete; the
contrast between the marble and the
brickwork of a violence aggravated by
the spottiness with which the latter is
introduced against the former, and, to
crown the edifice, there is a cornice of
unmistakable sheet-metal, the preten-
tiousness of which is effectively exposed
by the solid and unpretentious projec-
tion of the brick cornice next door. Yet,
of course, the newer is more character-
istic of the street architecture of the
suburb than the elder. Can any civilized
man hesitate as to which he would
choose as the prevailing architecture of
a village street?

New Rochelle is rather exceptionally
fortunate, as has been said, in the prefer-
ence which so many of its business
buildings show for honest masonry over
fraudulent sheet-metal as the material
for cornices. It is also rather favored
among suburbs in its public buildings.
The contributions of the municipality it-
self to the decoration of the main street
are not important, are, in fact, negligi-
ble. There is a fire-house on one of the
side streets, in white stone and buff
brick, which one might, if hard pressed,
designate as French Gothic, and which
has pretensions that might become per-
formance if it were not so painfully thin
and shallow. The “City Hall,” at the
center of the main street, meant to be
the cynosure of neighboring eyes, is a
crude and ridiculous edifice, which no
human being could think of admiring.
It must much antedate the municipality
and belong to the “village,” bearing, in
fact, the marks of the untutored me-
chanic of the late sixties or early seven-
ties. Nobody could think of admiring
it, and yet one wonders whether it had
not better stay where it is than to be
superseded by the smart Beaux Arts
edifice which would probably supersede
it if the superessession were to take
place just now. Untutored carpenter for
irrelevant artist, it is a more congruous
object than, for example, the City Hall
of Paterson, N. J. True, the munici-
pality would not be shut up to a choice

Fig. 15. “Tudor Villa.”

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Alexander J. Davis, Architect

242

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Fig. 16. Gothic Cottage, 1858 — -Residence of
Mr. Frederic Remington.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Alexander J. Davis, Architect.

between these types. In fact, at one
end of the main street there is a classic
building, the Masonic Temple (Fig. 6),
rather more familiar to New Rochellers
as the Public Library, and at the other
end a Gothic building, built and pre-
sented to the town as a gymnasium and
intended by the generous • donor as a
general social center, which two offer a
much more eligible choice of types. The
latter quite missed its destination, owing
to the impossibility of securing the so-
cial mixture of which the fond donor
dreamed. What is it the village mag-
nate says, in Mr. Howell’s novel, of

Fig. 17. Pointed Villa.

(The front has been modernized.)

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Alexander J. Davis, Architect.

such a proposition? “I am perfectly
willing to meet these people at the polls
or the communion table or in any proper
way; but a man’s home is sacred.” At
any rate, the classes would not mix, and
the building consecrated to their coal-
escence is now St. Gabriel’s School
(Fig. 7). But one cannot regret the
delusion which at least produced the
building, with its soft red monochrome
of brick wall and tile roof, and its care-
ful and studious adjustment. As little
can one suggest regrets at the “tetrastyle
in antis” over a plain brick basement of
the Masonic Temple. This is a piece of
classic of the kind rather better handled
by the mechanic of 1820 or thereabouts
than by the contemporary “artist,” in
which, that is to say, the order is suc-
cessfully incorporated with the struc-
ture, so as to seem a part of it, instead
of being plainly exotic or irrelevant. This
latter effect is produced by a school-
house out on North Avenue, which
consists of a mere factory, with a Greek
portico casually adjoined to it, which
has plainly nothing whatever to do with
it, and this latter effect is a much com-
moner product of the present “classical
revival” than is the former. Of course,
the classic building at one end of the
main street is entirely incompatible with
the Gothic building at the other. Which
represents the more eligible type for a
village suburb like New Rochelle is a
question there is no use in arguing. As
to this, one has to say — De gustibus non
disputandum. But, in any case, one
would have to be a bigoted partisan not
to admit that the place is fortunate in
having so well done an example of each
of the two opposing styles. As to the
other secular public buildings, they are
schoolhouses, and none of them is of
more architectural interest than the one
we have mentioned. It is a pity, indeed,
that so much money should be spent, no
doubt to so much practical and educa-
tional, but to so little architectural effect.

As to the sacred public edifices, New
Rochelle is rather exceptionally fortu-
nate in its churches. Trinity alone, one
of the best works of the younger Up-
john, if not his masterpiece, would lend
distinction to any suburb fortunate

STUDY OF A NEW YORK SUBURB.

243

enough to rejoice in its possession (Fig.
8). The Gothic revival did no better
piece of ecclesiastical work of its kind.
Nothing could be more considerate or
more successful than the disposition of
the parts and their relation to one an-
other and to the whole, than the adjust-
ment, the design and the scale of the de-
tail. The dwindling aspiration of the
spire, the treatment of the transition
from the square tower to the octagon,
the design of the middle stage of belfry
light and clock face and dormer, the re-
lation of the whole mass to the poly-
gonal and buttressed apse alongside
(Fig. 9) — what could possibly be better?
Add that the emphasis of structure is
enhanced by the stress of color, the com-
bination of material, a mellow yellowish
gray rubble with wrought work of
brownstone, being, in effect, that which
Richardson afterwards employed with
so much success. Add, also, that the
church distinctly “belongs,” and that it
would be as much out of place in a much
more urban or a much more rural par-
ish, as it is delightfully in place in this
suburb, and you have a beautiful and
impeccable success. It is unpleasant to
have to add that the custodians of the
church have not shown themselves very
appreciative of their treasure. And we
shall also have to blame the memory of
the same Mr. Merry who cast the orig-
inal design for the New Rochelle Trust
Company before the directors of that
institution. For, when the parish house
came to be added, it unfortunately hap-
pened that the Anglican Gothic had been
superseded by the Richardsonian Ro-
manesque, and a rather barnlike struc-
ture in that style was the result. It was
the more a pity because what the addi-
tion should have been was so plainly
indicated by what existed. An English
Gothic parish house, and possibly a rec-
tory thereto, of the same material and
the same architecture as the church,
with, by all means, a low but open ar-
cade of covered cloister or ambulatory
connecting it with the main edifice —
one sees that that was imperative. If
that had been provided, the “parochial
plant” of Trinity would have rivalled
that of St. John’s, Yonkers, by all means

Fig. 18. An Average House.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

J. N. S. Quoi, Architect.

the most successful example of such a
plant in Westchester County. Whereas,
now not only do the church and the par-
ish house dwell together in disunity, but
the vested choir has to scuttle across the
open from the robing rooms to the
church — even under umbrellas in rainy
weather — and dignity has to take care
of itself. Too bad!

There are other churches worthy of
note. The Methodist Church in Ches-
ter, serpentine and brownstone, con-
fronts at the east end of Main Street the
Salem Baptist Church, in white marble,
with a red tile roof. To each may be
applied the irrefrageable criticism of the
Vicar of Wakefield that the picture

Fig. 19. Built for Comfort.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Franklin D. Pagan, Architect

244

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

would have been better if the painter
had taken more pains. The latter has a
good motive, the pyramiding and con-
vergence in an ‘‘auditorium” church, of
all the parts to the apex of the steep
roof. But the spire, instead of empha-
sizing this effect, confuses and obscures
it, and, as to detail, there cannot be said
to be any at all. Of course, decorative
or even expressive detail costs money.
But one would very much rather see
spaces and pieces left frankly blank for
future enrichment than to see a provi-

Fig. 20. A Shell Porch.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

N. J. Burchell, Architect.

sional “finish” which looks as unfinished
as blankness, and imparts to the design
itself a “half-baked” aspect. On the
other hand, the Methodist Church gains
an undeniable success in its effect of
color (Fig. io). The Chester serpen-
tine, albeit of a vivid and almost of a
grass green, looks quiet in such large
expanses, and its quietness is even en-
hanced by the brownstone of the
wrought work. But the composition
does not seem to have been studied at all
in perspective, for the front, very good
in itself, with its triple window, does not

Fig. 21. A Happy Afterthought.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Franklin D. Pagan, Architect.

come together with the side, with its
great wheel window. And, in fact, the
side elevation has not been studied even
by itself. No artist could possibly have
drawn out this elevation and remained
of the opinion that it was good, or even
that it would do, with its two equal
gables and its entire lack of any central
point of interest. All the same, thanks
to its success in color, and, in truth, to
the success of the front in design, it is
a very popular edifice. For that mat-
ter, either one of these churches is im-
mensely preferable to an unfortunate
Catholic church in Centre Avenue, called
“Of the Blessed Sacrament.” This is of
white marble, carefully enough wrought,

Fig. 22. Homely Picturesqueness.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Franklin D. Pagan, Architect.

STUDY OF A NEW YORK SUBURB.

Fig. 23. Dwelling Apart in Unity.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

Franklin D. Pagan, Architect.

and evidently has cost money. One won-
ders why it should, nevertheless, be so
distressingly, so infuriatinglv ugly, and
is inclined to attribute the result not
only to the painful thinness and shal-
lowness throughout, but very particu-
larly to the insensibility shown in the
shape, arrangement and modeling, or,
rather, no modeling of the openings in
the tower. Common charity forbids the
illustration of it. Another Catholic
church, St. Gabriel’s, is by no means so
bad, though far indeed from exquisite
(Fig. n). It is very solid and rather
massive, with its granite walls and its
tiled roof. But it loses much of the
effect its solidity and honesty would
entitle it to by the lack of contrast. It
has, one may say, no detail at all ; but,
as executed and finished, is merely a
thing “roughed out.” A little more
money spent in stonecutting, under the

Fig. 25. A Glorified Farm House.

New Rochelle, N. Y.

N. C. Burchell, Architect.

direction of an architect who knew what
he was about, in furnishing capitals for
the rough pillars, let us say, dressed
offsets for the rough buttresses, mould-
ings for the rough arches, would have
far more than paid for itself in archi-
tectural effect, even assuming the actual
rather awkward and uncouth composi-
tion. The Presbyterian church in North
Avenue is immensely better (Fig. 12).
One may criticise it as being rather too
rural for its suburban place and sur-
roundings, though it is not on the main
street, and goes very well with the
dwellings in its neighborhood, being,
as one might say, a “cottage church,”

Fig. 24. Twilight in Rochelle Park.
New Rochelle, N. Y.

and owing a good deal to the half-tim-
bered and plastered adjuncts to the
rough masonry of the nave, with its
heavy projecting bargeboards. But, a
mile or more beyond this, and well out
in the open country, there is a charming
little Methodist chapel, a gem, in fact,
of rural church architecture, of which
the appreciation by its possessors may
be judged by the fact that the pastor
being inquired of in that behalf, though
he quite knew the builder, could not say
“who drew the plans.” One’s hearty
congratulations, all the same, to the
draughtsman of the plans. What could
be more seemly and fitting than the little
edifice, with its basement of rough stone

246

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

and its superstructure of shingles, left
to weather into harmony with tne stone-
work, with its well-studied relation of
gable and porch and steeple and apsidal
transept; above all, with tlie perfect con-
gruity of the whole with its surround-
ings 't Next to Trinity, than which it
is so much less costly and pretentious,
distinctly the best piece of churcn archi-
tecture 111 New Rochelle (Fig. 13).

But, of course, the most interesting
of the buildings of any suburb are its
dwellings. It is in domestic work that
contemporary American architecture
chiefly shines, especially in rural and
suburban domestic work, and in houses
of modest pretensions and moderate
cost. “The House Dignified,” as it has
lately been described, meaning largely
the “House Regardless of Expense, ' is
apt to leave the picturesque tourist
rather cold. It has been said that the
American peop.e, and it might be said
that all modern peoples, Duild their
houses in the vernacular and their pub-
lic buildings in an unknown tongue ;
which is perhaps only another way of
saying that architecture is a dead art ;
whereas, housebuilding will continue to
be practiced as long as men need habi-
tations. In the great majority of cases,
it will, of course, be, in the Baconian
phrase, of houses built “to live in and
not to look on,” and, in this country, in
particular, of houses within the pecuni-
ary reach of the average man, not be-
yond the reach of any reasonably indus-
trious and ordinarily competent citizen.
When one of these houses is pleasing
“to look on,” without ignoring any of
the conditions on which it is based, it is
especially welcome as a social not less
than as an architectural exhibit. And
the enormous improvement within a
generation of the housing of the average
man, artistically as well as practically,
the escape from vulgarity and preten-
sion and the attainment of a homely and
homelike picturesqueness, is a piece of
national progress on which we are en-
titled to congratulate ourselves almost
unreservedly. So, although New Ro-
chelle has quite its share of “swell
places,” it seems best, in a study of this
kind, to ignore them and confine our-

selves to such of the houses of moderate
size and cost which show some touch of
art.

But first one has to congratulate this
suburb upon a group of comparatively
early dwellings, touching or even sur-
passing their half-century of duration,
such as few suburbs can show. Colonel
Richard Lathers was the public bene-
factor to whom New Rochelle is in-
debted for these things. As his pub-
lished “Reminiscences” relate, it was in
1848, after a brief but successful busi-
ness career in New York, that, attracted
by the accessibility and the natural and
historical interest of New Rochelle, he
bought a farm on what is now known
as “Lather’s Hill.” And it was only
three years afterwards, in 1851, namely,
that he employed an architect to design
him a more seemly and dignified abode
than the old farmhouse which he had
occupied thus far. This is the “Tuscan
Villa,” which still stands and constitutes
an attractive object to all pilgrims to
that quarter of the suburb (Fig. 14).
He was lucky in his architect, Alexander
J. Davis, memorable to the younger gen-
eration as the author of the old Univer-
sity Building in Washington Square,
the “Chrysaliw College” of Theodore
Winthrop’s “Cecil Dreeme,” which stood
to ornament the east side of the Square
until it was pulled down, some fifteen
years ago, to make room for a modern
tall building, memorable for other pre-
ceding and subsequent works, and affec-
tionately remembered by architects of
the generation next following his own
as “Rapa Davis.’’ Mr. Davis had, some
fifteen years before, written a book, or,
rather, “issued a work,” for the volume
consisted almost exclusively of plates,
to commend Gothic as the suitable style
for country houses. The only copy I
ever saw of it is in the Yale Library.
And all New Rochellers have reason to
be thankful that it was put into the heart
of Colonel Lathers to employ its author
during the closing years of the fifties to
design certain “investment houses” on
Lather’s Hill. These are four in num-
ber, three of them designed in 1858, and
all, in 1909, still eligible residences, par-
ticularly well planned for spaciousness

STUDY OF A NEW YORK SUBURB.

247

and dignity of interior effect, consider-
ing their not extravagant dimensions,
the ‘‘Tudor Villa” (Fig. 15), two
Gothic cottages (Fig. 16), still extant
and intact. In 1859 followed the
“Pointed Villa” (Fig. 17), which has
since, in the course of modernization,
been considerably shorn of its fair pro-
portions and bereaved of its decorative
bargeboards, and had a porte cochere
added to it. But, all the same, what ex-
amples they all were, and, for that mat-
ter, are to the untutored builder ! How
much they have restrained his excesses
who can tell? They do form a benefac-
tion to their neighborhood.

For, in truth, the average building of
New Rochelle is not marked by vulgar-
ity and pretension (if the repetition be
not tautological) , any more than they are
by artistry. The average house of New
Rochelle is not distinctly attractive. But,
then, no more is it distinctly repulsive,
and that is again something to be thank-
ful for (Fig. 18). The average build-
ing is not of single dwellings, but of
rows. When houses come, they come
not single spies, but in battalions. That
is one of the conditions of suburban
“realty development.” The developer
acquires a tract of farmland or an old
“estate.” Then he proceeds to “pave,
gutter and curb.” Then he puts two
large gateposts, formerly of stone, now
more likely of the cheaper concrete, at
each end of his holding in token of
something or other, which he might call
privacy or exclusiveness. This he oc-
casionally accentuates by wooden paling
and swing-gate between his posts. Then
he sits down at the receipt of “offers”
from homeseekers. It is the familiar
suburban experience, but it seems that
the proportion of gatepost at the end of
the “Park,” “Place,” or what not, is
especially large in New Rochelle. You
need only go to one end of any of these
reservations which is built up and pop-
ulated and look at the babv-wagons and
listen to the squalling to dismiss as idle
the fears of “race suicide” in New Ro-
chelle :

Continuo auditas voces, vagitus et ingans

Infantumque animae flentes in limine primo

You would not expect to find many arch-
itectural gems in these rows of reser-

vations of building lots, 50x100. Per-
haps, with these dimensions and condi-
tions, the most attractive of the spaces
are those in which individuality is
waived and conformity attained, in
which, in fact, the developer seeks a
building profit as well as a land profit,
and employs one architect to do the
whole, as was the case with our illus-
tration of a typical residence block (Fig.
1). It is apt to be outside the “parks”
and “terraces” or inside such of them as
afford rather more amplitude of dimen-
sions, and where some irregularity of
terrain invites some individuality of
treatment that the little “places”
are apt to be most interesting. Some-
times it is only a straightforward as-
piration for comfort, as in Fig. 19.
Sometimes a single feature as the
shell porch in Fig. 20, or, on a rather
larger scale, the loggia which some
owner has had the happy thought
of adjoining to one of those houses, with
two extremely acute gables which so
abound as to be characterizing, and has
had the luck to fall in with the right
architect to execute for him (Fig. 21).
Sometimes it is what may be the mere
unexpectedness of a bit of homely pic-
turesqueness in a commonplace street
(Fig. 22). Sometime a quaint and
tocklesome conceit, like those trim cot-
tages, which so irresistibly and whimsi-
cally suggest that they must be inhabited
Dickensiansly, by two old maiden sisters
or two old bachelor brothers, who find
that they can live neither together nor
apart, but who have so clearly found
their notion artistically carried out for
them (Fig. 23). Sometimes one may
suspect a merely factitious effect of twi-
light and shrubbery upon a design
which, strictly speaking, is not much
(big. 24). But, on the other hand,
there is no question that it is to the
force of design that a dwelling like this
glorified farmhouse (Fig. 25) owes its
effectiveness, even though one may
quarrel with the combination of brick-
work and stonework, and the unbased
pretence of rusticity in the treatment of
the chimney, or may practically wonder
what happens when the snow lodges at
the bases of those dormers, scooped out
of the roof and without “eyebrows,”

248

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

which he yet finds artistically so attrac-
tive. Still less question when he comes,
at the corner of a suburban street, upon
so prettily and effectively pyramidized a
composition as that shown in Fig. 26,
where everything so evidently “be-
longs,” and the aggregation of congrui-
ties attains such a charming unity that
he has to recognize the work of an artist,
and to pity, not without some shade of
contempt, the wayfarer who recognizes
nothing in it beyond what is to be found
in its neighbors. Done in slight ma-
terials and at moderate cost, as this
house is, there is no manner of question
about its being a work of architec-
ture.

A study of almost any suburb leads
to the conclusion that there is more in
it that is worth seeing titan the casual
observer would imagine. It is submitted
that the illustrations show this to be
eminently the case with New Rochelle.
But, to recur to our starting-point, why
should not more intelligent pains be
taken, on the part of those whose in-
terest it particularly is to take them, to
impress the casual observer, the stranger
on his first visit, with the advantages
for residence or resort which he finds
only after some sojourn? Why should
not the best artistic intelligence- of the
place be exerted to put some constraint
upon the builders of the business quar-
ter, so that they should not initially repel
the visitor whom the residence quarters
are subsequently to attract. This is emi-
nently a “business question.” It is also
a question of practical “civics.” Corpo-

rate New Rochelle, for example, does
injustice to the individuals who compose
the corporation. Why should the chief
avenue to the town, the direct road from
the station to the business center, be also
the Ghetto? It is too absurd, about the
only parallel to it being the arrangement
in San Francisco, before the earthquake
and fire, whereby every visitor to the
swell residential quarter had to climb
through the noisome “Chinatown” to get
there. And why should not the traction
companies be constrained to add to the
attractiveness and convenience of the
municipality from which they receive
their license to do business? It is rather
hard to call upon the receiver into whose
hands a traction company has fallen, by
reason of its trustfulness that the public
would not abuse its facilities of transit
and transfer, to go about to make large
expenditures. But, when it comes to
four different “routes” being shut up to
a single track, so that any delay at any
point clogs movement by all four, it
seems that the municipality might find
means to enforce “a more central way.”
And when the main ganglion of the
whole system, the central point of dis-
tribution and transfer, is up a side street,
where passengers are simply dumped
out, regardless of weather, to find their
respective conveyances, then, clearly,
“something is rotten in the state” of the
community which permits such things
to be. There is ample room and verge
enough in New Rochelle for “municipal
reform” of things that “come home to
men’s business and bosoms.”

Fig. 26. A Work of Architecture.
New Rochelle, N. Y.

N. C. Burchell, Architect.

A Contemporary Westover

The Residence of Mr. Geo. T. Palmer, New London, Conn.

(Photos by Floyd E. Baker)

It is always clarifying, in considering
the architectural value of a contempor-
ary adaptation of an historical style, to
be able to refer the house to some par-
ticular model ; and in the case of Mr.
Palmer’s house, illustrated herewith,
there can be no doubt either of the iden-
tity of the model or of the frankness of
the debt. The owner of the house, who
has a peculiar personal interest in Co-
lonial architecture and furniture, specifi-
cally commissioned his architect, Mr.
Charles A. Platt, to build a residence for
him with “Westover” as the basis of the
design. Mr. Platt followed his instruc-
tions loyally. “Westover” is one of the
half-dozen Colonial houses distinguished
by certain marked characteristics from
its brothers (or shall we say its sisters?)
in colonialism. Nobody in the least fa-
miliar with both houses could fail to
recognize the model on which the modern
house was based. Not only has the gen-
eral mass of the Colonial model been ac-
cepted, but there is much similarity even
in the detail. It should be remarked,
however, in the same breath, that al-
though the imitation is frank and faith-
ful, it is very far from being mechanical
and slavish. Certain modifications have
been introduced into the modern “West-
over,” which, without making it any less
specifically Colonial, give it the appear-
ance and the character of a thoroughly
contemporaneous house. Some of these
modifications are evidently the result of
the domestic needs of a contemporary
American family. Others have been in-
troduced bv the architect with the evi-
dent intention of improving somewhat
upon the original design. But these oc-
casional variations in detail do not in the
least violate either the spirit or the ef-
fect of the model. The modern “West-
over” is as far removed from personal
self-assertion on the part of the architect
as it is upon mere archaism. Mr. Pal-
mer's “Westover” is as frankly a house
of a contemporary American gentleman
as it is frankly an adaptation of a well-

known historical residence, and its value,
both as a type and as a lesson, is due
partly to the candid and competent in-
telligence with which the architect has
not been afraid either of acknowledging
his debt, or of making the borrowed
capital pay a higher interest than the
original loan.

The plot on which Mr. Palmer’s house
is situated consists of a long, narrow
strip of land, bounded on the two ends
by avenues. At one end it affords a
view of the open water, and as this view
was very interesting and attractive, its
existence was of dominant importance
in the location of the house. The build-
ing was placed near the end of the plot,
in a situation overlooking the water
view. The land falls away from the site
of the house to the end of the plot, so
that with the assistance of a certain
amount of foliage and planting, the
street is for the most part concealed
from the vision of the inhabitants of the
house. The proximity of the street and
the presence of the view made it neces-
sary to keep both the garden and the en-
trance away from this side of the dwell-
ing. The intervening space between the
building and the street is devoid of arch-
itectural treatment. It remains a plain
lawn, planted with shrubs and trees, and
with nothing in the nature of a porch
except a simple platform, similar in
character to that of “Westover” itself,
but larger in size. It may be added that
such a treatment was dictated not merely
by the nature of the site and the direc-
tion of the view, but by fidelity to the
architectural model. A modern “West-
over” with a terrace would have been
altered, not beyond recognition, but be-
yond any decently familiar relation with
its original.

The entrance, not being situated on the
water side of the house, has to be situ-
ated on the other side; and the same is
true, of the garden. The necessity of
putting the public entrance and the pri-
vate garden both on the same side was

THE ORIGINAL “WESTOVER.’

A CONTEMPORARY WESTOVER.

251

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE T. PALMER— GARDEN FRONT.

252

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

attended with certain inconveniences ;
but they have been clearly neutralized
by the details of the arrangement. The
entrance drive sticks closely to the north-

lead from it — one for service purposes,
which goes directly to the kitchen, situ-
ated in the north wing, and one which
goes into a round court immediately in

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE T. PALMER— VIEW FROM GARDEN.

New London, Conn. Charles A. Platt, Architect.

First-floor Rljuy-

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE T. PALMER— FIRST FLOOR PLAN.

New London, Conn.

Charles A. Platt, Architect.

era boundary of the property, and as
long as it runs close to the garden it is
screened therefrom by dense planting.
As it reaches the house, two entrances

front of the house. The proximity of
the garden on this side makes it essen-
tial that the entrance court should be
inconspicuously treated, and should be

A CONTEMPORARY WESTOVER.

253

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE T. PALMER— GARDEN.

254

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Residence of Mr. George T. Palmer — Layout of
the Grounds.

New London, Conn.

Charles A. Platt, Architect.

devoid of architectural emphasis. As
one looks at the house from the wall in
the midst of the garden, the court is
scarcely distinguishable ; and the gar-
den is planned so that the inhabitants of
the house can reach it without interfer-
ence. The whole center of the garden is
occupied by a spacious mall, the axis of
which coincides with that of the house,
and this mall affords the open vista from
which a house after the manner of
“Westover” ought to be seen. The
flower-beds are situated on the two sides
of the mall. The inhabitants of the
house can, consequently, reach the gar-
den from the enclosed porch on the
south side without crossing the entrance
court; and in this way they are effec-
tively protected against intruders. The
garden itself is on a higher level than
the court, and is separated from it by an
evergreen screen. Once in the garden,
the inhabitants of the house are able to
wander where they please without any
more than the usual fear of molestation.

It will be remarked that the plan of
the house fits in with that of the lay-out
of the grounds remarkably well/ and
that at the same time it is wholly unlike
the plan of the typical Colonial house.
A visitor enters into a spacious hall oc-
cupying the center of the ground floor.
The hall is, however, nothing but a hall,
and contains the usual closets and a
stairway leading to the second floor. The
architectural detail of this room deserves
careful attention, for it is entirely Colo-
nial or Georgian in effect, without any
of the affectations which were not infre-
quently characteristic even of good Co-
lonial interiors. On the right, as the vis-
itor enters, is the library, situated almost
full south and connected with an en-
closed loggia, which in winter gets all
the sunshine there is, and in summer
serves admirably the purpose of a piazza.
It is this loggia which provides the most
convenient entrance to the garden. To
the left of the hall is the kitchen and
offices, while immediately in front is the
drawing-room, which affords access to
the platform on the side of the water
view. A door leading from the hall also
gives, entrance to the dining-room, situ-
ated in the northeast end of the house.
The kitchen is, of course, housed in an

A CONTEMPORARY WESTOVER.

255

extension, which balances, in the com-
position of the whole design, the loggia
on the south side of the house.

Such being the lay-out and the plan
of the contemporary “Westover,” it will
be interesting to trace with some care
just where the appearance of the modern
building agrees and disagrees with that
of its Colonial ancestor. Compare, for
instance, the eastern fagade of Mr. Pal-
mer’s house with the photograph of
the prototype reproduced herewith.
One remarks in the two buildings the
same white base, the same platform
surmounted by the same treatment of
the entrance door, the same division
of the first from the second floor by
a white band of stone, precisely the

One of the most noticeable of the dif-
ferences consists, of course, in the char-
acter of the brickwork. The brick of
the original “Westover” has gradually
attained a solid dark surface. It looks
as if its exterior walls had been painted
red and that the paint had worn off in
certain places, the joints in the brick-
work showing only where the paint is
disappearing. The modern “Westover,”
with its sharply penciled joints and its
different color and surface, presents in
this respect a very different appearance
— which is due partly to its newness,
partly to the different quality of the
brick, and partly to different methods of
laying. Another fundamental variation
consists in the proportion of the fagade.

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE T. PALME'R— VIEW FROM GARDEN.

New London, Conn. Charles A. Platt, Architect.

same number of windows on all three
floors, the same number of chimneys, the
same dominating and high-pitched roof;
and a cornice with much the same details
and projection. The result of all these
similarities is that anybody who particu-
larly admired and liked the general ap-
pearance of the older building could not
well avoid admiring and liking its mod-
ern offspring. On the other hand, it
does not take any very close inspection
to detect between the two buildings a
great many differences, both in propor-
tion and detail ; and these differences are
in the aggregate so important that they
deserve careful enumeration.

The modern building is longer than the
old building in proportion to its height,
and, consequently, rises less abruptly
from its site. The white stone base is
decidedly lower than the painted brick
base of its ancestor, the windows are
situated farther apart, the white stone
band is wider, and the roof is not so
high. All these changes tend to empha-
size the horizontal dimensions of the
modern “Westover” and make it fit more
snugly to its site. Quite apart from the
fact that changes of this kind were dic-
tated by the increased floor area of Mr.
Palmer’s house, the relation of the wings
of his dwelling to the main structure,

256

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE T. PALMER— HALL.

New London, Conn. Charles A. Platt, Architect.

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE' T. PALMER— DINING ROOM.

New London, Conn. Charles A. Platt, Architect.

A CONTEMPORARY WESTOVER.

257

compared to a similar relation in the
older structure, dictated some such re-
arrangement. In “Westover” itself, the
one wing is detached and connected with
the house by an open porch, which
spreads out the two buildings as a group
over a much longer line. But there was
no room for such a disposition of the
wings of the modern house, and the ar-
rangement would also have been incon-

ings break the line of their respective
roofs. This change was obviously nec-
essitated by the plan ; but it has, if any-
thing, rather improved than injured the
design. Again, in the “Westover, ’’the up-
per line of the windows, and the sustain-
ing brickwork above, was slightly round-
ed; whereas, in the modern building
they are straight, and are surmounted
by a white keystone, which supplies an

RESIDENCE OF MR. GEORGE T. PALMER — LOGGIA.

New London, Conn. Charles A. Platt, Architect.

venient. These wings being what they
necessarily were, the main building had
to be lower in proportion to its height,
quite apart from the fact that these pro-
portions and the continuous line of the
white string courses with the top of the
additions tie the different parts of the
building more tightly together.

A number of alterations in detail must
also be remarked. The most conspicu-
ous of these is the different places in
which the tall chimneys of the two build-

interesting accent to the whole faqade.
Finally, it will be noticed that although
the projections of the cornices of the two
buildings are practically the same, the
details of the cornice of the modern
“Westover” are decidedly stronger and
more emphatic ; and there can be no
doubt that the scale of this newer detail
is better than that of the original “West-
over.”

The interesting question in respect
to the changes made by Mr. Platt in

258

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD .

adapting the old design to its modern
uses is not whether he has improved
upon his model, but whether he has suc-
ceeded in designing a convenient and a
beautiful contemporary residence, which
at the same time really embodies the
essential spirit and effect of his original ;
and from this point of view there can be
no doubt about Mr. Platt’s success. The
contemporary “Westover” can be proud
of his ancestry. The real “Westover”
is renewed in its offspring. If it is ad-
visable to attempt the adaptation of the
design of some particular time-honored
building to modern needs, Mr. Platt has
given an excellent illustration of the best
way of doing it. He has imparted to
the new “Westover” some of the indi-
vidual charm and distinction which is
more than ever becoming the charac-
teristic of his work, while at the same
time proclaiming in the most definite
way the source of his design. Imitation
of this kind is more edifying and fruit-
ful than the most strenuous flight of
intentional originality.

It looks like a very easy matter to
study some authentic historical building
and then to adapt it to a particular lo-
cation and to a particular group of con-
temporary conditions; and much archi-
tectural criticism tacitly assumes that
the designer of such a house lacks ingen-
uity to conceive and the patient skill to
work up a design of his own, which will
constitute a unique expression both of
his own personal power and of the con-
ditions of that particular problem. No
doubt in many instances this assumption
is justified. No doubt many architects
who rely for their models on special ex-
amples of an authentic historic style are
prompted to do so by laziness, econo-
my, or sheer lack of imagination. But
it is equally true that an architect who
is doing his best to give a local and
contemporary expression to such a
house as “Westover,” as compared to
an architect who has no particular
model before him, has merely in-
creased and emphasized the difficulties
of his task. He is in the same position
as the poet who has adopted as the best
temporary vehicle for his vision an

elaborate and complicated form like the
sonnet instead of some simpler lyric
form. In order to make his building
successful, he is obliged to make his
design conform to a much more elabo-
rate group of antecedent conditions. He
is obliged to make it, not merely the
embodiment of a special architectural
problem, but one which, in embodying
a special set of conditions, does not do
violence to an authentic original, em-
bodying another group of conditions.
Any single modification of the model,
such, in the present instance, as the al-
tered value of the wings in the whole
composition, brings with it modifications
in the whole design; and to make these
modifications without proving false to
the essential effect and spirit of the
model requires not merely laborious in-
genuity, but an historically disciplined
imagination of a high order. The arch-
itect must know what changes he can
and cannot make without losing the dis-
tinctive beauty of his model. He must
have made himself the master of
the original design, and have repeated
in his own mind, with complete
understanding, the architectural lan-
guage and ideas of his predecessor.
Anyone who believes that this is an
easy task has only to make the at-
tempt in order to receive his instruction.
It is, as I have said, more arduous and
exacting than the task of designing a
building, for which there is no specific
precedent. But the task is worth ac-
complishing just because it is so ardu-
ous and exacting. It is bv such imita-
tion that beautiful architectural forms
and architectural styles are really re-
newed and perpetuated. What Amer-
ican architecture needs is not less of it,
but more of it— more that is of the right
kind. An architecture can never be con-
summate without style; and architects
can never create style either by the force
of personal imagination or by a merely
realistic treatment of particular prob-
lems. They can create it only by the per-
sonal mastery of a fully formed style
appropriate for their purpose, and its
modification in the spirit of the original
to suit their immediate needs.

Recent English Domestic Architecture*

If there is one fundamental difference
which is especially to be remarked be-
tween the contemporary architecture of
England and the United States, it is a
lack of rational development in the
former. That the contemporary English
country and suburban house do not dis-
play the variety to be found in establish-
ments of similar purpose in this country
is not to be wondered at or even ex-
pected, for our requirements and gen-
eral conditions are so much broader and
more far-reaching. American climatic
conditions alone are so varied as to cre-
ate an endless variety of problems for
the architect not to be found in any
other country. Couple with the range
of climate our great choice of materials
and the vast extent of our territory, and
the sum is the strongest array of causes
imaginable to bring forth the utmost va-
riety and interest in an architecture for
so cosmopolitan a people as the Amer-
ican nation.

When an architect may be called upon
to design, in the same year, for instance,
a hunting lodge in the Maine woods, a
Fifth Avenue residence in New York,
an estate in the suburbs of Philadelphia,
besides a country house on the prairies
of the Middle West, and a Californian
bungalow at the foothills of the Rockies,
it can readily be appreciated that the
work of such a man, even though it be
entirely in the field of domestic architec-
ture, may be the result of a vast amount
of study under the most varying condi-
tions. He can approach his task with
little provincial prejudice, for life is too
short to acquire so many and such di-
verse prejudices; nor, on the other hand,
is he hampered by generations of tra-
dition, which does not yet exist among
us. He is forced, therefore, to meet his
problems strictly according to the condi-
tions which obtain in them, solve them
according to his capacity- as a student

*The Architectural Review (London), special
issue, 1908.

and render them according to his talents
as an artist. All this he is required to
do in a space of time which would stag-
ger a designer pursuing the less rapid
and more conservative European meth-
ods which are so largely based on tradi-
tion and precedent.

The work which results from the
feverish American method of design,
consequently, presents, besides its in-
herent variety, a healthy state of growth,
a development which one fails to find
in Europe and especially in Eng-
land. This development is, of course,
entirely independent of the quality of
the performance which must ultimately
depend on the capabilities of the de-
signer. It must not, for a moment,
be understood that a claim of superior
excellence is maintained for the average
American domestic work as against the
English. No American architect would
pretend to deny that the average quality
of English domestic work is far
superior to our own, as the training and
experience of the average practitioner in
England are superior to those of the
American. An impartial judgment of
the best English and American domestic
work cannot, however, fail to result fa-
vorably for us, as our cousins would,
without doubt, be perfectly willing to
admit. It is in our domestic work, and
more particularly our suburban and
country houses that the development of
our architecture is most noticeable. The
chief reason for this is probably to be
found in the fact that in problems of this
sort the American architect enjoys not
only the greatest natural freedom, but
his relation to his clients is a more inde-
pendent one than when he is working
for more mercenary interests.

The greatest drawback which con-
fronts the American architect has been
and still is, to a large extent, his want
of professional standing with his clients.
In proportion as we possess, as a nation,
little general traditional culture, so also

26 o

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

do we suffer from an astounding lack
of architectural appreciation. The cul-
rure which Americans of means have
obtained is still so largely the result of
desultory methods, based largely upon a
perverted and bewildering taste and aim-
less foreign travel. It is not to be un-
derstood that foreign travel is in itself
aimless, but the benefits which the great
majority of American travelers obtain
from their undirected attempts to acquire
knowledge and understanding of art and
architecture in traveling are in the main
negative, so far as substantial culture is
concerned. Whatever knowledge of
architecture is thus acquired often ope-
rates for the architect rather as a handi-
cap than otherwise. Instead of being
free to approach his task with an unfet-
tered hand, he is put to the necessity of
overcoming opinions on matters which,
if they could be analyzed, can really
have little or no meaning for the people
who entertain them. In proportion,
therefore, as the architect is able to im-
pose his own opinions and standards
upon his client, to the solution of the
latter’s legitimate requirements will his
efforts be crowned with success. A
client has, of course, legitimate require-
ments and desires, but if he dabbles too
much in what lies strictly in the province
of the architect, and refuses to give way
before the architect’s superior knowl-
edge, both the design and the client’s
satisfaction with it must necessarily suf-
fer. It requires not only a capable de-
signer to produce a good design, but a
good client as well. Very often it is
to be observed that a merely passably
good designer is able to produce an ex-
traordinarily good design because of the
proper assistance of his client ; whereas,
a more capable designer fails utterly
because of the handicap of a stubborn
client. One of the most difficult les-
sons that a client has to learn is that
there are some things in the designing
of his house that he had better leave to
his architect.

The English architect, on the other
hand, enjoys an enviable professional
position towards the public and his cli-
ents. As in France, his advice is as
eagerly sought in matters of artistic and

aesthetic moment as is that of the en-
gineer in matters of strength and sta-
bility. He, therefore, starts his task
with public opinion in his favor instead
of against him, as in the United States.
If he has any prejudices to overcome
they are more often his own than those
of his client’s. And to an American it
would appear that he has prejudices
which tend materially to interfere with
his architectural progress. His natural
tendencies are, of course, towards con-
servatism, robbing his work of much of
that freshness of conception which char-
acterizes the better class of American
work, though that same conservative
tendency prevents him from perpetrat-
ing some of the anomalies to be found
in such large numbers among our own
work. While the Englishman is content
to be a careful and intelligent follower
of approved things and methods in all
branches of mental activity, not except-
ing architecture, the American wants
more and more to be a leader. It is that
American striving after leadership
which in our architecture has chiefly
taken the form of a bizarreness, pop-
ularly come to be known as origin-
ality, but which is in the over-
whelming majority of cases nothing
more than a venting of the untutored
mind.

The occasion for these remarks is a
collection of recent English houses pub-
lished in a special issue of the Archi-
tectural Review (London). It is un-
avoidable that prejudice should creep
into a review of English planning and
designing, as viewed by a foreigner who
is not in position to appreciate ac-
curately the conditions under which the
work has been done, or, in many cases,
the reasons for certain elements in its
composition with which he has had no
intimate connection. The native will
always make due allowances for and
pity the shortcomings of the alien critic,
who cannot be expected to know better ;
but while he is thus compassionate, if
he be open-minded he may, perchance,
distinguish here and there glimpses of
logic suggesting to him the reasonable-
ness of the viewpoint, even though it be
different from his own. And if there is

RECENT ENGLISH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE.

one thing which conduces more than an-
other to architectural interest and ra-
tional development, it is variety in the
point of view. The variation of plan-
ning and designing, due merely to the
different individualities of a number of
competent designers pursuing very sim-
ilar traditions, is not sufficient to develop
a country’s architecture.

On the contrary, it is the constant in-
terchange of ideas between widely sep-
arated parts that produces progress in
civilization, and art is no exception to
the rule. There is, after all, not so much
difference in the mental standards of dif-
ferent lands ( since even those which are
separated by oceans are to-day brought
into the closest communication), as one
is apt to imagine. It is this community
of thought which one would expect to
produce very similar tendencies in the
art of building as in other fields of en-
deavor, modified, of course, by local
conditions, but scarcely altered in its
essential principles.

A lack of breadth in contemporary
English architecture, and, most of all,
in plan conception, is, therefore, rather
in the nature of a surprise, though not
as a controvertent of the theory of par-
allel mental development in different
lands. In the plans of its domestic
structures, one strangely fails to find
any very marked departure from the
type which was established in England
with the early development of the mod-
ern home as we know it. The rambling
country-house plan, without apparent
regard for economy of material, main-
tenance or convenience, survives in Eng-
land to-day with incredibly slight modi-
fications. Whatever conveniences and
modern devices have been introduced,
and these are many, have, it seems, been
introduced bodily into the antiquated
type of plan without being, in any ade-
quate measure, assimilated into the fab-
ric of the design. From the American
standpoint, the English plans, with their
many small dependencies of service, are
extremely impractical, and considering
the condition of the servant question in
America, quite impossible. Most nota-
ble, perhaps, among the peculiarities of
English planning is, in the majority of

261

cases, the lack of easy communication
between the kitchen and the dining-
room. These two rooms, which the con-
temporary American architect tries so
hard to bring into the closest connection
consistent with comfort, one finds in the
English houses, as often as not, not only
far removed from each other, but sepa-
rated by a long, tortuous passage. The
numerous small compartments of the
kitchen, such as larders, sculleries and
cupboards, indicate the necessity of a
larger number of servants than we
would think it either economical or de-
sirable to keep, for servants always in-
crease the space which must be given
over to recreation and sleeping quarters,
thus affecting considerably .the requisite
cubical contents and the first cost of
building, as well as the maintenance and
convenience of the household.

In scanning the plans which are
shown in the journal before us, our esti-
mate of their worth is very apt to be
too strongly influenced against them by
an absence of that formality which we
have so largely adopted from the mod-
ern French school of design. It should
not be overlooked that of all structures
in which formal planning should be per-
mitted to play an important part, do-
mestic work is the last, so that, while the
picturesqueness and rambling nature of
the English plans may seem to us very
strange, we, in our design, are perhaps
guilty of erring on the side of excessive
formality and bareness. When we per-
ceive that this very irregularity of the
English plans in the building up of the
designs is made the chief factor in pro-
ducing their charm, our estimate of the
whole performance takes on a more
friendly spirit. In the manner of roof-
ing their houses the English architects
are especially apt, and one must often
wonder whether, after all, the designer
did not first design his general roof com-
position and then vary his plan to fit
its picturesque contours. That a de-
signer should regard his roofs as one
of the important elements of his design
is not at all an unreasonable attitude.
For outside of the fenestration, what is
more conspicuous in the appearance, or
more potent to make or mar the effect

262

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

of a country house than its roofs, espe-
cially in those instances in which wall
ornamentation is out of the question ?
Is not much of the excellence of our
early attempts at cottage design, the
so-called Queen Anne style, due largely
to the skillful handling of the roofs?

Another feature in which these
English designs especially excel is in
their integral conception, with their sites
and surroundings. Whether or not one
likes a particular house, there is always
the impression of its fitness with its
environment. It seems to belong where
it has been placed, and the work of the
architect has not stopped with the
porches, but has been allowed free play
about gardens and grounds, producing
that unity of effect which our architects
are so seldom in the position to impose
upon their clients, who too often prefer
to do their own landscape architecture,
prompted by the interested nurseryman
and gardener. There is, perhaps, no
important art in the making of coherent
and rational country place which is oft-
ener neglected or more unintelligibly per-
formed than the careful designing of
the grounds and roads about the house.
Why , an owner who is wise enough to
co-operate properly with his architect in
stating his requirements within his
house should refuse to perform a simi-
lar function when the question becomes
those portions of his home which lie
outside of the actual structure, is not
easily understood. Yet such a spectacle
not infrequently confronts the American

architect of standing, to the detriment
of his work and the ultimate dissatisfac-
tion of his client. It is difficult to make
a client admit to himself that he requires
expert advice in laying out roads, plant-
ing trees, bushes and shrubs and the like,
and that these features really have any
material effect upon the utility and in-
tegrity of his house.

The prestige of the American archi-
tect has not yet reached that stage at
which he is able to insist upon this mat-
ter wherein his English brother has de-
cidedly the advantage of him. Before
our architects will be able to claim such
prestige they will have to state the rea-
sons why they should possess it, in terms
which strike closer to the heart of the
client rather than appeal principally to
his sense of propriety and his imagin-
ation, in the latter of which he is sadly
deficient.

Of the examples which have been se-
lected to illustrate the foregoing re-
marks, the majority, it will be noted, are
of small houses. This choice has been
made not so much to give weight to the
points that have been made either for
or against recent domestic architecture
in England, but rather to present that
type of English country and suburban
house which at present appeals most to
the large class of individuals who are
building up our suburbs with the
modest five to eight thousand dollar
homes which one could wish were more
conscientiously planned and more skill-
fully designed.

H. W . Frohne.

RECENT ENGLISH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE.

263

SEVEN BARROWS FARM.

Wareham, Dorset.

Forsythe & Maul, Architects.

mer.

| H H -l 1

+ 1 £

SEVE'N BARROWS FARM— PLANS.

3. Parlor G. Coal.

2. Kitchen. 7. W. C.

3. Scullery. 8. Larder.

4. Dairy. 10. Bedroom

Ground Floor Plan.

First Floor Plan.

264

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Blackheath, near Chilworth, Surrey.

COBBINS.

C. Harrison Townsend, Architect.

1. Drawing-room.

2. Dining-room.

3. Hall.

4. Kitchen.

5. Scullery.

6. Larder.

7. W. C.

8. Coal.

10. Yard.

11. Bedroom.

FEET 10 5 0 10 20, 50 40 >0 60 FEET

Li 1 1 I 1 I 1 1 I 1 L 1 L | J

■5CA.ll:

COBBINS— PLANS.

RECENT ENGLISH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE.

265

TILEHURST.

Bushey, Hertfordshire.

C. F. A. Voysey, Architect.

TILEHURST— PLANS.

1. Coal.

2. Lavatory.

3. Kitchen.

4. Parlor.

5. Hall.

H. Larder.

8. Bathroom.
10. Bedroom.

Ground Floor Plan.

First Floor Plan.

266

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

DODDINGS FARM.

Bere Regis, Dorset.

Forsythe & Maul, Architects.

1 .

Parlor.

Store.

Dining-room.

Lavatory.

Kitchen.

10.

Entrance.

Scullery.

11.

Bedroom.

Dairy.

16.

Maid’s Bedroom.

Larder.

17.

Bathroom.

RECENT ENGLISH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE.

267

Dartmoor, Islington, Devon.

ST. HELLBN’S HOUSE.

T. H. Lyon, Architect.

ST. HELLEN’S HOUSE— PLAN.

268

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

GARTH HOUSE — GARDEN FRONT.

Edgbaston, Birmingham.

W. H. Bidlake, Architect.

1-7. Stabling.

8. Kitchen.

9. Scullery.

10. Yard.

11. Coal.

12. Wood.

13. Knives.

14. Larder.

15. Pantry.

16. Lavatory.

17. Porch.

18. Hall.

19. Dining-room.

20. Study.

21. Drawing-room.

22. Bedroom.

23. Bathroom.

24. Dressing-room

25. Nursery.

GARTH HOUSE— PLANS.
Ground Floor Plan.

First Floor Plan.

RECENT ENGLISH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE. 269

BARTON ST. MARY.

East Grinstead, Sussex.

Edwin L. Luytens, Architect.

BARTON ST.

MARY— PLANS.

Billiard-room.

Entrance.

11. Scullery.

Drawing-room.

Lavatory.

12. Larder.

Hall.

Servants’ hall.

13. Boots.

Court.

10.

Kitchen.

14. Coal.

Dining-room.

15. Bedroom.

16. Dressing-room.

17. Bath.

19. Linen.

Ground Floor Plan.

First Floor Plan.

270

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Clappersgate, Westmorland.

ASHLEY GREEN.

Percy S. Worthington, Architect.

1. Wood. 13.

2. Coal. 14.

4. Larder. 15.

5. Terrace. 1G.

6. Kitchen. 17.

7. Servants’ Hall. 18.

8. Pantry. 19.

10. Dining-room. 20.

11. Drawing-room. 21.

12. Lavatory.

Vestibule.

Hall.

Living-room.

Study.

Loggia.

Bedroom.

Dressing-room.

Linen.

Bathroom.

ASHLEY GREEN— PLANS.

Ground Floor Plan.

First Floor Plan.

SAN JUAN FROM THE EAST.

“The general topography of San Juan resembles that of New York “

The New Capitol of Porto Rico

Prevailing Building Conditions on the Island

Since the American occupation of
1898, Porto Rico has progressed rapidly,
especially under the wise direction of
the last few years. In particular, the
Department of the Interior and the De-
partment of Education have produced
results apparent to any observer now
visiting the island. Not only is the good
Spanish road and bridge work industri-
ously continued, but new improvements
and new buildings, both public and pri-
vate, are appearing as never before,
showing a rapid advance in almost
every direction. Public school buildings
are going up, not by the score, as for-
merly, for recently several hundred of
the smaller schoolhouses have been pro-
vided for by a single appropriation.

With this rapid advancement of edu-
cational and business interests, both the
Federal government of the United
States and the Insular government of
Porto Rico have felt the need not on'y
of larger governmental accommodations
for their employees, but of larger hos-
pitals, prisons, court houses and internal
revenue accommodations. The Federal
government has, therefore, made appro-
priations for a building to contain all its
chief offices, and it is expected that this

work will be rapidly carried on by the
United States Treasury Department.

To satisfy the urgent needs for ac-
commodating both branches of the Feg-
islative Assembly and the Supreme
Court of Porto Rico, a new building-
will be erected at once, by legislative
act of March 14, 1907, to be known as
“The Capitol of Porto Rico.” It is
expected that actual work will be com-
menced upon this edifice during the
present winter, as three hundred thou-
sand dollars have already been allowed
by the Fegislature for the purpose.

* This capitol is to be erected by the
Insular government of Porto Rico upon
the crest of the hill at the center of the
city of San Juan, a few hundred yards
east of the ancient Spanish fortress, San
Cristobal. This site is one of the most
prominent on the small island upon
which San Juan is situated. It faces the
harbor at the south and overlooks the
open ocean at the north, while to the
east the distant mountains of Porto Rico
are seen piling up in sharp silhouette
against the sky. The site divides the
present business portion of San Juan
at the west from the residential section
at the east. The general topography of

272

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

THE CAPITOL FROM THE SOUTHEAST.

San Juan, Porto Rico. Frank E. Perkins. Architect.

the city resembles
that of the Island
of Manhattan,
upon which New
York is situated.

In fact, if one is
placed at the east-
ern end of San Juan
and looks in a
westerly direction,
a miniature of
Manhattan Island
is spread to view,
the ocean at the
north replacing the
Hudson River and
the bay at the south
resembling- the East
River and the har-
bor of New York.

The general ar-
rangement of the
capitol building provides for the threefold
purpose of insular government. From
a central domed vestibule the Executive
Council (or Senate) radiates to the
right, and the House of Delegates (or
Representatives) to the left. The Su-
preme Court is in the rear, overlooking
the sea, where a considerable open space
will separate its sessions from the more
public vestibules and visitors’ galleries
of the two houses at the front entrance
to the edifice. The entire system sur-
rounds a partially covered patio, or

courtyard, where
verdure and fount-
ains may give a
touch of nature to a
secluded corner.
The central domed
vestibule will be
partially open at
the top, similar to
the Pantheon at
Rome, in order that
a free circulation of
air may cool the
interior and a small
amount of direct
sunshine may pre-
vent the collection
of dampness so gen-
erally found in a
moist climate. This
domed rotunda,
with its encircling
corridors, will serve as a Hall of Fame,
in which will be installed monuments to
those who have served their country.

1 he architectural style is southern, be-
ing an adaptation of the architecture of
Greece, tempered by a knowledge of the
Roman arch. This style is here applied
to the needs of an insular people, living
in a warm climate, but in a country lia-
ble. to cyclones as well as to earthquakes
which the Greek architecture has re-
sisted for thousands of years. To-day
we can constructively aid this style by

THE NEW CAPITOL OF PORTO RICO.

273

reinforcement with hidden steel sinews,
but, from an aesthetic standpoint, it was
considered that the style should have all
the appearance of the solidity required
in a climate of such variable moods.
The Greeks were the first great archi-
tects of a refined style. Their architec-
ture formed the basis of the best build-
ing in the semi-tropical climes, and it
seems but proper that the style of the

seasons, usually in the fall, this wind
may increase to a cyclonic velocity, and,
with all the peculiar tendencies of that
phenomenon, may twist structures out
of all resemblance to the works of man.
During a recent cyclone entire villages
of wooden houses were destroyed, and,
in some cases, brick walls more than a
foot in thickness were carried away by
the strain brought upon them.

THE PATIO OF THE CAPITOL.

“The system surrounds a patio — where verdure may give a touch of nature to a secluded corner.”
San Juan, Porto Rico. Frank E. Perkins, Architect.

Parthenon should be renewed in the en-
trance to the Capitol of Porto Rico, that
edifice from which wise legislation will
emanate for the benefit of the people of
a new colony.

As has been intimated, the natural
and climatic conditions of Porto Rico
are peculiar. It is only after a visit to
the Windward Islands that one can ap-
preciate that name. A constant breeze
blows from the northeast, seldom varia-
ble except during the months of May
and November. Such is its strength,
even in the warmest portion of the day,
that a kite may usually be flown from
the hand without running. In certain

The temperature of Porto Rico sel-
dom exceeds a maximum of about 90
degrees and a minimum in the vicinity
of 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The climatic
conditions, therefore, call for open win-
dows during the entire year, and the
problem is easily solved by shading all
openings with blinds, and by preventing
the entrance of a driving rain by the use
of wooden shutters. Very little glass is
used in that country.

For some reason the climate is very
moist. This may be due to the action of
a warm sun upon the water surround-
ing an island of but one hundred miles
in length. It is a fact, however, that

274

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

the night dews are very heavy, and es-
pecially so in the mountains. Every-
thing is slightly damp if not in the di-
rect sunshine. Silk, rubber and paper
quickly rot and fall to pieces. Iron
rusts so easily that even galvanizing is
not a protection, and it should be often
painted. Bronze becomes a pure emer-
ald green color in a short time. Con-
siderable zinc should be used in all
paint for exterior work, and, of course,
varnish is worthless out of doors.

The old Spanish constructions are
either of rough masonry or are built of
a large flat brick, made by hand and
poorly baked. Wood is very scarce and
expensive, and about one-third the cost
of manufacturing the average brick is
expense for the wood used in its burn-
ing. Most building materials, including
wood, cement, iron and almost all elec-
trical equipment and plumbing fixtures
now come from the United States. The
stone of Porto Rico is chiefly limestone
and is not quarried in large pieces.

A search for proper building material
for the capitol resulted in the belief that
reinforced concrete was the form of
construction best adapted to the prevail-
ing conditions. The eruptions at Mar-
tinique and the earthquakes of neigh-
boring islands indicate that the tremb-
lings at Porto Rico may become severe
at any time. In addition, a dome erected
in an exposed position in a cyclone coun
try should be well anchored, and no
other fireproof construction so well pro-
tects its iron from corrosion. These con-
ditions, while suggesting a choice of a
Graeco-Roman style of architecture, at
the same time required the use of such
forms as would be readily adaptable to

reinforced concrete work. While the
capitol dome supports itself naturally
upon heavy masonry, well calculated to
resist any natural thrust, a reinforced
concrete construction can be used as an
extra precaution to suit the peculiar and
unavoidable local conditions. Surely a
wire basket, cast into a block of stone,
should resist earthquake and cyclone as
well as any non-corrosive construction
obtainable.

The labor conditions in Porto Rico
are good. The laborer works well, al-
though not as well as the laborer of a
cooler climate. The eight-hour law pre-
vails generally, and labor is cheap. Ma-
sons earn $2.00 per day, and carpenters
$1.75, while either a mason’s or carpen-
ter’s laborer — peon — is paid 7 5 cents per
day for his work.

Barter has much to do with the price
of everything, and there are many gold
bricks for sale in Porto Rico, as else-
where. Even the native Porto Rican
farmer — the gibaro, as he is called — is
so noted at a bargain that there is an
old Spanish saying, “Para un gibaro,
otro; para dos, el diablo,” the meaning
of which is that, at a bargain, “It takes
one farmer to beat another, and two will
beat the devil.”

The laws of Porto Rico provide that
the Department of the Interior shall
make all building contracts for the peo-
ple. This department is now under the
able direction of the Hon. Lawrence H.
Grahame, Commissioner of the Interior,
and, judging from the energetic manner
in which the work has been started, it
is expected that the Legislature and
Supreme Court of Porto Rico will soon
be housed in the new capitol.

Frank E. Perkins.

DETAIL OF ENTRANCE TO “TOKENEKE PARK,” DARIEN, CONN.

The Economic Development of Building-

Estates

There are few kinds of out-door works
which offer such opportunities for busi-
ness acumen, in combination with artistic
talent, as the economic development of
building-estates. Not only sound me-
chanical work, but artistic work, must
to-day be the maxim of the company
wishing to create a desirable clientele.
Yet even rough workmanship, if counter-
balanced by good taste, will pay better
in hard cash, than will the old-fashioned
type of rectilinear layout, even though
framed by finely macadamized roads and
well-curbed side-walks.

Realizing the growing demand of the
country-loving public for beautiful or
picturesque homes, realty speculators are
rapidly buying up the most desirable
areas for intermural homes. The ma-
jority of these properties are wholly un-
developed, are in most cases thickly
wooded, and often of a highly attractive
nature. Such do, in fact, supply the ma-
jority of our second and third class
country homes.

To retain the intrinsic beauty of these
properties, and at the same time to open
them up in a practical and economic
manner, offers many and interesting
problems to both management and pur-
chaser. And it may be pointed out here
that unless there is an honest desire on
the part of the management to please
as well as to sell, and a willingness on
the part of the purchaser to co-operate
with the management, there will be end-
less conflicts and discomfortures for both
parties. For no matter how the “com-
munistic” idea may be scouted, in rela-

tion to a purely business proposition,
success can only be obtained in enter-
prises of this kind, where there exists
a cordial spirit of reciprocity. All has
not been said when dollars have been
given for deed.

The following are a few of the points
of interest which are common to all
such enterprises.

The first problem presented in dealing
with properties densely enveloped by
mature woods is the thinning out of the
trees. This is a partly utilitarian and
partly artistic problem. The advantages
obtained by this process are first, to se-
cure to each house-holder a fair share of
the best views, and second, to increase
the beauty of the landscape. Viewed as
a unit in a landscape, thick-growing
woods have little artistic value. In order
to break the monotony of such dense
masses, the woods must be broken up in-
to irregularly disposed units, varying
from single isolated specimens to large
masses consisting of one hundred or
more trees. The disposition of the mass-
es should largely be determined by the
existing topography and suggestive fea-
tures of the land. Thus rugged heaps
of large boulders with ceders, pines, or
other local plant growth interspersed
among them ; splendid specimens of
single trees, attractive for their age and
size; or steep and rough hillocks, un-
suitable for sights, but attractive if prop-
erly supplied with plant growth, will sup-
ply the minor units. Larger masses
will be provided by leaving untouched
such spots as will not be improved bv

276

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The plant-spacing here shown gives an accurate idea of the effect to be aimed at in the
“thinning” of thickly grown woods. The same effect should be striven for if original planting
has to be undertaken.

cutting. The average wooded landscape
will offer enough of such character-
istic features to amply clothe the
property. In order to secure a satis-
factory distribution of views, it will
occasionally happen that more thin-
ning will be required than is demanded
by a strictly artistic judgment. In that
event, artistic preference must give way
to sound common sense. The operation
of wood-thinning along these lines is a
fascinating one, similar in principle to
the cutting of a rough block of marble
to the finished conception of the sculp-
tor, while it is also of no small economic
importance. Building lots, in them-
selves highly attractive, but which are
shut off from all views, owing to the
contiguous tree growth, are practically
unsalable at remunerative figures. Hence
the obvious importance of thinning the
woods before the sale of the lots. Every
lot or estate sold later blocks the
operation, and, according to its situation,
size and the tree growth upon it, lowers
the value of the back lots ; and it will
be found that every private owner is
super- jealous of trees on his own prop-
erty, and serenely indifferent as to their
effect upon his neighbor’s view. The
cost of cutting is more than offset by
the sale of the timber, and the cost
of securing a topographical map is
greatly reduced by opening up the wood-
land.

The importance of making a general
plan of the whole area to be treated is
not limited to securing efficiency in the

planning and execution of the work. To
a large extent, the value of property
depends upon its probable future envi-
ronment; hence to every purchaser
should be presented a general plan to
become, as it were, a part of the contract
of sale. Such a comprehensive scheme
guarantees to each owner the character
of the development predetermined in
the neighborhood of his lot, and is a
forceful incentive to intending pur-
chasers and builders ; while the absence
of any such plans is presumptive evi-
dence that the company has no settled
policy, save to sell the property, depend-
ing upon the undirected currents of
commercialism to settle its destiny. A
plan of this kind should show the align-
ment of the road system, the approxi-
mate location of the house site, the pro-
posed planting system, and, if any, the
“reserved” areas. In respect to this lat-
ter item, it may be said that every build-
ing estate pretending to any dignity and
stability reserves for the general benefit
and use of the lot holders certain areas
which are respectively to be used for
small parks, sites for church, school
house, public stables and for the future
building of shops and other forms of
public houses.

The endeavor to create an artificial
standard of excellence in the develop-
ment and maintenance of the individual
properties, by including in the contract
of sale a series of restrictions, is not an
attractive policy. Restrictions not in
line with the future development of

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BUILDING-ESTATES.

277

the property will never be enforced.
And yet it is essential to fix a standard
in order to inspire confidence in the
minds of prospective builders and
owners. As a general principle, indi-
vidual owners will develop their prop-
erties in accordance with the standard
of excellence maintained by the com-
pany. The basic points in the artis-
tic development of a building estate are
the alignment of roads, the subdivision
of the property into building lots, the

massed plantations, is in bad taste and
futile. The most satisfactory results
will be attained by adhering to a simple,
straightforward design, substantially
composed of straight lines and suitably
diversified by the use of diagonals radi-
ating from a circular or “square” cen-
ters, and by the introduction of semi-
circular or crescent terminals. Where,
however, the ground to be treated is of
a picturesque nature, a freer procedure
should be followed.

Such a map as the above should be prepared by all building estate companies, in order that
intending purchasers may be assured of the general policy of the company, the character of
the property, and the proposed developments.

location of the house sites and the regu-
lation of the style of architecture.

The topography of the property
should determine the alignment of the
roads and the boundaries of the sepa-
rate lots. A fitting plan must be de-
signed, and its attractiveness will de-
pend entirely upon the skill and taste
of the designer. For the lay-out of a
level stretch of land the plans should
be formal, for where there is no “natu-
ral” basis on which to build, the attempt
to create picturesque effects by the
forced use of curvi-linear lines and

A topographical map, no matter how
complete in detail, cannot indicate the
essential points which should determine
the alignment of the road and subdivi-
sion of the property. Rightly conceived,
the road system of a highly diversified
landscape should grow out of and em-
phasize the dominant features of the land.
Such a result can only be obtained by a
personal and intimate acquaintance with
the property, acquired by tramping over
the land until its character and the con-
ditions to be dealt with have been fully
comprehended. Roads and boundaries

The above plan is an excellent example of the correct use of “straight lines and crescent terminals,” or in “other words, of the
“gridiron” system. The entire property has been raised twenty feet above “swamp-level,” and has not, therefore, any “natural”
characteristics which should determine the alignment of the roads and the sub-division of the building lots. Any attempt to introduce
informal lines or to secure “naturalistic” effects would not only be futile, but in bad taste.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BUILDING-ESTATES.

279

should be “staked” out by eye, in con-
formity with the determining features
of the land, and then surveyed for the
final mapping. Minor inconsistencies
can then be corrected and the “natural
curve” reduced to mathematical lines in

attempt to equalize the frontage or area
of the lots on irregular land is not feas-
ible. The value of the lot is determined
by the house site, and the amount of
ground attached thereto should be in
accordance with the logic of the to-

Comparison between these two plates affords an excellent example of the diverse results
obtained in the development of a given property by the use of different systems. The lower
shows the use of the “gridiron” system without reference to the topography of the land. The
upper shows the same property laid out by the method explained in the text. The property is
of a highly picturesque nature, composed of irregular formations. To have forced upon it
the iron-clad system as planned for below would have utterly destroyed its natural beauty and
more than doubled the cost of the road construction.

order to facilitate the deeding of the
lots. Only thus can the site be treated
with a freedom and consistency which
will preserve and develop its natural
charms. (See plate V).

It is well to point out here that any

pograhy. For, other things being equal,
a good site — that is, a lot which is good
ground to build on, and which offers
good views — is worth more than a lot
of greater area, but lacking in these
qualifications.

28 o

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Having thus far subordinated the plan
to the inherent characteristic of the land,
it is of quite equal importance that the
same spirit of adaptation be maintained
in the buildings. Nothing is more ob-
jectionable than a lot of structures out
of harmony with each other and at odds
with their environment. In the attempt
to regulate the placing and styles of the
various buildings, several points should
be borne in mind. Every large tract of
land will have its differently character-
ized sections, and these differences will
have been intensified by the “logical”
alignment of the roads and subdivision
of the lots. It is therefore advisable that
the management should select one or
two or more of the sites in each of the
localities for the purpose of building and
improving the ground thereof in styles
appropriate to their several characters.
Care should be taken in the selection of
sites to be treated that their distribution
be such as to constrain individual own-
ers of the remaining lots to correctly
locate their own structures. The two
points to be kept in mind are that the
houses be placed in accordance with the
axis of the site and in such manner as
to prevent the exclusion of the several
views.

If the development of the estate is to
continue for several years, which is gen-
erally the case, and along lines which
tend to maintain the rugged charm of
unpolished scenery, the roads should be
finished in native gravel, rather than
with the highly polished “screenings” of
the conventional macadam road, and at
first, only the central parts should be
constructed, leaving grassy spaces on
either side, until the estate is sufficiently
inhabited to justify their full completion.

Too early developments of this kind not
only increase the initial outlay, but tend
to impair the natural beauty of the land-
scape — which is the drawing feature for
the majority of buyers. Every improve-
ment should be made with this caution
in mind.

The approach and main entrance of a
building estate is a point of considerable
importance. It should always be attrac-
tive and clearly indicative of the char-
acter of the estate. Much can often be
accomplished by slightly altering and
improving the highway in the neighbor-
hood of the entrance. If, for example,
the entrance be at a turn of the high-
way, the latter should be so altered as
seemingly to lead direct to the estate.
If it be at right angles to the highway,
an exceptionally wide and inviting gate-
way should be constructed, and, where
possible, a corresponding widening of
the main road opposite the entrance. Al-
terations, such as these, if accompanied
bv judicious planting, tend to attract the
eye of the passerby.

A point of practical importance to
both management and client is the es-
tablishment on the estate of a nursery
of the most useful variety of plants. A
few acres of ground devoted to this pur-
pose will be sufficient to supply the needs
of both the company and the future pur-
chasers of lots ; large quantities of young-
plants may be purchased at relatively
low prices, and may be sold at a fair
profit by the company and purchased by
the lot holders at moderate figures. The
mere fact of the existence of a nursery
on the property is in itself an incentive
to private owners to improve their hold-
ings by decorative planting.

George F. Pentecost , Jr.

The Architect in History

II.

Roman Architects— Part II.

Builders and Guilds. — The accom-
panying illustrations are of architects’
instruments, masons’ and carpenters’
tools, found at Pompeii and pre-
served in the Museum of Naples.
There are rules, squares and compasses
of different models in excellent preser-
vation. One of the compasses is in-
tended to use of the curved surface of
columns, others for work in relief.
There are bobs of two different pat-
terns. In less good preservation are
the carpenters’ and masons’ tools re-
produced on page 292.

The specifically architectural imple-
ments are reproduced in relief on a
number of sepulchral slabs of deceased
architects. The one I have selected to
reproduce, though it has not as large a
number as some, is especially interesting
for the figure of the architect himself,
in his working costume. He is holding
in his left hand what seems a straight
rule and a small drawing-board, prob-
ably either covered with wax or parch-
ment, on which he is drawing with a
stylus, held in his right, the sketch for
some buildings (page 282).

The social status of this architect is
evidently inferior to that of the archi-
tect of the column of Theodosius, given
on page 282, who is holding the plan of
his column. His long robes give him a
senatorial aspect, and he is evidently a
court official of some rank, a position
often reached by the prominent archi-
tects of the later empire.

Public Buildings. Erection and
Supervision. — The method of putting
up public buildings among the Romans
of the republic was this: The two cen-
sors, magistrates who were selected an-
nually, as a sort of judges of the Su-
preme Court to purify the Senate and
the knights by expelling the unworthy,
and to put down abuses, also had
charge of the funds for erecting and
repairing public buildings — temples, law

courts (basilicas), forums, gates, col-
onnades, markets, bridges, etc. Some-
times they worked in common, some-
times each of the two would manage his
share of the funds.

Their jurisdiction extended not mere-
ly over the citv of Rome, but over all
Roman colonies and territory. In Livy’s
history, one can follow, year by year,
the doings of these censors over a pe-
riod of two centuries.

Their custom was to proclaim what
building they intended to erect and pub-
lish the specifications, inviting bids and
assigning the work to the lowest bidder.

The habit of letting out all public
works to general speculating contrac-
tors, in contrast to the Greek method,
may partly explain the lack of quality in
the details of Roman architecture, as
there was practically no artistic super-
vision in the interest of the state.

Polybius, the historian, who wrote
when Rome had just had its first great
building “boom” after the Punic wars,
undoubtedly gives the correct view when
he says : “The Senate controls also what
is by far the largest and most important
expenditure, that, namely, which is made
by the censors every lustrum for the
repair or construction of public build-
ings; this money cannot be obtained by
the censors except by the grant of the
Senate.”

At the same time, there were two ex-
ceptions to this rule. The first was
when the Senate, or a colony or munici-
pality, appointed special officials to at-
tend to the erection of special buildings.
They were called quinquevirs , triumvirs
or duumvirs, according as they formed
a committee of five, three or two, and
their functions lasted as long as the
work. Duumvirs were appointed, for
instance, by the Senate in 272 B. C. to
build the Anio aqueduct; others, in 180
B. C., to contract for the Temple of
Fortune.

282

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The second exception was when the
aediles, who had charge of the main-
tenance and administration of public
buildings, also devoted to the erection
of some public structure the sums they
had collected as special fines. In this
way the Temple of Faunus was built in
198 B. C. from fines inflicted on the
lessees of public pastures.

Finally many structures were erected
as votive offerings by victorious gen-
erals out of the spoils of the enemy, and
were outside of senatorial jurisdiction.

The aediles, mentioned above, gener-
ally notified the censors of all necessary
repairs. Each of the four aediles had
a special district in Rome, correspond-
ing possibly to the four regions of the
Servian city. Their influence on archi-
tecture was increased by the authority
given them to determine the alignment
of streets, the allowable projections in
houses, and to order any building de-
molished that did not conform to the
building regulations. In the colonies
and municipalities dependent on Rome,
they even cumulated the functions of
the Roman censors.

Acceptance. — The method followed
in the acceptance of public buildings
under the republic was usually the one
referred to by Livy under the year 586
U. C. (= 168 B. C.), when the censors
petitioned the Senate that the time al-
lowance of a year and a half allowed for
enforcing the repairs of buildings and
for approving the execution of works
contracted for, according to custom,
should be prolonged in this particular
case.

The approval of public works was a
matter of serious moment for the offi-
cials in charge of them on behalf of the
state, because a period of twenty years
was set within which they were respon-
sible for any defect, and it was made
good at their expense, for the contractor
had been discharged of all responsibil-
ity as soon as his work was accepted.
So we may be sure that the examination
was not perfunctory! Would not this
be an excellent way in which we could
imitate Rome? This is also the
main reason for the many inscriptions
of the republican and Augustan ages on
bridges, gates, walls, arches and other
public works, naming explicitly the
magistrates who had approved and ac-
cepted the work — probaverunt. This
saddled the responsibility on the proper
persons, their heirs and assigns. A typi-
cal inscription is that of the walls of
the city of Ferentinum (page 283),
of the republican age, where the two
Roman censors, Hirtius and Lollius, are
made responsible. It is CIL. x, 5837.

A. HIRTIVS, A. F„ M. LOLLIVS,
C.F., CES FVND AMENTA COE-
RAVERE EIDEMQVE PROBA-
VERE.

Of course this made it doubly im-
portant that the state officials should
have the best expert advice, as they were
themselves not competent to judge. It
was by these experts, employed by the
state, that the specifications and con-
tracts were drawn up which were given
out by the censors. It was they who
must also have inspected — though we
can only surmise it— -the finished work.
These' state architects and engineers,
whether regularly attached to the gov-
ernment offices or independent men
called in for the occasion, were supple-
mented by the building surveyors, men-
sores aedificium, who calculated the
square feet of every structure before it
was accepted.

Expropriation of Land. — The ex-
propriation of land for public works is
occasionally referred to. It was not
always possible to overcome private re-
fusal to sell, as the Romans were ten-

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

283

acious of their private rights. M. L.
Crassus, in 180 B. C., prevented the con-
struction of a new aqueduct, universally
desired for Rome, by refusing to give
it right of way over his land.

cient for the concrete and rough brick
cores; ability of the state to enjoin ma-
terial and labor free of cost, especially
under the late Empire.

Later I shall give some of the younger

VIADUCT AT FERENTINUM— WORK OF NATIVE ROMAN ENGINEERS OF REPUBLICAN AGE.

Cost of Public Buildings. — The Pliny’s statements as to the cost of
cost of public buildings was relatively building in Asia Minor. Frontinus, in
smaller than in Greece for several rea- his work on the aqueducts of Rome, of
sons : unskilled workmen for the details ; which he was inspector, says that the
gangs of cheap laborers, who were suffi- Aqua Marcia aqueduct cost 18,000,000

284

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

285

sesterces, or about $750,000; while from
Pliny, the elder, we learn that the most
sumptuous of these aqueducts, the com-
bined Anio Novus and Claudia, cost
about 55,000,000 sesterces, or not quite
$2,300,000. How rapidly this sort of
work was done is shown by the comple-
tion of the Marcia aqueduct in the sec-
ond year over its total length of about
fifty-seven miles.

Expropriation of Buildings. — Cic-
ero wrote an interesting letter in 54
B. C. dealing largely with the restora-
tion and enlargement of the Basilica
Aemilia, in the Roman Forum. It
touches on real estate expropriations and
cost of building. He and Oppius were
then censors. He says :

“Paulus [Aemilius] has almost
brought his basilica in the Forum to the
roof, using the same columns as were
in the former structure. The parts for
which he gave out a contract he is build-
ing on a most magnificent scale. [Op-
pius and I] have thought nothing of the
60,000,000 sesterces [= $2,400,000] re-
quired for this monument. * * * The
claims of private owners could not be
satisfied for less.”

The sums paid to private individuals
for the land to be used for public mon-
uments were often enormous. The prop-
erties expropriated for Julius Caesar’s
forum were valued at 100,000,000 ses-
terces, or over $4,000,000.

The method at this time was to have
the valuation made by the consuls on
the advice of their assessors. We shall
see later that Cicero felt aggrieved at
the stinginess of the appraisement of his
real estate damages made by these offi-
cials when the state was obliged to in-
demnify him on his return from exile.

Care of Buildings. — While the care
of public buildings in general was at
first in the hands of the aediles, and
then, under the Empire, passed into the
hands of the department of the prefect
of the city, there was a very peculiar
arrangement by which a private individ-
ual would undertake the contract of
keeping a public structure in perfect re-
pair for a certain specified sum, furnish-
ing bonds and sureties to the state.

Cicero, in his attack on Verres, gives

a graphic picture of the possible abuses
of this system. A certain man had con-
tracted to take charge of the famous
temple of Castor in the Roman Forum.
He died suddenly, leaving a son, who
was a minor. The consuls of the year
were unable to examine all the public
structures to see in what repair they
were, so were the praetors, to whom
the work had been assigned ; so the
Senate decreed that the praetors Verres
and Cassius should be charged with the
inspection of the unexamined buildings.
Verres then visited this temple of Cas-
tor for the purpose of finding an excuse
to sue the minor’s estate for breach of
contract with heavy damages. But every-
thing was in perfect order — ceilings,
walls, columns. One of his henchmen,
however, suggested: “Try the columns
with a plumb-line ; you can easily con-
demn them as out of plumb!” Verres ac-
tually reported that the columns must all
be removed and rebuilt, and put in a big
estimate for new material and workman-
ship. He had the contract for the work
knocked down for 560,000 sesterces, the
money to come out of the estate of the
poor minor, whose trustee clamored that
it could have been done by anyone for
one-seventh of this sum — 80,000 ses-
terces. It is to be conjectured that Ver-
res pocketed the greater part of the
difference, for all that was actually
done was to take down a few of the
columns and set them right up again,
unchanged, with a crane, besides giving
a new coat of plaster to the rest of the
columns. It sounds quite modern.

Public monuments, as a whole, must
be classified under two distinct heads :
those of pure utility, which belonged
largely to the department of the engi-
neer ; and those of more aesthetic char-
acter, which were the province of the
theoretical architect. The first class
were largely the work of government
officials, the latter of private architects.

As I said at the beginning, there is
also this difference between the two
classes that the first was invariably the
product of native Romans, while the lat-
ter was usually due to Hellenic architects
from Greece, Asia Minor, Sicily or Cam-
pania, some freedmen and some slaves.

286

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The plates of Ferentinum and Tivoli on
pages 283 and 284 were selected to illus-
trate the contrast between the superb
ruggedness of the former and the sym-
metry and finish of the latter.

The case of Verres shows the meth-
ods in use for the care of the second
class of monuments. The methods re-
garding the first class may be illus-
trated by the aqueducts. From Fron-
tinus, himself superintendent of aque-
ducts under the Antonines, and author
of the famous monograph on this sub-
ject, we learn that the usual custom was
to arrange with contractors for the re-

Architect Supervising a Stone Building. Crane,
Ladder, Staging, Wheel, Carved Capital.
Stone Masons at Work Laying and Cutting
Stone.

pairing of the aqueducts, these contrac-
tors being obliged to keep a certain
number of slave workmen busy on the
aqueducts outside the city, and a certain
number within the city. They were
obliged to register in the public records
the names of these men who were in
charge of this work in each region. They
were obliged to obtain approval of their
work from the censors, aediles or ques-
tors. Evidently in this and other classes
of monuments the only concern of the
state officials was the approval or re-
jection of work done.

Early Specifications. — It is curious
that there should be such a scarcity in
Roman inscriptions of information re-
garding public buildings. We do not
find any of those numerous contracts,
any of those elaborate accounts rendered

by officials of building operations, so
characteristic of Greece. Yet we know
that such contracts and accounts were
made ; but they must have been on per-
ishable materials, such as waxed tablets,
papyrus, parchment, or bronze, for hard-
ly a trace has survived, and we are but
poorly equipped with detailed informa-
tion as to the methods employed in the
great building operations of a public
character and the share in them of the
architect.

There is just one document useful,
though extremely modest : a bronze

plaque, found at Pozzuoli (Puteoli),
near Naples, where so many interesting
buildings of Graeco-Roman art were
built. As its date is 649 U. C. (= 105
B. C.), it certainly reflects the Roman
building regulations of the republican
age, which were practically the same in
the Roman colonies of Italy as in Rome.

It begins with the lex or edict of the
Duumvirs and Consuls of the colony,
which shall govern the construction of
a doorway to be made opposite the Tem-
ple of Serapis. The document continues,
giving detailed specifications, as follows :

“The square beyond the public street
is separated from it by a wall. In the
center of this wall let the contractor
open a door 6 feet wide and 7 feet high,
lie shall place against the wall, on the
side toward the sea, in relief, two cintae,
with a projection of 2 feet and 1 foot
thick. Above the opening he shall
set an oak lintel 8 feet long, i*4
feet deep and jkj foot high. On the
lintel, directly above the antae. he
shall project two corbels of oak, 2/3
foot thick, 1 foot high, projecting 4
feet on each side ; and against the ends
of these corbels he shall nail painted
cymas. On the corbels he shall set
two small pine beams, measuring F2
foot on each face, and shall fasten
them with nails. He shall attach to
them a line of joists of pieces of sawed
pine 1/3 foot thick each way, spacing
them % f°°t apart and setting on them
pine panels made of planks 1 foot wide.
He shall cover the ends of the joists
with strips of pine ^4 foot wide, ij/2
inches thick, and over this he shall set a
cyma, the whole being blind-nailed. He

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

28 7

shall cover these two pent roofs with
tiles: there shall be six rows of tiles on
each slant, those of the first row being
fastened to the pine strip. Finally, he
shall cap the door.

“The same contractor shall make, set
in place, furnish with iron fixings and
coat with wax, two doors of openwork,
with door posts of green oak, exactly
like those made for the Temple of
Honor. * *

Instructions for the masonry work:

“He shall add 34 of slaked lime to
the pozzolana (in making the cement).
He shall not use unhewn stones any
larger than would weigh, when dry, 15
pounds, nor any hewn stones longer
than 43/2 inches.

“The work shall be subject to the con-
trol of the duumvirs and of the members
of the Council of Puteoli, whenever
there is a quorum of 20 at the time the
matter is discussed. What these twenty
accept shall be satisfactory, what they
reject shall be rejected.

“Time for completing work: The first
of the kalends of November.

“Times of payment: Payment shall be
made in two halves : one-half as soon as
satisfactory bonds have been given, the
other half as soon as the work has been
completed and accepted.”

Then follow the names of the bonds-
men, five in all, with the amounts for
which they pledged themselves, headed
by the contractor himself, C. Blossius,
for the amount of his contract, 1,500
sesterces (c. $60).

We may, then, assume that this docu-
ment gives in a modest way the form
of decree issued by the Roman censors
for public works in the republican
period. The plan of paying half the
amount before the beginning of the
work may be a remnant of Hellenic in-
fluence, which was soon to disappear,
for while not absolutely certain, the in-
dications are that under the Empire the
rule was to make no payment until after
the work had progressed.

Contracts and Management Un-
der the Empire. — The radical changes
brought into administrative methods by
the Empire in Rome itself and the
provinces affected the governmental re-

lations to the monuments. The old re-
publican officials lost their power, which
was transferred to the new imperial
officials. After a while the imperial
prefect of the city obtained the author-
ity over public buildings, both new and
old, which had previously been in the
hands of the censors, aediles and prae-
tors. Under the prefect was a corps of
inspectors : an inspector of aqueducts,
of public buildings, of sewers and of the
Tiber banks. Various special taxes were
assigned for the repair and running ex-
penses of public buildings. Outside of
Rome the taxes of each city were used
for the construction and use of public
buildings.

But whenever any great catastrophe,
such as an earthquake or a fire, devas-
tated a city — -as in the case of Nicaea,
in the time of Hadrian — it was rebuilt
largely from funds contributed out of
the Emperor’s private treasury, and ad-
ministered by officials dependent on him.
Only seldom, as in the case of Laodicea,
the inhabitants took pride in refusing all
assistance. In some cases a public monu-
ment was built by voluntary contribu-
tions, as in the case of the great viaduct
of Alcantara, in Spain, due to the asso-
ciated efforts of eleven Spanish com-
munes.

I11 the administration of the early Em-
pire the distinction was clearly made be-
tween the provinces governed by the
Roman Senate and those governed by
the Emperor, the former a civil, the lat-
ter a military rule ; and each was su-
preme in the provinces in the matter of
public buildings. No city administra-
tion could put up a public building with-
out the authorization of one of these two
supreme powers. Even these authorities
were, however, bound by certain general
enactments of the Roman civil code,
such as those regulating the heights of
buildings, the materials, the width of
streets, the restrictions in the use of
balconies and other projections. Especi-
ally did the emperors of the later age
find it necessary to enact against the
destruction and omission to repair
ancient structures and they forbade new
buildings until the old ones were placed
in good condition.

288

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ARCHITECTS’ IMPLEMENTS, MUSEUM OF NAPLES.

Cities and Workmen. — Payments.
— The following petitions will show how
magistrates of Egyptian cities under Ro-
man rule managed public works :

The first is a letter addressed in 283
A. D. to the Chief Magistrate or pryta-
nis of Oxyrhynchus in connection with
work in a new street which he had built
on behalf of the city. The Kasiotic join-
ers here mentioned were, as a class, the
most skillful cabinet-makers.

“To Aurelius Apollonius, * * *

councillor, prytanis in office of the * * *
city of Oxyrhynchus, public magistrate,
from Aurelius Menesthes and Aurelius
Nemesianus, both sons of Dionysius, of
Oxyrhynchus, Kasiotic joiners.

“We request that orders be given for
payment to us out of the city funds on
account of wages due for work done by
11s as Kasiotic joiners on both sides of
the street built by you from the gateway
of the gymnasium leading southward to
the lane of Hieracius, of the total amount
due for the whole works, in accordance
with the vote of the High Council, name-
ly, four talents and four thousand
drachmas, I say 4 tab 4,000 dr. And we
beg you to instruct the public treasurer
to pay us in full, as is usual.”

Public Payments to Architects. —
The relation of the city magistrates to
architects and builders put in charge of
public work is shown bv a letter ad-

dressed in 201 A. D., by two of these men
to the city officials who held the position
of building commissioners :

“To Serapion * * * gymnasiarch in
office, and Achillion exegetes in office,
* * * from Diogenes, son of Sera-

pion, and Lucius, son of Hermias, both
of Oxyrhynchus, appointed by the city
clerk, in accordance with the decision of
the Council of Magistrates, to superin-
tend the repairs and fixtures of the Baths
of Hadrian.

“We request that we may receive out
of the city treasury, in payment for mate-
rial, three talents of silver on account, I
say 3 tab, of which we will render due
account.”

Quarries : Architects, Workmen

and Tools. — One of the regular duties of
government architects was the supervi-
sion of the quarries. Throughout the
Empire the most important sources of the
immense quantities of rich marbles used
in the revetments, the pavements and the
colonnades of almost every class of build-
ings, were the quarries of Egypt and
North Africa, particularly Numidia,
with minor but important quarries in the
Greek islands and elsewhere, such as
those of the building stone of Istria.

The local district architect exercised
general supervision, and he not only had
an assistant but there was also a super-
vising architect in constant attendance at

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

289

ARCHITECTS’ IMPLEMENTS, MUSEUM OF NAPLES.

each quarry as well as an administra-
tor.

The importance of many of these quar-
ry chantiers is proved by the thousands
of men condemned to the quarries as
convicts, to do the harder work. This
corresponded to the galleys of the Mid-
dle Ages and the Renaissance, and the
Siberian mines. It was the punishment
meted out to many Christians when they
were not executed, and was one of the
principal government industries.

Many graffiti of workmen exist in the
Egyptian quarries and show that their
working was uninterrupted from the An-
cient Empire to Byzantine times. The
correspondence of the architects Cleon
and Theodore under the Ptolemies, be-
fore the Roman conquest, shows what
system was then in vogue : how the quar-
rymen were divided into squads of ten,
headed by decurions ; how the common
labor was carried on by slaves, but the
stonecutters themselves were free labor-
ers ; how the tools were supplied by the
overseer or administrator. The work-
men were given provisions from the
public granaries. When their time was
up they received a letter of discharge.

Through their decurions or decatarchs
the free workmen were in frequent com-
munication by letter, petition or verbally
with the head district architect, for the
purpose of securing the reform of certain
abuses of the overseers, the quicker sup-

ply of tools, a change of work, or a sup-
ply of slave-laborers to shift sand that
prevented access to the ledges, or similar
matters.

The Ptolemaic system was continued
under Roman rule, as was the case with
so much of Hellenistic custom every-
where, but the work in the quarries ac-
quired far greater and more artistic im-
portance under the Roman Empire. With
the Greets it had been only the rough
work, as a rule, that was done at the
quarries, because all decorative and sur-
face work was done after construction,
in situ. But with the Romans a great
deal of fine work was done before trans-
portation, both in simple building mate-
rials and in entire finished pieces, such
as monolithic columns and even obelisks,
including the carving of capitals, friezes
and other decorative work. This
brought into play a much higher class of
sculptors, and making of the directing
architect a more important personage.

In fact it was this finished work that
was personally connected with these di-
recting architects. For example, the
architect, Heraclides, had charge under
Trajan and the early Antonines of the
quarry of red granite at Fons Traianus,
in Egypt. He signed his name to a col-
umn of red granite now in the Vatican,
which is dedicated to Antoninus Pius
or Marcus Aurelius. Then, the famous
inscription on our New York obelisk

290

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ARCHITECTS’ SQUARE’S, MUSEUM OF NAPLES.

shows that it was quarried and finished
under the architect Pontius, architec-
tante Pontio. Pliny remarks that the
architect-engineer Satirus had charge
of transporting and setting up in Ar-
sinoe the obelisk of Ptolemy Philadel-
phus. Finally a graffito in the quarry of
Ptolema'is, scratched probably by some
quarryman, is addressed to the eternal
remembrance of the architect Diothemis
— probablv a token of gratitude.

Contract Methods and Responsi-
bility.— Although it is clear, from a
number of inscriptions, that the plan to
assign the construction of a building to
the lowest bidder was far more common
than the plan of doing it by day’s work,
except in the case of small structures, it
is not nearly so clear as is supposed that
the contract was ordinarily for a lump
sum. In fact, the payment by measure-
ment was very common.

When Vitruvius bewails the decep-
tions practised on their clients by archi-
tects who lead them into expenses they
cannot afford through inexcusable un-
derestimates, this cannot apply if lump-
sum contracts had been universal.

Payment by measurement was called
per aversionem. Late imperial legisla-
tion, with its customary policy of inter-
ference, tried even to legislate on the
legal rate for such work. In Justinian’s
Digest the owner is directed, when mak-
ing a private contract, to pay the con-
tractor seven sesterces (= 28 cents) per
square foot of stonework, to include
both material and labor. We must be-
lieve that this official rate was in har-
mony with Diocletian’s tariff.

This method was used even more in
public buildings, judging by the impor-
tance of the guild of the mensores aedih-
cium, a distinct class of architect-engi-
neers, both in the employ of the state
and professing independently, whose

sole occupation seems to have been the
surveying and measuring of buildings,
and whose reports were accepted as final
by both contracting parties.

The entire matter can be studied in
Pliny’s interesting correspondence with
Trajan in about 100 A. D., the best
period of art. When Pliny was sent out
by this emperor as special commissioner
to Asia Minor to investigate abuses, he
examined the accounts of several cities,
especially as to the cost and condition of
recent or unfinished public structures.
In connection with the accounts of
Prusa, he wrote to Trajan, asking him
to send him a public surveyor to measure
its recent buildings, to see if those who
had the management of the public works
had not overcharged.

In his reply, Trajan declined, adding
this significant remark: “I have scarcely
surveyors enough to inspect those works
which I am carrying on in Rome and in
its neighborhood,” referring, probably,
to such undertakings as the Circus Max-
imus, the baths of Trajan and of Sura,
the Forum of Trajan — all in Rome — the
ports of Ostia, Civitavecchia, Terracina.

Does this statement of Trajan not fa-
vor the supposition that in his time pub-
lic works were neither let out to contrac-
tors for a lump sum, nor done by the
State by day labor, but were contracted
for by measurement? The masses of
plain Roman construction in concrete,
brick or stone, entirely separate from
their decorative revetment, added after-
ward, and susceptible of coming under
a different form of contract, make such
a method most reasonable.

Default of Responsibility Under
Trajan. — An entire absence of respon-
sibility for defects in construction for all
concerned — architect, contractor, gov-
ernment inspector — may also be in-
ferred from Pliny’s letters, at least for

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

291

Asia Minor. The old Roman method
had been, as we have seen, to allow the
government officials a year and a half
before final acceptance of a work from
the contractor, and to make these offi-
cials responsible for twenty years.

But nothing of the kind prevailed at
this time in Asia Minor. Pliny found at
Nicaea a large new theatre, partly con-
structed, but on which work was at a
standstill. Ten million sesterces — near-
ly half a million dollars — had been al-
ready spent, but the walls had sunk and
cracked so alarmingly as to cause the
suspension of work, although private
persons in the city had pledged them-
selves to build different sections of it at
their expense ; some were to erect the
portico, others the gallery over the pit
( cavea ). No advantage could be taken
of these generous offers, because it was
impossible to complete the main struc-
ture, which had to be done first. There
were also difficulties with regard to the
new gymnasium, rebuilt after a fire.

Pliny’s comments are interesting. He
reports that the cause of the trouble was
said to be that the walls, though 22 feet
thick, were not strong enough to carry
the superstructure, because the core was
composed of quarry stones instead of
concrete, and the walls were not
strengthened with brickwork. But, Pliny
adds, these arguments are used by the
present architect, who is a rival of the
architect first employed, who was prob-
ably dismissed when the settling and
cracking occurred. There is not a word
said about making contractor, city archi-
tect or city commissioners financially re-
sponsible.

We may draw the same inferences
from what Pliny writes of the water
supply of Nicomedia. Two unsuccess-
ful attempts to construct aqueducts had
recently been made ; the first had cost
the city $125,000, the second about $75,-
000. Pliny advises a third attempt.

Private Architecture. — But it is
only in dealing with private architecture
that we can get close to the heart and
life of the Roman architect, as our lit-
erary sources in nearly all cases deal
with his relations to private clients.

Roman architects paid far more atten-

tion than their Greek confreres to the
beauty, size and comfort of the private
house, and it so happened, fortunately,
that most of the intimate details we have
of architectural affairs among the Ro-
mans are concerned with this private
architecture. So the two classic civili-
zations supplement one another in our
general study of the ancient architect.

The House and the Law. — In order
to understand the arrangement, size and
grouping of the different kinds of houses
in Rome, we must first inquire into the
influence on them of law and religion.
Following the example of the sacred
pomerium, which marked the city limits
around the walls, each public and pri-
vate building in the early city had its
sacred area or precinct devoted to the
gods, on which it would be a curse to
build. It was the most practical and far-
reaching way in which religion influ-
enced Roman architecture, even though
we distinguish in the background the
very practical idea of the necessity for
this free space as a defense against fire
and attack.

It was a custom that certainly made
for civic beauty, as it helped to give
buildings a proper setting and prevented
crowding. This rule, like the regula-
tions as to width of streets, allowable
projections and overhang, required
depth of foundations, materials allowed
and forbidden, maximum height of
houses, all formed part of the legal
knowledge necessary to an architect.

Balconies. — But legal usage was
fluctuating. For example, under the re-
public projecting balconies had been
strictly forbidden. This law had become
almost obsolete in the time of Augustus.
Still, not having been repealed, it could
be applied at any time. Even as late as
368 A. D., at the close of the Empire,
the prefect of Rome ordered all project-
ing balconies to be demolished. Yet
other legal texts presuppose balconies
and specify a minimum free space be-
tween balconies on opposite sides of the
streets, which was 10 feet between pri-
vate houses and 15 feet in front of pub-
lic buildings. Nor were they allowed,
when covered, to interfere with a neigh-
bor’s light.

292

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Party Walls. — In regard to this iso-
lation and independence of each house
in early times, Fustel de Coulange, in
his masterly work, “The Antique City,”
says : “The same wall cannot be com-
mon to two houses ; for then the sacred
precincts of the domestic gods would
have been obliterated. At Rome the law
prescribed 2 y 2 feet as the width of free
space that should always separate two
houses and be sacred to the god of the

which each flat was occupied by a fam-
ily. The early common materials, a
timber frame and sun-dried bricks,
formed too shoddy and insecure a struc-
ture ; and to this drawback was added
the increased danger of Are when the
old tradition of the sacred area was
weakened and adjoining houses were run
up. Seneca refers to this danger, saying
that it was often impossible to escape
from such fire-traps.

WORKMEN’S TOOLS, MUSEUM OF NAPLES.

precinct.” This was the law of the Ten
Tables. This meant that the narrowest
alley must have a width of five feet, aside
from what belonged to the public.

Each house, then, was called an in-
sula (island) and formed a miniature
block. Aside from the very small num-
ber of private houses ( domus ), which
were much smaller and lower, the
greater part of Rome had been built up
before the close of the republic in the
form of large apartment or tenement
houses of three, four or five stories, in

The decrease of religious reverence,
as well as the increased value of land,
made the law wink at the abolition of
intermediate alleys and at the inordinate
increase in the height of houses. Collap-
sing houses, cracking walls, weak foun-
dations, became so frequent that stock
companies were formed whose sole busi-
ness it was to consolidate such buildings.

Skyscrapers and Imperial Reform.
— Augustus had tried to remedy these
abuses by insisting on a maximum height
of 70 feet for new houses, and by legis-

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

293

lating on the material and thickness of
the walls. Vitruvius describes the new
type of Augustan tenement houses as
having a framework of solid stone, and
gives an interesting reason why kiln-
dried bricks were not used for partitions
and other house walls in the city, while
they were popular in the country. He
says it was because the law allowed the
party walls of private houses to be only
one foot thick, and that no high houses
could be built on this basis with bricks,
as they would not be firm enough.

Nero, again, in his far more extensive
reconstruction, forbade party walls and
insisted on the antique practice of iso-
lated houses and blocks — insulae; but
his reform, while affecting the work
done at the time, was probably not after-
ward enforced on account of its exces-
sive unpopularity with landowners and
speculative builders.

A more particular description of what
was done after Nero’s fire is worth giv-
ing. His enormous palace, the Golden
House, extended with its grounds over
a large section of the burned district,
from the Palatine across the end of the
Forum, and occupying almost the entire
Esquiline hill. The palace was framed
in triple porticoes a mile long, and a
lake, surrounded by groups of pictur-
esque buildings, was created on the site
of the present Colosseum. Landscape
gardening was carried to great refine-
ment, in combinations of wooden bosks,
open spaces, terraces and vistas, in this
large park set in the center of the great
city. Tacitus says that the entire
scheme was due to the architects. Sev-
erus and Celer : “The old-fashioned, and
in those luxurious times, common orna-
ments of gold and precious stones were
not so much the object of attraction as
parks and lakes,” filled with wild and
tame animals and birds.

The palace itself was on a colossal
scale and full of gorgeous and ingenious
details. A statue of Nero, 120 feet high,
could stand upright in its portico. Some
of the halls were “overlaid with gold,
set with jewels and mother-of-pearl. In
the vaulted supper-rooms the ceiling
compartments, inlaid with ivory, were
made to revolve scattering flowers, and

through pipes diffusing perfumes among
the guests. With similar ingenuity the
main circular dining-hall was made to
revolve on its axis.”

The rest of the burned district was
laid out, not as after the Gallic fire,”
says Tacitus, “without discrimination
and regularity, but with the lines of
streets measured out, broad spaces left
for transit, the height of the buildings
limited, open areas left, and porticoes
added to protect the facades of the
blocks of houses. These porticoes
Nero agreed to build at his own ex-
pense,” and he also agreed to clear the
ground for building at his expense and
to distribute rewards to the landowners
who completed the reconstruction at a
certain date. He had all the rubbish
carted off on public ships and dumped
in the marshes of Ostia. To guard
against fire he forbade the use of party
walls, obliged every houseowner to have
fire-extinguishing apparatus in his yard
and facilities for using it on the bal-
conies above the porticoes which he had
built. He improved the water supply to
provide sufficient pressure. He speci-

fied that no timber should be used in the
lower stories of any house, but that they
should be arched with stone.

The Romans were pleased with the
new city plan and new regulations, as
both useful and beautiful. But some

old fogies “believed the ancient form
was more conducive to health, as from
the narrowness of the streets and the
height of the buildings the rays of the
sun were more excluded ; whereas, now,
the spacious breadth of the streets, with-
out any shade to protect it, was more
intensely heated in warm weather.”

We may acclaim Celer and Severus
as the pioneers for Rome of those mag-
nificent and broad civic plans that had
been carried out at Alexandria, Anti-
och and other large cities of Asia Minor
and Syria since the beginning of the
Hellenistic age.

What most stood in the way of a
thorough application of strict building
laws in Rome was the fact that the build-
ing and renting of the tenement houses
that formed the bulk of Roman real
estate was a most profitable undertaking

294

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

and had fallen largely into the hands of
rich speculators. We can understand
what had then happened in the residen-
tial quarters if we know Rome’s present
condition : how the real estate business
has fallen into the hands of the large
national banks, which are now outrage-
ously bleeding the public by keeping the
supply small and the rents high by hold-
ing building sites at prohibitory prices.
An unfurnished flat of average size cost
$500 to $1,250 per annum in the time of
Cicero.

One way of evading the law was to
give the houses a greater height in the
rear, while keeping within the legal
limit on the line of the main street.

One inscription mentions a house with
ten shops and six stories of apartments
above. The Middle Ages, with their
low houses, form, indeed, a break be-
tween Rome and modern times !

The tenement described by the poet-
•satyrist Martial, in which a poor man
goes up some 200 steps to his room in
the garret, must have been over 100 feet
high ; and this estimate is continued by
Tacitus, according to whom the roofs
of many houses around the base of the
Capitol hill were on a level with the area
•of the temple of Jupiter on its summit,
which would be about 100 feet. We also
read that from the upper stories of some
houses around the Palatine hill the peo-
ple could overlook the apartments of che
imperial palaces.

While these measurements were pre-
sumably uncommon, it is certain that
Rome anticipated us in the. field of sky-
scrapers on a large scale, and the aver-
age house was much higher than in any
modern European city, where the limit
is, as Lanciani remarks, 36 feet for Ber-
lin, 45 feet for Vienna, and 63*4 feet
for Paris.

The fact was commented upon by
ancient writers, showing that it was
something peculiar to Rome. Strabo
says that Roman houses, even in his day,
were often 70 feet high. A contempor-
ary of Antoninus Pius (c. 145 A. D.),
the writer Aristides, borrowing a favor-
ite arithmetical comparison of us modern
Americans, says that the houses of Rome
were so high that if they were lowered

to a single story and placed end to end
they would form a continuous line
across the peninsula from Mediterran-
ean to Adriatic. And yet, before that, a
law of Trajan (c. 100 A. D.) had still
further reduced the maximum legal
height of new houses on the street line
to 60 feet, confirming Nero’s enactment.

As the number of private houses and
palaces in Rome, even at the close of
the Empire, was less than 2,000, com-
pared to nearly 50,000 apartment and
tenement houses, the percentage of high
buildings must have been great, espe-
cially as the private ones were supple-
mented by public structures, sometimes
between 100 and 180 feet high.

Nor must it be imagined that the
houses of the aristocracy were usually
of as little as two stories, like Hellenic
and Hellenistic houses, and like those at
Pompeii ; for the best preserved ancient
palace in Rome, now incorporated in the
Church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo, had
at least four stories.

Municipal Improvement in Rome.
— The progressive improvement in the
municipal architecture of Rome, through
the co-operation of enlightened emper-
ors and architects, which, commencing
just before the time of Cicero, crystal-
lized under Nero and culminated under
the Antonines, was probably due largely
to the influence of the cities of Asia
Minor and Syria, where many cities had
become marvels of symmetry in plan and
of beauty and perfection in construction.
Intelligent men, like Strabo, in the time
of Augustus, admired intensely such
beautiful late Greek cities as Rhodes,
Cyzicus and Massilia, where all struc-
tures were under the care of official city
architects. More impressive still were
the Antioch of the Seleucidae and the
Alexandria of the Ptolemies, from which
the Romans borrowed their long lines of
porticoed avenues. Still, it can hardly
have been from these cities that Rome
obtained its scheme of high apartment
houses, because, owing mainly to the
fear of earthquakes, their houses seem
hardly ever to have exceeded two stories
in height. Perhaps the Romans copied
this type from the Phoenician architec-
ture of Sicily and Africa, for long be-

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

fore the time of Cicero, Diodorus men-
tions eight-storied houses at Motya, in
Sicily, and there were houses at least six
stories high at Carthage.

It is almost paradoxical, but true, that
not until after Nero’s fire did Rome be-
gin even to rival in the beauty and reg-
ularity of her streets any one of a hun-
dred among the cities of the world that
she had been conquering for over two
centuries. It was then that, with the
help of Hellenic architects, the Romans
passed from the elementary stage of
erecting single public buildings, often of
great individual beauty, but without re-
lation to the city as a whole, to the more
advanced stage, familiar for several cen-
turies to Greeks and Orientals, of the
city as an organic thing of beauty. It
was then that the really constructive
work of Roman architects commenced,
and that they began to develop their re-
markable talent for composition, group-
ing and elaborate combinations of plan.
The Roman system gradually absorbed
the neo-Hellenic architectural genius
which, once saturated with the idea of
using the Roman millions for the devel-
opment of civic and private luxury on
a large, practical scale, rose to its task
with enthusiastic vigor throughout the
Empire. The rage for building that
reigned from Trajan (97 A. D.) to Al-
exander Severus was an extraordinary
phenomenon. When it ceased with the
disorders of the middle of the third cen-
tury and the first barbarian invasions,
the profession of architecture quickly
lost its vogue and its skill. So that when
Diocletian and Constantine sought to re-
suscitate the culture of the Empire one
of their tasks was to stimulate the pro-
fession and increase its membership.

Private Architecture: Architects.
— It is in the field of private architec-
ture that we glean our most vivid pic-
tures of the personal activity of the
architects of the late republic and the
Empire, and it is to Vitruvius again
that we must refer for a picture of the
Roman house and villa which would
be out of place here.

In connection with this, we will merely
note the care in the orientation of
houses, so as to secure the best results,

2 95

both in winter and summer. Vitruvius
makes himself the national mouthpiece
when he says that “natural consistency
(one of the necessary attributes of a
good architect) requires that bedrooms
should be lighted from the east ; baths
and winter apartments from the south-
west; picture and other galleries, which
require a steady light, from the north,”
etc. I11 large houses, and especially in
villas, architects generally provided
separate summer and winter suites, both
bedrooms and sitting rooms. In all such
matters Greek and Roman architects and
their clients seem to have been more ad-
vanced than we are even at present.

The two other main novelties — beside
the increased spaciousness made possi-
ble by the adoption of the two courts in
a single line, in place of the one court
of the Greeks and earlier Romans —
were the private baths and the perfect
system of heating and plumbing, includ-
ing the warming of partitions and floors.
Of the innumerable examples, one of the
best is the villa at Boscoreale, near
Pompeii, where the wonderful silver-
ware was found that is now in the
Louvre. Its two superb bronze bath-
tubs, however, are in the Field Museum
at Chicago.

All the main points, including the
values of city and country houses, the
method and time of building, and the
relations of owner to architect, are il-
lustrated in the correspondence of Cic-
ero, from which I shall allow myself to
quote quite liberally.

Cicero and his Architects. — In 44
B. C., Cicero wrote Atticus, his great
friend and artistic adviser, of his
intention to build a monument to
his much-lamented daughter Tullia from
the designs of Cluatius, one of his cus-
tomary architects. He takes occasion
to speak very highly of current archi-
tectural knowledge and skill; undoubt-
edly his generation saw the transition
from old Roman simplicity to a gor-
geousness and finish that heralded Au-
gustus. He also speaks of a freedman
of Balbus, named Corumbus, as a
skillful architect. If we name Chrysip-
pus Vettius, a freedman and pupil of
Cyrus, Cyrus himself, Philotimus and

296

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Diphilus, we have four or five archi-
tects employed by Cicero on his 21
houses and villas. This made him quite
a patron of architects. That his rela-
tions to Cyrus were particularly close,
and that he respected his learning, is
shown by a letter to Atticus, where he
says : “When you find fault with the
narrow windows, let me tell you that
you are criticising the ‘Cyropzedeia.’
For when I made the same remark, Cy-
rus used to answer that the view of
the garden, through broad lights, was
not so pleasant. For let a be the eye,”
etc. (follows an optical demonstration).

Several passages bear on the value of
houses. He wrote to Atticus, in 68
B. C., that the house of Rabirius, in
Naples, which Atticus had thought of
buying and transforming according to
drawings which he had had made, had
been sold for 130,000 sesterces (= c.
$5,000). This must have been a small
and modest house. In a letter to Ses-
tius, in 65, he refers to his own pur-
chase of quite an expensive mansion in
Rome, that of Crassus, the famous
friend of Csesar and Pompey : “I have
bought that very house for 3,500,000
sesterces” (= c. $140,000). Soon after
he speaks of another palatial house, in
writing to Atticus : “Consul Messala has
bought the house of Anthony for 3,400,-
000 sesterces.” We are familiar with the
fact that Cicero feathered his nest.
Though a “new man,” his lawyer’s fees
were so enormous as to enable him, in
his early hey-day, to make extensive
real estate investments, including houses
and villas at Rome, Tusculum, Formiae,
Pompeii, Arpinum, Cumae. When he
went into exile, in 58 B. C., his town
house was destroyed and his villas at
Tusculum and Antium dismantled
through the efforts of his enemies.
When he was recalled from exile he, of
course, put in heavy claims for dam-
ages, and complains of the result. “The
buildings of my house,” he says, “the
consuls, by the advice of their assessors,
valued at 2,000,000 sesterces (he had
paid Crassus near twice this amount
for it). The rest was valued very
stingily. My Tusculan villa at 500,000
sesterces, my villa at Formiae at 250,-

000 sesterces.” He decided to repair
the villa at Formiae, but he advertised
his Tusculum property for sale.

At this period of Cicero’s life, in 56
B. C., when he was superintending the
reconstruction of his own property and
of that of his brother Quintus, we get
a very clear picture of how building
was carried on. On January 18 he
writes his brother : “About your build-
ing, I do not fail to press Cyrus. I hope
he will do his duty.” This Cyrus was,
we see, the favorite architect of Cicero
( pro Mil. 17, 18; ad fam. 7, 14; ad Q.
fr. 2, 2; ad Att. 2, 3), whom he quite
frequently mentions. In March he re-
ports progress : “The building of both
your house and mine is being pushed
on energetically. I have caused half
the money to be paid to your contractor.

1 hope before next winter we may be
under the same roof. * * * I am build-
ing in three places, and patching up my
other houses. * * * If I had you with
me I should give the builders full swing
for awhile.” A few weeks later (April
8), he writes: “After leaving your boy,
I went to the site of your house ; the
building was going on with a large
number of workmen. I urged the con-
tractor, Longilius, to push on. The
house will be splendid, for it can be
better seen now than we could judge
from the plans. My own house is also
being built with despatch.”

Early in the next year his own house
in Rome was not yet completed, for he
writes to Atticus in Rome from his
villa at Cumae : “I wish you would come
and see my walk and bath ( laconicum )
and the buildings planned by Cyrus, and
would also urge Philotimus to make
haste that I may have something to
match with yours.” (P. was in charge
of the rebuilding of Cicero’s house.)

Most amusing and interesting of all
is the report he sends to his brother
Quintus in 54 B, C., about one of the
latter’s new villas : “In your Manilian
property I came across Diphilus, out-
doing himself in dilatoriness. Still, he
had nothing left to build but the baths,
a promenade and an aviary. I liked
this villa very much, because the paved
colonnade (around its atrium) gives it

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

29 7

an air of great dignity. I never appre-
ciated this till now, when the colonnade
has been opened up and the columns
polished. Now all will depend on the
stuccoing being properly done. * * *
The pavements seem well laid. Certain
ceilings I did not like, and ordered
changed.” He does not approve of his
brother’s order that a small entrance
hall should be made in connection with
the atrium, which is too small to allow
of it. “As it stands, from the very
beauty of its arched roof it will serve
as an admirable summer room. * * *
In the bath I have transferred the hot
chamber to the other corner of the
dressing room, because it was so placed
that its steampipe was immediately un-
der the bedrooms (which would have
made them too hot). A fair-sized bed-
room and a lofty winter room I admired
very much, for they were both spacious
and well situated on the side of the
promenade, nearest the bath.

“Diphilus has placed the columns out
of the perpendicular and not opposite
each other. These he shall, of course,
take down. Some day he will learn
how to use the plumb line and the
measuring stick. On the whole, I hope
Diphilus’ work will be completed in a
few months ; for Csesius, who was with
me at the time, keeps a very sharp
watch upon him.”

It is evident that Quintus did not
know his own mind, and was as prolific
in changes after the specifications and
estimates were in as some irritating
moderns are. Cicero tells how a most
well-meaning steward of his had con-
tracted to do a little building for Quin-
tus at Laterium for 16,000 sesterces
($640), but had to give it up because
Quintus kept ordering additions to the
work, but none to the price.

It was not until 54, after three years,
that Quintus’ house in Rome was com-
pleted, as Cicero reports in September.
The part of the roof over the sitting
room, which Quintus did not wish cov-
ered with several gables, was roofed so
as to slope gracefully toward the lower
colonnade of the court. He is loud in
his praise of Quintus’ place at Arcanum,
fit, he says, for a man of even better

taste than Caesar, and worthy of an
architect equal to many Philotimuses,
“and quite above your Diphiluses.”

When, after Tullia’s death, in 45, he
made such elaborate plans for a me-
morial temple and park to her, he wrote
to Atticus, “As to the design, I do not
feel any doubt, for I like that of Clua-
tius,” so that we may infer that several
architects had submitted drawings to
him. He asked Atticus to settle the
contract for the columns with a certain
Apella, of Chius. At the same time he
got from another of his regular archi-
tects, Chrysippus, a report on a certain
site for it, including villa and grounds.
It would seem that grounds close to the
city were then valued in some cases as
high as $700 and more per acre.

Private Contracts. — We may con-
clude from these letters and others that
at this time there were usually three
persons interested in any construction :
the architect who drew up the plans and
oversaw the operations ; the contractor,
who did the work usually for a lump
sum ; the business agent of the owner.
We may also conclude that sometimes
the owner or architect took charge of
purchasing the materials and got along
without the intervention of any con-
tractor, the architect overseeing the
workmen who were engaged by the
day. When a contract for building was
drawn up it sometimes was made for
a lump sum to include all costs for both
labor and material ; at other times it was
for labor only, the owner making sepa-
rate contracts for the materials.

In the present scarcity of documents,
it is impossible to say which was the
prevalent method of contract. All that
can be done is to ferret out the few
examples of the various methods.

A current formula is found on certain
waxed wooden tablets found in Dacia,
which also illustrate the perishable form
of these contracts and explain their dis-
appearance. The formula would run
about as follows, in the fragmentary
form that is alone preserved :

“Consulship of Laelianus & Pastor,
Kalends of November. L. Ulsius Vale-
rius affirms that he does give and has
given to Socration, son of Socrates, the

298

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

contract to carry out certain work for
him from this day till the Ides of Sep-
tember of the coming' year. The pay-
ments to be made at the times agreed
upon. If the contractor decides to stop
work without the consent of the owner
he shall pay * * * sesterces for each
day that no work is done. In case the
weather should prevent work, this
should be reckoned him pro rata. If,
when the work is completed, the owner
shall delay payment, he shall be held to
the same penalty after the lapse of the
customary three days.”*

From the corpus of Roman law, in
regard to private contracts, we glean a
few facts which seem to show that the
interests of the owner were particularly
— almost tyranically — guarded, at least
in the late Empire. If the work is not
completed at the time specified the
owner is allowed to reassign the con-
tract. When the work is done the owner
appears to be given full power to accept
or reject it without control. One of the
reasons that would give him the right to
do so would be if the contractor used
lime less than three years old, which
was contrary to law.

The legal regulations governing private
contracts can be summed up as follows :
1 he private contract was derived from
the earlier contract formula for public
works. In early times, before so high
an artistic standard was required, a large
part of private work was done by mer-
cenaries, which was afterwards given
out by contract. It was not always done
for money, either, but sometimes on
shares, or with payment in kind, or in
the form of free rent. This was still
often the case in the time of Cato.
When the payment is in cash it shall
be made in several installments, either
at the close of the work or during
the course of it, as such or such
parts are completed and accepted by the
owner.

In assigning a contract, the owner
sometimes opened a competition of bids,
as the censors did for public works, and
assigned it to the lowest bidder. Meas-

*In the lost parts there must be some penalty for
the contractor who does not complete the work on
time.

tires were taken to prevent fraud on the
part of contractors, such as coming to
an understanding with each other to
raise the limit of the bids, the success-
ful contractor taking the others into
partnership afterwards. They can be
required to clear themselves from this
charge under oath. The work must be
done within the time specified and in a
faultless manner. The contractor is not
obliged to actually do it himself, but he
is responsible for his associates and help-
ers. He ordinarily uses the materials
furnished by the owner. In case he fur-
nishes the materials himself, the con-
tract falls under quite another head —
under that of sale instead of lease,
though this difference was never made
in the case of private houses. The ac-
ceptance, either total or partial, of the
work by the owner discharges the con-
tractor of all responsibility and risks.
Until then the contractor is responsible
for damage or destruction, unless he
can prove it the fault of the owner.

Formula of Contract. — It is from
Egyptian sources that we are begin-
ning to glean information in this field of
Roman antiquities, through the papyri.
Here is a private contract for supplying
quarried stones for a house, made in
the time of the Antonines between two
stonecutters and the owners at the city
of Oxyrhynchus :

“To Antonia Ascelpias * * * through
her guardian, Apollonius, from Asclas,
son of Alexander and Apollonius, son
of Amois, both of Oxyrhynchus. We
undertake to cut the squared building
stones of one camel weight from the
northern quarry required for the house
of you, Antonia in the quarter of Pam-
mene’s Gardens, the rate of payment for
the stonecutting being: (1) for the out-
side camel-stones at 4 drachmas per 16;
(2) for the inside do. at 4 drachmas per
30 ; ( 3 ) for anti blemata at 3 drachmas
per 100 squared camel stones ; for oblong
corner stones ; (4) for outside squared
camel-stones at 8 drachmas for 16 and
(5) for inside squared camel-stones 8
drachmas for 30 ; for stones worked only
with the axe [for foundations?]; (6)
for squared camel-stones at 4 drachmas

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

299

for 50 and (7) for oblong corner camel-
stones at 8 drachmas for 50.

“All the aforesaid kinds of stone we
will cut, but no ornamentation shall be
required of us. Each of us shall re-
ceive for each day that he works both a
loaf and a relish.

“If the builders have need of our ser-
vices in stone-cutting we shall be called
in, either one or both of us, and shall
receive as daily wages 4 drachmas and
also each day a loaf and relish.

“Up to the 22d day of the present
month Epeiph you have the right to
transfer to others this contract for cut-
ting the aforesaid squared camel-stones
from the northern quarry.”

Workmen and Guilds. — During
these centuries of the development of
Roman architecture what was the con-
dition and organization of the men be-
longing to the building trades employed
by the architects and contractors or en-
gaged directly by the State or private
individuals or working as slaves?

The answer is bound up in the totally
different way in which the Roman mind
and Roman law regarded the organiza-
tion of society from what had been the
case in Greece. The Greeks left every-
thing to individual effort ; in Rome ev-
erything was done by collective organi-
zation.

An ancient tradition relates that the
populace of the Roman tribes was div-
ided by King Numa into labor corpora-
tions according to occupation ; of these
the men belonging to the building trades
formed one, under the general title of
fabri, or later fabri tignarii.

All the members of these corporations
were free men, Roman citizens. It was
not until after the Punic wars, when the
population of Italy had been so deci-
mated, and agriculture and other forms
of labor so neglected for war, that slave
labor was introduced as a necessitv.

At first slave labor revolutionized life
only in the country, on large private es-
tates and those of speculating contrac-
tors ; it then affected mainly the com-
moner forms of labor. But quite soon
it invaded the cities and Rome itself,
pervading the arts and trades ; especially
when, with the conquest of Southern

Italy, Sicily, Greece and the Orient, there
came into every wealthy Roman estab-
lishment a considerable number of Greek
slaves, with their knowledge of the arts
and sciences, their general education and
refinement.

I have already said that men like Cras-
sus had an organized army of artists and
artisans, sufficient for every branch of
human activity that might be required
on his immense estates ; and with many
owners the hiring out of skilled slave-
workmen was a regular business.

Restriction of Right of Associa-
tion — With this changed state of affairs
the old labor corporations of free citi-
zens lost both influence and dignity.
They also became, in the last days of
the Republic, hotbeds of political cor-
ruption and sedition, wooed for their
votes by demagogues such as Milo and
Catiline.

Until then the State had allowed per-
fect freedom of association, but the
political dangers of its abuse became evi-
dent. So Julius Caesar, in his radical
reform of the State, framed a law re-
stricting the right of association, leaving
in existence only a certain specified num-
ber of associations subject to govern-
ment sanction and supervision. Au-
gustus followed, as usual, the same pol-
icy.

What we cannot understand, however,
is why, long after the Empire had be-
come consolidated and republicans and
socialists as extinct as the dodo , the Em-
perors should have continued to look
upon such associations with suspicion.
Even the self-confident Trajan (97-117
A. D.) objected to the organization of a
fire brigade in a city of Asia Minor be-
cause he considered that such societies
were made the pretext for political in-
trigues.

Government Control of Guilds. —
Another century, however, had hardly
elapsed when we find a radical change of
policy. Perhaps the Emperors had
found it impossible to undermine the
corporations ; perhaps the less thought-
ful and firm Emperors of the early third
century preferred to close their eyes to
abuses in view of the usefulness of the
corporations to the State. The new

300

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Oriental policy of these Emperors favor-
ing centralization and government con-
trol in every sphere of activity was ap-
plied here also. A scheme was adopted
that not only favored the formation of
associations but gave them a monopoly,
each in its field, in return for services to
the State.

It seems probable, from historical
texts, that the large corporation of the
building trades ( fabri ) was the first to
receive the privileges of monopoly and
of immunity from taxation in return for
gratuitous work on public structures.
This may have been done, as an excep-
tion, as early as the reign of Antoninus
Pius. But as a proof that this was a
real exception we find that, fifty years
later, Alexander Severus was still col-
lecting from other corporations a tax
the proceeds of which were used to keep
the public baths open earlier and later
by artificial light. Soon after this, how-
ever, the scheme of exacting labor or
material for public works and public
service from each corporation became a
settled policy.

What we would call the “books” of
all the corporations were open for gov-
ernment inspection, and there was a
great deal of special legislation to regu-
late them. It was not only made impos-
sible for a man to work at any trade, art
or business unless he belonged to a cor-
poration, but once he had joined it he
was bound hand and foot. By the close
of the third century imperial restrictive
legislation had so enmeshed and en-
slaved the corporations that a member
was not only forced to remain in his
corporation for life but forced to reside
in the city where he had joined it; if
he went anywhere else he could be
brought back by force.

The member was not only himself
bound for life but he was obliged to
teach his sons this particular business
and no other, and so on “unto the third
and fourth generation.” Hence, hered-
ity of occupation was erected into a
state dogma and law.

By the close of the fourth century the
climax had been reached of this enslave-
ment of free labor.

Organization and Administration.
— The corporations were organized in
imitation of the city government. Cer-
tain measures were taken and elections
held by an assembly of all the members,
called the “people,” the “order.” But
these members were organized in quas 1 ’-
military divisions of ten (decuria), wh -
a leader called decurion , and every ten
of these divisions formed a section of
a hundred (centuria), under a leader
called centurion , assisted by a lieutenant
( optio ). These special divisional of-
ficials were elected annually, as a rule,
by each group of members.

The general officers were a president
and a treasurer. They were elected by
the assembly of the whole and served
for periods varying from a month to a
year ; sometimes, even, for a term of five
years. The treasurer’s office was ex-
ceedingly important, for he received not
merely the dues but the large special
donations. The principal assets came,
in fact, from patrons belonging to the
moneyed classes, though there seem also
to have been land grants from the State.
As in earlier days, the crowds of the
proletariat had followed demagogues and
distributers of political plums and boodle,
so now, in the peaceful times of dead
politics, there were plenty of rich men
anxious to buy cheap notoriety by be-
coming titular patrons, honorary pro-
tectors — we might say trustees — of these
corporations ; and in return for their
large gifts, inscriptions, busts and even
statues transmitted their names to pos-
terity at the expense of the corporation !

Wages. — The best index of the
artisans’ wages is giverr toward the close
of the imperial period in the famous Law
of the Maximum Price, issued in 301
A. D. by that great centralizing organ-
izer, the Emperor Diocletian. Its gen-
eral purpose was to counteract specula-
tive attempts to artificially influence the
market values of natural and manufac-
tured products of labor, to prevent “cor-
ners” and “trusts.”

What concerns us in this epoch-mak-
ing economic document is the small sec-
tion that refers to the building trades,
for here we find what must be a fairly

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

3 QI

complete list of the guilds or at least
of the branches into which the arts and
crafts were divided, with the salaries
that each man should receive in daily
wages. It is stated that he must be given
his food beside the wage. The daily

ages follow :

Common day laborer $0.30

Mason 0.60

Lime-maker 0.60

Plasterer 0.60

Carpenter 0.60

Cabinet-maker 0.60

Marble-worker . 0.75

Mosaicist 0.75

House-painter 0.85

Decorative painter 1.80

This chapter of the law is entitled
Workmen’s Wages and regards only
common operatives. There is no
thought of regulating the remuneration
of artists such as sculptors, much less
the “honorarium” of architects, though,
as I have already shown, when an archi-
tect became a public teacher of his art
his professional charge for instruction
was regulated.

One of the above classes of artisans,
the marmorarius or marble worker, was
practically unknown to the Greeks. He
was a Roman creation due to the Roman
plan of separating the surface decora-
tion from the structure and applying it
afterwards, usually in the form of slabs
and patterns of brilliant marbles, both
on the outside and inside of buildings ;
and the same class of artisans produced
the wonderful mass of decorative work
in marble furniture, such as candelabra,
vases, altars, tables, tripods, which im-
pinge so often on the field of pure art.

The marble-decorators were indis-
pensable to the architect, and grew in
importance as the Empire progressed
and as new varieties of rich marbles and
of ways of using them became popular.
This popularity even affected the con-
tracting business. Sometimes, as in the
case of the basilica at Nimes, there was
a single contractor for both the stone-
work (or other form of construction)
and the marble decoration ; but in other
cases there was a special contractor for
the marble decoration, as at Pozzuoli,

where an inscription names C. Avillius
December as the contractor for this dec-
orative work ( redemptor marmorarius ) .
Several tombs of these artists remain.
On one, near Reggio, the artist has his
implements : level, square and plum-line
between two mallets.

The logical outcome of increasing
centralization and monopoly was that
finally, perhaps before the reign of
Diocletian, contracts with individual
artists and artisans were largely replaced
by contracts with their guilds in the
building business. It is impossible to
say whether this was universal through-
out the empire, and how far it affected
private as well as public contracts. At
all events, it seems to have largely char-
acterized the business of the govern-
ment, which wished to not only drive all
men into the corporations but to make
them part of the immense network of
government machinery.

The Egyptian papyri afford several in-
stances. In 316 A. D. at Oxyrhynchus
the city administration made a payment
to the Guild of Ironworkers for materials
used in the public works. In the same
year the Guild of Carpenters of the same
city reports, through its monthly presi-
dent, to the city magistrate on a detail
of municipal improvement. As late as
569 the chief of the Guild of Stone-
masons contracts to transport a certain
quantity of stone for one Flavius Apion.
This document shows that private per-
sons also dealt with the guilds directly.

We can now sum up more intelligently
the significance of the art, personality
and methods of Roman architects in
comparison with those of their Greek
predecessors and of our own country.

In a way, they strongly resemble our
architects. They were practical men.
They were obliged to be versatile in
their style and in their use of materials;
to know how to handle brick, concrete,
stone and wood ; to use both arch and
architrave, separately and together, to
combine flat and arched coverings of
every form. They found it necessary,
quite often, to study past historic styles
to suit the catholic taste of their traveled
patrons ; not only early middle and late

3°2

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Greek styles, but those of Egypt and the
Orient. When the architects of Hadrian
built his villa at Tivoli, with its repro-
ductions of famous historic buildings in
various countries, they had just returned
from accompanying him on a tour of
the civilized world in which architectu-
ral construction and study had played an
important part. Accustomed to con-
crete and brick in Rome, for instance,
they were forced to use quarried stone in
Syria and North Africa.

In this way they cultivated adaptabil-
ity at the expense of sincerity; were less
stylists than students, and their prod-
ucts less a natural growth than an intel-
lectual product. This was in direct con-
trast to Greece, with its simple unity,
and its dependence on national genius.

Another point of similarity with our
conditions is that their architecture was
not mainly idealistic and sacred, as that
of the Greeks had been, whose civic and
private structures had been so simple.

The Roman masterpieces were not tem-
ples like the Parthenon, nor oracles like
Delphi, Olympia and Eleusis, but varied
works of public and private utility, com-
fort and display, harmonizing with the
more than Oriental luxury of the Ro-
man Empire. In doing this they carried
to a higher degree than any previous
style the genius for a harmonizing of
buildings with nature and landscape
architecture. This is what we are be-
ginning to understand, though less than
the English or the Italians.

But a field in which the Romans were
quite as supreme was that of the har-
monious use of the plastic art and of
color in connection with building, espe-
cially with interior decoration. The
Greek color sense, much as it grieves one
to confess it, had been crude, and the
attempts to use it in connection with
sculpture and architecture inartistic.
Even Greek plastic decoration was less
exquisitely, less unobtrusively done than

ROMAN DECORATIVE STUCCO.

THE ARCHITECT IN HISTORY.

303

it was in Roman times. Anything more
charming as surface decoration than the
sketchy stuccoes of which bits are known
to us from Nero’s Golden house, the
Farnesina, and the tombs of the via La-
tina, it is difficult to imagine.

The same taste prevailed in the use of
color, from the rich slabs of African
marbles and the marble incrustations of
opus sectile cut in patterns, to the va-
ried wall pictures of which those at
Pompeii show us only the cruder artisan
forms, while the fascinating impres-
sionistic garden scenes in Livia's villa, at
Prima Porta, near Rome, are the handi-
work of genuine artists. The fact is,
that under Roman guidance the close
union of the various arts, even though
they were increasingly differentiated, was
not only maintained but emphasized. We
must not, however, forget to ascribe to
the Ffellenic element in the movement
much of the taste in the execution.

It is in this unity of the arts that any
comparison of Roman architects with
our own breaks down. The fundamental
disorganization of the arts in America
for which, it is true, the men of the fif-
teenth and sixteenth centuries are ulti-
mately responsible — which the clear-
sighted among us are beginning to de-
plore, can be remedied, of course, only
through broader artistic education and
inspiration. As far as example can help,
to study what we know of Roman work
would be more useful than that of any
other period in the history of art. But
its fragmentary remains require editing
and reproduction to be properly usable.

At the same time, there are some Ro-
man pitfalls that we ought to avoid,
though we seem to be falling into more
than one of them. The first and worst
was the enslavement of the workman
to the union and the state, and the con-
sequent gradual loss of artistic excel-
lence in every kind of detail requiring
an eye for line and color. A dead level
of price and of work was brought about,
as it is being brought about with us. The
second was the irresponsibility of arch-
itects in the matter of estimates, the
slackness of his supervision of the con-
tractor’s work, and the speculative ten-
dency of contracts.

These conditions favored “ready-
made,’’ “cast-in-the-mould” effects, espe-
cially in the lines and details of pure
architecture, which increased as archi-
tects got more and more out of touch
with the actual work. It is strikingly
illustrated in the fact that in mere con-
structive genius the men who designed
the buildings of the third century of our
era, such as the baths of Caracalla and
Diocletian and the Septizonium of Sep-
timius Severus, were, if anything, supe-
rior to their predecessors, while all the
execution of details had grown careless
and inartistic and got steadily worse.

In striking a balance, we must agree
with Ferrero that Rome presents us in
this field, as in almost every other, with
the most universal forms, and that in its
treasure-house we can find practically
all the elements that we require if we
have the talent to perceive and trans-
form as well as the genius to conceive.

A. L. Frothing ham.

304

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Mr. J. W. Brownie,

Care Editor “Architectural Record/’
New York City.

Dear Mr. Brownie:

It was with delight that I read in the
“Architectural Record,” of February,
that we have in the architectural profes-
sion a member of the distinguished fam-
ily of “Brownies.” Palmer Cox is to be
congratulated upon the striking pictures
that he has made of you. Yours is per-
haps the most irresistibly funny of them
all. It is true, as you say, “everybody
cannot be a genius,” but it is given to
but few to be so amusing.

Your pathetic appeal for assistance
fills me with deep sympathy. You were
doubtless, as were most of us, confused
by the metaphorical but now historic
Philadelphia tulip, and it is not surpris-
ing that you cannot see the slightest re-
semblance between it and the architec-
ture of America. When you were taken
“among these almost cloistral surround-
ings, where the student goes to laugh,
the water jet springs serenely, and Pous-
sin and Puget stand calmly oblivious of 1
the entrance gates, you were perhaps as
much involved in the mixed metaphore
and allegories as was the writer himself.
You naturally ask, What has all of this
to do with the “beautiful three-quarter
engaged architecture which is now cling-
ing to the fronts of our buildings, like
Michael Angelo’s painted architecture to
the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.” Or
the i wonderful Alladin architecture
done by the advocates of the French
teaching, while the learned professor
rubs his wonderful lamp, which is
changing our country into a comical
caricature of the Acropolis. Which,
in the words of one of the most dis-
tinguished advocates of the Academic
French School, “have given to us those
splendid monuments which make beauti-
ful palaces of department stores, and
noble temples of places of money ex-
change.”

You will doubtless some day go to
Rome, where you will see the prototypes
of the forms used by the students of the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the past fifty
years.

In studying a living art, however,
avoid, above, all things, “the eminent
archaeologists and undisputed authori-
ties on everything which pertains to an-
tiquity.” They are but storehouses of
musty bulbs, and not growers of tulips.
You would naturally expect from one
of these remarks as absurd as “the last
word in art was said, when, in the fifth
century, before our era, the Parthenon
sprang from the rocks of the Acropolis,
like Athens in full panoply from the
brains of Zeus.”

It is too bad that we can find no one
to answer our questions frankly, instead
of trying- to befuddle us with allegorical
flights and quotations from learned
writers, while others copy page after
page of the descriptive geometry, with
the avowed intention of protecting the
dear public from misleading technicali-
ties.

That Gothic phantom, which seems to
haunt you, exists only in the narrow
confines of slavish little brains, brains
that never have, and never will think for
themselves, but insist upon having some-
one else, preferably someone who is
dead, think for them. These fellows,
“Brownie,” do no harm ; they simply do
no good. They make statements, and
think that these settle the question. Sub-
stitute a negative for every positive, and
a positive for every negative. Contra-
dict every statement that they make, and
you will find that you will have an argu-
ment for the other side, which has just
about as much foundation of fact as the
original. They accuse others “of a want
of sincerity and good faith,” while
through their whole argument runs a
personal venom which suggests a small
animal in a corner fighting for his own
little existence.

Now, my dear “Little Brownie Archi-
tect,” the public will take no further in-
terest in architectural allegories. A joke
is a fatal weapon in the hands of the
artist, a veritable boomerang in the
hands of the amateur. You who are in
the front ranks of the inhabitants of
Jokeland should remember this.

Most affectionately yours,

American Architect.

NOTES ©'COMMENTS

Delegates from the
State Chapters of the
American Institute of
Architects and other
members from Pennsyl-
vania came together in
Harrisburg recently and
formally organized the
New Pennsylvania State Association of
Architects, which promises to be a powerful
factor in advancing the interests of the In-
stitute and the profession and many matters
concerning the welfare of the State. This is
the only State organization of the Ameri-
can Institute of Architects. The following
officers were elected:

President — D. Knickerbocker Boyd of Phil-
adelphia, President of the Philadelphia
Chapter of the Institute and Fellow of the
American Institute of Architects.

Vice-President — Edward Stotz of Pittsburg,
President of the Pittsburg Chapter of the
Institute.

Secretary and Treasurer — Wm. L. Baily of
Philadelphia, architect and a member of the
Academy of Natural Sciences.

After discussion of matters relating to
bills now before the state legislature and of
other matters of general welfare, the asso-
ciation put itself on record as favoring — the
report of the Fine Arts Council recommend-
ing that the proposed Lincoln Memorial to
be erected in the National Capitol be
upon the site at the end of the Mall as orig-
inally provided for, and the passage
of Senator Newlands’ bill now before
Congress to create a Bureau of the
Fine Arts. A general discussion took
place on the advisability of studying and re-
vising the building laws of the entire State
of Pennsylvania to conform to all modern
conditions of construction and materials
used. It was pointed out that in many of
the cities of the state, particularly those of
the second and third classes, the laws under
which buildings are erecetd are not only in-
adequate, but antiquated. The creation of
a committee to go over the matter and bring
it before the attention of the next session of
the legislature with a view to having a com-
mission appointed to revise and codify the
building laws of the State was authorized.
Amongst other matters discussed, but upon
which no definite action was taken, was the
registration and licensing of architects. The

PENNSYLVANIA

STATE

ASSOCIATION

ARCHITECTS

matter of the appointment of an art jury for
the city of Philadelphia as authorized by
act of legislature, was also taken up and re-
ferred to a committee.

The students of the
Evening Courses in
Architecture at Colum-
bia University have
banded themselves to-
gether for the purpose
of extending the scope
of their work. To fur-
ther their purpose they have secured the in-
terest of Mr. Louis E. Jallade, who has con-

EVENING
COURSES IN
ARCHITECTURE.

sented to give them the benefit of his in-
struction. The atelier is located at 218 East
42d Street in New York, where the work will
consist chiefly in the solution of the problems
published by the American Society of Beaux
Arts Architects. The efforts of this society
are to be highly commended for what it has
for some years been doing to afford a meas-
ure of training to those draughtsmen who
are unable, for one reason or another, to
take advantage of a regular university
course in architecture.

PRIZE
DESIGNS
FOR AN
EXHIBITION

in the competition
for laying out the site
of the Housing Exhibi-
tion in Swansea, Eng-
land, more than eighty
plans were submitted.
The gold medal was
awarded to James
Crossland, an architect, of Broughton-in-
Furness. The silver medal went to Gilbert
Waterhouse, an architect, of Buckhurst Hill,
Essex. This, the judge declares, was because
of the exceptional architectural merit of his
design, for some of his side roads did not
fully accord in width with the by-laws, and
he provided too small a frontage for the
cottages. The third prize was given to W.
John Aldiss, an architect, of Newbridge,
Monmouth. With regard to the premiated
design, the judges commend “the consid-
eration it displays for the contours of the
site, the economical arrangement of roads,
the treatment of the aspect, the possibilities
of picturesque treatment in town planning,
and the general practicability of the design
for the purpose of the cottage exhibition.”

3°6

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

P ORTLAND
ARCHITEC-
TURAL CLUB
EXHIBITION

The second annual
exhibition of the Port-
land Architectural Club
opened in the galleries
of the Museum of Fine
Arts in Portland, Ore-
gon, cn March 22, and
is to continue until
April 10. The exhibition is to be made the
occasion for entertaining and bringing to-
gether delegates from the coast towns with
a view to forming a Pacific Coast League of
Architecture to be affiliated either with the
Architectural League of America or the
American Institute of Architects.

In Germany, as well
as in America, the En-
glish example has been
followed by the form-
ing of a Garden City
Association. An ac-
count of Helleran, near
Dresden, supported by
the German Art Workshops of Dresden, is
given by the chairman of the association in a
recent number of the English Garden City
Magazine. The site includes an area of one
and a quarter million square yards. “If we
reckon on an average of 700 square yards
for a house with a single family, together
with the street frontage and garden apper-
taining to it, then it would be possible to
erect some 2,000 houses for about 8,000 in-
habitants. Hills, dales, meadows, fields ana
woods provide the architect with the best
basis for the artistic modeling of the new
settlement.” While the shops have adopted
the policy of leaving to the associated work-
men themselves the construction of the
houses, they yet exert great influence on the
artistic aspects of the enterprise. “The
sketches,” says the writer, “for the general
building plan, for the factories and first
dwelling houses, have been carried out by R.
Riemerschmid. The streets conform to the
lie of the hills in delicate curves, and pre-
sent to the architects who will be building
here the best opportunity for making charm-
ing city pictures. Near the workshops
stretches out the quarter occupied by small
dwellings, in which the houses belonging to
single families are united in groups and
rows.” Further out, extensive quarters foi
country houses are provided. “Here for the
first time,” he says, “an artistic and social
community ought to arise, in which the
beauty and fitness of the individual houses
contribute to a complete unity. In order
that the colony may present a united whole,
every design must receive the approval of a

ARTISTIC

HOMES

FOR.

GERMAN

WORKERS

committee of artists before it is carried out.”
It is remarked by the writer that “the in-
habitants of this Garden City, which is to
carry out such lofty artistic aims, will be
for the most part art-workers.” And the
artistic culture of the community is to be
helped in other ways. The workshops pro-
pose to remove to Helleran the educational
institutions which they have established in
Dresden, and there has been planned a very
elaborate course of musical instruction.
There are, too, proposed baths, places for
games and sports, and a town hall with li-
brary, reading and assembly rooms and a
restaurant. “Since the company is possessed
of excellent organizing powers and the neces-
sary money,” says the chairman, “one is jus-
tified in cherishing great hopes for the en-
terprise.”

CITY PLAN
COMMISSION
OF

HARTFORD

The first annual re-
port of the commission
on the City Plan of
Hartford, Conn., is a
little of a disappoint-
ment. Perhaps this is
due to unreasonable
expectations, and the
commission may have been wise in going
slowly at first. The commission, it will be
remembered, is local, is largely ex-officio in
its constitution, and is a unique municipal
experiment. It has exceedingly broad pow-
ers; but in its first year it did nothing in a
really comprehensive way for the city plan
of Hartford. Yet a good many questions
were brought before it, and if nothing very
spectacular was accomplished there still was
proof of the value of such a board in the
municipal government. The report notes a
trip to “Upper New York” to study the gen-
eral layout of the streets; it notes action
with reference to an addition to the park
system, with regard to the acceptance of
certain streets; the consideration of a pro-
posed illuminated sign ordinance, action with
regard to curbing on the boulevard, the prep-
aration of an ordinance regulating the plan-
ning of subdivisions, consideration of street
extensions, public baths, and the formulation
of a request for a Technical High School
Commission, to be appointed by the mayor.
Surely all of these matters were of a char-
acter which it was well to have considered
by an expert board, which had before it not
the local aspects only of the question, but
its relation to the city at large. But it
seems a pity that such a board should not
have had prepared for it a general scheme,
authoritatively worked out, of municipal de-
velopment for Hartford, that should be its
chart and compass in coming to decisions.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

307

As one of the dii’ect
results of the recent

PITTSBURGH and widely discussed
Pittsburgh Survey,

STUDIES , .

there was promised to

IMPROVEMENT Pittsburgh

in Novem-
ber a Civil Improvement
Commission, and late
in January Mayor Guthrie announced his ap-
pointments. In some respects the commis-
sion is unique. It consists of fifteen mem-
bers, all local men, each of whom is to act
as chairman of a sub-committee which is to
take up in detail a special subject. At the
same time the commission as a whole would
maintain, it was stated, a central office,
which would be the headquarters for infor-
mation on all civic matters and a focus for
the various agencies already engaged in civic
work. H. D. W. English, a man who made a
notable record of achievement as president
of the Chamber of Commerce, is chairman of
the commission. Mayor Guthrie, in address-
ing the members of the commission the first
time they were called together, stated in
these words his conception of the work be-
fore them. “The commission,” said he,
“should acquire accurate information in re-
gard to existing needs, and work out a sane
and constructive program for relief.” He
added the comment. “Too often improve-
ments are delayed and unnecessary expendi-
tures made, because work is done which
produces no practical relief and sometimes
has to be undone before beneficial work
which should have been foreseen and plan-
ned for can be done.” The membership of
the commission is representative in the high-
est degree of Pittsburgh enterprise. T. E.
Billquist, of Billquist & Lee, is the only
architect appointed.

The Listener of the
Boston “Transcript”
ARCHITECTURE has lately been speak-
FOR ing of the Common as

BOSTON “the superb Court of

COMMON Honor” to the Back

Bay and parks. He
probably meant fore»
court, but chose the other term as one which
newspaper readers would be more likely to
understand. At all events they did under-
stand it, in several cases their imagination
was fired, and there appeared a number of
suggestions and letters regarding the Com-
mon’s development, that it might serve more
directly and obviously the function described.
-One idea was that there should be erected,
near the Boylston-Tremont Street corner, as
a balance to the Park Street church and

spire, a sort of Tour St. Jacques. Another,
which comes also from an architect, was that
if the Boston custom house were ever de-
molished, a possibility to be at least consid-
ered the writer thought, since congress has
been contemplating for some years various
phases of such a proposition, it would be
well to re-erect the porticos of the demol-
ished structure at the two main entrances to
the Common. These columned porticos are
nearly seventy feet high and are detached
from the main body of the building. The
Listener says: “More elegant ornamental en-
trances to the two main avenues of the Com-
mon could not be thought of. To be sure
there might, perhaps, have to be some little
changes made in the paths to adapt them to
meeting all of the five spaces between the
columns. If these grand old monoliths — the
wonder of their day, half a century ago —
are taken down, what possible use could be
more fitting for them? It would give them
something of a public character of their
own, a new lease of life of public impor-
tance, far more so than if used as portions
of any other new building.” Incidentally,
they would lend to “the Athens of Amer-
ica” a yet more Athenian, and very fine,
character. These were the monoliths, by the
way, that were drawn from Quincy by forty
yoke of oxen, with all the country side along
the road to watch their passage, and won-
der at the greatness of the city. It would
be like Boston, if the entrance suggestion
were ever carried out, to add to the interest
of the porticos by recording this on tablets.

The Civic League of
St. Louis has issued an
REPORT illustrated pamphlet re-

ON port on public comfort

COMFORT stations. The League’s

STATIONS publications are usually

good, and this is not an
exception. It contains
the results of an extensive study by the
Street Improvement Committee, and it is ad-
dressed to the city Board of Public Improve-
ments. In making its study the committee
did more than investigate the local aspects
of the question. It collected all of the avail-
able information from other cities, secured
the opinion of more than 200 medical men in
St. Louis, arranged a competition among the
members of the Architectural Club for the
best design for a station, and selected the
most desirable sites for the first six stations
in St. Louis. It reports “a very general
movement in American municipalities to
provide these much needed public conveni-
ences;” and it pertinently notes that “Bae-

3°8

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

decker’s Guide formerly started its first sen-
tence descriptive of the cities of the United
States, by the statement that there were no
public stations for the comfort of the active
thousands within their limits.” Even a late
edition, says the committee, describes the
stations that now exist in New York and
other large cities as “disgracefully inade-
quate in number, size and equipment.” But
there is improvement. Manhattan, New York,
is given in the Report as having nine; Bos-
ton, twelve; Brooklyn six; Washington, two,
with a third about to be started; Baltimore,
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Seat-
tle and Cambridge, Worcester, and Biolyoke
as all having made a start with at least one
completed station each to their credit. The
stations in Washington and Manhattan are
reported to have cost on an average $25,000
each, those in Brooklyn from $14,000 to $25,-
000, and others less. The estimates for the
St. Louis stations are from $15,000 to $18,000.
In the competition of the Architectural Club
there were seven entries, and three of the de-
signs are published; but the committee says
all were good.

Mr. Robert Guggen-
heim has offered a
COMPETITION trophy valued at $2,000
FOR. to the winner of the au-

AUTOMOBILE tomobile race from New
York City to the Alas-
ka-Yukon-Pacific Ex-
position in Seattle,
Washington, which opens on June 1.
That the trophy may be the finest possible
product of the silversmith’s art, Mr. Gug-
genheim offers a prize of $250 for the best
design submitted, to compete for which he
accordingly extends to artists and designers
generally an unrestricted invitation. All
designs are to be submitted to Welford Bea-
ton, care of the Alaska-Yukon-Paeific Expo-
sition, Seattle. They must be in his hands
by March 31, and should be accompanied by
return postage. The designs submitted will
be passed upon by a committee, which will
be appointed by the President of the Expo-
sition Corporation. The committee will
award the prize and assure the return of

such designs as are accompanied by the nec-
essary postage.

The Tee-Square Club
of Philadelphia an-
nounces the publication
AMERICAN of the second volume
COMPETITIONS of its collection of 10 m-
petitive drawings com-
prising the most im-
portant competitions of
the past year with their programs of require-
ments. The editor of the work, Mr. Adin
Benedict Lacey, an architect of Philadelphia,
very pertinently suggests that the value of
the collection would be enhanced by the ad-
dition of the reports of the judge or judges
of award, setting forth the precise reasons
for the awards as made. There can be no
doubt that architects generally would great-
ly welcome such an announcement which
must increase the satisfaction of the com-
petitors with the decisions and ensure the
utmost care in the preparation of programs.

It might further be suggested that the
publication of the more important working
drawings and the completed building, if pos-
sible, w-ould add greatly to the value of work
to the profession.

As though the prac-
tice of the successful
American architect
were not already suf-
ficiently varied, and
complicated, new prob-
lems, not alone those
which are incidental to
our rapid commercial progress, but problems
growing out of our recent territorial acqui-
sition are making increased demands on his
versatility and ingenuity. With the perma-
nent occupation of our colonies there is-
bound to be considerable substantial building
in which the American architect will be com-
pelled to use new materials in new ways to
satisfy new conditions and requirements.
The new Porto Rican capitol, drawings of
which are published in this issue, will illus-
trate some interesting facts wuth which the
designer had to be personally acquainted,
and by which he had to govern his design.

NEW

PROBLEMS
FOR THE
AMERICAN
ARCHITECT

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Tost Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d, 1879.

Vol. XXV. No. 5

MAY, 1909

Whole No. 128

'p Xo • n: • :e ‘ r v-Vfe ■

-• . : • ■ - Y-;\

Page

THE ADVENT OF THE FIREPROOFED-DWELLING . 309

A. C. David.

SOME STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED-DWELL-
ING Illustrated. 315

H. W. Erohne.

ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE REINFORCED CONCRETE

HOUSE Illustrated. 341

Benjamin A. Howes.

THE PIONEER CONCRETE RESIDENCE IN AMERICA. .Illustrated. 359
Peter B. Wight.

SOME FIRE-RESISTING COUNTRY HOUSES Illustrated. 365

Peter B. Wight.

NOTES AND COMMENTS 375

Modern Fireproofing Systems — Early Attempts at
Fireproofing— Present Conditions of the Art of Fire-
proofing — The Manufacture of Clay Fire-Resisting
Materials— Results Shown by Conflagrations — Reasons
for Faulty Work and the Necessity for a Standard
Specification— Elements of the Art of Fireproofing-
Improvement Necessary.

PUBLISHED BY

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD CO.
President, Clinton W. Sweet Treasurer, F. W. Dodse

Gerd ^Mgr * }h. W. Desmond Secretary, F. T. Miiler
11-15 EAST 24TH STREET, MANHATTAN
Telephone, 4430 Madison Square

Subscription (Yearly) S3. 00 Published Monthly

TWENTY-

CENTS:

TWENTY-;

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OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: No. II EAST 24th STREET, NEW YORK CITY
WESTERN OFFICE: 841 MONADNOCK BLDC., CHICAGO, ILL.

Gbe

Vol. XXV,

MAY, 1909

No, 5

The Advent of the Fireproofed Dwelling

The most gratifying and prominent
development in American building and
architecture of the last few years has
unquestionably been the increasing in-
terest in fireproof construction and the
increasing use of the best fireproof ma-
terials. For the first time in the history
of the country some popular interest has
been aroused in the substantial and in-
combustible construction of buildings.
A certain number of people are begin-
ning to prefer a well-made and non-
inflammable house to one which is ill
made and at the mercy of every occas-
sional fire ; and they are ready to pay
the increased money which the more
substantial and permanent house costs.
They are coming to have a conscience
about the substance of their dwellings ;
and if this more conscientious state of
mind persists, it will have most beneficial
results upon American architecture and
upon the American building material
trade. It will give the good architect,
the good structural engineer, and the
purveyor of good building materials an
opportunity such as they have never had
in the past, and one which will be far
more remunerative both in money and in
reputation.

A change in economic conditions has,
of course, been instrumental in bringing
about this increasing interest in fireproof
construction. Americans have become
habituated to inferior methods of con-
struction and inferior materials, because
such methods of construction and ma-
terials were for the time being profitable.
Lumber was cheap and was easily ob-
tained. The difference in cost between
a frame building and one of substantial
masonry was so considerable that very
few people could afford the better class

of construction. Even those who could
afford it were not without good reasons
for preferring a wooden house. The
time had not come for investing large
sums of money in permanent buildings.
The country was new. Its social and
economic conditions were fluid. The
ordinary business man did not want to
tie up his capital in structures whose
permanence seemed to promise more
advantage to his descendants than to
himself. It was really cheaper to
erect cheap temporary buildings, which
would serve his immediate purposes
and which could be replaced when-
ever such replacement became eco-
nomical!^ desirable. Americans were
forced by the pressure of constantly
changing conditions to make their ar-
rangements very much for the present
and very little for the future. They never
knew what a few years might bring
by way of a change in economic and so-
cial conditions, and they had no assur-
ance that their children would care to
carry on their business or to live in their
houses. The future, consequently, must
be left to take care of itself. A tempo-
rary house would outlast its builder —
unless it was burnt down ; and in that
case there were always the insurance
companies. Of course, the insurance
bills and the fire losses were enormous
in the aggregate; but it was cheaper to
pay them rather than to spend money
upon permanent structures, which, in the
course of a few years, would be likely
to lose their economic value and their
aesthetic interest.

The general attitude of mind towards
building sketched above was, of course,
the inevitable result of the economic
conditions of a new and rapid growing

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d, 1879 .

3io

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

community. In the beginning its influ-
ence was just as dominant in the case of
all classes of building undertaken for
business purposes as it was for private
residences. The earlier American rail-
road, factory and office building was of
the most inferior construction, and such
was necessarily the case, because the in-
ferior instrument was in the experimen-
tal and fluctuating condition of Amer-
ican industry, the economical instru-
ment. But American industry soon
passed beyond the stage of cheap and in-
ferior construction. The railroads soon
found it necessary to build for the fu-
ture as well as for the present — to put
up permanent bridges, larger and hand-
somer stations, and more substantial
roadbeds. Manufacturers discovered
that as they enlarged their output they
must necessarily improve their factories
and erect less inflammable buildings. In
the more populous cities, skyscrapers
began to be constructed both as offices
and warehouses ; and it was sheer folly
for a man to invest hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars in an inflammable sky-
scraper. In all these, and in many sim-
ilar directions, economic conditions have
forced the business man to build or re-
build in the most substantial manner.
An immense amount of work still re-
mains to be done in replacing the infe-
rior business structures of the last gen-
eration, but there need be no apprehen-
sion about the result. The substantial
fireproof building is becoming for the
American business man the economical
form of construction ; and in obedience
to this economic necessity, American en-
gineers have devised many important
improvements in the methods and mate-
rials entering into fireproof construction.

The methods of constructing domes-
tic buildings have, however, improved
very much more slowly than the meth-
ods of constructing business buildings
of all kinds. The fireproof residence still
remains a very rare architectural prod-
uct. A certain number of them have
been erected in New York and other
large cities, chiefly because their owners
possessed a great deal of rare furniture,
tapestries, pictures and the like, which
had to be protected from fire consump-

tion. In some few cases, also fireproof
country houses have been erected for
rich men. But such cases are much less
numerous than one would have sup-
posed. The number of opulent Amer-
icans who can abundantly afford a sub-
stantial and permanent residence, but
who, none the less, have been content
with a frame, a brick veneer, or some
other inferior kind of house is extraor-
dinarily large. Their preference for in-
ferior methods of construction was due
partly to bad habits and partly to the
fact that until recently an inflammable
building was really very much cheaper
than a thoroughly fireproofed building.
At bottom, however, the trouble was
that Americans really did not care. They
had no conscience about the character
of the house in which they lived. They
did not attach any value to the posses-
sion and occupation of a permanent and
substantial building which was sufficient
to make them willingly pay for its in-
creased cost. The consequence is that
the great majority even of the very
handsome dwellings erected during the
past fifteen years have not only not been
thoroughly fireproofed, but have not
even been of slow-burning construction ;
and, of course, practically all the' cheaper
urban structures and country houses
have been fire-traps of one kind or an-
other.

During the last few years, however, a
change has been undoubtedly taking
place for the better, and this change has
been due, primarily, to the fact that,
while methods of fireproofed construc-
tion have been becoming cheaper and
better, the ordinary wooden-framed
structure has been becoming more ex-
pensive. The economic gap between the
cost of a permanent and an impermanent
building has been closing up. Lumber
of all kinds has grown constantly more
costly, and its higher price has been due
not to temporary, but to permanent con-
ditions. The country has consumed the
better part of its vast stock of standing
timber and must be content hereafter
with a smaller supply. The era of cheap
lumber is over. It may well be that the
United States will always have cheaper
lumber than the countries of western

ADVENT OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

Europe; but it will never again be so
very cheap as to place a high premium
on inferior methods of construction. At
the same time, for reasons which will
presently appear, it has become possible
to erect fireproofed buildings for a
smaller cost than formerly. Of course,
a wooden house still remains the type of
building, whose initial expense is least
burdensome ; but in certain cases a man
could figure that a fireproofed building
might be actually cheaper in the end.
Ele could figure that in the course of
a decade he would save enough in the
cost of insurance, in the cost of repairs,
and in the absence of deterioration more
than to compensate him for the larger
initial expense. The consequence was
that of late years a number of small fire-
proofed dwellings have been erected,
costing from five to fifteen thousand dol-
lars ; and this number is constantly in-
creasing. In another part of this num-
ber the reader will find a full account of
these dwellings, together with details
both of their method of construction and
of their actual cost.

The diminished expense of certain ex-
cellent and comparatively novel fire-
proofing materials and methods of fire-
proof construction has been due to an
interesting and significant cause. The
enormous demand during periods of
business prosperity and expansion has
resulted in the building of vast plants
for the manufacture of the different
kinds of fireproofing materials — in par-
ticular such materials as hollow tile and
cement. These plants are employed to
the limit of their productivity as long as
business is active ; but during a period
of inactivity their owners are in very
much the same situation as the own-
ers of a steel-rail plant. They find it
very hard, under such circumstances, to
keep their machinery working; and they
have naturally been seeking some source
of consumption which might prove to be
more permanent. The only possible
source of a more continuous demand is
that which might be developed among
the builders of residences. Of course,
the number of dwellings erected in a
prosperous period is larger than the
number erected during a period of busi-

3ii

ness depression ; but the population of
the country increases steadily, and the
variations in the demand for the mate-
rials entering into residence construction
are slighter than those entering into the
construction of large business buildings.
The tile and cement manufacturers have,
consequently, been willing to make sac-
rifices and to spend money in order to
increase the use of fireproofing mate-
rials in domestic building; and their ef-
forts have been attended with a certain
measure of success. All over the coun-
try hollow-tile and cement houses are
being erected in larger numbers than
ever before, and the movement has only
begun. There can be no doubt that the
small, as well as the large, fireproofed
dwelling is destined to become a com-
mon type of building.

It should be remarked, however, that
the employment of these materials is
still only in an experimental stage.
Builders, architects and mechanics will
have to learn slowly how they can be
used most safelv and most economically.

Up to the present time, reinforced
concrete has been more widely adver-
tised as the coming fireproofed method
of construction ; and in certain essential
respects the cement building promises to
be the most perfect fireproof structure.
But there are many problems about re-
inforced concrete construction which
may have been solved, but whose solu-
tion is at present beyond the power of
the average architect and builder. This
type of construction remains one which
for the present demands the presence
on the job of a skilled engineer; and in
many instances the price of a small
house cannot bear the expense of such
expert assistance. It is this fact which
has contributed to the recent popularity
of hollow-tiled houses. Hollow tile was,
of course, manufactured originally for
the purpose of affording a protection for
the steel framework of a modern sky-
scraper, and only recently has any at-
tempt been made to use it in the con-
struction of an ordinary wall. It has
the advantage, for such a purpose, of
being easily and economically laid and
of affording a rough surface, to which
plaster will adhere without the assist-

3 12

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ance of any lathing. On the other hand,
it is not like cement, a material which
can be used for all kinds of purposes.
The larger the house, and the more elab-
orate its architecture, the more cement
beams and piers have to be inserted as a
supplement to the hollow-tiled wall ; and
even in small houses hollow-tile con-
struction involves the help of a good deal
of cement. It remains true, none the
less, that the use of tile for the walls
and to a smaller extent for the floors
of dwellings, has been an immense ad-
vantage to the cause of fireproof con-
struction. It has made possible the

partial, or complete, fireproofing of
many residences which for one reason
or another could not have been built of
concrete. It involves a simple but

sound method of construction, which can
easily be mastered by the ordinary
builder ; and while it demands a higher
and more careful standard of workman-
ship than a frame house, it does not call
for the same sort of expert knowledge
as does thoroughly good cement con-
struction. It has undoubtedly come to
stay as one method of fireproofing the
ordinary building; and in the course of
time the method of construction it in-
volves will become still further diversi-
fied, simplified and cheapened.

As to the several kinds of reinforced-
concrete construction, they probably
have a greater future than has any other
method of building fireproofed resi-
dences. It may be doubted whether Mr.
Thomas A. Edison has as yet really per-
fected a practical method of building
little concrete residential boxes, which
can be duplicated ad infinitum at a small
cost for the American workingman ; but
it is very probable that eventually some
plan similar to that of Mr. Edison’s will
be realized. A few generations from now
the majority of American urban and
suburban residents may well be living
in concrete houses of one kind or an-
other — without any fear of fire or of
vermin, and without paying for these
substantial living accommodations any
more than they are now paying for their
more or less flimsy dwellings. Concrete
buildings have the peculiar advantage,
for general popular use, of being capa-

ble of standardization. An indefinite
number of concrete houses can be manu-
factured from the same mould, and such
methods of manufacture are always at-
tended with great economy. At the same
time, it has the promise of being a very
flexible material and method of construc-
tion — flexible, that is, in the sense of
being adapted to use in a great variety
of moulds. Its chief defect is the result,
perhaps, of the highest quality. It is,
if anything, too permanent. The owner
of a concrete house cannot knock out
partitions and put in new doors and
windows wherever and whenever he
pleases. He is possessed of a very sub-
stantial structure ; and it behooves him
to take every care that his house is as
near right as possible when it is built.

The foregoing consideration suggests
the great advantage which will result to
American architecture and building
from the advent of the fireproofed dwell-
ing. The fact that people are building
permanent houses will increase the sense
of responsibility all along the line. The
owner will feel more responsible, be-
cause he will be making a larger initial
investment in his dwelling, and he will,
consequently, be more careful to employ
a good architect and to insist on good
workmanship. The architect will feel
the effect of this solicitude on the part
of his client. He will try harder to turn
out a thoroughly satisfactory plan and
design; and if he does not succeed in
doing so he will have small chance of
considerable employment. His mistakes
will find him out much sooner than do
those which he commits in some easily
alterable frame house. Similar influ-
ences will be brought to bear upon the
builder and the building material dealer.
The dealer will have to furnish thor-
oughly good materials, because the
method of construction demands them ;
and inferior materials will, consequently,
suffer from a far more effective discrim-
ination than that which now obtains. In
the same way, untrustworthy builders
will be treated with small consideration.
Inferior workmanship is much more
likely to be discovered than it is in the
case of a frame house ; and when it is
discovered the consequences will be so

ADVENT OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

313

serious that the offender will be black-
listed. This discrimination against bad
workmanship of all kinds will, of course,
be tantamount to a discrimination in
favor of good workmanship — which is
practically the kind of discrimination of
which American building and architec-
ture is most in need. The general em-
ployment of inferior building materials
and inferior methods of construction has
been the great fundamental cause of the
demoralization of American building
practice. Inferior materials and meth-
ods have encouraged irresponsibility.
Take, for instance, the situation of a
man who proposes to erect for his own
occupancy a comparatively expensive
frame dwelling. If he were spending
$40,000 or $50,000 in any other way his
dominant preoccupation would be to see
that he received good value for his
money; and, of course, even in the case
of a frame dwelling, he wants good
value in the sense that the house must
conform to the best recognized methods
of frame construction. But the point is
that the best value which an owner can
get in respect to a frame house, even
with brick or plaster veneer, is a poor
value. He has no reason to take any
particular interest in the construction of
such a building ; and inasmuch as he
naturally feels a great deal of interest
in a project upon which he is spending
$50,000, his interest is concentrated
upon the plan and the design. It is per-
fectly right and proper that he should
be interested in the plan and design of
his house, but in the case of a frame
house his exclusive interest in these mat-
ters is usually embarrassing to his archi-
tect. It usually takes the form of at-
taching great importance to some details
of the plan or some one or two fea-
tures of the design ; and his tendency is
to insist upon the subordination of the
unity of the plan or the design or both
to the details upon which he has hap-
pened to fasten his interest. In fighting
this tendency, the architect cannot de-
rive any assistance from the method
whereby the building is constructed. A
frame building is one in which the struc-
ture imposes very few conditions on the
architect or owner. It does not prevent,

by the necessity of its existence, either
the owner or the other from indulging
in any arbitrary whim or fancy. Both
the design and the plan occupy only a
very casual relation to the structure, and
in opposing any whimsical mutilation of
his plan or design the architect has only
the weapons of his own personal author-
ity with his client. In case, however,
the house he is building is fireproofed,
the owner is much less likely to inter-
fere. I11 that case, according to the tes-
timony of many architects, he usually
becomes interested in the construction
of his house and in the excellence of the
workmanship ; and whenever he does
have any inclination to merely whimsi-
cal interference with the design or the
plan, the architect can usually find some
good reason connected with the struc-
ture of the building for his own arrange-
ments.

More important, however, than the
increased sense of responsibility imposed
by fireproofed construction on the client
will be the increased responsibility im-
posed upon the architect himself. Our
domestic architecture was wont to be
lacking in serious purpose as long as in-
ferior methods of construction continued
to prevail. The frame building has been
in the past the most potent possible cause
of architectural frivolity. The Amer-
ican house builder and house designer
have never taken the wooden structure
seriously — as it has been taken seriously
by the Japanese and the Swiss. Their
tastes have run in the direction of du-
plicating on American soil the various
classic domestic styles of Italy, France
and England ; and they have satisfied
this taste regardless of the fact that they
were erecting frame rather than ma-
sonry structures. They have been sedu-
lously trying to make wooden or frame
buildings look like something else ; and
this attempt has been at the root of the
great majority of the abuses and defi-
ciencies of American architectural prac-
tice. It has encouraged the habit of
treating architectural houses chiefly as a
matter of scenery, of designing both the
interior and exterior of a building ex-
clusively from the point of view of how
it looked, and without regard to struc-

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

tural conditions and truths. The archi-
tect considered himself emancipated
from any necessity of treating either the
structure or the material of a house sin-
cerely and candidly ; and his freedom
in this respect was a fatal bar to the de-
velopment of a really serious and sound
architectural tradition.

The habit of American architects of
designing residences with small respect
for structural and material truths has
had its good aspect. It has unquestion-
ably tended to establish a certain tradi-
tion of good form in American domestic
architecture, which may in the future be
productive of wholly admirable results.
The better European styles have been
thoroughly domesticated and popularized
in this country; and a foundation has
been laid of popular interest among well-
to-do people in good-looking buildings,
which, perhaps, could not have been es-
tablished in any other way. But in the
hands of inferior designers the practice
has been very demoralizing, and even
at the best it has had its inevitable ten-
dency to frivolity and insincerity. It has
resulted in an excessive use of ornament
and of useless ornamental architectural
members. It has enabled the designer to
complicate and elaborate the appearance
of his building, wholly irrespective of
the facts of its construction ; and it has,
consequently, -stood in the way of any
thoroughgoing simplicity and integrity
of architectural design. The advent of
sound methods of fireproof construction
will necessarily discourage the merely
scenic architect. He will be confronted,
as the fundamental condition of his de-
sign, by a permanent structure which
cannot be wholly ignored. This struc-
ture will be relatively costly, and will
absorb a larger proportion of the total
appropriation. The architect will have
less money to spend upon ornament ;

and the increased expense of working
substantial materials will also prevent
him from decorative overelaboration.
He will be obliged to simplify and to
devise some more substantial means of
obtaining interesting effects. He will be
stimulated, that is, to design buildings
whose appearance will be the outcome of
certain fundamental structural facts,
while at the same time his success as an
architect will depend upon his ability to
make these structural facts pleasing to
the eye. The American houseowner has
become, as we have said, accustomed to
a certain tradition of good form and
the introduction of fireproof construc-
tion will not in this respect change his
habits. It will be the duty of the archi-
tect to make these comparatively more
unornamented fireproofed houses attrac-
tive to their clients ; and in so far as they
succeed, American domestic architecture
will take a long step in advance.

It is devoutly to be hoped’, conse-
quently that the newer and cheaper
methods of fireproofed construction will
continue to increase in popularity. The
substantially and permanently built res-
idence is the one thing which is needed
to stimulate American architects and
builders to a much higher standard of
achievement, and when it comes to pre-
vail it will necessarily discriminate pow-
erfully on behalf of the trustworthy
architect, builder and building material
manufacturer. It takes good men to do
thoroughly good work, and the owner,
When he comes to want good work, will
see that he gets good men to per-
form it.

A reputation for excellence of achieve-
ment will, consequently, be much more
valuable to the manufacturer, the builder
or the architect than it is at present;
and such a reputation can be acquired
only by actually delivering the goods.

A. C. David.

Some Structural Aspects of the Fireproofed

Dwelling.

Strictly speaking, the building of the
home is not a real estate operation. If
we are not willing to admit this, we have
no business to speak of the home ; we
must call the structure merely a house,
built to attract the favorable notice of
the intending purchaser, without regard
for the consideration of special needs
and preferences. Of course, there is
such a thing as a good average dwelling
house, embodying the average taste and
requirements of that class of individuals
who may reasonably be expected to in-
habit a given locality, but the considera-
tion of that problem is for the realty
promoter, whose concern it is to draw
from an investment as large a return as
possible in the shortest period of time.
In this case there can be no question of
special requirements for special needs.
Ihe subject concerns the house buyer,
and not the home builder. What we
have to say here is for the interest of the
latter, who, in the nature of the case, em-
barks upon an enterprise from which he
expects no return beyond the pleasurable
sensation of being the possessor of a real
home, and the enjoyment of a certain
wholesome intellectual influence which
its high standard of adaptability and
permanency begets.

The building of a permanent home
has in the past been beset with certain
economic obstacles, which, as the leading-
article in this issue points out, are being
slowly removed by the possibility of a
wider use of incombustible building ma-
terials. It is only now beginning to be
possible, financially, for the man of mod-
erate means to build himself a permanent
dwelling. The sort of structure which
his means have permitted him to essay,
up to within a comparatively few years
ago, has been one whose effective life
could, under favorable conditions, hard-
ly exceed a generation. That was the
frame house, which is destined to con-
tinue to play a large part in the cheaper

country suburban development, on ac-
count of its low first cost and profitable
nature to the investor. The first ques-
tion which the intending builder of a
fireproof home would ask about the dif-
ferent forms of incombustible construc-
tion is undoubtedly how they compare
in cost with the prevailing frame con-
struction. Anticipating this query, let
us admit in the beginning that, under the
most favorable conditions, they are more
expensive for the house costing, of good
frame construction, from $4,500 to thrice
that sum, by from ten to fifteen per cent,
in the larger structures, to from twenty
to twenty-five per cent, in the smaller
ones. For example, the little fireproof
house in Caldwell, New Jersey, illus-
trated herewith, which cost $4,500, com-
plete, as it stands, that is, including the
plumbing, heating and lighting, would
cost approximately twenty per cent, less,
or about $3,600, if built of a fair grade
of frame construction. For the accom-
modations which it provides it would, no
doubt, be as easy for an intending specu-
lator to make as much actual profit on
the cheaper house. Therefore, from a
speculative standpoint, it would be folly
for him to invest the larger sum and
realize a proportionally smaller return.
But for the home builder, this same de-
sign, built of wood, would not be the
same as built of incombustible materials.
In the first place, the wooden house
would pay a high rate of insurance,
whereas the other would hardly need
to be insured at all; the life of the
frame house is from twenty-five to
thirty years, and depreciates at the
rate of from two to three per cent,
a year, while the life of the latter is
practically indefinite and involves very
little or no repair bills, besides carrying
among its advantages increased comfort
in summer and smaller coal bills in win-
ter. It is a matter of simple computa-
tion to figure out in what period of time

3i6

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

the cost of the two constructions would
be equal, after which the saving and in-
creased value would be entirely in favor
of the fireproof house. As the size of
the house increases from the modest di-
mensions of the Caldwell establishment
to the eight or ten thousand dollar home,
the saving in maintenance charges be-
comes greater with a correspondingly
smaller increase in first cost, until there
is reached a house which would cost,

struction not involving an exclusive or
very extensive use of cast reinforced
concrete. For such a type of fireproof
building, it seems now to be generally
conceded, the cost is prohibitive, save
under most favorable circumstances, and
for houses costing to build not less
than from fifteen to eighteen thousand
dollars. The reasons for equalization
in first costs between fireproof and non-
fireproof constructions in the larger

This illustration shows clearly the way in which hollow tile walls are built. The work in
this case was done by an Italian mason under competent direction. The use of brick as a
filling for forming the arches is noticeable. The concrete lintels may be seen over the second
story windows, and the ends of the concrete floor beams, some of which are supported on these
lintels. This house is fireproof up to the roof, which, as will be noted, is of the ordinary wood
rafter construction.

without lavish expenditure on interior
embellishments, upwards of twenty
thousand dollars, when there would be
comparatively little difference in first cost
between fireproof and non-fireproof con-
struction.

These cost factors, it should be ex-
plained, apply only for a fireproof con-

houses are not difficult to find. In the
first place, as the dimensions of the plan
increase, the structural advantages of
fireproof materials only begin to come
into play, while the materials employed
in the small frame house become struc-
turally inadequate and have to be as-
sisted by stronger materials, meaning in-

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

317

An all-fireproof suburban house, which cost, including plumbing, heating and lighting,
$4,500. The walls are of 8-inch and 10-inch hollow tile, floor and roof of concrete slabs with
widely spaced concrete girders. The finished floors of Georgia pine on sleepers constitute,
besides the doors and window frames, all the combustible material used. Even the stairs
are of concrete, the treads alone being of wood.

RESIDENCE OF MR. BURTON T. BUSH.

Caldwell, N. J. Upjohn & Conable, Architects.

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

3iS

creased expense. Secondly, it is easier
and, consequently, cheaper in. the large
house of fireproof construction to exe-
cute an elaborate scheme of interior dec-
oration than it is in a house of the same
size built of non fireproof construction.
Attention should be called to the fact
that in the smaller houses in which the
structural materials are hollow tile and
concrete, or concrete alone, the carrying
strength of the floors and walls, built as
they are at the present time, is found, by
actual experiment, to be considerably in
excess of what is required for abundant
safety. Popular faith in reinforced con-
crete construction has, during the past
five years, been severely shaken by dis-
asters resulting from an absence of com-
petent structural design and conscien-
tious workmanship. These failures have
led even the most competent engineers
and architects to design their construc-
tions very conservatively, that is, with
large factors of safety, to restore public
confidence in the material and to guard
against the pitfalls of past disasters.

The economic conditions which are
making it possible and desirable to con-
struct our country and suburban houses
of unburnable materials are effecting a
simplification in building construction
which cannot fail to exert the most pow-
erful influence on the popular apprecia-
tion of architecture. The simplified
methods of putting together the differ-
ent materials will interest the prospec-
tive builder, because they are simple
enough to be appreciated by him. There
will, consequently, result between him
and his architect a bond of understand-
ing which will enable the latter to ap-
proach the problems of design with a
freer hand. The owner will be more in
position to see for himself that, although
the construction of his house is highly
interesting, it lies outside of his legiti-
mate province with questions of design
and decorative treatment. To get him
into such a frame of mind is one of the
most important steps in raising the stan-
dard of American architecture.

It has steadily been impossible to reach
this position in the past, chiefly because
the designing of a frame house, or one
in brick or stone is so full of mechanical

complexities and details that it has not
been possible to get matters of construc-
tion clearly before the layman. Those
things which are concealed in these con-
structions have steadily confused and
disturbed him, and this is not to be won-
dered at when we consider how unreal
is the spirit of modern construction in
relation to its visible expression. Since
he could not be interested in the con-
struction of his house, the lay builder
naturally turned his attention to matters
of architectural design, which he wrong-
ly assumed were so much simpler and
whose acquaintance he imagined was to
be so much more readily made. To have
his attention directed to construction,
and especially fireproof construction, its
simple use of hollow tile and reinforced
concrete cannot fail to be potent in con-
vincing him of the true function of his
architect.

The materials which enter fireproof
construction are already fairly familiar
to the layman. Hollow tile he has seen
used so much in recent years as a floor
material in fireproof city buildings and
as a fire protection for the structural
steel beams and columns, while concrete
is equally well known in the same wav.
He may even have noticed entire build-
ings cast in concrete over a network of
slender horizontal and vertical steel rods.
In the suburban and country houses
of hollow tile, of which a number are
illustrated in these pages, these mate-
rials are used in a similar manner, but
much more simply. Rows of hollow tile,
with alternating beams of concrete, con-
taining at the bottom one or sometimes
two very slender steel rods (generally
only one ^-inch, I^-inch or ^-inch
rod in each beam is necessary), form
the floors, while the hollow tile,
laid, as shown in our illustration, in
Portland cement, constitute the walls ;
thinner hollow tile blocks, similarly
laid, serve as the interior dividing
walls or partitions. Under ordinary
conditions the floors and walls are
built of the same size tiles, which are
divided interiorily by intermediate integ-
uments called webs, from U$-inch to 1-
inch in thickness. These tiles are burned
under a temperature of about 2,500°

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

319

RESIDENCE OF MR. FRANCIS C. HUNTINGTON, IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Lawrence, Long Island. Ford, Stewart & Oliver, Architects.

A good example of the hollow tile house, with roof of the same fireproof construction.
This form of construction, though expensive in first cost, makes about as fireproof and as
comfortable a house to live in as we know how to build. The extensive use of concrete is to be
noted, especially in the detail of the roof construction here shown.

3 20

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Fahrenheit ; those most commonly used
in walls are about 8 inches deep, 12
inches wide and 12 inches high, and, on
experimental tests, have been found to
possess a crushing strength along their
height of over 3,200 pounds to the
square inch of material in the cross-sec-
tion, which allows for a very generous
factor of safety in the walls and floors
where they are used. Walls and floors
so built are accordingly 8 inches thick, in
addition to the thickness, in the case of
walls of half an inch of plaster for the
inside and an inch or more of cement for
outside protection from the weather.
The floors are then plastered on the un-
der side with about half an inch of plas-
ter, as is the inside of the wails, and the
upper side of the floor may be treated as
preferred. Colored tile, laid in cement,
may be used, a white or colored cement-
finished floor alone may be adopted, or
a wood floor may be laid on wood strips
embedded in several inches of cinder
concrete placed on the structural floor
already described. The last method
makes a good sound-proof construction.

So much for walls, floors and ceilings,
but what about roofs? Are they built
in the same way as the floors and of the
same materials? They may be so built,
but except in houses of more than aver-
age extent and cost, they may become
very expensive if built of fireproof ma-
terials. The house of Mr. Francis C.
Huntington, at Lawrence, Long Island,
which is shown herewith in course of
building, shows a fireproof tile roof with
widely spaced concrete rafters. The de-
tail of the roof construction at the bot-
tom of the page shows clearly how the
materials are put together, but it fails
to reveal the hidden steel rods and the
concrete filling in the courses of tile, the
reinforcement which the spacing of the
concrete rafters requires in order to give
the construction rigidity. The difficulty
of building such a roof and the extra
steel and concrete required to unite its
tile courses with its rafters is consider-
able, though, of course, practically in-
destructible when finished.

The cost of roof construction for the
fireproof house is admittedly at present
the stumbling-block in its progress.

There are two alternatives besides the
solution just described. One of these
consists in using a timber framework
and covering the outside with a fireproof
material, such as clay tile, or, in cheaper
houses, with one of the composition
tiles lately placed on the market. This
form of roof, from a fireproofing stand-
point, is only partially successful, as it
does not preclude the possibility of de-
struction by a fire that might originate
from a defective chimney at a point be-
tween the uppermost fireproof floor and
the roof, or from other causes in the
space enclosed by the roof and entails,
moreover, roof repair bills from which
the fireproof house desires to escape.
Pitched roofs built in the same way
as the concrete and tile floors already
described are possible only in gable
roofs where the concrete beams may rest
on the inclined sides of the tile gable
walls. It would be impracticable to em-
ploy this form in a roof of another de-
sign, a peaked roof, for example. In
such a roof it would again be necessary
to revert to the expensive and highly re-
enforced type with widely spaced and
deep concrete rafters as in the Hunting-
ton house mentioned above, which, ex-
cept in the larger houses, is prohibitive
in cost. All the smaller tile houses
which are illustrated in this issue, with
one exception, have wooden roofs with
a fireproof exterior covering and are
consequently only partially successful as
permanent structures. The exception is
the little house in Caldwell, which has
already been referred to. There we find
the other alternative, the flat roof. This
may be built in the same way as the tile
and concrete floors, or entirely of a thin
reinforced concrete slab with deep wide-
ly spaced reinforced concrete girders
from which the ceiling of the uppermost
floor is suspended, thus affording be-
tween girders a ventilating space for the
sleeping rooms. The reinforced con-
crete slab form has been employed in the
Caldweli house. A circulation of air is
achieved through circular holes under
the eaves, which may be faintly disting-
uished in the photograph. If the regu-
lar tile floor construction of alternating
rows of tiles and reinforced concrete

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

321

3 22

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

beams had been used instead of the
solid concrete slab, it would have
been necessary to carry the concrete
beams below the bottom face of the
tiles in order to obtain the airspace.
Either form of flat roof fireproof con-
struction is, of course, cheaper than
the pitched roof types hereinbefore
discussed and the flat reinforced con-
crete slab is the cheapest and most prac-
tical of all. Moreover, the flat roof built
entirely of fire-proof materials seems the
inevitable solution of the roof problem
for the fireproof house. Being entirely
weatherproof, if properly built, there can
be no question of the need, in a northern
climate, of a pitched surface to shed
water and snow. Secondly, being of ma-
terials which are much more proof
against extremes of temperature than a
roof whose basis is wood, a small air-
space with a free circulation of air is all
that is necessary to protect the rooms
under it from excessive temperature
radiation. The flat roof also is much
the easiest to build and requires, of
course, less material than any form of
pitched roof. There seems no practical
reason, therefore, why fireproof houses
in the future should not have flat roofs.
True, there is no precedent in the his-
tory of architecture for the flat roof.
There could be none because the condi-
tions which are tending to produce it
to-day have never before existed. Per-
haps, if the reinforcing of concrete and
the use of structural steel in connection
with the flat arch had been sooner dis-
covered, the fireproof country and su-
burban house with a flat roof would be
an utterly commonplace type for us of
the twentieth century. It is interesting
to speculate what would have been the
course of the Renaissance in architec-
ture if these inventions had been made
four or five centuries ago. The flat roof
done brutally and ad infinitum in our su-
burbs would be the finishing touch to
their already deplorable lack of comity.
But in the hands of an artist there seems
no reason why this feature should not be
made architecturally interesting besides
highly popular and useful. Useful it
might be in summer as a cool and airy
retreat, especially in localities where the

houses are close together and scantily
provided with piazzas. As the fireproof
roof is amply capable of bearing any
ordinary live loads that might be
brought to bear upon it, why not take
advantage of it as an outdoor sleeping
room and roof garden, as was proposed
by the architect of the prize-winning
design for a sanitary workingman’s cot-
tage of cast concrete, recently published
in the magazines.

That the problem of roof construc-
tion and its architectural treatment for
the house built entirely of fireproof ma-
terials is as yet in an undecided state,
there can be no question. What the ul-
timate outcome will be it is still impos-
sible to foretell with any degree of cer-
tainty. Attempts have recently been
made to simplify the construction of all-
concrete pitched roofs by casting the
rafters in a horizontal position on the
uppermost floor and when properly set
hoisting them into position and in one
operation casting the abutting ridge
piece and the eaves below. The con-
crete slabs which fill the wide spaces
between rafters have meanwhile been
cast on the ground and are ready
to be placed in position and properly
cemented to the rafters and to each
other. This method has thus far proved
economical and entirely satisfactory
structurally and practically.

Hollow tile construction cannot be
entirely of tile as its name implies; it
would be as impossible to build a house
entirely of hollow tile as it would be to
build it of newspapers. In the tile houses,
concrete forms about a half of the ma-
terial in the floors besides the door and
window lintels. Hollow tile as used in
this form, a collection of hollow pris-
matic blocks, is admirablv adapted to
resist a crushing stress, but not at
all to withstand bending action as in.
bridging over an interval, a floor or a
door or window opening. It is possi-
ble to employ in the floors and over
openings a specially made flat-arched
tile with skew-backs abutting the girders
and rafters, as in the ordinary city fire-
proof floor construction. But this type
of tile construction is prohibitive in cost,
requiring a high grade of labor, and has

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

323

for that reason been simplified for the
inexpensive country and suburban
houses by the type of small reinforced
concrete girders with their alternating
courses of tile supported by adhesion to
the concrete, as described above.

The future of hollow tile as a struc-
tural material in the dwelling house is
largely dependent on the possibility of
further simplifying its handling and
thereby materially reducing the first
cost of building, so as to enable suc-
cessful competition against frame and
other forms of non-fireproof construc-
tion. Experience thus far with hollow
tile as a structural building material
warrants the opinion that it has proved
eminently successful wherever material
and workmanship have been of good
quality. Where either material or work-
manship has not been of the best the re-
sults have been proportionately inferior.

Concrete as a material is not only
admirably adapted to resist crushing, but
when reinforced its steel sinews render
it an equally good resistant to bending.
It has recently been demonstrated, more-
over, that it is entirely feasible to build
a solid weatherproof Avail of concrete,
but concrete construction will continue
to be out of the range of possibility as
a popular building material for dwell-

ings, for the reason that a technical
knowledge of construction and of the
material is absolutely requisite to its suc-
cessful employment.

The nature of fireproof construction
applied to dwellings is such that its pro-
gress cannot be expected to be sudden
and rapid. The advantages which it car-
ries over the non-fireproof constructions
are obtained only by exercising greater
care in those matters of design and Avork-
manship which can readily be and are
slouched in country and suburban build-
ing. The fireproof house involves a
greater degree of conscience on the part
of all parties involved. It demands that
the owner consider seriously the idea of
building permanently at an increased
first cost, though to an ultimate econ-
omy. It requires a higher grade of
workmanship and absolute uniformity
and integrity in the quality of the ma-
terials employed. Lastly, it requires the
utmost thorough knowledge of materials
and their structural application, besides
the closest supervision during the pro-
gress of the Avork. It is only through
the wholehearted co-operation of these
factors that fireproofed construction for
dwellings will play its destined part in
the development of building and archi-
tecture in this country.

H. IV. Frohne.

HOLLOW TILE HOUSE AT BABEL, CONN.

Squires & Wyukoop, Architects.

3 2 4

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

HOUSE NO. 1 AT CEDARHURST, LONG ISLAND.

Louis Boynton, Architect.

The three houses at Cedarhurst, Long Island, illustrated on this and succeeding pages, are
of that class costing from $10,000 to twice that sum. They are of semi-fireproof construction,
tho walls and first floors being of hollow terra cotta blocks with concrete beams. Exterior
w'alls are finished with cement mortar. The roofs are of red Spanish tile on wood rafters.
With substantial but simple interior finish their cost (about twenty-six cents per cubic foot)
is little above what it w'ould have been if frame construction had been used throughout.
The structural work was done by contractors who were thoroughly reliable and familiar with
the use of terra cotta blocks.

One of the most noticeable features in two of these three houses is the decoration which
has been applied to the walls. The architect, after experimenting with various methods of
applying color to a cement surface, finally hit upon the method which has resulted so success-
fully in the two houses above mentioned. The process consists in using earth colors, such
as Siena, yellow ochre and Indian red, mixing them with a white cement as a medium and
applying the mixture with brush and stencil. The application was made within ten days after
the walls were finished and a severe test was encountered in the form of a driving rainstorm,
about twelve hours after a part of the work had been executed. The result was entirely suc-
cessful, the colors having set hard and firm in the cement.

The work, which cost about $200 for both jobs, was executed by a skilful interior decorator,
and the effect is remarkably like that of old Italian fresco work. It may be faintly dis in-
guished on the illustration above, over the second story windows and between those of the
third story. The effect that has been obtained by this decoration is simply one of the numer-
ous instances which prove that it is not the expensive house which possesses the qualities
which we all admire. It is the house which is the product of intelligence and skill in using
the means at command. No doubt, under uninstructed guidance many times two hundred
dollars could have been spent in decorating these two houses without achieving anything
but an absolutely redundant and repugnant effect.

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

325

TILE HOUSE NO. 1 AT CEDARHURST, LONG ISLAND.

Louis Boynton, Architect.

The novelty of this plan consists in the large amount of space in the third floor, which
accommodates not only the servants but contains as well a guest room with bath and a
spacious loggia or roof verandah, an ideal outdoor room in summer.

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THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

TILE HOUSE NO. 2 AT CEDARHURST, LONG ISLAND.

Louis Boynton, Architect.

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

329

Louis Boynton, Architect.

330

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

HOLLOW TILE HOUSE AT MOUNTAIN STATION, ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

Squires & Wynkoop, Architects.

This house is one of the Fireproof Village, the largest group of this type of houses so
far erected. The construction is of hollow tile for walls and floors, first floor finished in
quarry tile, and frame roof covered with asbestos shingles. The cost, exclusive of plumbing,
heating and lighting, is about twenty cents per cubic foot.

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

331

TILE HOUSE AT MOUNTAIN STATION, ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

Squires & Wynkoop, Architects.

Another house from the Fireproof Village. The most notable feature of this house is its
large living room (18 ft. by 25 ft.). The span of 18 ft. is here carried on the ordinary type of
concrete beams 8 ins. deep and 4 ins. wide, with alternating courses of 8-in. hollow tile,
showing the structural advantage of the materials. The cost of this house for the con-
struction, that is, without plumbing, heating and lighting, is about twenty cents per cubic foot.

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE HOLLOW TILE HOUSE WITH ROOF AND ATTIC FLOOR OF WOOD.

This house and the one on the opposite page are the beginnings of an extensive settlement
of fireproof houses.

HOUSE FOR MR. J. WILLIAM CLARK.

Newark, N. J. Squires & Wynkoop, Architects.

This house is at Hedden Terrace, Newark. It has tile floors, side and bearing walls,
and a tile roof on wood beams and sheathing. The concrete beams are exposed where
shown in the plans. The building is expensively finished and cost twenty-six cents per
cubic foot. The design is one easily constructible in tile.

Squires & Wynkoop, Architects.

336

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Hollow tile floors throughout; tile roof, 8-in. hollow tile bearing and outside walls, three
hollow tile non-bearing walls. The possibility of a free use of fireplaces shows an advantage
of this construction.

In hollow tile construction it is possible to locate fireplaces wherever it is most con-
venient to have them on any floor, regardless of what lies underneath on the floor below.
That is, the smoke flues may start on any floor and do not have to run down into the cellar.

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

337

This is a house for a mechanical engineer >vho wished to have a building as nearly fireproof as possible. Flatter
roofs were impossible owing to climatic conditions.

Squires & Wynkoop, Architects.

33§

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

I1A-5T TLOOIL, PLAN

All floors are formed of 9-in. beams, which project 3 ins. below the tile filling and give
the effect of a beamed ceiling. All floors are either of concrete or marbleloid. All roofs
of roofing tile. The building is as nearly fireproof as is possible with this type of roof.
Exterior walls are not waterproofed, and have shown no dampness. Considerable vertical
steel reinforcement has been used. No cap flashing was used on window sills, but an incision
was made in the cement, the copper burned in and cemented with white lead.

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE FIREPROOFED DWELLING.

339

HOUSE FOR MR. E. A. GIBBONS.

Bogota, N. J. Squires & Wynkoop, Architects.

340

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

i Mm Hiiniitii ;»iiiiiiuitii (| i,i!'

Ill

1' ;

RESIDENCE OF PROFESSOR LOUGH.

University Heights, New York City. Squires & Wynkoop, Architects.

This was the first terra cotta hollow tile house built in New York City. Construction,
hollow tile floors and walls, waterproofed. Attic floor of wood joists. Cost about twenty-one
cents per cubic foot.

HOUSE FOR DE WITT HUBBELL.

Plainfield, N. J. Squires & Wynkoop, Architects.

Two hollow tile floors. Designed for economy, and cost between seventeen and eighteen
cents per cubic foot. Tile was erected by a local mason, who had seen only one tile house,
and that only once.

Architectural Development in the Reinforced

Concrete House

Reinforced concrete has been enthusi-
astically called a plastic building mate-
rial. This is only partly true. Its initial
plasticity and the widely different proper-
ties of its two component elements, steel
and concrete, the one of great tensile and
the other of great compressive strength,
have given to the designer a far wider
scope than he has ever enjoyed in any
other building material. This scope has,
however, very sharply defined limita-
tions, and he who solves successfully the
problem of concrete design, be his
method that of the drafting board, or,
better, of the modeling table, must have
absolute knowledge of the engineering
limitations and necessities of the mate-
rial with which he is dealing, if his work
is to be possessed of any real engineer-
ing character and architectural beauty.

No branch of art owes more to the
past than architecture. It is only natu-
ral that the architects of to-day who are,
as a class, worshippers of the marvelous
beauties that their craft has left to mark
the glories of by-gone times, should be
slow in adopting a new building mate-
rial, one that in its nature requires the
breaking away from ancient precedent
and design and the originating of a new
architectural type.

The bolder spirits in the profession,
who see the opportunity of great artis-
tic and financial reward in the solution
of the problem of artistic concrete con-
struction, will, of course, have to stand
the derisive criticism with which conser-
vatism has always attempted to check
development.

Thus, a recent writer in this maga-
zine refers to a reinforced-concrete
bridge in the New York parkway system
as being “unduly thinned and unduly
flattened by means of the concealed
reinforcement.” Unduly only — for a
masonry bridge ! But the beauty of con-
crete lies in its power to function dif-
ferently from stone. Nor is its rein-
forcement “concea’ed.” Unlike struc-
tural steel, the steel of reinforced con-

crete is not concealed, and is not meant
to be. Reinforced concrete is a homo-
geneous material, either element of
which is indispensable, and to the seeing
eye well-designed works in concrete al-
ways show the steel, and, to a large ex-
tent, even the amount of steel used in
the reinforcement. That architectural
design which fully satisfies the struc-
tural demands of the material and ex-
presses them to the eye, comes nearest
to beauty.

The same principle of respect for the
real structure would apply to another re-
mark in the same article on some con-
crete walls as “mere inexpressive ex-
pensive expanses of smooth smears” !
To the person who understands how full
of life, in the sense of strains met and
pressures sustained, a concrete wall
really is — that it is never, as it has been
called, a “curtain wall” between points
of support — those “smooth smears,”
susceptible, as they also are, of immense
variations in texture, carry great possi-
bilities of beauty.

Just what style will be evolved as a
proper and fitting expression of rein-
forced concrete only time will tell. One
thing we may be certain of — it will not
follow the lines of masonry in stone or
brick, nor of construction in steel or
wood, except in so far as its own prin-
ciples of construction are identical. In
my opinion, the future of concrete arch-
itecture lies where that of all other types
has lain — in the logical development of
the engineering possibilities of the mate-
rial, modified only by conditions of labor.
It is, of course, well known that the first
beginning of modern architecture in the
Romanesque recessed arch and the
Gothic pointed vault was the need of
economy in the use, for larger structures,
of smaller stones than earlier builders
had had. It was, so to speak, in silence
and shadow, in obscure corners, in re-
sponse to direct need, that these epoch-
making innovations were made, and it is
to me, at least, of direct and striking in-

342

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

PIG. 1. RESIDENCE OP MAITLAND F. GRIGGS, ESQ.

Ardsley-on-Hudson, N. Y.

Benjamin A'. Howes, Engineer.

Robt. W. Gardner, Architect.

i z.

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o o h

RESIDENCE OF SUMNER B. PEARMAIN, ESQ.

344

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

terest, that in the same way, in direct re-
sponse to necessity, that the first steps
have been taken toward a real reinforced
concrete architecture. It is in factory
and warehouse construction, the work of
those blind utilitarians, the building en-
gineers, that you will find them.

A typical case is the transition from
beam and column to the flat arch. The
point of weakness in a concrete girder
is not, as is generally supposed, at its
center, but at the so-called shearing
point, where the beam joins the column.
To increase the strength of beam at this
point the bracket is utilized, passing over
easily into the flattened arch, which also
does away with a considerable quantity
of waste material at its center, that
serves no other purpose than extra fire-
proofing of the steel reinforcement.
Thus the flat arch, which is only a
curved beam, is the logical form for
the concrete roof support. To-day,
any building of reinforced concrete, of
the least monumental importance, will be
a composition of which the flat arch is
a dominant motif, and of which we have
an example in the noble pile of the
Munich School of Anatomy.

This case of the flat arch is, however,
but a single instance of the way in which
engineering logic establishes an aesthetic
type. I believe that it is one of many
such points of departure for creative de-
sign in concrete. But as my subject is
not concrete architecture in general, but
concrete houses, I will pass on to the
variations from the usual type which
economy and engineering have demand-
ed and will demand for the construction
of dwellings.

The following is not primarily theo-
retical. It is based on several years’ ex-
perience in the use of reinforced con-
crete for country houses. It has become
the practice, within the last few years,
to refer to houses in which cement mor-
tar has been used in the form of blocks
or exterior plaster as “concrete” houses.
It need hardly be said that the following
considerations do not refer to such struc-
tures, which are of ordinary frame or
masonry construction, and present no
new engineering or architectural prob-
lems ; they refer only to reinforced con-

crete, used as such for the structural
parts of the house, particular emphasis
being laid on the fact that stairways,
floors and roofs are of reinforced con-
crete, and partitions of standard fire-
proof construction. Not what may be
done, but what has been successfully
done, is the subject of this record, with
accompanying deductions as to future
progress.

First and most striking of those varia-
tions which experience has shown to be
desirable is the flat, or nearly flat, roof
(Figs, i, 2, 3). It is the logical con-
crete construction, being much cheaper
than the sloping roof of concrete, or tile
on concrete skeleton. In general, it is
cheaper to build walls than steeply
pitched roofs. The reasons which impel
us to cling to the pitched roof are largely
traditional. We have come from rural
dwellers, whose families have needed
storehouse rooms, or we have taken the
fashion from northern climates, where
a flat roof in local construction could
not sustain a heavy fall of snow. But
with the change to more highly organ-
ized conditions, less attic space is re-
quired, and a well-constructed flat roof
in concrete sustains any weight without
leaking. The appearance of the many
gabled roof is supposed to be more at-
tractive ; but it is really necessary, from
an aesthetic point of view, only to houses
whose height is otherwise out of propor-
tion to their width, to bring them down,
as it were, by the suggestion of down-
ward slanting lines, as in the high-shoul-
dered houses of old German towns.
Henry James’ dictum that a house should
sit down, not stand up, is perfectly met
by the lines of these reposeful struc-
tures. The last (Fig. 3) is really a flat-
roofed house ; that is, the greater portion
of the roof area is flat, while only a small
part slopes.

But appearance and structural logic
alone cover only half of what may be
said for the flat roof. It is found to be
the most refreshing and attractive spot in
the house. The house in Fig. 2 is in
the deep country, where it might be
thought that one would prefer real out-
of-doors on veranda or lawn ; but the roof
has proved to be the family center of en-

346

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FIG. 4. ROOF LOGGIA WITH FIREPLACE— PEARMAIN HOUSE.

THE REINFORCED CONCRETE HOUSE.

347

FIG. 6. RESIDENCE OF ALEXANDER S. COCHRAN, ESQ.

East View, N. Y.

Benjamin A. Howes, Engineer.

Robt. W. Gardner, Architect.

348

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

joyment. The possibility of such a roof
loggia, with hammocks and open fire-
place, Fig. 4 (since there is no trace of
combustible building material), makes
the spot ideal at all but the lowest tem-
peratures ; and that it is above the mos-
quito line is not the least of its charms.
Even if it were not, in much infested re-
gions a slight smudge in the convenient
fireplace would soon repel the intruders.

The possibility of the roof fireplace
(see Figs, 4, 5) is but one of the many
opened by the unburnable properties of
concrete. These “stunts” with concrete,
as one appreciative owner termed them,
will be briefly referred to later.

In construction, next to the flat roof,
perhaps the most notable variation is the
treatment of wall surface. Reinforced
concrete is not ashamed of its “smooth
smears” ; on the contrary, it finds them
expressive of the massive and monolithic
construction; and the most satisfactory
designs for houses have especially em-
phasized this. The broad expanses can
be made of delightful texture : “smooth
wash,” “pebble dash,” “sand-floated”
finish and the many variations of “ex-
posed aggregates.” And each one of
these can be obtained in a color suitable

Fig. 7. Balcony on Cochran House.

Fig. 8. Loggia on Griggs House.

to the neighborhood and the surround-
ings. A house beautifully placed in the
Connecticut valley has as its aggregates
and sand ingredients a pinkish gravel,
largely composed of rose-colored quartz,
from the neighborhood. This concrete,
scrubbed down to expose the aggregates,
gives the wall a delightful pinkish
bloom, which will be further brought out
by the contrast of the dull green of the
roof. Fig. 3, which is deeply shaded by
a grove of magnificent chestnuts, has a
much smoother finish of pale gray,
which wonderfully lights up its blue-
green tile roof. Fig. 6, shaded by elms,
is of the same gray, with a darker gray
roof of reinforced concrete. I am not
myself an advocate of exposing the ag-
gregate completely; it is highly labori-
ous, and, to my thinking, somewhat too
vivid and unrestful in effect; yet many
find it extremely pleasing. But all these
methods of surface treatment are being
most enthusiastically and successfully
studied, and their technique is pretty
well understood. My especial interest is
only in pointing out that the variety of
effects is so great that the thoughtful
architect can always adapt his wail tex-

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

ture to the size and purpose of his build-
ing, to its background and surroundings.

Apart from the “smooth smears,” the
question of wall treatment is likely to
settle itself for the economical builder.
Mouldings, string courses, etc., a natu-

possibilities, but they, too, present diffi-
culties in the way of sharp edges, not im-
possible to produce, of course, but cost-
ly. The logical source of variations for
wall spaces, in the country house, at
least, is in the possible contrasts of tex-

FIG. 11. GARAGE AND STABLE WITH LIVING QUARTERS— PE ARMA1N HOUSE.

FIG. 12. DESIGN FOR GARAGE— DELANOY HOUSE.

ral and easy method of expression for
the builder in stone or brick, are, through
the great cost of forms, almost prohibited
in concrete. Recessed panels have their

John A. Gurd, Architect,
ture, especially about the windows, as in

Fig- I *

In fact, in the fenestration itself is
found the architect’s greatest opportu-

THE REINFORCED CONCRETE HOUSE.

351

Fig. 13. Garage Below Kitchen — Griggs House.

nity. The grouping of windows, in con-
trast to the broad wall spaces (Figs, 2,
3, 9) is seen in the examples to have
a very satisfactory effect. Relieving the
windows with brick casings or leaded
glass is also often successful (Fig. 1).

The question of wall ornament is one
that is not often raised in connection
with the country house. Of course,
there are unlimited possibilities in a con-
crete structure for insertion of mosaic
of various kinds, including mosaic brick-
work, or ornament in relief, but their
suitability to a country house is prob-
lematic. I have been, on the whole, an
opponent of the use of mosaic, prefer-
ring the use of recessed panels, offset-
ting columns, etc., but study has con-
vinced me of the very great sanitary
value (and especially for cities) of an
ornament flush with the wall. Ornament
in relief can undoubtedly be executed in
concrete to a very great degree of sharp-
ness of edge, complicated and cut-under
detail ; yet it remains a tour-de-force, re-
calling too vividly that which it is not
— cut stone. It would seem that if re-
lief ornament in concrete is to be em-
ployed at all, it should rather emphasize
those qualities in which it differs from
stone, and seek the massive, molded ef-
fects, rather than the cut-under ones.

And if this is true of applied ornament
for house exteriors, how much more so
of the various forms of accessory struc-
tures? These, however, deserve special
discussion. So far as the walls are con-
cerned, the most successful houses up
to this time are those in which simplicity
and large rounded forms prevail.

The balcony is another striking test of
what can be done with concrete on a
house exterior (Figs. 7, 8). These bal-
conies are excellent examples of the
cantilever in concrete, forming, in Fig.
8, an unsupported porte-cochere, while
they illustrate also the previous point as
to large rounded forms.

As for the accessories of the country
house, the most important is the stable
or garage. In many country places
of traditional types of construction,
the architect, while maintaining ad-
mirable sobriety in the house, has
let his imagination run riot with the
stable. This is regrettable, and if
the utilitarian lines of the concrete ga-
rage are a step in the opposite direc-
tion, so much the better; and to-day no
enlightened owner is building his ga-
rage, at least, of anything but concrete.
With living quarters for chauffeur, and
space for several automobiles, such a
roomy, but simple, structure can be built
on exactly the same lines as the house

Fig. 14. Sketch of Tapering Beam Construc-
tion — Residence of Hinsdale Smith, Esq.
South Hadley, Mass.

Kirkham & Parlett, Architects.

35 2

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FIG. 15. VIEW OF MUSIC ROOM— PE ARM AIN HOUSE.
Note the deep and broad rectangular beams.

FIG. 1G. DINING-ROOM— PEARMAIN HOUSE.

Note the deep rectangular beams running parallel to the fireplace.

FIGS. 17, 18. BEDROOM FIREPLACES— DELANOY HOUSE.

354

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

(Figs, io, ii, 12), or even, following an
apparently daring, but perfectly safe, ex-
ample, can be constructed below the
house, if the house is also of concrete

(Fig- 13)-

The same characteristics of concrete
can modify the interior construction. It
is well known that the possible span of
a concrete beam is considerable, and this
opens immense possibilities in the way
of large rooms, unobstructed by pillars.
The depth of beam increases, of course,
with the span, eventually encroaching on
the necessary height of the room ; but
this difficulty can be obviated by treating
the two floors above the room partitions
between them as a box girder if the plan
allows. Thus for a school in the engi-
neering design of which I have been in-
terested, a room, of dimensions 5o'x6o',
unbroken by pillars, was desired. For
such a room the concrete girders sup-
porting the ceiling would have been 4
feet deep, but utilized as walls for the
cubicles above, with the ceiling sus-
pended instead of supported, they disap-
peared.

So long as all interiors were finished
in wood, any effect of arches was highly
meretricious and artificial; constructive-
ly, not unlike a piece bitten out of a
cookey. But with the true reinforced
concrete construction, as we have seen,
the logical form of beam and lintel is a
low arch; and there is, therefore, every
reason for such interior openings in an
all-concrete house. Thus, those who see
a certain Oriental tendency in the devel-
opment of concrete forms will not be
mistaken.

Another architectural feature which
took its rise in warehouse construction,
and which, so far as I know, has been
utilized only in this single example for
dwellings, is the tapering beam. This
simply does away with the unnecessary
concrete at the lower edge of the beam,
where its compressive value is nil, and
is thus in its inception a purely econom-
ical device, but I was myself astounded
at the effect of lightness and spacious-
ness in a room so planned (Fig. 14).
Contrast these rectangular beam effects
(Figs. 15, 16), attractive enough in

themselves, with the suggestion of the
ceiling shown in Fig. 14.

But it is when we come to the interior
finish that the new possibilities are most
striking. The first question of the owner,
in discussing concrete possibilities, is,
“But isn’t it terribly hard and unhome-
like inside?” No, and no again. First,
because, if so desired, the concrete can
be concealed, the walls and ceiling plas-
tered, or even papered ; wooden trim and
brick or marble fireplaces may recall the
ordinary house. Secondly, because the
real concrete, properly and artistically
treated, or combined with cognate mate-
rials, makes a warm and delightful in-
terior. A very interesting development
of the taste for concrete effects has
shown itself in what the owner, watch-
ing progress, has demanded.

In my second concrete house, the
owner papered the walls and put in hard-
wood floors. The third was partly plas-
tered, but the owner greatly prefers
those rooms which were left in concrete
and tinted, although demanding that the
boardmarks be obliterated. A later one
is finished inside with fine cement blocks
in appropriate colors, except on the up-
per floors, where the concrete is not plas-
tered. The last owner for whom I have
worked is captivated by the evidence of
construction in the house, as in any
hand-made object. In the room where
the tapering beams are shown, the forms
were so made that the boardmarks on
the concrete are retained as a decorative
treatment, not even the ceiling being
plastered. Here, too, as in the outside
walls, innumerable shades and textures
in the concrete itself can be obtained.
I would strongly advise the prospective
owner to visit the permanent exhibit of
the Concrete Association of America, in
New York, at 225 Fifth Avenue, where
the various cement companies demon-
strate these possibilities of interior finish.

The same growth of taste in favor of
concrete has shown itself in regard to
floors. Hardwood, at first; then terraz-
zo, or tiles were preferred. But con-
crete floors, with the proper treatment,
no longer crack and can be stained any
color. One most successful room, with

THE REINFORCED CONCRETE HOUSE.

355

FIG. 19. FIREPLACE IN MUSIC ROOM— PEARMAIN HOUSE.
Sculpture executed in place by L. O. Laurie.

r-: (V. ■>:.»>■

FIG. 20. FIREPLACE IN GRIGGS HOUSE, SHOWING LINTEL OF ROUGH CONCRETE.

356

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

a northern exposure, has rough plaster
walls tinted a golden yellow, a plain
cream-colored concrete fireplace, and a
floor of clouded brown and yellow. It is
true that this was rather good fortune
than intention, since the owner expected
a solid brown floor ; but if the result is
the most wonderful Spanish leather-
brown and yellow, who shall cavil? For
a drawing or reception room, terrazzo
of Siena or Connemara marble chips in

Fig. 21. Main Stairway — Delanoy House.

white cement, makes a good background
for Oriental rugs ; and so far from being
cold, is almost too warm.

A whole chapter could be written on
the new designs in fireplaces ; they range
from the simple (Figs. 17, 18) to the
ornate example (Fig. 19), in which a
well-known sculptor has modeled an ex-

quisite bas relief and somewhat less suc-
cessful caryatides in cement. A fairly
typical fireplace is given in Fig. 20. This
was designed for smooth finish, and the
workmen were preparing to cover up
the slab of rough concrete when the
owner found them. “Leave that just as
it is,” he cried ; and, indeed, it has turned
out the most successful, because the most
expressive, firep’ace in the house. For
bedrooms, such simple forms, lined with

Fig. 22. Roof Stairway, Pearmain House.

brick, are pleasing, while the roof fire-
place (Fig. 5), in warm gray cement, is,
to my mind, the best of all.

Stairways are best made of concrete.
This is another “stunt” for concrete, for
it can perfectly well be left entirely un-
supported. In the ordinary house, how-
ever, such a tour-de-force would have

THE REINFORCED CONCRETE HOUSE.

357

FIG. 24— CONCRETE PERGOLA— PEARMAIN HOUSE.

358

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

little place. The rail is legitimate matter
for discussion, since for a house that is
not a palace the wrought iron or bronze
rail seems unsuited, and the wooden one
still less so. The architect of the De-
lanoy house has designed a successful
expression of concrete (Fig. 21), which
was intended to be capped by an incon-
spicuous wooden rail, more pleasing to
the hand. The roof stairway (Fig. 22)
is decidedly picturesque.

This is not the place to discuss the
comparative merits of formal versus nat-
ural gardens; but a word may at least
be said of the curious effect of an Italian
garden, with concrete or marble benches,
fountains, statues, etc., surrounding the
typical American country house of wood.
It suits a reinforced concrete house, how-
ever. Exquisite garden furniture may be
made of concrete, but here again the
most successful are those of molded or
plastic, as against sharply cut forms. A
charming example is the “Smiling Lion”
(Fig. 23), an adaptation of a design
from one of Alma Tadema’s pictures. An
interesting example of how the exigen-
cies of construction can determine pleas-
ing results is given in the columns of the
pergola (Fig. 24). The round pillars on
one of the first houses I built had to be
made, for all that was then known, with
a polygonal form, which was afterward
plastered up to the round column. Hav-
ing the opportunity of building a like
column for the next owner, his attention
was attracted by the pleasing form of
the unfinished core, and on that house the

columns were left unplastered. The col-
umns of a succeeding house had the same
form, but an increased number of sides,
the twenty required by the Doric type,
resulting in the very pleasing forms
found in Fig. 24. It is to be noted that
these are not Doric columns. To the
rough, creamy gray concrete, the Doric
fluting would have been unsuited, and
these were made in the easiest and best
possible concrete construction; yet the
play of light and shade on their flat sides
is delightful.

What reinforced concrete means for
the safety of families and the perman-
ence of homes need not be insisted on
here; but there is a real architectural
bearing in the possibility of enshrining
precious objects, tapestries, paintings,
objets d’art generally, in such dwellings.
An owner of such treasures who cannot
to-day build a fireproof museum of his
own is likely to deposit them in public
museums ; but the unburnable house can
safeguard them, and its plan is quite
likely, in the more costly examples, at
least, to be influenced by the character
of its contents, and in the direction typ-
ical for concrete. That is the province
in which I, as an engineer, feel most
keenly the need of the interest and pro-
gressive achievement of the architectu-
ral profession — characteristic design in
reinforced concrete which shall embody
the qualities of this noble building ma-
terial : its monolithic type, its capacity
for enormous spans, its economic curves.

Benjamin A. Howes.

FIG. 1. CONCRETE GATEWAY TO THE ESTATE OF THE HON. WILLIAM L. WARD.
Portchester, N. Y. Robert Mook, Architect.

(Photos by J. H. Symmons.) .

The Pioneer Concrete Residence of America

As far as the writer has been able to
ascertain, the first concrete building
erected for a private residence is the
house of Hon. William L. Ward, now
Congressman from the Westchester dis-
trict of New York, located about a mile
from Portchester. It was the writer’s
privilege also to visit it when its shell
had been completed and also when it
was approaching completion, and to
publish a description of it in the Amer-
ican Architect and Building News of
April 18, 1877, which was the second
year of its publication by Osgood in
Boston. For want of photographic il-
lustrations, a detailed description of the
design of the house was given at the
time, which it is not necessary to repeat
now, in view of the fact that photographs
of it are herewith reproduced for the first
time in any publication.

The house was commenced in 1875
and completed in 1877. Mr. Ward was
at that time the manufacturing manager
of the screw factory of the Russell,
Birdsall & Ward Manufacturing Com-
pany, which was located on the Byram
River, within view of the house. He
has lived in it ever since, and it stands to-
day just as it was built. The architect was
Robert Mook, of New York, who had
been been brought up in the office of the

“fashionable” architects of that day,
Thomas & Son. The house is a well-
preserved specimen of the Hudson River
villa architecture that prevailed at that
time, and as the interior views show, the
details and furnishings illustrate a har-
mony of refined design which has evi-
dently come down to us without change
through the intervening thirty-three
years. So much, however, cannot be
said of the exterior. While there are no
indications in these interior views (Figs.
3 and 4) that floor, ceiling and side-
walls are all of solid concrete, Fig. 2
shows the monolithic character of the
exterior, even with all its newness, just
as it was built.

Let the reader not be deceived by sup-
posing that anything about it looks as if
it had been added to the solid walls built
in position, for he is assured by an eye
witness that every terrace, porch, bay
window, corbelled balcony, cornice, man-
sard roof, chimney, dormer and matchi-
colated tower is one solid piece of con-
crete to the last detail. If this house
had been erected within the last few
years it would be advertised by promo-
ters as a “poured” house. But it was
not built by Mr. Edison, with cast iron
moulds weighing perhaps a thousand
tons for a house of this size, but by Mr.

360

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Ward himself with pine board acces-
sories, the village carpenter and a lot of
unskilled laborers, intelligently directed.
To complete the surprise, if any such Is
suggested, let the reader refer to these
interior views and be assured that the
ceilings of those two rooms, with all
their paneling, except the work of the
ornamental plasterer, were all made of
structural reinforced concrete, forming
the support of the second floor, thirty-
four years ago.

paneled and elaborately ornamented with
plaster. The architect designed all the
details of inside finish, and they were
ultimately carried out with fidelity. But
Mr. Ward, who had for some time been
studying the uses of Portland cement in
Europe and all its possibilities, became
his own builder and erected the entire
house with his own employees. Pie was
acquainted with the system of Coignet,
as used in France; but when it came to
building his floors he proceeded to in-

FIG. 2.

Portchester, N. Y.

CONCRETE HOUSE OF THE HON. WILLIAM L. WARD.
(Erected 1875-1877.)

Robert Mook, Architect.

As a matter of history, it may well
be advisable now to tell how the house
was built. Mr. Ward ordered the plans
from his architect for a large, first-class,
comfortable home, with walls such as
would be required if they were of brick
with a hollow space, and floors of the
usual thickness required for construction
with timber, furred off on the underside,

vent reinforced concrete, until con-
vinced to the contrary, as the writer be-
lieves. He anticipated Thaddeus Hyatt
by two years, for Hyatt’s inventions
were not made and published until 1877.

Before Mr. Ward had finished he had
used 4,000 barrels of English Portland
cement, 8,000 barrels of sharp sand
found on his property, 12,000 barrels of

PIONEER CONCRETE RESIDENCE.

361

machine-broken North River limestone
and an equal amount of white beach peb-
bles. For construction work, he used as
an aggregate broken stone mixed with
pebbles, which he found by experiment
showed less voids than if either aggre-
gate had been used alone.

But for a better understanding of how
the floors were built, quotations had bet-
ter be made from the account written
thirty-two years ago :

“Anyone who visits this house, ex-
pecting to find a vaultlike structure.

find in the whole house is the necessary
door and window finish in superb hard-
wood of workmanship that would put to
shame some of our best mechanics.
Above the basement story there is hard-
ly anything in the interior to remind
one of concrete, except the stairways
and the kitchen fireplace. Yet there is
not a lath or a wooden furring strip in
the whole house, for every foot of plas-
tering is laid on the solid concrete of
the walls, partitions and ceilings ; and the
ribs of everv ceiling have their construc-

FIG. 3. MUSIC ROOM— CONCRETE HOUSE OF THE HON. WILLIAM L. WARD.
Portchester, N, Y. Robert Mook, Architect.

wherein the one idea of a house made in
a solid block is predominant, will be dis-
appointed. On the contrary, when he
enters he will see hardly enough to con-
vince him of the nature and construction
of the building. He will see floors re-
sembling single sheets of rubbed sand-
stone, hard-finished white walls, flat pan-
eled ceilings, moulded and enriched with
moderation, and plaster cornices of good
section and very tasteful ornamentation,
while all the woodwork he sees or can

tive purpose, as will presently be seen.
The floor construction was thus de-
scribed :

“This is a combination of light rolled
I-beams, small rods and concrete ; and
though the materials are nearly the same
as those employed for floor construction
in Paris, the method of using them is
different, and the strength obtained re-
sults from other principles of construc-
tion. In this building the beams are
strengthened by being surrounded by a

362

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

body of concrete, and the filling between
them is a homogeneous mass, extending
above the tops of the beams and to all
four sides of the rooms. The floors are
thus stiffened not only in the direction
of the beams, but in all directions. For
this purpose a ledge is built out in the
walls around each room to carry the
outer edge of the concrete floor. The
beams being stiffened by a surrounding
mass of concrete, are very much smaller
than those heretofore used for floors of

beams and a coat of cement put on about
one inch thick. Then a course of 24 -
inch iron rods is laid on this concrete
across the beams and a few inches apart,
and another course of concrete, one inch
thick, is laid over the rods. The next
course of iron rods is then laid, crossing
those in the first course. Then concrete
is put on, two or more inches in thick-
ness, and the floor is built. It is about
four inches thick between the beams. A
second flooring is then laid of concrete,

FIG. 4. DINING ROOM— CONCRETE HOUSE OF THE HON. WILLIAM L. WARD.
Portchester, N. Robert Mook, Architect.

equal extent. Throughout the house,
flight’ five, six and seven-inch I-beams
have been used, and for the largest
rooms flight’ eight-inch beams. For
instance, in the construction of the par-
lor floor, where no decorative effect is
sought in the room beneath, he has used
flight’ eight-inch beams, placed six feet
between the centers. The span is about
eighteen feet. A box is formed around
each beam and filled with concrete nearly
to the top of the beam. Then a flat cen-
tering of rough boards is set between the

leaving arched spaces which are to serve
as heating flues, connected with the fur-
nace and the hollow spaces in the walls.
On this the finished floor of cement,
mixed with sand only, is laid, troweled
off smooth, and after a time, when hard
and dry, is rubbed with stone and sand
like polished sandstone. The rough
board centering and boxes around the
beams being removed, the under surface
is ready for a coat of brown mortar,
which is hard finished in the usual way.”
It will be noted from the above that

PIONEER CONCRETE RESIDENCE.

363

the actual floor construction between the
beams, which are six feet apart for the
first floor, is only four inches thick, and
that one-half of the reinforcing rods are
set in the same direction as the beams.
The thickness of the floor adds to the
height of the beams where they are in
compression, just as in the reinforced
concrete T-beams that have recently
been experimented upon. The concrete
heating flues and the finished cement
floor are in one sense part of the floor
loads; but, at the same time, they may
have assisted to stiffen the floors. All
the floors are covered with rugs made
to fit the rooms, held in place by brass
pins inserted in sockets built into the
cement floors.

“The ceilings of the first and second
stories show deeply recessed panels,
some quite elaborate in construction, as
in his Elizabethan library on the second
floor. In constructing these, I-beams
were used, following the ribs and bolted
together so as to form a complete net-
work over each room. Yet such light
sizes of iron were used that in most
cases it could hardly have been more
than self-supporting. In some rooms
not more than two beams extended from
wall to wall. Boxes were constructed
around all of the parts of this frame-
work, as in the first story, and filled
with concrete, thoroughly rammed in
place and given good time to set. The
interstices were filled with concrete and
iron rods, as in the first floor. All these
ceilings are plastered and ornamented
directly on the concrete. The mansard
roofs are constructed of solid concrete;
the ceiling over the third story the same
as the other floors. The roof is con-
structed like the floors, the beams being
very far apart, fully ten feet in some
places. Over each beam and hip rafter
in the roof a shrinkage joint is made,
and this is covered with a moulded hip
roll, made in position, but having felt
between the roof and the roll. The pan-
els of the roof, between the hip rolls,
are decorated on the outside with scraf-
Uto work in cement of different colors.
The cornice and main gutters are all
made with the walls, but there are

shrinkage joints between the roof and
walls. There are also shrinkage joints
in the rooms following the inside lines
of the exterior walls, where they cross
the window recesses. Aside from these
joints, the floor of each room is in a
single piece; and not a crack was ob-
served in the floors through the entire
house.”

The slabs forming the floors and roofs
of the terraces in some places are in
pieces 12 by 30 feet, without shrinkage
joints, all being reinforced with ^-inch
rods in both directions.

The smoothness and uniform color of
the exterior walls is due to the fact that
they are all plastered with a i-to-2 mix-
ture of Portland cement and sand. This
plastering, after ;it had set and been
thoroughly dried, was rubbed down with
a stone, sand and water, just as sand-
stone is polished. The exterior mould-
ings were finished in the same way. The
veranda columns were all reinforced
with vertical rods of ^4-inch iron, placed
in a circle within a proper form, and
the cement was poured from the top.
But they were made with hollow spaces
in the center, and served also as down-
spouts to carry off the water from the
veranda roofs.

The roof water is carried down in
cast iron pipes built in the walls, and
brought together in the cellar, where
they connect with the rising pipe to the
rain-water tank in the square tower
shown on Fig. 2, forming a syphon.
Water can thus be drawn under press-
ure from these pipes. There are two
water tanks in the tower, one over the
other. The lower one is used for rain
water and the upper one for water
pumped from a spring. The floors of
these tanks are of reinforced concrete,
and the tower walls form their sides.

The exterior walls are cast with hol-
low spaces. These are connected with
the spaces in the concrete under the
floors, so that there is a circulation of
warm air through all the walls and
floors heated by a furnace. The air is
returned to the bottom of the furnace,
and does not enter the rooms. All rooms
have open fireplaces.

Peter B. Wight.

FIG. 1. MR. G. E BERGSTROM’S RESIDENCE.

Some Fire-Resisting Country Houses.

I. — HOUSES OF BURNED CLAY CONSTRUC-
TION.

It is not many years since the just
claim was made by writers on contem-
poraneous architecture — and the same
had been admitted by foreign writers —
that . the typical architecture of the
United States was best exemplified in
its country residences. At that time it
was believed that we had best solved the
problem of designing in wood, for the
best designs were in that material. They
blended so well with their natural sur-
roundings that we looked upon them with
the satisfaction that we, at least, had
accomplished one success — even though
it were in buildings of comparatively
minor importance— in the development
of a national architecture.

Meanwhile, though the same could
not be said as to our success in design-
ing urban residences, their construction
had been developed to a high degree of
excellence, and many of the more pre-
tentious ones had been built in accord-
ance with the systems of fireproof in-
terior construction that had been so
highly developed in our public buildings,
banks, office buildings, hotels and struc-
tures for business purposes. The owner
of the city mansion was content to erect
his so-called “cottage,” no matter how
expensive it might be, with a wooden
frame and with no regard to protection
from fire. There were, of course, indi-
vidual exceptions, and in some places,
notably at Newport, may be seen palatial
summer homes of very different mate-
rials side by side, some of the flimsiest
wood construction throughout, some
with brick or stone exterior walls and
combustible wood interiors, and a few
embodying the latest developed methods
of fireproof construction throughout.

The erection of country houses with
fire-resisting construction has been com-
paratively rare, and when these excep-
tions are seen they are found to be
buildings of the most pretentious and
elaborate sort, only possible to the very
rich. It was necessary that some event

should call the attention of owners to
the risk they ran in exposing their most
cherished possessions, stored in country
houses, to the danger of destruction
from fire, before the necessity for im-
proved construction should be felt.
Many of our wealthy citizens have of
late years chosen to make their principal
residence on their country estates, and
there they have installed their books,
pictures, other works of art and house-
hold treasures most dear to their hearts,
in houses replete with all that artistic
finish and decoration could supply. But
the destruction by fire of the country
house of John Wanamaker, in Pennsyl-
vania, and the Chi Psi house at Cornell
University, with not only art treasures,
but what is more important, human lives,
furnished the impetus, only a few years
ago, for that evolution in rural archi-
tecture of which we are now beginning
to see the results. This is not only af-
fecting the construction, but the design,
of such buildings. The evidences of the
latter are not yet such as to indicate
what these results may be. All of the
recently constructed country houses in
which attempts have been made to build
in a fire-resisting manner show only
individual characteristics in this respect.
In some little attempt has been made to
produce good designs. In others there
is an indication of the development of
novel features, growing out of the na-
ture of the materials used.

The illustrations here produced are
mostly of buildings of moderate cost,
and it cannot be said of them that the
purpose was to avoid the peculiar losses
incident to such a house as Mr. Wana-
maker built to contain his most valued
treasures. But when once attention
was called to the impossibility of ex-
tinguishing fire in an isolated country
residence, when the ample resources of
a city fire-fighting force could not be
availed of, many people realized that
houses of much less pretension and
value are equally exposed to total de-
struction unless the owner furnishes his
own preventive expedients, rather than

366

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

rely upon imperfect methods of extin-
guishment.

As a result of this thoughtful ten-
dency of the public mind, a few exam-
ples can now be pointed to showing that
the situation has been intelligently
grasped by a few people with more than
ordinary foresight.

The examples to be illustrated and de-
scribed show that such fire-resisting

Clinton Street, Los Angeles, California,
which is essentially a suburban location,
as the illustration (Fig. i) will show.
Fig. 2 shows the house just commenced,
Fig. 3 constructional section draw-
ings, and Fig. 4 the floor construction
system. The exterior walls are built of
doubled 6-inch and doubled 4-inch hol-
low tiles, the partitions with 4-inch hol-
low tiles, and the floors and roof are

FIG. 2. RESIDENCE OF MR. G. E. BERGSTROM DURING CONSTRUCTION.

country and suburban houses as have
thus far been erected may be divided
into two classes : those following the
burned-clay systems and those build ac-
cording to the concrete systems, while
in a few that might be cited the two are
combined.

The first illustration is the house of an
architect, built for his own use. It was
erected in 1907 for Mr. G. E. Bergstrom,
of Parkinson & Bergstrom, architects, at
the corner of Vermont Avenue and

constructed according to the Johnson
tension system, 4-inch tiles being gen-
erally used. The foundations are of con-
crete, and reinforced concrete is used for
interior girders and exterior lintels. The
spans of floors and roof are from 16 to
20 feet. The chimneys, balustrades and
flower stands are built of hollow tiles.
The visible part of the roof is covered
with Mission tile. No steel is used, ex-
cept as a tension material for the floors,
the concrete girders and concrete lintels.

FIRE-RESISTING COUNTRY HOUSES. 367

Fig. 3. Constructional Details of Mr. Berg-
strom’s Residence at Los Angeles, Cal.

These comprise all the materials used
for construction. The exterior is coated
with a cement and fine gravel mixture,
and treated with acid to remove the
cement from the exposed surface and
leave the gravel visible. The total cost
was about $20,000.

As an illustration of what a well-in-
formed architect does when he invests
his own money, for his own use, this
building forcibly illustrates the tendency
of independent opinion on the part of
some of the architects of the Pacific
coast. As an example of original de-
sign, it is worthy of serious attention,
for it shows the adaptation of design to
material rather than the use of a ver-
nacular style or an attempt to repeat the
popular so-called Mission architecture
which is so much in vogue in that local-
ity-

For comparison with the last design,
the house erected about the same time
by Matthew Sullivan, of the firm of
Maginnis, Walsh & Sullivan, architects,
at Canton, Mass., also for his own use,
is shown in two illustrations. Fig. 5
shows one side of the house during con-
struction, and Fig. 6 shows the other
side after completion. This house is
built of hollow tile, covered with stucco
on the outside. But the floors and roof
are not fireproof, being of wood. The

tile were specially made for it of a form
designed by the owner.

The house shown in Fig. 7 was erect-
ed about ten years ago from the designs
of Charles Henry & Son, architects, of
Akron, Ohio. It was one of the earliest
houses built throughout with hollow
tile, and was erected for the late Henry
B. Camp at Akron. Mr. Camp was one
of the earliest manufacturers of all kinds
of hollow-burned clay products, and had
erected many plain houses and barns in
his part of the State of Ohio in previous
years, with sections of burned clay flue
linings. His experience led to the man-
ufacture of special sections of hollow tile
for building purposes, the use of which
is shown in his own house. The tile
used for it were not plastered or painted
on the exterior, but were all made with
great perfection by machinery. That is,
they were forced through dies on a ver-
tical steam press, the same that is used
for the manufacture of sewer pipe. The
plain wall tile here seen are of fireclay.
Those of a darker color are salt glazed.
The building is as fireproof as hollow
tile can make it, all the partitions being
of the same material, and the floors are
built on the tension principle spanning
the full width of the rooms, as shown in
Fig. 4. It will be noticed that the porch
and its balustrade are built of the same
material as the walls.

Fig. 4. Isometric View, Showing Constructional
Details of Walls and Floors in Mr. Berg-
strom’s Residence at Los Angeles, Cal.

3 68

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FIG. 5. HOUSE OF MR. MATTHEW SULLIVAN DURING CONSTRUCTION.

Canton, Mass. Maginnis, Walsh & Sullivan, Archi ects.

FIG. 6. OPPOSITE SIDE OF MR. MATTHEW SULLIVAN’S HOUSE TO THAT SHOWN IN FIG 5.
The house in this view is shown completed.

FIRE-RESISTING COUNTRY HOUSES.

369

FIG. 7. HOUSE OF THE LATE HENRY B. CAMP.

Akron, Ohio. Charles Henry & Son, Architects.

FIG. 8. RESIDENCE OF MR. CHARLES W. CLINTON.

Tuxedo Park, N. Y. Clinton & Russell, Architects.

370

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FIG. 9. RESIDENCE OF MR. WILLIAM BORLAND.

Mount Kisco, N. Y. Delano & Aldrich, Architects.

i • KJ

■V,

FIG. 10. THE SUMNER RESIDENCE.

Englewood, N. J.

Delano & Aldrich, Architects.

FIRE-RESISTING COUNTRY HOUSES.

II. — FIRE-RESISTING HOUSES OF CON-
CRETE CONSTRUCTION.

The adaptation of improved systems of
reinforced concrete construction to coun-
try architecture has been comparatively
recent, notwithstanding the example set
bv William L. Ward at Portchester, New
York, as long ago as 1875. Such houses
as have been recently erected with this
material have rather been an evolution
from the methods that have been em-
ployed in factory construction within the
last few years, than from that used in
the Ward house. Yet the basic princi-
ple involved is the same in both.

The examples illustrated herewith are
on the Pabst Farm, at Oconomowoc,
Wisconsin, which have been recently
completed. Mr. Frederick Pabst, of Mil-
waukee, grandson of Philip Best, one of
the pioneer brewers of Milwaukee, pur-
chased one thousand acres, or there-
abouts, of land and lake, and on it has
installed a breeding and stock farm. No
less than thirty buildings were required
for its complete installation, including a
summer residence for the owner. All
the others are accessory thereto, and are
disposed in groups according to a gen-
eral plan. All the buildings were de-
signed by Fernekes & Cramer, architects,
of Milwaukee, and are built wherever
possible of concrete, with no attempt to
conceal its nature and construction. Four
of them are now sufficiently completed to
illustrate the general effect of the group.
The system of construction used is uni-
form throughout. They are practically
monolithic. No attempt has been made
to imitate stone. The floors are either
made in single reinforced slabs, with re-
inforced beams and slabs where in-
creased spans cal’ed for them, and in
some instances with girders, beams and
slabs. Hollow burned clay tile have been
used only for partitions and for the fur-
ring of exterior walls. The latter expe-
dient was for the double purpose of se-
curing dryness and protecting the inte-
rior surface of the concrete walls in case
of interior fires. The houses are suffi-
ciently isolated to avoid the contingency
of exterior fires.

Those illustrated are the summer resi-

3/1

dence of Mr. Pabst, the residence of the
superintendent of the farm, that of the
stock superintendent and the private ga-
rage which is attached to the residence
of the house gardner. As one walks
over the farm he discovers groups of
buildings which at a little distance might
be taken for survivals of the fourteenth
century architecture of England, but
which, at nearer view, betray their new-
ness and want of clinging vines and sur-
roundings that make their progenitors
so charming to our modern eyes. The
simplicity of the design fits well upon
the novel material used. This is en-
hanced in the interiors where its mas-
siveness and substantiality are evident.
The large rooms in Mr. Pabst’s house,
which is one hundred and sixteen feet
long in its greatest dimension, required
very large concrete beams to span them.
These are plastered and finished with
simple mouldings which do not detract
from the massive effect. The walls be-
tween the ends of the beams are treated
with a simple relief ornament in cast
cement. In cases where ornament was
thought desirable on the exterior it is
also in cast cement of very simple de-
sign. Mr. Pabst’s house is roofed with
red clay shingle tile, and the others
are covered with asbestos shingle tile.
These are all set in cement on cast
concrete blocks, set between light I-
beams, which form the roof construction
in all the houses. This is the only steel
entering into the construction of the
residence buildings except the reinforce-
ment used in the beams and floor slabs.

An account of fireproof country
houses in the vicinity of Chicago would
not be complete without mention of the
two important residences now being
erected near Lake Forest, Illinois. One
is for Mr. J. Ogden Armour, after plans
drawn by Arthur Heun, and the other
for Mr. Harold McCormick, and de-
signed by Charles A. Platt. Neither
of them is yet in condition to be pho-
tographed, and both will be the subjects
for more extended treatment when com-
pleted. They will embody the systems
of fireproofing best adapted to their plan
and design.

Peter B. Wight.

372

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FIG. 11. ENTRANCE SIDE— RESIDENCE OF MR. FREDERICK PABST ON THE

PABST FARM.

Oconomowoc, Wis. Fernekes & Cramer, Architects.

FIG. 12. ANOTHER VIEW OF MR. FREDERICK PABST’S RESIDENCE.

FIRE-RESISTING COUNTRY HOUSES.

373

FIG. 13. RESIDENCE OF THE FARM MANAGER ON THE PABST FARM, AS IT APPEARED

WINTER BEFORE LAST.

„ „ Fernekes & Cramer, Architects.

Oconomowoc, M is.

FIG. 14. THE SAME HOUSE SHOWN IN FIG. 15, AS IT APPEARED AFTER COMPLETION

LAST SUMMER.

374

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

FIG. 15. RESIDENCE OF ASSISTANT MANAGER ON THE PABST FARM IN WINTER

Oconomowoc, Wis. , „ D „ . . ‘ x

Fernekes & Cramer, Architects.

FIG. 16.

Oconomowoc, Wis.

GARDENER’S HOUSE A'ND GARAGE ON THE PABST FARM.

Fernekes & Cramer, Architects

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter, Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d, 1879.

Vol. XXV. No. 6

JUNE, 1909.

Whole No. 129

THE : ARCH iTtCl VRAL • RECORD-

Page

SELECTING THE SUBURBAN HOME SITE. ....... Illustrated. 381

Geo. F. Pentecost, Jr.

A MONUMENTAL WORK OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Sylvester Baxter. Illustrated. 389

THE SMALL ENGLISH HOUSE AS A PLACE TO LIVE IN :

ITS SEAMY SIDE Illustrated. 400

Francis S. Swales.

RUSSELL STURGIS'S ARCHITECTURE Illustrated. 405

THE ARCHITECTURE OF TRINITY CHURCH Illustrated. 411

Montgomery Schuyler.

ARCHITECTURE IN THE UNITED STATES :

I. -The Birth of Taste Illustrated. 42G

Claude Bragdon.

AN APARTMENT HOUSE ABERRATION Illustrated. 435

NOTES ON SOME FAMOUS CHATEAUX OF THE SARTHE :

LE LUDE AND JARZe' Illustrated. 439

Frederic Lees.

NOTES AND COMMENTS ..Illustrated. 449

Aberrations and Others— N. P. Lewis on City Planning-
New York to be Picturesque— Plans for California
Towns— An Elegant Old Station— Denver Enterprise —
Placing Park Sculpture— On Housing the Very Poor-
Public Monuments of 1908— Architects and Civic Art.

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NOTES ^COMMENTS

In 1881 what we now
call modern systems of
fireproofing began to
come into general use,
and were soon devel-
oped to a degree that

has since known little

improvement. The his-
tory of the art before that time has often
been written. The theorv that incombustible
building materials alone were needed to

make a building fireproof was exploded in
1871, after the Chicago fire. Fireproofing
was made the subject of discussion at a
convention of the American Institute of

Architects in Boston some days after that
conflagration; what was said was confined
to the destructive effects of fire on iron, and
the uselessness of any kind of stone in con-
flagrations. The discussion was kept up for
ten years in various journals in a one-sided
way, for no one appeared as the champion
of iron as a fire-resisting material, notwith-
standing the large interests involved. Yet
incombustible buildings continued to be
erected. Before 1855 many government
buildings had been erected with vaulted
brick floors, carried by brick and granite
piers. It was the Roman system which had
been practiced since the Neo-classic revival
in the latter part of the 18th century. In
that year (1855) rolled iron I-beams were
first used in this country, and the floors
built between them with segment brick
arches, and later with corrugated iron seg
ment arches covered with concrete. There
were others, but these were the usual meth-
ods. During that time many genuine and
praiseworthy attempts were made by Amer-
ican architects to erect incombustible build-
ings, supposing them to be fireproof. Some
of these buildings still standing have no
wood in their inside finish except the floors,
the window frames and sashes being of cast
iron and the partitions of iron studs, faced
on both sides with corrugated iron inclave
lathing covered with plaster.

Similar methods continued to be used dur-
ing the transition period from 1871 to 1881.
But it was during this period also that ex-
perimental work of another kind was done
in scattered instances, both in the East and
the Middle West.

MODERN

FIREPROOF^

ING

SYSTEMS

In New York, Phila-
delphia and Baltimore
EARLY this plastic system of

ATTEMPTS making incombustible
AT and protecting iron

FIREPROOFING from the effects of fire
with a composition of
plaster paris and an im-
ported French cement called Lime-of-Tiel,
was introduced by the Fireproof Building
Company of New York. The hollow blocks
used were according to the system invented
by Garcin in 1867. They were the first flat
arch floor construction used in this country.
All blocks were hollow. The architect Pe-
terson, used hand-made hollow tiles in the
first floor of the Cooper Institute, New York,
in 1856. They were in one piece, flat on the
bottom and arched on the top. The late
George H. Johnson invented a similar floor
construction made in the same form in sev-

eral pieces to make a flat arch, which was
used in the corridors of the New York Post-
office about 1872. The Fireproof Building.
Company used similar flat arches of burned
clay in the halls of the Coal and Iron Ex-
change, New York, now destroyed, built from
plans of Richard M. Hunt about 1876. La-
ter, Mr. Hunt specified the same for the
floors of the Tribune Building. In 1872
George H. Johnson built the whole interior
of the office building in the burned district
of Chicago, called “The Equitable Building,”
with hard^burned hollow clay blocks, and
later did the same for a building of the Sin-
ger Sewing Machine Company at St. Louis.
In 1875 and 1876 Thaddeus Hyatt, an Amer-
ican, made his extensive experiments with
reinforced concrete in England. They were
probably the most exhaustive tests ever
made of this material for construction pur-
poses. They were published in book form for
private circulation in 1877. Nothing of con-
sequence has been discovered since that time
bearing on the practicable use of reinforced
concrete for building purposes, except the
details of constructive systems, and their
application to new purposes. In 1876 Will-
iam L. Ward, of Portchester, New York,
built the first complete building of rein-
forced concrete ever erected in this country.
Walls, floors, roof, partitions, porches are of
reinforced concrete, and in fact the entire

376

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

house, which is a large one and finished
in a costly manner, as became a man of
wealth building for his own use. It was
many years before anyone else determined
to duplicate Mr. Ward’s work (see page 359).

In 1875 the first cast-iron columns fire-
proofed with burned clay (there are only two
of them) were used in the Chicago Club,
now the DeJonge Restaurant. They
were covered with porous terra cotta blocks
burned with a small vertical hole in each
and fastened to the column with screws. The
outside finish is plaster, decorated in oil
colors, and the capitals are of ornamental
terra cotta set around the fireproofing. In

1878 the floor arches of the Cook County
Court House at Chicago were built with flat,
hollow tiles of rather crude form, and the
thin partitions were built of brick in which
tan bark had been burned out to make them
porous. The Chicago City Hall, built a few
years later, 1880, occupying the other half
of a city block, was the first large public
building of which the entire interior was
constructed with hard burned hollow tile, in-
cluding hollow tile fireproofing for all columns
and girders, and a hollow brick tile roof. The
last two buildings have been taken down. In

1879 parts of the Chamber of Commerce at
Milwaukee were fireproofed with porous terra
cotta. The structure was built with
cast-iron columns, wooden floor joists
and iron roof trusses. In this build-
ing the cast-iron columns were covered
with solid blocks of porous terra cotta
screwed to the iron, and the ceilings
were covered with porous terra cotta tiles
two inches thick screwed to the floor joists.
The most interesting work done on it, which
had never before been attempted, was the
fireproofing of the individual members of the
roof trusses with porous terra cotta.

In 1879, a Mr. Ferry, of Detroit, Mich.,
appreciating the frailty of cast-iron columns
in the case of fire, ordered all the interior
columns in a store which he built in that
year for Newcomb, Endicott & Co. at Detroit,
completely fireproofed with porous terra cot-
ta. There were more than 500 of these fire-
proofed columns, though in no other respect
was the building fireproof. The same thing was
done by the late Amos Grannis, at Chicago,
a few years later, when he built the Grannis
office building, for all the columns in it were
fireproofed also with porous terra cotta,
screwed to the iron. These are instances
quoted to show that at that time investors
were alive to the danger of iron columns
from collapse in a fire. The Grannis Build-
ing was in no other respect fireproof. A few
years after the whole interior -was burned

out, and D. H. Burnham, whose office was
located in it, had a narrow escape. When
the interior collapsed all the columns above
the first story fell into the wreckage, but
when they were pulled out, all the fireproof-
ing was still attached to them and unin-
jured. This was a remarkable test of their
fireproof qualities, though they had nothing
to do with retarding the flames. They saved
themselves, though they did not save the
building. It is an experience worth recall-
ing now, because in recent years, when there
have been conflagrations in which poorly
fireproofed columns covered only with hard
hollow burned tile have failed of their pur-
pose and been condemned by the critics of
burned clay fireproofing, the experience of
the Grannis Block and several other build-
ings, which might be mentioned, in which
the columns have been similarly protected
and subjected to severe fire, does not seem
to have been of any profit to more recent
constructors of fireproof work in buildings.

Chicago, whose inven-
tions have contributed
perhaps more than any
other locality to the
improvement of build-
ing construction
throughout our coun-
try, has been promi-
nently mentioned by various writers as one
of the advance posts against the demon of
conflagration. This is true to a certain ex-
tent. Fireproofing devices commenced to be
put into extensive use in 1881, and the num-
ber of buildings fireproofed in the following
ing years up to the money panic in 1893, has
been such as to make it impracticable in the
limits of this note to name more than those
in which some new features were introduced.

The first office building fireproofed through-
out in the modern manner was the Montauk
at Chicago, erected in 1881-2, remarkable
also as having been the first in which con-
crete and iron grill foundations were used.
With the exception of the fact that tiles
were not inserted under the ordinary iron
beams (a method that was first used in
1884) it was probably as thoroughly fire-
proofed as any building that has since been
erected. In fact it was once attacked by and
resisted an exceptionally severe fire on its
most exposed side where there were many
windows. This building was taken down two
years ago to furnish part of the site for the
First National Bank Building. The Mon-
tauk Block was of brick with some terra
cotta details on the exterior and was par-
tially subdivided by brick partition walls,

PRESENT
CONDITIONS
OF THE
ART OF

FIREPROOFING

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

377

and provided with brick vaults in stacks.
The subsidiary partitions were of hard-
burned hollow tile three and a half inches
in thickness. The cast-iron columns were
covered with blocks of hand made porous
terra cotta three inches thick, fastened with
machine screws tapped into the iron. The
girders were covered with porous terra cotta,
in no place less than two inches thick over
the most projecting parts. The flat floor and
roof arches were made of hollow tiles of high
grade fireclay. The bottoms of the beams
were covered with three quarters of an inch
of cement held between the heels of the skew-
backs and covered additionally with the reg-
ular plastering of the ceilings. This system
of fireproofing was used in many other large
buildings subsequently, until the cheap
methods of using hollow hard burned tiles
for columns and girders came into use.

Meanwhile hard-burned hollow and por-
ous hollow blocks were extensively used in
New York and Eastern cities, hollow porous
blocks being generally used for partitions
and hard tile for flat floor arches. The main
difference between the materials used at the
East and the West was that the Eastern
fireproofing was made of a low grade of fire
clay on horizontal presses, and that of the
West, in Ohio, and Illinois, was made of a
high grade of fire clay on vertical steam
cylinder sewer pipe presses.

In 1883 and 1884 the first middle west hol-
low tile, made in Ohio, was used in New
York City, in what is now the Nassau Street
Building, the first section that was built, of
the Mutual Life Insurance Company’s Build-
ing. This material was used for the floor
arches and partitions. The cast-iron col-
umns and girders were everywhere fire-
proofed with solid porous terra cotta blocks
on the same principle as that employed in
the Montauk Block. A great many shapes
and sizes were used. In some cases round
cast-iron columns were changed by these
blocks to square ones and in others square
cast-iron sections were changed to circular
ones in the fireproofing, to carry out the
architect’s design. Some columns were very
large, as in the main office. All of this
porous terra .cotta was machine-made,
that is, passed out through dies, and not cast
in plaster moulds as had been the method
used for the Montauk block.

The interesting feature in the fireproofing
of the Mutual Life Insurance Building was
that it was the first building ever construct-
ed in which the bottoms of the iron beams
were protected from fire by burned clay tiles.
They had not been specified but the con-
tractor having perfected a method for hold-

ing the soffit tiles securely in place, used
them throughout the building. The soffit

tiles not only covered the bottoms of the
beams, but also the edges of the lower
flanges and were of such section that they
not only received the full thrust of the abut-
ing flat arches on both sides, but were self-
supporting as soon as the cement had set.

THE

MANUFACTURE
OF CLAY
FIRE-RESISTING
MATERIALS

From 1884 to the
present very little im-
provement has been
made in the manufac-
ture of fire-resisting
materials of burned
clay. After the use of
soffit tile in the Mu-
tual Life Bldg., at New York, the next build-
ing in which they appeared was the Still-
man Apartments in Cleveland. There, how-
ever, the soffit tile were made only as wide as
the bottoms of the I-beams and their thick-
ness which was not more than three-quarters
of an inch, which was all that received
the support of the abutting skewbacks of
the flat arches. Both sections of soffit tile
have been used indifferently from that day
to this. Occasionally architects have speci-
fied that the soffit tiles must be hollow and
two or three inches thick; but generally
contractors have done as they chose to do,
specifications only stating that the bottoms
were to be covered with tile. The thick sof-
fit tile, it will be observed, made it necessary
where flat arches were used, to lower the
ceilings to an amount equal to the additional
thickness of the soffit tile, and this meant
a corresponding addition to the thickness of
all the floors and a necessary addition to the
cost of the building.

One of the few improvements in the man-
ufacture of burned clay fireproofing during
the last twenty-five years, was the discov-
ery, said to have been purely accidental, that
terra cotta when made semi-porous possessed
great toughness and was not as likely to
crack in a severe fire as hard hollow tile.
Attention was called to this after the con-
flagration in 1894 at Pittsburg, in which two
nearby buildings belonging to the Horne Es-
tate were subjected to very severe fire tests.
In the department store hard burned hollow
tile was used. It had walls of from one-half
to five-eighths of an inch in thickness, and
was badly cracked on the exposed side. In the
office building a hollow tite was used called
“Terra Cotta Lumber” with walls about one
inch thick, and solid tile around the columns
about two inches thick. It was made of a
dark red vitrifying clay, and with only about
one-half of the usual quantity of sawdust

378

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

that had been employed in the manufacture
of porous terra cotta, for producing the por-
osity when burned out in the kilns. The dis-
covery was a valuable' one, for only occa-
sionally was a hollow tile in the Horne Of-
fice Building found to be cracked, and the
solid tiles had been found to have entirely
protected the iron columns. Since the pub-
lication of this discovery some manufactur-
ers have made all their hollow tile semi-
porous to avoid, if possible, the objection to
the fact that the exposed bottoms of hollow
tile have cracked off in numerous instances
of fires in buildings in which they have been
used.

The diminished use of porous terra cotta
for protecting the constructional steel mem-
bers, is one of the evidences of the decadence
in the art of fireproofing with burned clay
since about 1890. Up to the present time
porous terra cotta partition blocks have con-
tinued to be used in some buildings in New
York and the Eastern cities. One factory at
Pittsburg continues to make it, and the
whole product of one factory at Chicago for
fireproofing purposes is porous terra cotta.

The conflagrations at
Baltimore and San
RESULTS Francisco have demon-

SHOWN BY strated the defects in

CONFLAGRA- hard burned hollow

TIONS tile as a fireproofing

material for all pur-
poses in one respect.
While the floor arches have preserved their
stability and have demonstrated their value
as fire stops, and column and girder cover-
ings have in most cases preserved the steel
construction from collapse, in nearly all in-
stances of exposure to severe fire the
hollow tile has had its commercial value as
a permanent building material destroyed by
the breaking away of exterior shells from an
unequal expansion in each material unit.
This defect has been most pronounced where
it has been used for column and girder pro-
tection. In the latter cases the destruction
of the tile has been due not only to the
breaking off of the exterior shells, but to the
longitudinal expansion of the entire column
covering. When the bottom and top of such
covering is built in firmly between the top
of one girder and the bottom of the next gir-
der above, the longitudinal expansion of the
whole covering . naturally causes it to be
crushed between the unyielding end-bear-
ings. This was traced, showing different
amounts of expansion and corresponding de-
struction by crushing, in a tier of columns
in the Horne Department Store at Pittsburg
after the second fire in 1897. As opposed to

this experience severe fires that have oc-
curred within the last ten years in the two
buildings of Martin Ryerson at Chicago, one
on Wabash Avenue and Adams Street and
the other on Randolph Street near State
Street, each of these stores was subjected to
a very severe interior fire. In both the col-
umns were protected by solid blocks of por-
ous terra cotta, screwed to the iron, and in
neither case were they injured in the least.
Neither were the porous terra cotta girder
coverings in these two buildings in any way
injured by the fire. The ceilings of the for-
mer building were of porous terra cotta tile
screwed to the wooden floor joists and the
fire was confined to the story in which it
started.

Hollow tile partitions have failed badly
both in Baltimore and San Francisco con-
flagrations. Where the severe fire occurred
on one side they cracked and their hollow
spaces were exposed, and they were often
thrown down by excessive warping. In more
instances their fall without apparent cause,
since the several blocks were found unbro-.
ken, can only be attributed to vertical ex-
pansion of the whole partition when the
great heat was on both sides, causing them
to bulge and fall, because there was no re-
lief for the expansion between the floor and
ceiling. The problem how to prevent this is
worthy of very serious consideration now. It
has long been insisted that the partitions
should be built on the floor fireproofing and
wedged tightly to the ceiling. But it looks
as if this supposed carefulness might have
been the very cause of their collapse.

These few illustrations may serve to give
some indications of the present condition of
the fireproofing art with burned clay. Many
others might be added; and it will naturally
be asked, why should there be retrogression
in the art, and why should these errors still
continue to be repeated. The answer in-
volves a serious consideration of the duties
of present day architects and their relations
to the contractors, as much as to their cli-
ents. It involves a consideration of the ed-
ucational qualifications in which one is com-
pelled to admit that the present day archi-
tects are quite as deficient as their progeni-
tors of thirty years ago. The engineering press
has, during the last few years, given much
space to discussing the merits of this or that
used in fireproofing buildings. The architect-
ural press has given but scant attention to it,
confining itself mainly of quotations from
the engineering journals. The latter have
taken it upon themselves to regard fireproof-
ing as an engineering problem. It is diffi-
cult to see why it is not much more a prob-
lem in chemistry and mechanics, if it is not

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

379

entirely an architectural question. It is a
matter only handled by architects in practi-
cal life, and should not be left to the engi-
neers, who have little practical use for it.

One can point to a
few reasons for this
state of affairs. The
first and most elemen-
tary is that no atten-
tion has been given to
fireproofing in the
courses of study pre-
sented in the architectural departments of
the several universities which assume to
provide education for architects. It has been
attempted recently in a few of them to give
courses on reinforced concrete. All well and
good, since that has recently entered largely
into building construction. But why not
make concrete construction and fireproofing
merely a division of a broad curriculum in
which the theory and practice of fire pre-
vention is the basis of all such instruction':
Why not treat all systems which are sup-
posed to be fireproof from the separate points
of view of fireproofing and construction?
They are by their nature correlated subjects.
Considered separately the clay systems and
the reinforced concrete systems are the two
principal ones employed in modern practice.
Each has its advantages and its defects
structurally, as well as advantages and de-
fects from the fireproofers point of view.
These should be understood and defined in
any acceptable curriculum.

Another reason for the condition of the art
to which attention has been called, is that
there are no reliable experts in fireproof con-
struction. If there are, there are none prac-
ticing it professionally, and, as far as is
known, there are no architects or investors
in building operations seeking for such ex-
perts. There are those who assume to be
experts in reinforced concrete, but they are
generally representatives of systems which
are competing against each other. If there
are any experts in the burned clay systems
they must be in the employ of large compa-
nies engaged in the business. On all sides
such experts as there may be must be main-
ly interested as contract getters. Another
kind of experts are those employed by the
great fire underwriting organizations. As
things look at present they are the only real
and reliable experts. But they are not there
to assist architects, though glad to be con-
sulted. The great underwriters’ laboratory
at Chicago is piling up information of ines-
timable value, applying the crucial tests that
reveal the weak points of materials and com-
binations of materials, which are employed

in buildings, day by day, with indifference to
their real qualities and powers of endurance.
In course of time this information will be
available, but only after more mistakes are
made and more conflagrations reveal the
blunders which could readily be corrected.

If it were revealed how the specifications
of most architects had been made defining
the materials and method to be employed in
the fireproofing of hundreds of buildings that
have been erected in the last twenty years,
it would make amusing, as well as instruc-
tive reading matter. Those only who are ex-
perienced in the art and have the opportun-
ities afforded to competing contractors, could
tell the tale. Too often the contracts are
carried out in accordance with the stock
phrases “equal to” or “as good as” which
are supposed to be for the protection of the
owner. The low bidder gets the job and the
owner gets the gold brick.

The specification writer must do his duty
to his employer and cover everything that
goes onto the building whether he is versed
in the matter in question or not. In rare
cases the architect consults some contractor
whom he deems to be an expert. The con-
tractor conscientiously leads him up to the
making of a good specification. But the in-
expert contra :tor estimates according to his
own makeshift methods, and, the bids hav-
ing been opened, his low bid takes the job.
The owner is satisfied if the work complies
with the building laws, and overrules the
architect, if he should say a word in behalf
of the better method. The next time the ex-
pert contractor is less conscientious.

Perhaps neither the owner nor his archi-
tect realizes that there are many kinds of
burned clay and many kinds of concrete,
that there are materials and methods of as-
sembling and securing them that have
failed in recent conflagrations, and others
that have valiantly served their purpose.
They are fully satisfied until they run
against the expert whom the underwriters
now send to examine the work. But then
it is too late to make changes and the owner
has to stand the loss in premiums which the
underwriters relentlessly exact.

The whole art of fire-
proofing successfully
ELEMENTS consists of two things;

OF THE, first, the materials to

ART OF be used and, second,

FIREPROOFING the methods of placing

them where they will
stay until they have
fulfilled their purpose. We have heard of
materials that fail in themselves, and meth-
ods of setting both good and bad materials

FAULTY
FIREPROOFING
AND THE
NECESSITY
FOR A
STANDARD
SPECIFICATION

380

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

which result in their downfall when exposed
to severe tests. The method of assembling
them is the most important. It can only be
corrected by one who has been observant of
all the failures. Still it may not be cor-
rected even by this expert. He may in so
doing fall into another unforeseen difficulty.
More observation and experience is neces-
sary. The shop test is not always reliable.
The contingencies in a large building sub-
jected to a severe Are differ in all cases.
The coolest judgment is necessary to con-
trol them.

The common failing with all who are
called upon to devise fireproofing systems is
the want of a full realization of the vary-
ing intensity of heat in a burning building,
the consequently irregular expansion of the
fireproof material by heat and the effects of
drafts engendered by the very nature of the
plan and arrangement.

As a general theorem it must be assumed
in all cases that the fireproofing should be
sufficient to save itself and save all that is
behind it. In so doing it saves the general
construction. All inside finish and ma-
chinery is destructible. The value of this
in any first class building approaches fifty
per cent, of the cost of the whole.

The conditions are the same whether
burned clay methods or concrete methods
are used. All hollow burned clay tiles crack
by unequal expansion. A method must be
round, if not to prevent this, to cover them
in such a way that the covering material
only will be damaged. Solid porous tile is
often found to be the remedy. Concrete,
according to the most reliable experts, is
subject to surface disintegration according
to the intensity of the heat, and its dura-
tion. If this cannot be prevented the con-
crete must be protected by something which
will receive the damage and can be renewed
if necessary without much expense. Ex-
perience has shown that a hard burned fire
clay tile cracks only once in its lifetime.
Unequal expansion is its only weakness. Its
hardness is not affected by re-heating. It
can only be fabricated and burned in the
hollow form. But it can be split into flat
tile or flat tile with projecting webs after
burning. This is a common practice where
slabs are needed for any purpose. There-
after they will not crack with intense heat,
and their expansion is possible without dam-
age. Experiment in actual fires, as well as
experience, have demonstrated that when

secured so that they cannot be thrown oft
they are the best practical protection to the
exposed surfaces of all burned clay mater-
ials, as well as to exposed concrete.

There is a necessity
to-day for improve-
ments in the art of
fireproofing, which has
not yet reached such
perfection that it can
be regarded as a stand-
a r d system. Every
great fire disaster brings the critics to their
feet with denunciations of the futility of
present day methods; but without the sug-
gestion of intelligent remedies. All the sys-
tems are on trial to-day, but it is not there-
fore to be assumed that all are defective.
Still the confidence of the public and ol
those who are immediately interested is too
often shaken by the revelations of such ex-
amples as the destruction of the Parker
Building in New York, one of the worst ex-
amples that could be found. The possible
improvements in the art which have been
pointed out, some of which are by no means
new, but which failed of general recognition,
will eventually be made as a result of recent
agitation. Demands are being made on all
sides for “standardization” of everything.
Something of the kind should be done for
this art if possible. There should be co-
operation between architects to arrive at
the best results. But more than all there
should be co-operation between the archi-
tects and contractors. Without the experi-
ence of the latter and the results of their
extensive investigations and tests any in-
vestigation of the real merits of materials
and methods of construction would be fruit-
less of valuable results. Another invaluable
addition to knowledge of the subject coula
be found in the exhaustive tests conducted
at the Laboratory of the National Board of
Fire Underwriters.

The time has arrived for the formation of a
commission to investigate the whole sub-
ject of fireproofing buildings with a view to
arriving, if possible, at a standard speci-
fication. Such a commission could only be
formed of repesentatives from the national
body of architects, who should take the lead,
inviting contractors of experience in the art,
in both clay and concrete methods, and
a representative from the Underwriters’
Laboratory.

IMPROVE-

MENT

NECESSARY

Cbe

Avrljitrctmal

Vol. XXV. JUNE, 1909 No. 6

Selecting the Suburban Home Site

Practical Suggestions

In the April issue, the general prin-
ciples which should govern the devel-
opment of building estates were out-
lined; in this article it is intended to
emphasize a few of the more practical
points therein mentioned, and especially
the importance to the intending pur-
chaser of utilizing professional know-
ledge in the selection of a site as well
as in its subsequent development. It is
desired also to point out that the ideal
development of a building-estate rests
as much with the purchasers as with the
management. It is for this reason that
points of interest to both parties have
been mingled, as the welfare of the
estate should be of mutual interest.

One of the first points taken up in
the previous article referred to the ad-
vantages accruing to an estate by thin-
ning-out thick and mature woods. It
was shown that by so doing a fair share
of the dominating views would be as-
sured to all lot owners, thereby in-
creasing tbe value and salability of the
individual lots, as well as increasing the
general artistic tone of the whole prop-
erty. As the process of woodthinning
is a somewhat unique one the method
of procedure will be explained in some
detail. The operator should first ab-
sorb the dominating characteristic fea-
tures of the woodland by reviewing its
entire reach from some lofty vantage
point. He should then acquaint him-
self with the internal topography of the
woodland by tramping through it until
its every detail and all of its com-

ponent parts have become clearly
“mapped-out” in his mind. By thus
studying the situation he will have de-
termined the parts which require the
severest “thinning-out,” he will have
noted the most picturesque and charac-
teristic formations, and will thus be en-
abled to form his plans in such a way
that the final grouping of the plants will
preserve, so far as is consonant with the
utilitarian end in view, the most artis-
tic combination of nature-groupings and
of open meadow land. Without thus
photographing upon his mind the gen-
eral topographical characteristics of the
land, the operator literally works in the
dark, and will achieve nothing but hap-
hazard views and scraggly and discon-
nected effects.

The trees to be felled must then be
marked for the axeman. With two or
three laborers, armed with short axes,
or with pails of paint and brushes, he
then proceeds through the woods “blaz-
ing” all trees which are to be fe.lled, or
according to the system to be adopted,
“striping” the trees which are to be
saved. Where the latter are in the vast
minority, it is a time-saving policy to
“stripe” the trees with paint. If, how-
ever, the reverse is true, it is safer to
“blaze” the trees which are to be cut.
In any case whichever system is adopted
it should be continued to tbe completion
of the work, for if the two systems are
worked together there is great danger
of serious mishaps occurring.

The operator should not attempt to

Entered May 22, 1902, as second-class matter. Post Office at New York, N. Y., Act of Congress of March 3d, 1879.

382

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

complete his task in one wholesale
marking. He should repeat the opera-
tion several times, as after each mark-
ing or cutting a more comprehensive
grasp of the result can be obtained. The
winter months are the most economical
for such work, but the final, or even
the two last cuttings, should be per-
formed in the Spring months, after the
ieaves have matured. Doubtful points
can in this way be solved with greater
accuracy.

offered to the engineers. Where strict
economy is not a necessity a minute
topographical map should be made. It
is always a desirable luxury, and will
m innumerable instances be the means
of avoiding loss of time and will fre-
quentlv be the means of avoiding cur-
rent engineering. It is always a com-
paratively costly item. On flat and un-
obstructed ground such a map is a
superfluity. The mere outline of the
property, with possibly a few important

Plate I. — This plate shows the topographical map to be used in connection with the Gen-

eral Sales Map, Plate II. It is not intended to
ing purchasers to acquire a clear idea as to the
in the text, it is of importance to each purch
general policy of the company, and to this end
its clients with all available information,
a figured map will convey the required data.

An open prospect is so obviously a
pre-requisite to the full enjoyment of
country property that no company
should neglect the operation of wood-
thinning, and where this has been neg-
lected, every lot owner should insist
upon its performance.

If a topographical map of the prop-
erty is to be secured it should not be
made until the woods have been
thinned. The cost will then be at least
one-third, possibly a full half less, owing
to the increased facility of movement

be an accurate working map, hut to aid intend-
genera! character of the land. As pointed out
aser of a plot to have a definite idea as to the
it should be the aim of every estate to supply
A topographical map, a general sales map and

notes, is all that is required for a de-
signer to make his “out-lay” of roads
and lots. However, where the property
is of a hilly and irregular nature with
steep and abrupt gradients, a topo-
graphical map is of considerable work-
ing value. It is correspondingly ex-
pensive.

Apart from its value as a working
basis to the constructing engineer it
has a pictorial value insofar as it is
descriptive of the general type of the
property. In this sense it is frequently

SELECTING THE SUBURBAN HOME SITE.

383

used by companies in conjunction with
the general sales map, to such prospec-
tive clients as are unable to personally
view the property.

Otherwise a topographical map in it-
self has no value to the intending pur-
chaser. What is, however, of vital
importance to the future purchasers
is the general sales map. The pur-
chase of property which represents the

own judgment in the purchase of valu-
able objects of art.

A building site is, or should be so
considered, an object of art — a jewel in
the rough — and every building-estate
is but a collection of such jewels more
or less well assorted and offered to the
public for individual selection. The
problem which confronts the purchaser
in selecting a plot is two-fold, first, he

Plate II— The above plate represents a good type of a General Sales Map. By com-
paring it with the topographical map (see plate I.) a comprehensive conception of the char-
acter of the land, the various sizes of the lots and their adjustment to the land may be ob-
tained. It is not a “figured” map from which lots are sold, but a descriptive diagram made
for the purpose of enabling intending purchasers to obtain a clear idea of the system
of sub-division which the company has adopted.

The irregularity of the lots as to their sizes and areas will indicate that the road
system and the lots have been “worked out” upon the ground and that each lot will
afford a suitable and logical site. Such a map guarantees the future environment of each lot.
A map so designed removes the possibility of reducing the average size of the lots at a future
date. A map of this kind should be distinguished from what is known as a “figured”
map. (See Plate III.) Lots should not be bought from such a map, and in the event
that a company has not prepared a completely worked out and figured plat, each separate
plot sold should be guaranteed by some responsible title company.

future home of a family is a ques-
tion of supreme importance and yet
the average layman considers himself
fully competent to select a parcel of
land as being fitted to the most artis-
tic development, or at least, capable of
development along lines suitable to his
personal tastes. Such an attitude is no
less illogical than would it be for him
to attempt the designing of his own
house and grounds, or to rely on his

must ascertain that it is flawless, and
second, that it is capable of such artistic
treatment as he desires. Viewing the
purchase of land in this light, the wis-
dom of employing professional opinion
in the selection of a site will appear
obvious to all. No artist can do justice
to himself or his client unless his has
been the guiding hand from the very
inception of the process of creating a
home. To expect of an artist to create

3§4

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

a perfect picture without having had
the privilege of selecting its very basis
- — the essential item of the entire work —
is to expect the impossible. No land-
scape painter of any self respect would
accept a commission to “fill in" a can-
vas, the back-ground of which had been
started by a layman.

But to return for the present to a

more prosaic side of the matter .

The general sales map of the company

relation between map and ground facts,
and negligence — to use no stronger
word — on the part of the company, to
strictly adhere to the “promises” of the
map, is a cause of endless disagreement,
disappointment, and in many instances,
of law-suits. A general map should not
be offered to an intending purchaser as
a “bait,” but as a positive representa-
tion of what has been or is to be con-
structed. The potential surroundings

Plate III. — The above plate represents a typical “figured” map, as distinguished from a
“scaled” map. Every building estate map should be so figured in order to avoid subsequent
disputes as to boundary lines. Avoidance of this initial expense is the most frequent cause
of law suits over boundary lines, and the absence of such information on any map may
be taken as an indication of false economy on the part of the estate, which will inevitably
lead to future litigation between its clients and itself.

As it is a costly operation, it is avoided wherever possible, and especially in connection
with estates which are situated in country districts, and which are designed with irregular
road and boundary lines.

may or may not be of value. It too fre-
quently is- little else than a charming
picture. It is for the layman, or his ex-
pert, to determine as to its intrinsic
value. This depends upon the faithful-
ness with which its representations have
been adhered to in the actual execution
of its suggestions, that is, upon the ac-
curacy with which its lines — its roads
and lot-subdivisions — have been execu-
ted in concrete form or “staked out”
upon the ground.

Carelessness upon the part of the in-
tending purchaser in ascertaining the

of a lot determine, to a large extent, its
value. The fact that a road is to go
here or there, that an adjoining plot is
to be reserved as a park area, or play-
ground, or as the site of a public build-
ing, all tends to increase or decrease
the future value of a lot. It is impor-
tant to have positive information upon
such points as these. There is but one
way to ascertain such facts. If the
general map agrees with what has been
constructed or with what has been
“staked-out,” and if the deed refers to
both and equally accepts both as a basis

SELECTING THE SUBURBAN HOME SITE.

385

of the covenant to the purchaser, the
latter may rest assured as to the facts.
It would seem obvious that every pur-
chaser of a lot should follow such a
procedure. But it is safe to say that
nine out of every ten purchasers of
building-estate lots, especially during
the early days of the construction work,
are more or less ignorant of such facts,
and further, it is also safe to say, that
a large percentage of purchasers are
not positive even as to their own boun-
dary lines! Again, land companies do
not, nor do their clients, always realize
what the constituents of a practical lot
are, to say nothing of what constitutes
an artistic parcel of land. It frequently

Plate IV. — The above diagram represents the
plot referred to in the text. It is in area little
less than six acres. The right of way is indi-
cated at the north end of the lot. The in-
congruity of a fifteen-foot right of way leading
to a plot of such an area is only too obvious.
The fault lies in the original sub-division of the
estate. It is by no means a unique case. It
is a typical deed map as given by a modern
building estate. The general map is not, fig-
ured, hense each lot as it is sold must be lo-
cated individually. Such location should be
done with the utmost accuracy. The map in
question is certified to as “substantially cor-
rect.” It would not be in its present condition
accepted by any reliable title company. Even-
tual disputes as to its boundary lines can onlv
be avoided by the indifference of the adjacent
property owners as to the accuracy of their
own boundary lines, or by checking the errors
hi figuring the areas of the adjoining lots.

Plate V. — Representing a typical Adirondack
summer camping estate. Each cabin is rented
for the season only. The whole property is
common to all, there being no sub-division of
property for the individual cabins. The casino
supplies the common dining hall and lounging
rooms.

is a literal case of the blind leading the
blind. It is a frequent custom for com-
panies to sell their lots “as per map.”
It need hardly be pointed out that a
purchaser should invariably ignore such
a practice. He should buy land and not
representations, and he should buy land
that is fitted for the purpose he has in
view. Hence the importance to every
building-estate company, which pre-
tends to a sound financial and hon-
orable standing, to have prepared a
well thought out and carefully draught-
ed map and of having it transferred
accurately to the ground. “Staking-
out” should be done so clearly that
everv intending purchaser may see be-
yond peradventure exactly where his
boundary lines run and just what they
include. In many instances this is orig-
inally done most thoroughly. But
neglect to maintain the work once done
results in mis-adventures quite as seri-
ous as original neglect. The majority
of estates are before the public many
years and the successive winters and the
wear and tear of circulation, tend grad-
ually to destroy all vestiges of roads
and boundary lines, with the result that
the elusive memory of the sales agent
is depended upon to approximate the
actual boundary lines of the lots. Many

3 86

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

instances could be enumerated to exem-
plify the exasperating occurances re-
sulting from carelessness on both the
part of the agent and the buyer.

One instance occured as follows : A
corner lot was purchased overlooking
the Sound. It was bounded on one side
by a deep and precipitous ravine. The
other two sides were bounded, as the
agent informed the purchaser, approxi-
mately “by those two trees and from
thence to about here.” The whole mak-
ing a very desirable corner lot. The
lot was purchased. Subsequently it was
discovered that the important boundary
line described by the agent as “from
thence to about here,” forced the build-
ing site so near the edge of the ravine,
that in order to construct the house it
was necessary to project the body of it
considerably over the edge of the
ravine. The new owner had in fact, as
he expressed it, “bought more air than
land.” There was but one alternative,
namely, to buy the adjoining loti An-
other instance may be mentioned : a
picturesque lot was purchased and the
house practically completed. The land
designer was called in to arrange the
ground. A casual survey of the prop-
erty disclosed the fact that there was
no practical line for a driveway to the
house. Result: it required weeks of
irritating litigation to secure a right-
of-way through an adjoining property.
As this easement was but fifteen feet
wide the error was but partly checked
and could only be fully checked by the
purchase of more land. Many an owner
has been exasperated beyond measure
upon finding, after the purchase of his
lot, that certain features, such as a pic-
turesque grouping of trees and rocks,
or a fine clump of pines, were not in-
cluded within his boundary lines. Or
to reverse the condition, a given lot may
frequently be made logically complete
by including within its area a strip of an
adjoining plot, which should have been
acquired simultaneously with the orig-
inal purchase. The majority of such
errors and omissions could be obvi-
ated by clear and accurate demarkation
on the part of the company and by the
layman securing expert advice in the

selection of the land for his future
home.

A point of considerable importance
for every purchaser to determine in
weighing the future real and artistic
value of his prospective property, is the
relative position of the contiguous
house-sites. The company should, in
order to enable this point to be ascer-
tained, demark in a conspicuous form
these probable sites. It is also a good
plan for the company to have construc-
ted a cheap platform the height of
which will correspond to the floor level
of the second story of an average house.
This will provide an opportunity of as-
certaining the prospect which the pro-
posed house will afford.

It is well to point out here that the
leading building-estates of to-day are
at infinite pains to improve their proper-
ties to the greatest advantage, well
knowing that the majority of people,
other things' being equal, will seek that
property which has been most scientifi-
cally and honestly developed. And it
may be stated here that one of the most
telling hall-marks as to the policy and
the character of the expert advice which
has and is to govern the out-lay and de-
velopment of a given property, is the
system of road alignment and lot-sub-
division which has been adopted, and
which show on the sales map. The
adopted system will to a large extent
determine the class of buyers that will
eventually be attracted to the estate.
Without repeating what was pointed
out in the previous article as to the re-
lative merits of the “gridiron” system,
as compared to the “logical” system,
it may be said with assurance that,
where the policy of intentionally sub-
dividing the lots into areas too small
for individual use, for the purpose of
compelling the purchase of two lots
instead of one, that the property will
eventually deteriorate into third or fourth
class investments. This building-estate
“trick” originated with the “gridiron”
system but is frequently adopted in the
“natural” system. Thus the alignment
of the road may be correct, but the lots
will have been “squeezed” — that is, one
logical site will have been divided into

SELECTING THE SUBURBAN HOME SITE.

387

two or three “paper lots.” The result
is obvious. It is always easier to sell
one lot at a comparatively high price
than two or three lots at a compara-
tively low price. Hence where one in-
dividual will buy three or four lots and
build accordingly, five or six individ-
uals will buy but one lot and build
accordingly. The smaller investments
naturally depreciate the value of the
larger investments, and eventually de-
termine the controlling value of the
whole property. A study of the general
map as compared with the topography
of the land will at once discover the
policy of the management in this re-
spect.

It has been pointed out that the ideal
development of an estate rests as much
with the buyers as with the company.
All that the company can do is to
scientifically dissect its property into
the most logical and individually de-
sirable lots. From this point on the
artistic value of the estate as a
whole depends upon the wisdom with
which each owner has chosen his
site and with what taste it is subse-
quently improved. It is not enough to
have secured a clean title to a given
parcel of land. The point here to be
punctuated is that having accomplished
so much, the average owner believes
he has accomplished all, whereas for the
real purpose in view, the creation of a
beautiful and harmonious home, he
may have accomplished naught.

The two primary essentials in the
creation of a perfect home are, first, the
selection of the artist and upon his ad-
vice the selection of the land with a
view to the desired form of develop-
ment. The majority of artists are selec-
ted on account of their personal traits',
whereas they should be selected on ac-
count of their inherent artistic bent. A
fascinating manner can hardly compen-
sate for a badly designed Colonial villa
and yet it is an undeniable fact that the
more talented an artist is the more
specialized is his talent. Hence the
client should in the process of creating
a new home proceed thus : he should
first decide what manner of house and
garden is most to his liking : he should
then select the artist best adapted to

materialize his ideal : and finally, he
should, subjecting himself to the advice
of the expert, purchase the land for his
new home. Thus equipped he has at
least started with every available requi-
site for the successful issue of his
venture.

A casual stroll through a modern
building-estate, will to the competent
eye, clearly show that nine-tenths of the
houses have been designed by one mind,
despite the fact that there are appar-
ently twenty different styles (?) of
architecture and gardening. A closer
scrutiny as to the relation of the houses
to their sites will disclose the fact that
but a sparse minority of them are really
designed with feeling or in conformity
with the character of the land upon
which they rest. The reasons for this
are clear, and although not pecu-
liar to the architecture and gardening
of building-estates, they are more clear-
ly brought into relief by the proximity
of the houses and the inevitable
“oneness” which characterizes all such
estates.

In the event of the company itself
erecting the majority of the houses
upon its estate, it should not employ or
contract with one architect to design
everything from a fifteen hundred dol-
lar bungalow to a twenty thousand dol-
lar villa. Obviously it should employ
one who is fitted to design bungalows,
another who is fitted to do classical de-
signs, and still another who is adapted
to the more romantic or less classical
styles.

The American layman has not yet
grasped the essential inter-relation be-
tween the land, the house and the
artist. The average American architect
will accept, is compelled to accept, as
a means to a livelihood, any commis-
sions whatever, ranging from a twenty-
story office buildinp- to an Adirondack
log cabin. Such obviously is not the
ideal relation between client and artist.
It has been pointed out what this re-
lation should be. A little thought will
show that the eventuation of this ideal
relation depends almost entirely upon
the indeoendence of the layman and his
appreciation of the artist’s limitations.

George F. Pentecost, Jr.

HEADQUARTERS BUILDING, RIVERSIDE— CHARLES RIVER RESERVATION.

REVERE BEACH RESERVATION, BOSTON— CARNIVAL WEEK.

A Monumental Work of Landscape Archi-
tecture: The Metropolitan Park
System of Boston

Probably nowhere else in the world
are so fully illustrated the relations that
landscape architecture bears to architec-
ture pure and simple as in the metro-
politan parks of Boston. This is mainly
by reason of the diversified character of
the park system itself — diversified both
in landscape and in functions. Such a
range in nature and in use implies a cor-
responding range in what might be
called architectural traits. And here it
seems proper that at the start due sig-
nificance should be laid upon the circum-
stance that the relations between these
two great branches of design have in this
instance been logically developed accord-
ing to their normal bearings — and not
invertedly, and consequently perverted-
ly, as unfortunately has elsewhere now
and then turned out to be the case.

This normal relationship is founded
upon the simple axiom that architectural
activity of any kind, if it is to be kept

true to its purpose, must be a manifesta-
tion of structural utility expressed in
terms of art. However it may be with
other phases of art, true architecture can
never be an ‘ art for art’s sake.” Even
when we come to the purely monu-
mental this must hold true. For
here the purpose, the use, lies in the thing
that calls for expression ; unless the re-
sult is true to this the work itself has
no reason for being. So in a work that
is to be expressed in terms of landscape
design it follows that the dominating
motive must reside in its landscape qual-
ity. Insofar as architecture itself is con-
cerned therewith it must hold a com-
plementary or incidental relationship. So
soon as it tends to assert itself on its
own account it becomes false to itself as
well as false to its mission. In land-
scape work where the hand of the de-
signer is betrayed in evidences of its
touch, as in the roads and paths of a

390

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Mattapan Bridge — Bhre Hitts' Parkway.

J. R. Roblin, Engineer.

Wheelwright & Haven, Consulting Architects.

public park— in contrast with the guid-
ing impulse that employs art for the con-
cealment of artifice — these are made sub-
ordinate to the main intention by a frank
recognition of their function as neces-
sary intrusions and are reconciled to
the scheme by imparting to them an ac-
centual character. That is to say, that
when, for instance, a road is made to
lead to a charming view where,
perhaps, certain qualities of the scene
culminate in an emotional appeal,
either tranquillizing or picturesquely
piquant, it may not be in a way that
ostentatiously declares itself ; to achieve
its end it must lead to its object with-
out the effect of self-consciousness, as
of a hand pulling aside a curtain to say :
“Behold !” It must be done quietly and
naturally until the end is revealed much

Auburn St. Bridge — Mystic River Reservation.
J. R Roblin, Engineer.

Wheelwright & Haven, Consulting Architects.

as a flower unfolds itself. Palpably con-
structed features, like roads and paths,
are not designed — as so many suppose
and as the tyro attempts — for the sake
of producing upon a paper plan a pleas-
ing composition of gracefully curving
lines. They are nothing more than care-
fully devised means to aid the public in
convenient access to the various parts of
a pleasure-ground and to guide it in
its movements in a way that will con-
tribute to its enjoyment and prevent in-
jury to the elements that make up the
sources of gratification— an injury that
surely would result from the deface-
ments wrought by uncontrolled move-
ments on the part of many people. Roads
and paths are thus made incidentally to
contribute to the successive revelation of
beautiful qualities that impress them-
selves upon the beholder in a series of
scenes or pictures. A park, when proper-
ly designed, is never planned with ref-
erence to the construction of an attrac-
tive arrangement of roads and paths. On
the contrary, these are made as few and
as inconspicuous as possible. It is in
such things that the skill of the land-
scape architect shows itself. In the rest
of his work his skill is not in evidence at
all. So with architecture in these rela-
tionships. Unless it is employed in
nicely harmonized subordination to land-
scape qualities it fails of its purpose.

That there is need of saying this is
evident when we recall a striking
instance of the contrary procedure.
Since it is well that notable instances
should be put on record, either for the
sake of encouragement or of wholesome
warning, the specific case may here be
mentioned. It may be remembered that
some years ago, at the time when it was
decided to utilize New York’s Bronx
Park as a botanical garden and an ar-
boretum, the question arose as to its
equipment for that purpose. The friends
of the project were influential socially
and financially. In certain quarters it
was felt that here was a prime chance to
make a telling architectural effort; on
the other hand it was urged that what-
ever structural works were undertaken
should be subordinated to the purpose of
the park. The former view unfortun-

A MONUMENTAL WORK OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

391

ately prevailed. The main result was a
monumental-looking building, large and
pretentious — good enough in itself, but
decidedly out of place in its environment.
It asserted itself in^a rather vain-glorious
fashion as the culminating feature of
the park, set as conspicuously as possible
for the sake of architectural display,
whereas in site and in treatment it should
have been kept strictly incidental to the
true use of the park. But the actual ef-
fect was that of a park employed as a set-
ting for a palace. Indecorum is perhaps
none too strong a word to characterize
the procedure.

A public pleasure-ground, or a system
of pleasure-grounds, must be equipped
with certain instrumentalities demanded
for the proper service of the public for
whose benefit it exists. The designer,
the landscape architect, establishes the
roads and paths, concourses, terraces and
other modifications of the surface re-
quisite for the ends in view. Then there
must be bridges, shelters, houses for resi-
dent officials, accomodations for police,
and buildings designed to meet the vari-
ous recreative purposes for which the
place is intended, such as restaurants,
field-houses, and the like. These re-
quire the services of the architect. But
in the execution of his task, just as the
landscape architect must regard his
roads, paths, and other features as neces-
sary incidents to be carefully subordina-
ted to landscape qualities, so this artist
must also regard his activity as one of
subordination and co-ordination, harmon-
izing his work with its landscape sur-
roundings, making it express its purpose
as quietly and unobtrusivelv as possible
— always with due regard to these limi-
tations. While holding these limitations
steadily in view, the architect need not
fear that he is losing any opportunity
whatever, or sacrificing his artistic in-
dividuality in any respect, through a
recognition of the necessity of his keep-
ing a minor place in the scheme of things.
Indeed there is ample scope for work of
the greatest excellence under these con-
ditions. Here the opportunity of the
artist is that of exercising the skill and
taste required to maintain a proper sense
of values in relation to other elements of

Boston & Maine R. R. — Mystic River
Reservation.

J. R Roblin, Engineer.

Wheelwright & Haven, Consulting Architects.

the larger work in which his own work
plays but a part. On the other hand,
should the architect insist upon asserting
himself he would thereby lose his oppor-
tunity through the very fact of uneasily
endeavoring to make more of it.

In Boston’s metropolitan parks un-
commonly good opportunities have been
given for the exercise of architectural
talent, since the extensive scope of the
system, the variety of functions repre-
sented by the various individual parks,
have given opportunities for a cor-
respondingly wide variety of architec-
tural activity. To appreciate this notable
circumstance some idea of the character
of the system is essential. It consists of
a considerable number of separate fea-
tures, widely differing and often strongly
contrasting in character. The system

Alewife Brook Bridge — Mystic River
Reservation.

J. R. Roblin, Engineer.

Wheelwright & Haven, Consulting Architects.

39 2

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Bridge in Medford — Mystic River Reservation
J. R. Roblin, Engineer.

Wheelwright & Haven, Consulting Architects

aims to do for a great metropolitan dis-
trict made up of forty separate munici-
palities, with a total urban population of
more than a million and a quarter, that
which at the time its realization was
first determined upon had already with
remarkable completeness been done for
the central city by an elaborate park sys-
tem of its own. Not only has it com-
plemented Boston’s municipal park sys-
tem with a needed range of outer parks
that have conserved in perpetuity and
upon a grand scale many of the most
valued and distinctive features of the
scenery of the region ; it has enabled the
numerous suburban municipalities to do
for themselves through concerted action
what Boston had already so well done for
itself, and which previously they had
lacked power to do. The metropolitan
system, taken in connection with the
local systems, makes a remarkably com-
plete whole; an equipment of recreative
open spaces and connecting pleasureways
such as no other great city in the world
yet possesses in respect to artistic design
and scientific regard for the needs of a
great metropolitan community. In this
system the typical natural landscape has
been preserved by the establishment of
three important wilderness reservations.
One of these, the Blue Hills Reservation,
embraces what is practically an entire
mountain range in its area of nearly
5000 acres. On the opposite side of the
city, to the north, at about the same dis-
tance from the center as Boston’s muni-
cipal pleasure-ground, Franklin Park, lies

the Middlesex Fellswithan area of about
3000 acres, including various lakes nest-
ling amidst a wild region of rocky hills.
Somewhat similar in character to the
Middlesex Fells Reservation is the large
area known as Lynn Woods, where the
great reservoirs for the water-supply be-
longing to the city of Lynn have been
protected by setting apart the surround-
ing well-forested hills for park purposes,
making an area of altogether something
like 2000 acres of land and water. An-
other wilderness reservation, of modest
extent as compared with these, is the
Stony Brook Woods. This, like the Blue
Hills, lies on the south side of the city ; it
has 400 or more acres making a sort of
an expansion of a great picturesque
parkway connecting the municipal system
of Boston with the Blue Hills. These
wilderness reservations are intended to
be simply developed, the sylvan landscape
maintained scrupulously free from ap-
pearance of artificial intrusion beyond
the features necessary to make them con-
veniently available to the public and serve
the uses that mean a liberal enjovment of
natural scenery and of life in the open
air by the great urban multitudes living
near by.

The surroundings of a maritime city
naturally include a great deal of water-
front, much of which, either by reason of
shallow water or of facing the open
ocean, is of a character that makes it un-
available for commercial or industrial
uses. Moreover, the seashore ofifers the
greatest attraction to the multitudes

Granite Branch Bridge— Furnace Brook
Parkway.

J. R. Roblin, Engineer.

Wheelwright & Haven, Consulting Architects.

A MONUMENTAL WORK OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

393

throughout the warm weather. Thither
the people resort for the cooling breezes
from the water and for bathing and
other aquatic enjoyments. Elsewhere, as
at New York’s Coney Island for instance,
it has usually been customary to depend
entirely upon private enterprise for meet-
ing the demands of the public for sea-
side pleasuring. The result is apt to be a
heterogeneous utilization of the shore in
ways that offend the taste as well as ham-
per the recreative opportunities of the
public. Such was the case at Revere
Beach in the days before it became a pub-
lic domain and one of the leading fea-
tures of the Metropolitan Park system.
Here the occupancy of the shore was of
an extremely disreputable and squalid ap-
pearance. The policy of seashore reser-
vations as features of the metropolitan
plan, first instituted here, has been fol-
lowed out by the reservation of various
portions of the metropolitan water-front
for park purposes. Hence we have the
six different seaside reservations of Re-
vere Beach, the Winthrop Shore, the
Lynn and Swampscott shores, Nahant
Beach, the Quincy Shore, and Nantaskct
Beach. Beside these the city of Boston
as a municipality has important seashore
recreative grounds of its own. Quincy
Shore, like Boston’s Strandway and Mar-
ine Park, lies upon the quiet waters of
the land-locked bay at about the same
distance from the center as Revere

Electric Railway Bridge — Middlesex Fells
Reservation.

J. R. Roblin, Engineer.

Olmstead Brothers, Consulting Architects.

Ginn Field Bridge — Mystic Valley Parkway.

J. R. Roblin, Engineer.

Stickney & Austin, Consulting Architects.

Beach and the Winthrop Shore on the
north ; Nantasket Beach on the south,
with its surf-bathing, corresponds in lo-
cation to the Lynn and Swampscott
shores and Nahant Beach on the north.

These seaside pleasure-grounds are in-
deed most precious public possessions.
Their relation to each other in distribu-
tion at corresponding distances from the
center, like the relative position of the
great wilderness reservations, is striking-
ly symmetrical. A like order in distri-
bution applies to the features that con-
stitute the third element in the great met-
ropolitan scheme ; that is the reservation
of the water and banks of the three prin-
cipal streams that flow into Boston Bay ;
the Charles, the Mystic, and the Nepon-
set rivers. The reservation of these
river banks, and the consequent improve-
ments of the streams by restoring the
ancient cleanliness of their waters and
their shores in ridding them of unsani-
tary occupancies was due to the inspir-
ing suggestion of the late Charles Eliot,
the lamented young landscape architect
who was a main and indispensable factor
in securing the establishment of this
great park system, and who thereby in
his work set himself a monument even
more enduring and noble than that which
the architect of a great cathedral may
create. With simple and convincing elo-
quence Mr. Eliot pointed out how in
these rivers and their shores lay the po-
tentiality of great recreative areas where
the needs of the great surrounding popu-

394

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Headquarters Building and Police Station— Mid-
dlesex Fells Reservation.

Stickney & Austin, Architects.

lations might most easily and cheaply be
met, at the same time assuring great hy-
gienic improvements in the opportunities
thus given for the fresh sea-air to draw
unpolluted up the valleys to the interior.
These valleys also offered the most nat-
ural lines of movement for the great pop-
ulation seeking convenient routes to the
seashore. All of this ideal has now been
achieved in its main lines, and the ex-
ecution of its details remains to be car-
ried out as occasion may demand.

A fourth element, incidental in its re-
lation to the larger features of the
scheme, is the inclusion of certain
minor reservations created with re-
gard to their peculiar value in
picturesque or beautiful scenery, unique

Headquarters Building — Blue Hills Reservation.

Stickney & Austin, Architects.

so far as the neighboring region is
concerned. One of these, the Beaver
Brook Reservation in Waltham and Bel-
mont, is notable for the finest group
of ancient oaks to be found in this part
of the world. These noble trees, in age
estimated at a thousand years at least,
grow along a meandering terminal mor-
ain that makes a topographical and geo-
logical feature of exceptional interest.
Through the reservation runs the his-
toric Beaver Brook, celebrated in one
of Lowell’s most beautiful poems.

Another feature of this class is the
.Hemlock Gorge, an uncommonly beauti-
ful piece of wild and picturesque scenery
on the Charles River at Newton Upper
Falls. This is now included in the
Charles River Reservation which com-
prises the greater portion of the banks of
the river throughout its course of nearly
30 miles in the Metropolitan District.

In this connection may be mentioned
the relationship between the metropolitan
system and the properties in charge of
the Massachusetts Trustees of Public
Reservation, an organization incorpora-
ted for the purpose of preserving beauti-
ful and historic places entrusted to its
care for the public benefit. The first of
these reservations thus given in charge —
a beautiful grove of white pines and hem-
locks, Virginia Woods, given by a woman
in commemoration of her daughter — is
now a portion of the Middlesex Fells
Reservation. Another, the historic Gov-
ernor Hutchison Field, opposite the site
of the Governor’s country home in Mil-
ton, adjoins the Metropolitan Neponset
River Reservation and commands one of
the most enchanting prospects of river,
field and shore scenery to be seen in New
England.

A highly important and distinctive fea-
ture of the metropolitan scheme com-
prises the connecting parkways and
boulevards. These add immensely to the
value of the system for the public. They
connect all the principal reservations with
the metropolitan center and with the var-
ious suburban populations, and also, tO'
a great extent, with each other by routes
that enable the public to reach the various
pleasure-grounds with the greatest con-
venience and enjoyment. These pleasure-

A MONUMENTAL WORK OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

395

ways have been laid out so far as possible
with reference to landscape character.
Thereby the enjoyment of a holiday in
the open practically begins at the out-
set by making agreeable from the start
the way to a pleasure-ground, otherwise
too apt to be tedious, wearisome and
generally uncomfortable. This is ac-
complished not only by the construction
of pleasure-drives, but by incorporating
as a feature of the design, so far as pos-
sible, routes for electric-cars running in
reserved spaces where, according to the
admirable precedent set in the construc-
tion of the celebrated Beacon Street
Boulevard, the rails are laid in turf. The
parkways and boulevards have thus be-
come routes for popular transit as well
as purely pleasureways for the move-
ment of vehicles. This system of park-
ways and boulevards has been of enorm-
ous value since the advent of the automo-
bile. The ordinary highways are either
so congested, or so fully devoted to regu-
lar traffic, that had it not been for the re-
lief afforded by the pleasureways of the
Metropolitan Park system, not only the
general inconvenience but the public dan-
ger from motor-vehicles would have been
tremendously increased. Under the cir-
cumstances thus developed since it was
projected, it is difficult to see how this
system could with safety have been dis-
pensed with, and it is fortunate that it has
been so well developed.

The total cost of the metropolitan
park system to date is something like
$15,000,000; the parkways and boule-
vards alone cost something like $5,-
115,000 and the parks very nearly $10,-
000,000. Beside this are to be reckoned
the investments of Boston and the vari-
ous suburban municipalities in municipal
pleasure-grounds amounting to many mil-
lions of dollars.

It will be seen that a great system of
recreative open-spaces like this requires
a wide diversity of constructional work,
all of which in turn demands commen-
surately artistic treatment. This may
range from the simplest to the most elab-
orate, but all features must always be
carried out scrupulously in keeping with
their surroundings and subordinated to
the main character and function of the

Stables — Charles River Speedway.

Stickney & Austin, Architects.

scheme. In the first place we may con-
sider the element of bridges and viaducts.
Water-courses must be crossed ; roads or
paths must be carried over or beneath
lines of railroads. A most interesting
diversity in the structures designed to
meet these needs has been achieved. The
longest of these, Wellington bridge, must
be excepted from the list. Its lack of
monumental quality is largely for the
reason that it serves an existing line of
highway as well as the Middlesex Fells
Parkway, which it carries across the est-
uary of the Mystic River. The great
cost which a suitable bridge of masonry
or metal construction would entail for-
bade the undertaking of it in that man-
ner. When the time comes for its re-

public Convenience Station — Blue Hills
Reservation.

Stickney & Austin, Architects.

396

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

newal an adequate monumental bridge
will doubtless be realized.

The bridge across tbe Neponset River
connecting the Blue Hills Parkway with
the Boston Park system by the way of
Blue Hill Avenue at Mattapan Square
was the first of an elaborate character
to be undertaken for the Metropolitan
Park system. The architects had dis-
tinguished themselves shortly before with
the designing of the great Cambridge
Bridge across the Charles River Basin,
and more recently the noble bridge
across the Connecticut at Hartford.

The Mattapan Bridge is more con-
spicuous in its relation to the highway
than to the stream. Apparently for this
reason it has been kept extremely simple
in design, developed from flat walls with
smooth-faced granite. A noteworthy fea-
ture is the unsymmetrical distribution of
the arches in one wide span and two
small semi-circular ones ; the latter de-
scribe complete circles when reflected in
smooth water.

More efifective in treatment are the two
bridges crossing the Mystic River in
Medford, designed by the same archi-
tects, each with a single span and a very
flat arch. Both are of re-inforced con-
crete construction. The first, commonly
known as the Armory Bridge, has
courses of blocks cast in concrete. The
other, the Auburn Street Bridge, is con-
fessedly a monolithic structure. Bridges
of concrete present a comparatively re-
cent problem in architectural design. The
stone bridge must of course be the pro-

Bath House and Police Station — Revere Beach
Reservation.

Stickney & Austin, Architects.

Police Station and Headquarters — Revere Beach
Reservation.

Stickney & Austin, Architects.

totype, but unless the example is followed
with due regard for basic dift’erences in
material the results are likely to be artis-
tically defective. In this bridge the prob-
lem has been dealt with by the employ-
ment of simple means to obtain agreeable
modifications in qualities of texture, and
a diversity in light and shade in large ele-
mental masses. The greater part of the
surface has been rough-hewn, with a
lightly contrasting smooth band to accent
the course of the arch. Other examples
of simple concrete construction shown in
the same reservation are the Alewife
Brook Bridge and the viaduct that car-
ries over the parkway the Southern Divi-
sion tracks of the Boston & Maine Rail-
road. In connection with the latter, the
illustration shows the Auburn Street
bridge in the distance framed by the arch.
Another viaduct by the same architects
carries over the Furnace Brook Park-
way the tracks of the Granite Branch in
Quincy, an interesting example of
granite-faced construction with an ovi-
form arch. The most important example
of concrete bridge construction yet un-
dertaken for the metropolitan system is
the three-arched viaduct near Spot Pond
in Middlesex Fells. This is notable as
the design of the landscape architects
who from the start have had the shaping
of the entire park system. To carry an
electric railway directly through the
heart of a great wilderness reservation
without inflicting serious mutilations is
a most delicate task. At this point the

A MONUMENTAL WORK OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

397

Bath House — Nahant Beach Parkway.

Stickney & Austin, Architects.

crossing- of a park road that had been
laid out with particular reference to fine
landscape qualities of woodland and
water made it a difficult thing to deal
with. The introduction of architectural
qualities, simple in mass and of striking
dignity, has avoided the effect of intru-
siveness and has even enhanced the pic-
turesque quality of the scene. One may
fancy how the ordinary electric railway
practice might have affected the scene
with trestle-work or steel-girder con-
struction, and then consider what has
been escaped in an achievement like this.
It should be said of all of these examples
of recent bridge construction that the
ultimate effect can be suggested only by
imagining the relief of the crudeness
that comes with newness by judiciously
grouped planting with shrubs, trees and
climbing plants.

A wholly different quality in bridge de-
sign, happily suggesting a Japanese in-
fluence, is represented in the graceful
wooden foot-bridge that crosses the Ab-
ba jona River in Winchester. A foot
bridge of quite another type is that of
the Charles Eliot Memorial, on a slope
of the great Blue Hill not far from its
summit. A memorial to the man whose
genius and whose unselfish devotion to a
public-spirited cause gave him rank as
a creator of the great metropolitan park
system had been determined upon for
this locality. It was felt by many that a
site better related to the center of the
great work that Eliot wrought would
have been more appropriate. But the
localitv having been chosen it remained
to carry out the idea in the most fitting

way. A natural simplicity was most
suitable to such a theme. The fundamen-
tal motive is that of a path encircling the
hill not far from the summit, with tribu-
tary paths ascending the slopes and here
converging at various points. In carry-
ing this path across a shallow ravine it
was necessary to construct a bridge. It
was in association with this bridge that
the memorial was placed in the form of
a recess from the path with a suitable
tablet integral with a plain wall of rough-
hewn granite. The impression is quietly
pleasing ; as lacking in ostentation as was
the beautiful soul of the man whom it
commemorates.

Headquarters buildings for the various
reservations have contributed some of
the most satisfactory architectural fea-
tures of the metropolitan scheme. These
have been studied with extraordinarily
fine feeling, particularly with regard to
their environments, each as a distinct
problem. All the buildings in this class
are the work of the same architects.
At Middlesex Fells the picturesquely
spreading structure with plastered walls
and tile roof fits most admirably into the
broad slopes of the adjacent woodland
hillside — neither shrinkingly nor obtru-
sively, but with a fine well-bred reserve
as befits the location upon a much-
frequented highway, coupled with a
sort of cordial attitude towards passers
that well expresses its public relation-
ship. On the other hand, the head-
quarters building for the Blue Hills
Reservation, assigned to a more re-

Shelters and Sea Wall — Revere Beach
Reservation.

Stickney & Austin, Architects.

398

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Bath House — Nantasket Beach Reservation.

Stickney & Austin, Architects.

mote and retired location, suggests, with
its extremely simple form and walls of
rough-hewn granite, the dignified home
of a well-to-do farmer who might be
found at such a spot. Correspondingly
appropriate is the wayside character of
the stables, connected with the superin-
tendent’s house, on the Charles River
Speedway. Beautifully studied with ref-
erence to its waterside character is the
delightfully pictured headquarters build-
ing of the Charles River Reservation,
near the Riverside Station in Newton,
with its stone basement and arches for
the passage of the boats kept within, and
the low roof and timbered superstructure
with plastered panels in the gables. In
a similar style, recalling the wooden
architecture of Norway, Switzerland
and the Black Forest, in a charming
blend most appropriate to the mountain-
like neighborhood, are the shelters and
the public-convenience station at the
Blue Hills Reservation.

Most important, architecturally, as be-
fits the extremely popular character of
their purpose, are the structures designed
to serve the various seaside reservations.
How popular this purpose is may be in-
ferred from the panoramic view of a
portion of the Revere Beach Reservation,
with its shelters in the foreground, shown
on page 389. Several of these shelters,
with their terraces, are located at inter-
vals along the beach, contributing very
handsomely to the civic character of the
Reservation, with their effect of utility
developed as motives for dignified em-

bellishment, which lends itself well to
the holiday quality of the seaside spec-
tacles that enliven the scene throughout
the summer. The first of these terraces
was constructed in front of the great
bathhouse, separate subways for the two
sexes carrying the bathers beneath the
driveway and promenade, directly to the
beach. This bathhouse, the largest and
most complete establishment ever de-
signed for public bathing, well expresses
its character as an important center of
recreation for the people. The adjoin-
ing high brick walls enclose many hun-
dreds of dressing-rooms. A completely
equipped emergency room, shower-baths
and other facilities for promptly serving
the throngs that resort to the building
are features of the establishment. A
neighboring building is jointly occupied
as a police-staion and laundry. A nota-
ble feature is the way in which the laun-
dry chimney has been masked by the
tower. A chimney of the factory type
is necessary to the operation of the elab-
orate machinery whereby thousands of
bathing-suits are promptly washed, ster-
ilized, dried and returned to the bath-
house for use. The organization of these
buildings offers a significant instance of
the way in which a great public work
can be thoroughly co-ordinated in its
various elements and efficiently adminis-
tered. In planning for this, and in
manifesting the purpose in terms of art,
the architects have achieved in these
three related structures — the bathhouse,
the laundry and police station, and the
terrace with its shelters — an exception-
ally noteworthy civic group, shaped to
express the holiday character of the
great public resort which here has been
developed out of the squalid and promis-
cuous origins that marked the days of
private occupancy of the water-front.

Nantasket Beach stands second only to
Revere as a metropolitan reservation, re-
sorted to by great throngs throughout
the summer. Its location, however, is
isolated, and it has not the physical con-
nection with the rest of the metropolitan
system that distinguishes the other sea-
side pleasure-grounds. Hence the archi-
tectural developments to meet the public

A MONUMENTAL WORK OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

399

demands similar to those at Revere are
more palpably utilitarian in quality. The
laundry, for instance, is a plain indus-
trial-looking brick structure, and the
bathhouse is of wood and shingled, at-
tractive in a somewhat reticent fashion,
but with a sort of holiday aspect and a
suggestion of civic utility that an ordi-
nary commercial bathhouse would not be
likely to possess.

The entire water-frontage of the city
of Lynn, on the ocean side, has been de-
veloped for recreative uses for the me-
tropolitan system. The Nahant Beach

Reservation is an element in this devel-
opment. Its bathhouse has a delightful
festal character, well suited to its admir-
able setting beneath sunny summer skies.
It is a captivating utterance of the sense
of vernal gaiety. Its joyous implications
are heightened by a brilliant contrast of
gleaming white- walled surfaces and
red-tiled roofs, intensified by the spark-
ling accents of rich and well-disposed
decorative reliefs, in the designing of
which maritime symbols are fittingly in
evidence.

Sylvester Baxter.

CHARLES ELIOT MEMORIAL— GREAT BLUE HILL.

Boston. A. W. Longfellow, Architect.

The Small English Home as a Place to Live

In— Its Seamy Side

In the April issue this subject was viewed from the American point of view. The article
below states in a rather interesting way how the matter is regarded by an architect in
England, who dissents from some of the current architectural practices of contemporary
English domestic architecture. — Editors of the Architectural Record.

“Is five feet six inches too high for a
Dining Room — if not, why not? Ask

” and there follow the

initials of a designer of English country
houses whose work has been widely ex-
ploited by a journal which includes
“arty” architecture — if I may use the
words together — amongst the other
matter between its covers. The ques-
tion and answer quoted were doubtless
clipped from the best of architectural
publications “The Purple Patch,” the
rag — not the journal — of the Architec-
tural Association. The question is im-
portant and by inference we are able to
settle a doubt which has often arisen
in our minds as to the significance of
the word “short” in the well-known as-
sertion that “art is long and artists
usually short.” What artist that has
read the line has not felt it to be a
grave insinuation against the financial
soundness of his professional fratern-
ity? Perhaps, however, its author was
referring to our average stature — but
we could never believe him guilty of the
impertinence. Alas ! it would seem
probable for here we have evidence to
support the latter theory, because if
artists — which term is supposed to in-
clude architects — were tall, as tall as
other people, would they not consider
five feet six inches about the right
height for a dining room or any other
room and let it go at that? But the
question has been raised and we turn —
as all wise architects invariably must —
to the great examples of precedent,
recent examples of course, which have
appeared from time to time in the archi-
tectural periodicals and others which
publish designs for houses, and we find
- — what do we find? That, hitherto, in
many cases, five feet six inches has

been considered far too high for a bed-
room, at least at the side where the
window comes, so why not, also, too
high for a dining room? In such a de-
sign as the “Country House” (Figs, i
and 2), how high is any room;
and does it contain either bed-

rooms or a dining room ? Should
one enter such a house could he stand
up in it, or would he have to be as
Apollodoros found the goddess in Had-
rian’s design for a temple, necessarily
seated because the head would go
through the roof if standing?

Nothing could be easier than to at-
tack the type of small house which has
grown up in England during the past
decade or two, which consists princi-
pally of a vast roof with numerous chim-
neys resting upon walls not much
higher than the curb of a cyclone cel-
lar, in which appear rows of little win-
dows, reminding one of the side of a
tram car, and elaborated with the sort
of detail so much approved of by the
school of “new art.” Many of the
architects who designed such work ten
years ago would gladly repudiate it to-
day, though they know it did a certain
amount of good to the cheaper classes
of houses in general by tending towards
the elimination of many of the absurd
features which formerly had been con-
sidered a necessary part of residence
design. It must be, however, a matter
of some difficulty to convince the en-
thusiast upon modern English work
that many of the houses by the best
known architects — particularly the small
houses — if better in appearance than
the kind with the little green shutters
with heart shaped holes cut in them and
the green barrel to catch the rain-
water, are far from being what an Am-

THE SMALL ENGLISH HOME AS A PLACE TO LIVE IN.

401

Fig. 1. Country House.

M. H. Baillie Scott, Architect.

erican would consider well constructed
or well planned, convenient or com-
fortable ; so many of us would gladly
forget these disadvantages and re-
member only the charm which the
design adds to the scenery. It must
be borne in mind that England is not a
country which could be considered sun-
shiny or bright. The climate is rainy
and dull ; there is not much hot weather
and to a New Yorker or Chicagoan it
could never be considered cold. During
the spring and summer the sky is fre-
quently overcast while during the late fall
and the winter a great deal of rain and
fog is usual. The principal considera-
tions, therefore, should be to provide
ample lighting and good natural venti-
lation, guard against dampness and
draughts and devise a means of uni-
form heating. In a way, all of these
things have received a certain amount
of attention, but, again, to the Ameri-
can, or to anyone who has lived in Am-
erica or Germany, the way does not lend
itself to praise or appear very efficient.

The Englishman is nothing if not an
economist and he sees no reason to go
to the expense of a basement under a
house unless he can put the kitchen in
it, and he discovered during the Vic-
torian days that, there is only one place
where the kitchen may not be placed
and that is underground ; it may be
planned on the roof or off the main en-
trance hall, as it frequently is, but it
must not be in the basement. If the
kitchen may not be placed in the base-

ment, nothing may and hence there
need be no basement. Its existence for
the purpose of keeping the house dry
and as a place for fuel storage and the
accommodation of a modern heating and
ventilating system is not, as yet, recog-
nized. In the case of the most modern
English houses the whole site is covered
with a raft of concrete consisting of
broken brick and sand and some cement
is added when the Clerk of the Works
is watching. A damp-proof course to
the walls designed to prevent the wet
from rising in the wall is sometimes
effective in the better class of buildings
where asphalt is used, but the projec-
ting slate course in the houses of mod-
erate cost serves often as a water table
to catch the rain, which runs down the
wall, and conduct it under and into the
wall above the course. Nine-inch brick
walls are considered sufficiently thick,
and hollow walls or walls lined with
hollow bricks are unusual. Furring is
almost unknown. The plaster is ap-
plied directly to the walls. One stair-
case is still deemed enough for a house
costing less than ten thousand dollars.
Whether a vestibule is a necessity or a
luxury is an unsettled question. The
entrance hall which is, as a rule, not
heated even by a fire place, communi-
cates directly with as many rooms on
the ground floor as possible, including
the kitchen and a small toilet room
(Figs. 3 & 4). Through this entrance
hall every occupant of the house

Fig. 2. Rear View of Fig. 1.

402

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

must pass in going from one
room to another as communicating
doors are considered unnecessary.
Trunks, furniture, the family washing
and house cleaning utensils and oc-
casionally the chimney sweep pass
through this hall, for, as before stated,
there is but one staircase. The dining-
room is often planned at one side of the
entrance hall and the kitchen at the
other so that the maid, arrested in the
act of serving- the soup, may place the
tureen upon the stairs while she
answers the bell at the front door,
though this scheme is being rapidly
done away with in favor of the Ameri-
can plan of placing the china closet or
butler’s pantry between the kitchen and
the dining room. Sometimes the love
of the picturesque leads the architect
to arrange some of the ground floor
rooms at different levels from the
others to the infinite exasperation of the
housekeeper while the male occupant
as he falls into it in the dark is reminded
of Burgess's rhyme :

“ I wish that my room had a floor,

I don’t so much care for a door,

But this walking around
Without touching the ground
Is getting to be quite a bore.”

At the back of the house there is the
“Scullery”, a kind of laundry which in-
cludes the sink where the dish washing
is done and a number of cells for the

pRST fuDR Plan

Figs. 3-4. Plans of House Shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5. A House in Surrey.

E. Guy Dawber, Architect.

storage of fuel, provisions and boots
and shoes and an outside Servants’
W. C. of which the pipes freeze and
burst every time there is a cold snap.

Upstairs the planning is much the
same ; bedrooms are not provided with
closets, even the linen closet is fre-
quently omitted; one bath room does
for as many as six or seven bed rooms
and is used by family and servants.

The typical English living room or
bedroom has but one door and one win-
dow or one row of windows and fortu-
nately but one fireplace. The door is
of deal and when the house is five years
old, the door does not fit its frame
by nearly a quarter inch. The fireplace
is for heating and ventilating but dur-
ing the winter months not more than
one-third of the room can be warmed
by this means, while, as to ventilation,
one can only say that in different cases
fireplaces probably give very different
results. It is a well-accepted theory
that fireplaces are one of the best
means of house ventilation. The
writer’s experience does not lead him
to that conclusion ; on the contrary the
upper part of a room has been found to
be several degrees warmer than the
lower, and the air in the upper part,
especially above the tops of the win-
dows, to be stationary, whilst around
the door and window and between these
and the fireplace there is a rapid cur-
rent of cold and damp air. One’s head
and shoulders are warm while his shins'

THE SMALL ENGLISH HOME AS A PLACE TO LIVE IN

403

are cold and his feet almost freezing.
The effect of such “ventilation” is to
be observed as to the people, that the
number who suffer from rheumatism
in the legs and feet is enormous. Of
course, the native will not admit that
it is rheumatism, or due to the fireplace
and the draughts along the floor, but
claims it is gout and his miseries
chargeable to the amount of malvoise
consumed by his tippling ancestors.
The windows are often the casement,
which, if it opens inward, drains its ex-
terior upon the floor; if outward, is
forever breaking fastenings or refusing
to shut, and now and then torn by the
wind from its hinges.

Most architects could only commend
the client who will sacrifice some com-
forts and alleged conveniences for the
sake of architectural effect — and a row
of casements is undoubtedly more
pleasing than double hung sashes and
few would find cause for quarrel with
the one who, having a good thing, re-
fuses to experiment with something
which may or may not be as good as
what he possesses. A fire of blazing
coals is not only cheerful in a climate
as dull as that of England but the fire-
place with a good mantel is often the
most notable ornament to the room,
while a radiator is a hideous thing.

The rooms at a level a few steps lower
than the ground floor are usually so
arranged to give better proportions to
a very large room or because the house
for the sake of picturesqueness is set
upon the side of a hill, perhaps the
windows to such rooms may appear
like transoms from within and cellar
windows from without, perhaps, too,
the rain which runs down the hill runs
in through the entrance hall, which is
sometimes below the level of the
ground. We suspect there is difficulty
about head room in the second story,
but still we think that for a row of
workmens’ cottages where economy
must be studied they are not bad. It is
not, perhaps, until we discover that
such houses have been built with no
regard to economy and are not the
homes of the poor who are forced by

circumstances to live the simple life
nor the homes of those who live that
kind of life by choice, but are mere
scenic efforts, the affected imitations of
rows of fishermens’ hovels done on a
grand scale and at great expense —
sometimes to the extent of a large
country house, that we begin to won-
der whether it would not be pos-
sible to have all the attractive features
equally as artistic and at the same time
avoid using the entrance hall as a serv-
ing room, provide it with other means
of warming than by the steam which
escapes from the boiling cabbage on
the kitchen stove ; and to get along
without ^answering in the affirmative
the question : — “Is five feet six inches
too high for a dining room?”

A number of American ideas have
been instilled into the minds of English
house designers, such as placing the
butler’s pantry between the kitchen and
the dining room, as previously men-
tioned ; others being to introduce a
lobby between the hall and the kitchen
so that the latter is closed off from the
former by at least two doors ; and pro-
viding the doors with self-closing-
checks, but more might be welcomed.

In a country with a cilmate consisting
of three months of summer and nine
months of bad weather a vestibule
seems a necessity to a modern — or
should we say effete ? — home ; a
warmed, dry basement and the bottoms
of the joists raised far enough above
the ground to admit light and air be-
low them would save many a floor from
rotting and many an Englishman from
rheumatism — I mean gout — and his
ancestors from a reputation of vile in-
temperance. Finally, the introduction
of a back or service stairs, windows at
two sides of a corner room would
brighten up dark corners in those
coated with dismal papers and a
change in the depth of tone of the
papers themselves would be desirable
and may come — when gas is substituted
for the soot producing soft coal fire —
and that day still seems distant from the
present in good old England.

Francis S. Sivales.

Russell Sturgis’s Architecture

Very likely the majority of the pro-
fessional readers of the Architectural
Record are unaware, at least of their own
knowledge are not aware, that the lace
Russell Sturgis ever did any architec-
tural work at all. His work in that kind
was, in fact, with one not specially sig-
nificant exception, all completed a full
generation ago. According to the com-
mon computation of a generation as a
third of a century, that would take us
back to 1876 as the time when his archi-
tectural activity ceased and determined.
And, as the new generations may need
to be reminded, 1876 was the occasion
of a considerable architectural awaken-
ing. For it was the year of the Cen-
tennial Exposition at Philadelphia,
which was quite as influential in its
efifect upon architecture and art, though
in a widely different way, as the Co-
lumbian Exposition at Chicago, seventeen
years later. The architectural effect of
the Chicago fair was, of course, to bring
us back to our classical moorings, to
show us, howbeit rather in the buildings
than in what was “exposed” within them,
what great effects there were still to be
elicited from the old Greco-Roman
forms, how we might revive, if not in
actual and costly marble, yet in specious
“staff,’’ remains of the Forum and the
Palatine, and realize the dreams of
“Dido Building Carthage” and “Regulus
Leaving Carthage.” One result of the
Philadelphia fair was to teach visitors
more about the importance of the Con-
tinent of Europe in comparison with
the British islands. It is not without
significance that the centennial year of
our political Declaration of Independ-
ence should have brought with it our
architectural Declaration of Independ-
ence. For it was in that year that Trin-
ity Church in Boston was built. The
immediate vogue and general acclama-
tion with which the design was received
fixed the course of American building
for the next ensuing decade. This was
the first real break with the “colonial”

building tradition. Up to then we had
followed the architectural fashions of
the mother country, importing even our
French and Italian Gothic by way of
England. And our architectural Dec-
laration of Independence thus followed
our political by the space of just one
hundred years.

As an architect, Russell Sturgis pre-
ceded this revolution, which afterwards,
as a critic, he eagerly promoted. With
one exception, and that a supple-
ment to what he had done already,
he had ceased to design before Rich-
ardson began. It is true that his
technical preparation for practicing
architecture had been gained in the of-
fice not of an Englishman, but of a Ger-
man, though I think you would not
deduce this fact from any of his own
work. But Leopold Eidlitz, though a
German, and in so many respects a Ger-
man of the Germans, was one of the
most enthusiastic adherents and promo-
tors of the Gothic revival, and found
more aid and comfort from his fellow
architects of British or American train-
ing and traditions than of German.
Cologne was to him the ultimate histori-
cal achievement of the art of architec-
ture. But he was more than willing to
join hands with those of the English
revivalists, who, whether inspired by
Pugin and ecclesiasticism or by Rus-
kin and romanticism, were remaking, in
the fifties and sixties, the architecture of
Great Britain, primarily in church
building, but extending their attempts to
all departments of secular work, endea-
voring to show that Gothic was good for
houses and public buildings, as well as
for churches. This was what Ruskin
was preaching in England and Viollet le
Due in France. Owing to Ruskin’s
“Seven Lamps” and “Stones of Venice,”
and to Street’s “Brick and Marble in
Italy,” and still more to the work that
young British architects were doing un-
der the influence of these writings, the
younger American architects of the earlv

406

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

sixties betook themselves more and more
to Italy for the motives and the treat-
ment of their secular designs in Gothic.
The earliest, and perhaps the most
successful, of these essays was Mr.
Wight's New York Academy of De-
sign. Towards the end of the decade,
the earlier years of which saw the erec-
tion of this work, its author was com-
missioned to do the Street Art Building
for Yale, and Mr. Sturgis to do two
dormitories, the donors and sponsors of
which were, respectively, Farnam and
Durfee, with a chapel at the angle which
was to bear the name of its donor —

ing officially dated 1869 (Fig. 1). Pos-
sibly it is the best of the three. The
composition is as effective as could be
expected from the conditions, the stair-
ways and their entrances being not only
unmistakably expressed, but so disposed
as effectively to punctuate the rugged
expanses of the brownstone fronts, a
punctuation to the emphasis of which the
chimneys also contribute. These are re-
lieved without being enlivened to the
destruction of repose, according to the
temptation to which so many of the Vic-
torian Goths of that time succumbed.
The angle turrets detach the gables, the

FIG. 1. FARNAM HALL, YALE UNIVERSITY (1S69).

New Haven, Conn. Russell Sturgis, Architect.

Battell. Whether the commissions were
conferred and the design conceived all
at once, I do not know, nor does it mat-
ter. It is evident that the three buildings
were designed with reference to one
another and to the total effect of all
three, that they were the most success-
ful buildings that Yale had up to that
time produced, and that they have had
an excellent influence in the way of
moderation, restraint, conformity and
harmony on such of the subsequent
architects of the university as would
submit themselves to that influence.
Farnam is the earliest of the three, be-

light stone of the wrought work and the
dark brick of the tympana of the open-
ings offer enough and not too much of
contrast with the rough brownstone of
the wall fields. Very nearly a model of
a college dormitory, one says, with just
enough animation not to interfere with
its dignity and sedateness.

Perhaps this earliest of the dormitor-
ies is the best. It is easier to make a
structural effect with sandstone rubble
than with smooth brickwork, for one
thing. For another, the architect had
the rather unhappy thought, in the sec-
ond of his buildings for Yale — the Dur-

RUSSELL STURGIS'S ARCHITECTURE.

407

fee Hall — of distinguishing and empha-
sizing, by projection, the staircases
which, as we have seen, were sufficiently
distinguished and emphasized by treat-
ment (Fig. 2). It seems that he would
have done better to leave these in the
single plane of the front, and that he
need not have been afraid of the result-
ant monotony, which he might have re-
lieved by the discreet application of
color, after the methods of the north
Italian work, which pretty clearly in-

would have been evaded the difficulty
that is met by the cottagelike gables.
These, in turn, involve three different
shapes and sizes of dormers, which are
injurious to repose and tend to confu-
sion. They are redeemed from utter
confusion by the effective fenestration
and the insistence on the horizontal
string-courses that run through and em-
phasize the expanse, and by the general
sobriety and decorum of the work, quali-
ties which were by no means common in

FIG. 2. DURFEE HALL AND BATTELL CHAPEL, YALE UNIVERSITY.

(Durfee Hall, 1870.)

New Haven, Conn. Russell Sturgis, Architect.

spired the design. North Italy appears
most confessed in the detail of the en-
trances, with their doubled columns and
the “punched” tympana of plate tracery.
Moreover, the projected walls have
hardly visible means of support in the
doubled columns. A porch, projected
from the general plane, would have an-
swered every purpose of relief that is
answered by the actual arrangement,
while the doubled columns would have
been quite adequate to carry it, and there

the revived Gothic of 1870, nor, indeed,
in the architecture of Yale, whatever the
style, at a much later date. Durfee Hall
is not prevented from being good by the
fact that Farnam is even better.

The third of the group is fifteen years
later than the second, and the last of its
author’s architectural works. Lawrence
Hall (1886) (Fig. 3) has virtually the
same “layout” and the same motive
as Durfee. One notes that the criti-
cisms which the earlier invited have

408

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

been obviated in the later, or partly
so. At least the porches are projected
without carrying their superstructures
along to the full extent of the projec-
tion. The porches are to that extent
more satisfactory, and the crowning of
the lesser projection of the staircases is
a flat roof and a balustrade instead of a
gable, thus avoiding the tormenting of
the skyline with three kinds of roof win-
dows. These things are clear improve-
ments. But if, as in Farnam, the pro-
jections were withdrawn to the face of

it might very well have been a part of
the original scheme. In material, it con-
forms to the earlier of the dormitories
and if it had been flanked by Barnaul's
on both sides, that is, by buildings in its
own combination of rough brownstone
and wrought work of lighter stone, the
total effect would have been better. As
it is, the chapel wins the praise of re-
spectability and conformity and hardly
aspires to any other. For the apsidal
chancel, in its exterior, at the outer or
street corner of the quadrangle, is a

FIG. 3. LAURANCE HALL, YALE UNIVERSITY (1885).

(Durfee Hall to the left, Phelps Hall to the right.)

New Haven, Conn. Russell Sturgis, Architect.

the wall, and the distinction between
staircase and dormitories made merely
by the treatment of the openings, the
effect would be even better than it is,
especially if the chimney stacks of the
earliest building had been retained as
the animation of the skyline. Not that
the effect is bad or that all three do not
hold their places with credit and re-
spectability in the more recent competi-
tions of the university.

Battell Chapel comes in between Dnr-
fee and Farnam, being some five years
later than the younger of them, and,
hence, very likely, an afterthought. But

much more effective architectural com-
position than the front or the flank of
the chapel, as seen from the inside (Fig.
4). This outer apse, indeed, fulfills very
effectively its function of ultimate abut-
ment and stoppage of the long range of
dormitories extending all across the
“Green,” as happy a terminal feature, in-
deed, as. Mr. Haight’s much later Phelps
Hall is a central feature. To appreciate
the value of the chapel in this respect,
you have to visit the spot.. The photo-
graph does not do justice to, nor
does it exhibit, this architectural func-
tion. But it does show an ordered.

RUSSELL STURGIS’S ARCHITECTURE.

409

aspiring and picturesque mass, of which,
again, it is one of the highest praises
that the animation does not exclude re-
pose. And all this work for Yale is ex-
emplary in its moderation and discretion.
The more the pity that these qualities
have impressed themselves so little on
succeeding architects.

but full of suggestions how the banality
of that edifice can be obviated. The
main banking room is avowed in the big
mullioned windows of the flank, though
it seems to be denied in the two separate
stories of the front. The front, indeed,
might perfectly be that of a dwelling
house. The banality of the type is very

FIG. 4. REAR OF BATTELL CHAPEL, YALE UNIVERSITY (1876).

New Haven, Conn. Russell Sturgis, Architect.

Very much more pretentious and
much more successful in its pretentious-
ness is the picturesque Mechanics’ Bank,
in Albany, which no sensitive wayfarer
can have passed without being moved
to some gratitude that its owners
should have been moved to employ
so artistic an architect. In dimen-

sions, and, indeed, in “lay-out,” it
is only an ordinary three-storv house.

successfully circumvented by the fenes-
tration, by the quality of the detail, and
by the picturesque corbelled turret which
emphasizes and adorns the angle. It is
a very grateful object in Albany, and
would be a grateful object in any city
of the class of Albany as an addition to
its street architecture, and as well with
regard to its more specific expression as
a “banking house.” It has also a very

4io

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

interesting interior, for the success of
which Mr. Sturgis always gave the
larger share of the credit to Mr. George
Fletcher Babb, who was associated with
him in the design. This interior was an
attempt to make and express a thorough-
ly fireproof construction before the days
of steel and tile arches, and when rolled
beams and brick were the most eligible
materials at hand. After a generation.

With one exception, all the buildings we
have been looking at were designed and
built within a single decade, after which
their author renounced practice and took
to theory.

Doubtless he did well. We could
spare many more such buildings bet-
ter than we could the “Dictionary of
Architecture,” the “Flistory of Archi-
tecture,” and, above all, the continual

— f

«**%. » i I

jt f \ / J * 1 -f ■!

i r 1 r -1 r | I

FIG. 5. HOUSES IN WEST 57TH STREET, NEAR 5TH AVENUE (1875).

New York City. Russell Sturgis, Architect.

the interior is as well worth inspection
as a solution of that particular problem,
even with reference to modern uses, as
the exterior merely as a picturesque bit
of street architecture.

All these things are respectable and
creditable. But they by no means indi-
cate that their author forsook his true
vocation when he betook himself to dis-
cussing architecture instead of doing it.
None of them suggests that “necessity to
create” which is the birthright of a born
designer, and which takes in his work
unexpected and yet inevitable shape.

stream of well-informed, informing, elu-
cidative, suggestive and appreciative
comment which, as the readers of the
Architectural Record know so well, Rus-
sell Sturgis kept playing, for the later
years of his life, upon the works of his
colleagues who continued in the practice
of the art the practice of which he him-
self had abandoned. There are more
architects as good as he had been than
there are critics as good as was, and, to
the progress of architecture, his critical
work was even more helpful than his
architectural work.

Trinity’s Architecture

Plow unlucky, for this whole com-
munity, that the first fruits of a change
in the rectorship of Trinity should be
the raising of all this pother about St.
John’s Chapel ! The comparative im-
portance of the Trinity estate on Man-
hattan Island has been diminishing for
more than half a century. Probably its
absolute importance also as measured
by revenue. While every other “piece
or parcel of land” in Manhattan has
’ been growing in value and utility, this
alone is stationary, if it be not actually
receding. Elsewhere on Manhattan
land superseded for one use has become
still more profitable for some other.
Who can doubt that “the Dominie’s
Bouwerie,” in secular hands would be
now yielding a great multiple of its act-
ual income? There is only one possible
explanation. The “temporalities” of
Trinity have not been well managed.

It was not always thus. No sharper
contrast could be pointed between
a successful past and a failing pres-
ent than the final proposal to aban-
don St. John’s Chapel, a proposal
which, it is quite impossible to dissem-
ble, has been adjourned only in defer-
ence to an aroused and outraged pub-
lic opinion. Because St. John’s was the
trophy of the greatest of the secular
successes of Trinity. For the region
of which it and the beautiful park in
front of it formed the central feature
became a great possession, not by in-
heritance nor by the “unearned incre-
ment,” but by enterprise and foresight.
It was the actual creation of values.

Mr. Henry’s pictures of the church
and park in their glory, which they re-
tained down nearly or quite to 1840 are
as authentic as they are pious memor-
ials (Fig. 1). From that meridian of
its glory, the neighborhood hastened,
or rather gradually declined to its set-
ting. First Washington Square, the
reclamation for residential purposes of
the Potter’s Field, then Madison Square
usurped the sceptre of fashion. Forty

odd years ago, I knew an old lady, then
residing in South Washington Square,
where she continued to live until she
died, who used to describe the con-
sternation and commiseration she had
excited among her old neighbors forty
odd years before that, when, upon her
marriage, she and her bridegroom had
migrated northwards and braved the
perils of the wilderness of Washington
Square. In fact, this second resort of
fashion was much more slowly built up
than the first. You may see that to-dav
by walking into the square and observ-
ing that, while the remaining old build-
ings of the south side are still as “Co-
lonial” as the relics round about St.
John’s Park; on the north side the
“Greek revival” is already in full force
and effect.

At any rate, after the flitting really
set in, St. John’s Park, we must admit,
could no longer be “the court end of the
town,” as Dr. Dix calls it in his “His-
tory of Trinity Parish.” It could no
longer be the Belgravia, but it might
have become and remained the Blooms-
bury. In fact, those who have had re-
cent occasion to observe the London
Bloomsbury have had occasion to note
that the present noble and ducal owner
thereof has exhibited much more of the
spirit of enterprise than has been ex-
hibited by the vestry of Trinity during
these last two generations ; one might
say during the last three, or since the
spurt of enterprise of which St. John’s
Church and Park are the trophies died
out. The genius who effected that trans-
formation has had no successor. One
says Bloomsbury. But, in fact, the
Trinity estate combines an inland quar-
ter, with a water-front. The improve-
ment of the water-front with commercial
erections seems to have been perfectly
compatible with the maintenance of the
inland part as a highly respectable, if
no longer a “swell,” quarter of resi-
dence. Its proximity to “downtown,” of
which it is within walking distance,

412

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Fig. 1. St. John’s from the Park (about 1835).

(From the painting by E. L. Henry.)

would have kept it as attractive as it
even yet is to the few families which,
having settled there in the days of its
prosperity, refuse to be dislodged, to a
very considerable multiple of their num-
ber, considerable enough to have left no
question of a “congregation” for St.
John’s; whereas now the bulk of the
surrounding population is of the poorest
and least profitable sort of tenantry and
the inheritance and acquisition of Trin-
ity may fairly be described as a slum.
It is a lame and impotent conclusion,
made more so by the threat on the part
of the corporation to go out of the real
estate business altogether. This is a
threat to turn over one’s patrimony to

Fig. 2. The Hudson River R. R. Freight
Station (1869).

St. John’s Park, New York.

J. B. Snook & Son, Architects.

somebody who knows how to make a
better use of it.

As the first impetus to the develop-
ment of the region was the establish-
ment of the church and the park, the
last was the abandonment of the park,
just forty years ago. Commodore Van-
derbilt’s million was the perfectly inade-
quate mess of pottage for which the
birthright of the corporation was sold.
The consent to the degradation was a
most pitiful modern instance, on the part

Fig. 3. Broadway Front of St. Paul’s Chapel
(1766).

McBean, Architect.

of incompetent stewards, of the worship
of the Golden Calf (Fig. 2 ). And one
could not point to a more exact, though
highly inartistic, perhaps because highly
inartistic effigy of the Golden, or, rather,
of the Bronze Calf, than the highly ri-
diculous “Vanderbilt Bronze” set up for
worship on the west side of the freight
station. This was instigated by the hero
worship of one now forgotten De Groot,
an unfeigned and sincere worshipper of
the Golden Calf, in the shape of com-
mercial success, to whose instigation is
also due the rather ridiculous bronze
Franklin in Printing House Square. But
the expense of the Bronze Calf on the

TRINITY’S ARCHITECTURE.

York who, at this writing, knows the
name of the original architect of St.
Paul's a small piece of knowledge which
I hasten to share with the readers of the
Architectural Record. I came across it,
quite by accident, not long ago, while
rummaging the files of the late John
Durand’s ephemeral magazine of cul-
ture, the “Crayon,” in search of some-
thing else. In the files of that periodical

site of St. John’s was borne by the Com-
modore or by his stockholders.

The value of a park as a social anti-
septic was not so well understood, very
likely, in 1868, as it is now, although,
even then, there were object-lessons
enough of that value in the prices of
land round about Washington Square
and Stuyvesant Square and Gramercy
Park and Madison Square to serve as a
guide and admonition to Trinity. To
turn the park into a freight station, in
particular, with the daylong procession
of trucks on all sides of it, was to con-
demn all the surrounding property as no
longer eligible for human abodes. From
that day to this there has been no sign
of any adequate or comprehensive effort
to make a more profitable use of it. An
individual owner who should have dis-
sipated his inheritance after this fashion
would be in danger of proceedings, by

Pig. 6. Trinity Offices. St. Paul’s Churchyard
(1887).

C. C. Haight, Architect.

“de lunatico inquirendo” or otherwise,
on the part of the heirs to arrest the dis-
sipation. The occasion is apt, however,
of the threat to demolish or abandon St.
John’s to make a survey of the architec-
tural holdings of Trinity. The inquiry
one finds of the greatest interest. Let
us pursue it chronologically.

St. Paul’s is much the oldest church
(Fig. 3), and must be nearly the oldest
building on Manhattan Island, having
been begun in 1764 and reported “com-
pleted” in 1766, though the steeple is a
much later addition, being not far from
contemporary with the steeple of St.
John’s, and possibly by the same author.
I suppose I am the only person in New

Fig. 4. Churchyard Front of St. Paul’s Chapel.

Fig. 5. Interior of St. Faul’s Chapel (Deco-
rated for Christmas, 1008).

-is

«*W

4 H

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Fig. 7. The Portico of St. John’s (1803).

John McComb, Architect.

for 1857 there is a note, signed “W.,”
which I transcribe :

Last week, in an accidental street conversation
with Mr. Isaac Bell, now ninety years of age,
and in full vigor of body and mind, I was agree-
ably surprised on learning from him the name
of the architect of these edifices. It was Mc-
Bean who was both architect and chief builder
of St. Paul’s. From the date and, from the cir-
cumstances I have already mentioned, I doubt
not that he was also of the church in William
Street. The actual building was beyond Mr.
Bell’s recollection, but he knew McBean after
the Revolution, residing at New Brunswick.

When John Adams was traveling
southward from Boston to the meeting
of the first Continental Congress in
1774, and meeting at each remove a
higher stage of social civilization than
that he had left at home, a conviction

Fig. 8. Interior of St. John’s Chapel (Decorated
for Christmas, 1908).

against which the good Puritan strenu-
ously struggled, but which was evident-
ly borne in upon him all the same, trav-
eling in a triumphal progress which he
never, to the last of his ninety years,
forgot, and came upon New York, the
observations of his diary are especially
worth reading. The reader readily per-
ceives that as his great grandson has
recentlv owned about himself, the aus-
tere man, far from following a multi-
tude to do evil, or, for that matter, good,
had a probably inherited and certainly
transmitted tendency to opposition, was,
in the delightful phrase of his descend-
ant, “perhaps inclined to be otherwise
minded.” Nil admirari was the attitude
he struggled to maintain among what
now seem to have been the moderate
carnal glories of colonial New York and
of colonial Philadelphia, as his kinsman,
Edmund Quincy, similarly tried to “bear
up” against the superior social civility
of Charleston, S. C. Here is what John
had to say about the then new St.
Paul’s :

We then went into St. Paul’s. This is a new
building, which cost eighteen thousand pounds,
York money. It has a piazza in front and some
stone pillars, which appear grand; but the
building, taken altogether, does not strike me
like the Stone Chapel, or like Dr. Cooper’s
meeting house, either on the inside or outside.

It may be necessary to supplement the
diarist by explaining that to translate
“York money” into sterling you subtract
one-fourth, so that the “eighteen thou-
sand pounds” dwindles to £13,500, which
was yet a great sum in those days. And
it is necessary to correct him by explain-
ing that the “stone pillars” were and are,
in fact, of brick, covered with stucco.
Perhaps some Boston antiquarian can
identify “Dr. Cooper’s meeting house.”
If it was the “Old North” it is perhaps
fairly comparable with St. Paul’s; if the
“Old South,” one disables John at once
as an architectural critic. By the way,
John found the “new Dutch church”
“the most elegant building in the city.”
One needs a New York local antiquary
to identify that. It may have been the
other work which Mr. Isaac Bell iden-
tified as McBean’s. In that case it can
hardly have been the “Middle”” Dutch
church in Nassau Street, demolished to

TRINITY’S ARCHITECTURE.

415

make room for the building of the Mu-
tual Life, which, in its secularized con-
dition, served as a post office until the
erection of Mr. Mullett's masterpiece in
City Hall Park, since McBean’s effort
was in William Street. To be sure, the
lot may have run through. As for the
“Stone Chapel,” properly King’s Chapel,
that shrine of the Pink Woman of An-
glican Prelacy which Governor Shirley
had struggled hard to rear and had even

Fig. 11. Trinity Church House (1S73).
Trinity Place and Church Street.

Richard M. Upjohn, Architect.

imported a British architect to design,
one Peter Harrison, a pupil of Van .
Brugh’s, it was the horror and scandal
of Puritan Boston. It is quite possible
that the austere Adams had never seen
the “inside,” as doubtless he often had
of “Dr. Cooper’s meeting house.” And
as to the outside, it was not much to
look at in his day, except for being, as it
doubtless was, the only building of hewn
stone in Boston. For, although the
body of the church — which is a mere

Fig. 10. Trinity from the Southwest.

parallelopiped of cut granite and shows
no architecture at all — had been com-
pleted in 1749, the portico was not added
until 1790, and then only in wood, and
the portico was the only architectural fea-
ture of the design, excepting the steeple,
which has not been added, even to this
day. So that it must have been Boston-
ian chauvinism which made the Stone
Chapel to “strike” the diarist harder than

Fig. 9. Interior of Trinity Church (1839-4G).

Richard Upjohn, Architect.
(Reredos by F. C. Withers, 1876.)

416

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Pig. 12. Trinity Chapel (1855).

West 2Uth Street, New York.

St. Paul’s. St. Paul’s was, in fact, even
with the steeple, its most admirable and
artistic feature, still unbuilt, a highly re-
spectable edifice in 1774, unparalleled
to the northward, though possibly sur-
passed by one church in Philadelphia and
two in Charleston. It is a highly re-
spectable edifice even yet, imposing
enough in the design of the Broadway
front to make one wish that the “or-

Fig. 13. Rear of Trinity Chapel.
West 27th Street, New York.

Fig. 14. Interior of Trinity Chapel.

ly, than that of the “Stone Chapel,” in-
teresting as that interior also is as a
specimen of Georgian architecture.
Christ Church, in Philadelphia, has been
restored during the nineteenth century,
and comparisons with that are not pos-
sible. But we may well take leave to
doubt whether “Dr. Cooper’s” or any
other “meeting house” in the Boston of
1774 presented so decorous an in-
terior, one so well abreast of the best
British tradition of the time, the only
tradition about which the colonists knew
or cared, as did the interior of St. Paul’s
(Fig. 5). And the interior which John
Adams saw in 1774 is, to all intents and

der” of the portico had, in fact, been
built of the stone which the Bostonian
fancied that he saw. The portico loses
some of the attractiveness that belongs
to its design by being so evidently ex-
crescential and irrelevant to the church.
One finds quite as attractive the more
homely and vernacular other front, the
front on the churchyard, which is sim-
ply a straightforward piece of masonry,
without the pretension of stucco or ve-
neer (Fig. 4), and which, with the addi-
tion of the steeple, still forms an
“elegant” and attractive composition.
The interior, pace the Bostonian critic,
is an excellent example of the British
taste of its time, carried out more
extensively, as well as more sumptuous-

TRINITY’S ARCHITECTURE.

4 T 7

purposes, the interior that any New
Yorker may see in 1909 by the simple
expedient of turning in for a moment
from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife,
at the corner of Broadway and Vesey
Street, and resting awhile in the shadow
of an earlier and quieter time.

One must not leave St. Paul’s without
taking note of the modest range of build-
ings that occupies the westward end of
the churchyard, and that is restricted in

Fig. 15. Church School, Trinity Chapel.

depth to the irreducible minium required
by an avoidance of desecration of the
graves. These are the “Trinity offices,”
succeeding, in the same area, predeces-
sors to which nobody could attach any
architectural, hardly any historical, in-
terest. The area of this fringe of build-
ings being thus determined by relevant
sentimental considerations, the height
may be supposed to have been limited by
considerations of the same kind, though
specifically different. Land exempted

Fig. 1G. St. Chrysostom’s Chapel.

7th Avenue and 39th Street, New York City.

Richard M. Upjohn, Architect.

from taxation upon the ground that it is
held for religious and charitable uses
cannot be devoted to bald money-making
without exciting invidious inquiry. So,
when Trinity rebuilt its “rotten row” of
offices in St. Paul’s churchyard, it very
wisely limited them to the area of the
replaced offices, though the ordinary
commercial altitude had in the mean-
time, even twenty years ago, been much
enlarged. Not only the “riparian” own-
ers, but the casual passer, has reason to
be grateful for this decision of the cor-
poration and for the admirable use its

Fig. 17. Interior of St. Chrysostom’s.

418

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

world, and the churchyard from the
rattle and roar of the elevated railroad,
as well as from the sight of that gaunt
erection, it could not have fulfilled even
that limited function more perfectly.
One would like to praise equally a sort
of appanage to St. Paul’s, it seems,
not far away, at 21 1 Fulton Street.
But one is rather relieved to find that
the seeming is fallacious, and that “the
parish” has no architectural respon-
sibility for an erection made by an asso-
ciation of charitable lay people, organ-
ized on their own account, and merely,
as it is officially stated, “more or less in
connection with Trinity Church.” Be-
cause the front, though making a fairly

Fig. 18. Front of St. Augustine’s Chapel (1877).

East Houston Street.

Robertson & Potter, Architects.

from Fulton Street. In fact, one
may say that if the erection of the pic-
turesque and cloistral row had had no
practical purpose at all, instead of hav-
ing a very pronounced practical purpose,
and had been designed merely as a
dignified and appropriate architectural
screen to seclude the church from the

Fig. 19. Interior of St. Augustine’s.

distinct proclamation of ecclesiastical
uses, is but too evidently the mere “put-
ting up a front” of churchly pretensions
on the unregenerate six-story warehouse
which is the normal construction of the
neighborhood. That it has been “done
over” is the clearest statement the front
makes, unless it be that it has been un-
successfully done over.

And now to return to St. John’s in its
chronological order, from which we have
been diverted by the “actuality” of the
threat to abandon it and the agitation to
preserve it, this actuality being, in fact,
what induced the able editor to instigate
this present article. Suppose a corpora-
tion were to embark, in this present year
of grace, upon the same sort of real

architect made of his wisely restricted
opportunity. There is nothing better
about St. Paul’s than this modest red
brick fringe of red brick, three story,
shallow buildings, whether one takes the
view westward across the churchyard
( Pig. 6 ) or the endwise view of the
new row, whether from Vesey Street or

TRINITY’S ARCHITECTURE.

419

estate speculation upon which Trinity
embarked, with such brilliantly success-
ful results, in 1803. It also would have
to have some sort of civic and social
center for its enterprise. It might, if
well enough advised, sacrifice for a park
a considerable portion of its new hold-
ings. But to sacrifice so large a propor-
tion of them as St. John’s Park, in 1803,
bore to the total acquisition of the par-
ish, would make all but a very bold and
confident “operator” hesitate. Quite
true, the operator in question may have
argued, and evidently successfully ar-
gued, the land cost nothing and would
be worth nothing except what the “im-
provements” made it worth. So the
sprat which was thrown away to catch
the whale was of no use for any other
purpose. But when it came to laying
out a great deal of good money on a
monumental building, that was another
matter. In our day, the monumental
building would be some sort of social
and mundane resort, some clubhouse,
some “casino.” In 1803 it simply had to
be a church. And, moreover, it simply
had to be a Protestant Episcopal church.
If the wise speculator had had no con-
nection with Trinity parish at all, it
would have had to be an Episcopal

Fig. 20. St. Agnes’ Church from the Northwest
(1889).

91st Street, near Columbus Avenue.

W. A. Potter, Architect.

Fig. 21. Interior of St. Agnes’.

church to allure the kind of settlement
that he had it in mind to attract, and
that he did actually attract. The fact is
a conclusive proof of the social ascend-
ency which the Episcopal Church had
attained so soon after the Revolution,
which might be supposed not only to
have disestablished it, as of course it
did, but to have discredited it, as it so
evidently did not. It is was not for
nothing that “General Washington’s
pew” had already been distinguished in
St. Paul’s, as it continues to be to this
day. After the park, the church. For,
note that the employment of John Mc-
Comb to design and build the handsom-
est, most spacious and most monumen-
tal church on Manhattan Island for the
use of the new quarter was a preliminary
step to the “booming” of the project,
contemporaneous and correlative with
the laying out of the park. Possibly it
was John’s success in getting himself
publicly acknowledged, in spite of the
grumblings of a few who knew better,
as the architect of the City Hall (which
he so clearly was not), which put him
in view as the architect of the new
church. City Hall and church, we know,
were begun in the same year. The
church is as indisputably English as the
City Hall is indisputably French. Pos-
sibly, nay, probably, the astute McComb
had known where to find a competent

420

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

British designer for the one, as we know
that he had known to find, in the person
of Mangin, a competent French designer,
for the other. And the intention is evi-
dent in the design and the execution of
St. John’s to make it, in point of scale,
material and workmanship, the most
spacious, costly and monumental place of
worship on Manhattan Island in the year
1803. Not the now “Old Trinity” of a
generation later was a more marked ad-
vanced in these respects upon what was
already to be seen in the way of eccle-
siastical architecture. There was noth-
ing mean about the lay-out. A lot 250
feet wide was taken as the site for a
church 75 feet wide, and thus afiforded it
ample detachment. The width is exact-
ly the same as that of St. Paul’s, but
the depth is 155 feet, against 1 15 of the
older edifice, with a proportional in-
crease in interior impressiveness (Fig.
7). If John Adams had postponed his
visit thirty years, St. John’s would have
been the first lion his hosts would have
taken him to. As to material, we have
seen that what imposed themselves upon
the innocent John as “stone pillars”
were, in fact, but brick cores covered
with stucco. But the larger pillars of
St. John’s, including the capitals, were
of honest and costly stonework. You
will observe, also, that a Corinthian cap-
ital is a much more expensive and exact-

Pig. 22. Trinity School.

West 92 d Street.

C. C. Haight, Architect.

Fig. 23. St. Luke’s Chapel (1821).
Hudson Street.

ing piece of work than an Ionic (Fig.
8). When Jefiferson was securing the
adoption of the Maison Carree, at
Nimes, for the capitol of Virginia, he had
reluctantly to acquiesce in the change of
the order from Corinthian to Ionic “on
account of the expense.” In fact, I do
not recall a Corinthian order in our Co-
lonial architecture except in interior
woodwork. These capitals, on a scale
highly respectable, if not colossal, were
themselves a “swell” and startling fea-
ture in the architecture of Manhattan
in the first decade of the nineteenth cen-
tury. And the order, altogether, by
material and scale and material and
workmanship, is much more impressive
than the earlier example. McBean, you
observe, took the liberty of spacing his
columns unequally, in order to give a
better view of his big Palladian window
between the middle two of them, while
McComb adhered to the equal classic
spacing, and the portico of St. John’s
is correspondingly more effective. The
entablature in each case one grieves to
find of wood. In the later case that was
probably the effect of constructive tim-
idity, rather than of economy. It was
“ere yet the art was known” of insert-
ing behind a stone slab arches turned

TRINITY’S ARCHITECTURE.

421

from column to column to relieve the
apparent lintel, much more before the art
was known of cunningly inserting a
bowstring girder of metal for the same
purpose. And then the whole front of
St. John’s is of ashlar, while the front
of St. Paul’s is of cheaper stucco. The
sides are in each church of rubble, prob-
ably originally covered with stucco in
St. Paul’s ; certainly so covered in St.
John’s, as you may see at the side,
where some of the stucco still adheres.
But you will notice that the rubble
of St. John’s is much more present-
able where the stucco has flaked off,
than the rubble of St. Paul’s, which
really must have been covered to be
presentable at all. And you will also
notice that, in place of the mere quoin -
ing at the angles of St. Paul’s, the an-
gles of St. John’s are far more expen-
sively turned with cut stone pilasters,
crowned with full, elaborate and ex-
pensive Corinthian, capitals to match
those of the portico. Our unknown
genius was not the man to lose a whale
for want of a sprat to throw away on
him. Taking for correct John Adams’
estimate of the cost of St. Paul’s, forty
years before the beginning of St. John’s,
as $66,500, we find that St. John’s cost
quite three times as much, “upwards of
$200,000,” and whoever inspects and
compares the two edifices to-day can ac-
count for the difference.

All this while the “mother church,”
Old Trinity itself, had been overshad-
owed and eclipsed by her daughters.
The first edifice, built in 1696, only
twenty years after the definitive change
of sovereignty from Holland to Eng-
land, and while the social ascendency of
Manhattan remained indisputably with
the Dutch-speaking population, was but
a mission chapel “in partibus,” in spite
of the efforts of the royal governors,
from Fletcher down. In 1774, when it
was still less than eighty years of age,
John Adams found it so little of a local
lion that he had nothing to say about it
except that it was an “old church.” Two
years later it was utterly destroyed by
fire, and not only not rebuilt during the
British occupancy, but not until five
years after the recognition of independ-

ence. Anglicanism and Toryism were
still, in the popular apprehension, pretty
much the same thing. It was an un-
gainly as well as a belated Phoenix
which began to rise in 1788 upon the
ruins of 1774. At the consecration, in
March, 1790, Washington attended, in
the pew which the vestry had just voted
to be reserved for the President of the
United States, but apparently without
disturbing his relationship as a parish-
ioner of St. Paul’s. Prints of the
Phoenix are still available, from which
it appears as a mere colonial meeting
house, with only the badge of Anglican-
ism which was furnished by a domical
chancel at the east, or Broadway, end.
And, when it was demolished, in 1839,
to make room for the third and present
church, it does not appear that there
was a dog to bark at its going. If such
a dog there was, he was not an architec-
tural critic.

For without doubt the Trinity which
supplanted it remains the best church in
New York; one of the most creditable
public buildings in the country, one of
the most valuable and valued of our civic
possessions. One wishes, of course, for
the genuine vaulting for which the sub-
structure seems competent and intended,
and for which, evidently, the lateral
abutments, the flying buttresses, might
easily have been supplied. Every Gothic
architect is necessarily subject to “vault-
ing ambition.” But to “vaulting ambi-
tion that o’erlaths itself” no true Gothic
enthusiast is subject. It is quite incon-
ceivable that Richard Upjohn conceived
that interior of Trinity as we see it in
execution. Professor Babcock, his son-
in-law and partner of later years than
those of Trinity, will pardon me for ad-
ducing his evidence in behalf of an over-
whelming antecedent probability. Mr.
Upjohn meant the church to be vaulted
in the honest brownstone of which the
piers or the nave are built up to the
springing of the arches and of the
vaults. Being overruled in this, he did
not propose to carry out the vaulting in
the actual imitation of real vaulting. On
the contrary, he submitted a design, and
one is quite prepared to believe a very
interesting design, for a ceiling of open

422

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

timberwork which should have been “the
real thing.” But here again, it appears,
the sons of Zeruiah in the vestry were
too hard for him, as they have on so
many occasions been too hard for the
zealous clerical and lay ministers of
Trinity, who have striven to make the
ancient corporation worthy of its his-
toric function and pretensions. And so
he was reduced to executing a sham of
his conception of a vaulted ceiling. So
we must regard the actual interior of
Old Trinity as largely an imitative and
“scenic” performance. But, even so,
how very good it is ! Have we anything
else on Manhattan Island, in the way of
an ecclesiastical interior, that approaches
the effectiveness of this “long-drawn
aisle and fretted vault,” the aisle not too
long drawn, the vault not overfretted?
(Fig. 9). For that matter, have we
anything in the way of an ecclesiastical
exterior that approaches the dignity, the
purity, the harmony, of the outside of
Old Trinity, for .which, truly, one could
not wish a better neighboring than the
roaring mart upon which its spire looks
so serenely down (Fig. 10), or even no
longer down? No overslaughing by
modern skyscrapers can destroy the
dignity of that seventy-year-old erection.
On the contrary, as John Lafarge has
said it, “it is the work of art that judges
us.” But one has to add that the subse-
quent and accessory erections of Trinity
have all been made in the spirit of a
really reverent appreciation of the old
fabric itself. One may smile at the local
piety which the corporation invoked in
1852, in the form of a public meeting
presided over by the Mayor, to prevent
the cutting through of Pine Street to
the westward, through Trinity church-
yard, and over patriot graves. But one
can only acclaim the landmark that
stopped the irruption of the secular
Goths and vandals. It is- the work
of that brilliant Gothicist, too early
lost, Frank Wills, who furnished a most
interesting version of the type of monu-
ment, as old as the “Eleanor Crosses,”
of which Sir Gilbert Scott’s modern va-
riation, in Charing Cross, is familiar to
all visitors to London, of which the
Walter Scott monument in Edinburgh

is one of the most successful examples,
and of which the Albert monument, in
Hyde Park, is by common consent the
least successful. For the “motive” one
must go back before the revived Gothic,
back to the tomb of Can Grande, in that
memorial architecture reared by “those
who could bear daily to behold from
their palace chambers the places where
their fathers lay at rest, at the meeting of
the dark streets of Verona.” Like many
others of its kind, this is criticizable, of
course, as being a shrine which is not a
reliquary, a protective canopy of an
efffp-^ which is wanting. But, all the
same, how good it is, as a purely monu-
mental study in architecture, how good
in proportion, in composition, in scale
and in detail. Really, can you confident-
ly point to any designer of 1909 who
could do so good a monumental study
in this style or in any style, as in this
work of Frank Wills, produced in 1852?
Compare it, for example, with the best
of the recent cenotaphs in our urban or
suburban cemeteries. A measure of the
same quietness and decorum, enforced,
one may plausibly hope, by the proxim-
ity of the mother church, has inspired
the subsequent ancillary erections. The
enforcement is clearly enough shown in
the design, by the original architect’s
son, of the “Church House,” of which
the crocketed and gargoyled tower
comes in so luckily and picturesquely in
the look across the churchyard from
Broadway (Fig. 11). It is equally
shown in the latest addition to the
church itself, the single story added in
1878 by the late Mr. Withers, who was
also the author of the “Astor reredos”
inside, and of the decoration of the
chancel. Nay, it is not fantastic
to suppose that the architecture of
Trinity has had its effect upon the de-
signer of the towering buildings which
overlook Trinity churchyard from north
and south, and that equally in the de-
sign of the Empire Building, which is in
a style superficially so different, as in the
design of the Trinity Building, which is
in a style technically akin to that of the
church. Mr. Kimball, as a humane and
sensitive person, was impressed with
the desirableness of conforming, so

TRINITY’S ARCHITECTURE.

423

much as might be to the beautiful work
which he found himself compelled to
overslough and submerge. In fact,
there is no possible way of measuring
the civilizing influence of such a con-
spicuous example of pure architecture
as, in our community, Old Trinity has
for almost the scriptural term of hu-
man life been furnishing.

And the next example of Trinity’s
architecture is, upon the whole, worthy
of its predecessor and exemplar. Trin-
ity Chapel, of course, offered no such
architectural opportunity as Trinity
Church, or as St. Paul’s, detached and
surrounded by its ample churchyard.
It belongs, like St. John’s, to the
class of ‘inside churches,” even more
markedly than St. John’s. The church
consists, architecturally, in effect, of
the front and the rear only, of which
one imagines, most visitors will care
more for the effect of the rear than
for the correct and respectable, but quite
commonplace, front (Fig. 12). But an
apsidal chancel has a form which is
quite safe to make its effect, exteriorly,
as well as interiorly, and this apsidal
chancel is so scholarly and so well stud-
ied, and its dependencies so well adjust-
ed to the central mass, that it is a valu-
ble feature in our street architecture
(Fig. 13). One does not see how a
designer could have done anything much
more effective who was compelled to
deny himself aisles and transepts, and
to restrict himself to a single nave. The
classical prototype of all the single-
naved churches is, of course, the Saint
Chapelle, and the rear of Trinity Chapel,
at all events, is a worthy restudy of that
intensely and typically Gothic design,
in spite of the lack of the complete de-
velopment which seems to some essential
to entitle a church to the name of
Gothic. The rear and the interior,
which whoever has not seen by no
means appreciates the church. In its
less pretentious and less elaborate and
less advantageous way it is not only a
worthy successor to Old Trinity, but
even a worthy rival to it (Fig. 14).
And the front, rather dull, perhaps, in
itself, has a marked adventitious ad-
vantage in the two flanking buildings

which were added — the church school,
from the design of Wrey Mould, in Fig.
15; the library of the rectory, from
that of Mr. Haight. The bold pic-
turesqueness of Wrey Mould’s style,
and the success of his application of
color, have not often been better illus-
trated than in this sparkling little work,
which serves to illustrate without “jar-
ring” Mr. Haight’s later study in safe
and dignified collegiate Gothic. The
church and its dependencies make up a
very attractive group.

Probably most parishioners of Trinity
have forgotten the exigencies which
made it seem in 1868 that there was need
of a mission chapel at Seventh Avenue
and Thirtv-ninth Street. It is unlikely
that the need and the opportunity would
reveal themselves now, with the actual
occupation of the neighborhood. But
we have reason to be thankful that a
want was felt which has resulted in dec-
orating the neighborhood with so good
a specimen of architecture as St.
Chrysostom’s (Fig. 16). Here, in place
of an inside church, with a decent, if not
liberal, reservation of ground on each
side, is a corner church which occupies
merely the ground it stands on ; in effect,
a square, abutting at each of its ends on
the adjoining secular buildings and so
compelling a rather unusual arrange-
ment, especially as orientation is pre-
served, and the chancel occupies the
street front. The result is an effective
exterior, in which the low mass of ma-
sonry, stopping at the springing of the
large pointed windows that occupy the
flanking gables, is crowned with a steep
hood which serves almost as well as a
lofty spire would do, its architectural
function of supplying a mediating and
reconciling member between the two
equal gables. The interior is even more
interesting (Fig. 17). The want of
symmetry entailed by the necessity of
walling out the aisles on one side is
cleverly got over. A dignified interior
accrues, with a particularly interesting
solution of the chronic and crucial prob-
lem of a transeptual church with an
open-timbered roof, the expressive and
appropriate framing of the “crossing.”
One does not often come upon a solution

424

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

of it so successful. On the whole, and
whatever the actual uses which the
building subserves, forty years after its
erection, the hunter after the picturesque
in the streets of New York must be
grateful that it was put into the hearts
of the corporation so long ago to supply
so agreeable an interruption to the equal
monotony or the unequal animation of
Seventh Avenue.

Thus far, whether Georgian or Gothic,
the architecture of Trinity parish was
strictly conventional and decent, oper-
ating within well-defined metes and
bounds. But in the next mission chapel,
that of St. Augustine, in Houston Street,
there came in the passion for “eclecti-
cism,” characteristic of that later, or
Victorian, phase of the Gothic revival,
of which it may almost be said that its
products were first impure, then un-
peaceable. Not by any means that this
is an unfavorable example of the phase.
But the problem itself was rather un-
usually complicated, and the edifice
rather reflects than simplifies the com-
plication of the problem. Here the
church, the fountain and origin of the
whole scheme, is relegated to the rear
of the lot is, in fact, quite invisible
from the street with which it is con-
nected onH by a corridor, just as the
ordinary theatre is withdrawn. The
front building traversed by the corridor
is here, it is true, connected in use with
the church ; it is, in fact, a parochial
building. The thing to do, one would say,
was to indicate the ecclesiastical interior
by as dignified and churchly an entrance
as the designer could contrive, and to
subdue the front to its subordinate uses.
Certainly one does not see the necessity
of erecting a steeple to crown the “busi-
ness block” in front of the church. The
block is not only so crowned, but the
framed spire has an awkward jog in
outline in the course of its ascent, while
the front is grouped and varied and tor-
mented to an inexplicable degree (Fig.
18). It is only when one passes the
portal and enters the corridor that he
perceives the corridor itself to be an
interesting piece of design, with mould-
ed and cut bricks, which were a novel
means of expression and decoration in

1877, and that the vista furnished by its
own length much enhances the effect of
a well-designed, well constructed and
distinctly “churchly” interior, which
would be impressive even if it had not
such a forecourt, and in which the ani-
mation by no means destroys nor even
disturbs the repose (Fig. 19). It is, in
fact, in many respects a model for a
church interior which is relegated, not
merely to an “inside lot,” but to the
back of the lot.

Far more ambitious and extensive,
and of far more architectural import-
ance, is the next and the latest of the
additions to Trinity’s architecture. Real-
ly, St. Agnes’ bears much the same re-
lation to the exploitation of the upper
west side that St. John’s bore, in its
time, to the exploitation of the lower
west side, with this difference — that the
development of the lower west side a
hundred years before was the work of
the same promoter who conceived and
instigated the church, while the later
church was simply an incident of a de-
velopment with which the parish had
nothing whatever to do. The Roman-
esque had by this time succeeded the
Gothic fashion, and the late and lament-
ed Mr. William Appleton Potter had
addicted himself to the Richardsonian
phase of Romanesque with enthusiasm.
St. Agnes’s is only one, though, no
doubt, the most important, as well as
most costly and pretentious of the
churches with which he adorned Man-
hattan under this influence, though he
afterwards outgrew it and did his re-
maining work in grammatical Gothic.
In composition, St. Agnes has evidently
enough a bad fault. There is no domi-
nating feature. The two features of
which either might dominate in the ab-
sence of the other are not co-operative,
but competitive. One is the big and
rather baM “cimborio” which covers the
crossing, and for which Trinity Church,
Boston, immediately, and Salamanca
Cathedral ultimately, may be held re-
sponsible ; the other the tall unbuttressed
campanile. This latter had its prece-
dent in Richardson’s work, in the tower
of the Albany City Hall, But Richard-
son was better inspired than to try to

TRINITY’S ARCHITECTURE.

425

combine the two. If the central tower
of St. Agnes’ had been the only feature,
and the money spent upon the belfry had
been added to it, or if the central tower
had been omitted and the belfry corre-
spondingly enlarged and enriched, the
effect would doubtless have been better
than it is. But these faults do not, and
worse faults would not, prevent St.
Agnes’ from attaining a distinguished
architectural success (Fig. 20V The
unusual magnitude and protrusion of
the flanking buttresses are sometimes al-
leged as faults. But, in fact, they are
no bigger than seems necessary to abut
the great arches of the nave, while they
do, without question, add to the expres-
sion of massiveness and repose in the
flank of the church. While the campan-
ile is evidently, and, as it were, avowed-
ly, taken from that of Albany, and while
the combination of material throughout
is that popularized by Richardson of
rough gray granite or rubble, with
wrought work of brown sandstone, the
tower of St. Agnes is in many points an
improvement upon the prototype, most
notably, perhaps, in the combination of
the two materials which are here “im-
plicated” throughout; whereas in Al-
bany a belfry stage, all brownstone, sur-
mounts a shaft all granite. The apse,
again, recalls that of Richardson’s first
great success in Boston, while it shows
a sensitive and artistic restudv of that
design. The interior, on the other
hand, owes nothing to the prototype
of the exterior. It is a very straight-
forward, expressive and impressive ex-
ample of the Romanesque which, even
in its architectural detail, and still more
in its interesting furniture and fittings,
harks back from the western Roman-
esque to the eastern, to the Byzantine
(Fig. 21). It is not only an excellent
example of a fashion which has passed.
It is one of the examples which makes
it seem rather a pity that it was a fash-
ion only, and that it has passed. The
parochial buildings flanking the apse are
of the same solid and seemly charac-
ter as the church itself. And one
remarks with interest that there is no
lack of comity and neighborliness be-
tween this rock-faced proto-Gothic and

the smooth brownstone which Mr.
Haight has adjoined to it, in that phase
of the latest degeneration of Gothic we
call “Jacobean,” for the uses of Trinity
School (Fig. 22).

As for St. Luke’s, it would be quite
unfair to hold Trinity to any responsi-
bility for its architecture (Fig. 23).
For, although the building has the re-
spectable antiquity of nearly ninety
years, it was merely taken over by Trin-
ity in 1892, when its own congregation
migrated northward to erect its new
church in Convent Avenue. Who, if
anybody, was the architect, does not ap-
pear, and evidently does not matter. But
the view of St. Luke’s is worth giving,
if it were only to explain and largely to
justify those hereditary parishioners of
St. John’s Chapel, who have shown such
marked reluctance to be tranquilly trans-
ferred from that building to this with-
out their own advice or consent.

For the rest, these illustrations make
it plain what a public benefactor, in the
way of architecture, Trinity has been for
the past century and a half. It has fol-
lowed the fashions, but not too precipi-
tately. And, in whatever fashion of ec-
clesiastical architecture it has worked,
it has given us excellent examples.
Whether it be Colonial, revived Gothic,
“Victorian” Gothic, or Provincial Ro-
manesque that was in vogue for church-
building, Trinity has furnished us not
only with typical, but with admirable
examples of the prevailing style. One
who has made such a study as this pres-
ent has found much more to admire in
the management of the spiritualities of
Trinity than in that of the temporalities.
It needs such a research to enable one
to appreciate the courage and the devo-
tion, the fidelity and the insight with
which the vicars of Trinity have
wrought towards fulfilling their “mis-
sion,” in all cases so altered from the
original purpose of their respective es-
tablishments, what incomputable good
they have done in and are doing in main-
taining true centers of civilization in the
polvglottic new populations that sur-
rounds each of the outlying chapels.
“But that is another story.”

Montgomery Schuyler.

PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Boston. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

Architecture in the United States

The Birth of Taste

Architecture, although the least plas-
tic and animate of the arts, images
at all times a nation’s character, chang-
ing as that changes. It is the mirror
of the national consciousness. It can-
not lie. If it seems to do so it is only
the more truly to betray the essential
falsity of the social condition under
which it had its origin. The parallel
between our architecture and our
national character holds good all along
the line ; it everywhere reflects the
social tone that dictated it. The dif-
ference between Independence Hall,
let us say, and a modern skyscraper, is
the measure of the difference be-
tween the men and manners of Colon-
ial days, and the men and manners of
to-day. To trace, therefore, the de-
velopment of architecture in the United
States, from Colonial times until now,
is to learn something of the ramifica-
tions of the public temper and the pub-
lic taste during that period, while a
knowledge of that taste and that tem-
per, gleaned from other sources, will
help to clear up many obscurities which
such a survey presents.

Our architecture has not undergone
that slow and orderly development
which has usually characterized the
progress of the art in other countries
and in times past. Before our War for
Independence, and for a considerable

time thereafter, the Georgian style, that
is, the manner of building prevalent in
England during the reign of the four
Georges, modified into what we have
come to call the Colonial style, was uni-
versally employed for buildings of every
size and class. The architecture of the
Georgian period represents the Renais-
sance of Jones and Wren in its last gasp ;
but with all its faults, something of the
grand manner of an age of taste sur-
vives in it, and it is characterized by a
quiet dignity arising from a certain sim-
plicity of motive and a justness of pro-
portion of which the builders of that day
possessed the secret, or instinct, and
which we appear to have lost. Certain
it is that in the Colonial style we came
as near as we have ever approached to
achieving an American style of archi-
tecture, and its representative exam-
ples, for appropriateness and beauty
have never been surpassed. I hasten
to qualify this statement by reminding
the reader that the problems which con-
front the modern architect are as diffi-
cult, compared with those presented
to the Colonial builders, as the prob-
lem, let us say, of living the simple life
at the Waldorf-Astoria, is difficult
compared with living it on a New
Hampshire farm.

Georgian architecture gave place to
that of the so-called Classic Revival.

ARCHITECTURE IN THE UNITED STATES.

427

could never, under the most flattering
conditions, lay the smallest claim. The
late H. C. Bunner has happily suggested
the superiority of the elder vogue to
the later by this apostrophe of an old
white pillared house, addressed to a
new Oueen Anne shingled cottage.

“I have had my day. I was built when
people thought this sort of thing was
the right thing ; when we had our own
little pseudo-classic Renaissance in
America. I lie between the towns of
Aristotle and Sabine farms. I am a

Independence Hall.
Philadelphia.

Trinity Church.

New York City.

Richard Upjohn, Architect.

gentleman’s residence, and my name
is Montevista. I was built by a prom-
inent citizen. You need not laugh
through your lattices, you smug new
Queen Anne cottage, down there in
your valley ! What will become of you
when the falsehood is found out of
your imitation bricks, and your tiled
roof of shingles, and your stained glass
that is only a sheet of transparent paper
pasted on a pane? You are a young
sham ! I am an old sham ! Have
some respect for age.”

Fine Arts Museum.

Boston.

This curious phase of our development
has found but small place in our liter-
ature, but it has left many a souvenir
in the names of villages and cities.
(There are 27 Troys, 15 Romes and
12 Carthages), and in many old white
houses with tumble-down Greek porti-
coes, for this was the period of pseudo-
temples, their “orders” laboriously
worked out, by modules and minutes,
and translated literally, without the
change of a phrase, from stone into
wood and brick and plaster. It was
all false, affected, pretentious, yet oc-
casionally, in the right environment
was achieved an effect of sober dignity
— almost of grandeur — to which the
unmitigated and un-redeemed mid-Vic-
torian ugliness which succeeded it,

428

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Even the Carpenter’s classic period
and the dim Victorian limbo were not
without their glimmerings of light.
These took the form of a few — a very
few — really beautiful Gothic churches —
of which Trinity in New York was
among the finest — built by Upjohn, and
his disciples ; men inspired by the vital,
but abortive Gothic revival in England.
The influence they exercised upon our
secular architecture was little enough,
and rather pernicious than otherwise,
since it produced the Gothic Farm
House type, exploited in the pages of
building manuals and agricultural
papers — a thing of broken roofs, con-
torted chimneys, and long, narrow win-

De Vinne Building.

New York City.

Babb, Cook & Willard, Architects.

dows. Of a different order, but scarcely
more happy in results were the build-
ings inspired by the teachings of Rus-
kin, a man whom Mr. Cram characterizes
as “of stupefying ability * * * quite the
most unreliable critic and exponent of
architecture that ever lived, but gifted
with a facility in the use of perfectly
convincing language, such as is granted
to few men in any given thousand
years.” The existing Boston Art
Museum is a typical example of the
misdirected efforts of this particular
group who “turned to detail and decor-
ation the use of colored bricks and
terra cotta, stone inlay, naturalistic
carving, metal work, as the essentials

Lenox Library.

New York City.

R. M. Hunt, Architect.

in constructive art, abandoning the
quest for effective composition, thought-
ful proportion and established prece-
dent.”

1880. I do not know why this ap-
parently random combination of digits
should mark an epoch in the history
of manners and taste, both in England
and America, but such is the case.
Max Beerbohm wrote an essay on
“1880”, treating the period, in his elf-
ishly humorous vein, as almost un-
imaginably remote — and remote indeed,
it seems, so swiftly have the wheels of
change revolved since then. Time, in
the last analysis, is but succession, and

Chicago.

Marshall Field Warehouse.

H. H. Richardson, Architect.

ARCHITECTURE IN THE UNITED STATES.

429

Ponce de Leon Hotel.

St. Augustine, Fla.

Carrere & Hastings, Architects.

when changes succeed one another
rapidly, time seems to extend ; when
slowly, to contract. The Italian Ren-
aissance from its earliest dawn till twi-
light was scarcely two generations in
length. But to return from this
digression : It was in, or about 1880

that the aesthetic darkness of the
‘‘Scientific Century,” by being made a
subject for laughter became a subject
for thought. The renascence of taste
in England, inaugurated by William
Morris, and the Pre-Raphaelites, and
perpetuated by the “Aesthetes,” was a
fertile, and perhaps a fit subject for the
satire of Mr. Gilbert and “Mr. Punch,”
since all movements at all revolution-

Tiffany Residence.

New York City.

McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

ary are apt to have their beginnings in
exaggeration and excess ; but the
humors of “Patience” and of “Passion-
ate Brompton,” could not blind intelli-
gent people to the enormous signifi-
cance of the fact that men were again
being born into the world with a crav-
ing for beauty — “mere” beauty, if you
will. They found this beauty in Greek
sculpture, in Gothic architecture, and in
the paintings of the Italian Primitives ;
but in their own environments they

New York Life Insurance Company’s Building.
Minneapolis, Minn.

Babb, Cook & Willard, Architects.

found it nowhere except in some scat-
tered and random trifles brought in
the holds of farfaring vessels from
China and Japan. The storks, fans,
and cat-tails, with which the Aesthetes
adorned their dados, make us shudder
now ; but they testify to the sincerity
of their admiration for the only vital
art manifestation of any magnitude
in the world at that time, and are
eloquent witnesses of the fact that the
appreciation of Oriental art was con-
temporaneous with the first concerted

43 °

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Trinity Church.

Boston. H. H. Richardson, Architect.

and serious attempt in modern Anglo-
Saxon civilization towards the realiza-
tion of beauty in the every-day life.

Even the most refined and sensitive
spirits of the immediately preceding
generation, though generally right on
questions of morals, were generally
wrong on questions of taste. The
things with which the Hawthornes
adorned their apartments and the pres-
ents given and received by Browning
and his circle, there is no epithet fitly
to describe. The letters written by
New England’s Brahmin caste abound
in references to painters and sculptors
of that day who are compared to the
old masters to the latter’s disadvantage.
Charles Sumner writes to Story:
“George Russell tells me that your

The Villard Houses.

New York City.

McKim, Mead & White, Architects.

Saul is the finest statue he ever saw ; ,r
and Story says ot one of Page’s por-
traits, “No such work has been achieved
in our time.” In speaking of the aes-
thetic sensibility of the sixties, Henry
James shrewdly observes, “The sense
to which for the most part, the work
of art or of imagination, the picture, the
statue, the novel, the play, appealed,
was not in any strictness the aesthetic
sense in general or the plastic in partic-
ular, but the sense of the romantic, the

St. Nicholas Hotel.

St. Louis, Mo.

Louis H. Sullivan, Architect.

anecdotic, the supposedly historic — the
explicitly pathetic.”

In 1880 this point of view suffered a
sea-change. Oscar Wilde, the particu-
lar prophet who carried the new gospel
of aestheticism to our shores, wrong as
he was in matters of morals, was right
in matters of taste, and he found, here,
a considerable number of men and
women who were right, we are bound
to believe, in both. Architecture,
which is the mirror of man’s mind in
space, was not slow to reflect this new-
born sensitiveness to beauty, but in
localities and on a scale commensurate

ARCHITECTURE IN THE UNITED STATES.

431

with the restricted character of the
movement, which was limited to the
towns and cities of the extreme east.
Among the ugly and arid crags and
crannies of the Boston, New York and
Philadelphia streets, there began to ap-
pear some rare and delicate flowers of
architectural art, the work for the most

The Condit Building.

New York City.

Louis H. Sullivan, Lyndon P. Smith, Architects.

part, of young Americans whose aes-
thetic sense had been nourished at the
bountiful breast of Italy or France.

There is something touching in the
refined and faded beauty of certain of
these early essays in an American
style, elbowed as they are on every hand
by the big, florid, bedizened steel-frame

skyscrapers of to-day. They seem to
say to the passer-by “You’d love us if
you’d only look at us,” and so we
would, New York can show nothing
better of their several sorts, than Mr.
Babb’s De Vinne Press Building on
Lafayette place, Mr. Ware's Manhat-
tan Storehouse on Forty-second street,
and Mr. White’s pedestal and exedra
for St. Gaudens’ Farragut in Madison
Square.

Not in these directions of restrained
and cultivated originality, however,
were we destined to develop just then,
for Richardson, a flaming comet, was
already blazing in the architectural
firmament, attracting and scorching up
all lesser luminaries, save three or four.
Richardson compelled even the Philis-
tines to sit up and take notice ; to him
belongs the credit of popularizing
architecture in the United States. He
was a great man, and the buildings he
left are worthy of his genius ; but his
influence was as pernicious as it was
pervasive and he delayed the normal
evolution of architecture for many
years. The style which he made his
own, a modified and more massive
Romanesque, neither lent itself readily
to American needs and conditions, nor
was it capable of expressing these with
any degree of appropriateness and
truth ; it expressed only the powerful
and romantic individuality of its crea-
tor, and in the hands of lesser men,
fated, like all copyists, to seize on the
idiosyncracy and miss the essential—
it degenerated into a thing more crude,
false, feeble, and pretentious than any-
thing that had gone before. A short
time after Richardson’s death, when it
was found that only Thor could wield
Thor’s hammer, most of the architects
in the East, even Richardson’s immedi-
ate pupils and disciples, turned else-
where for their inspiration.

Messrs. McKim, Mead and White,
who had never for one moment sub-
mitted to the Richardson obsession,
continued to produce charming,
scholarly, refined work, based, for the
most part, on early Italian Renascence
models. The Villard houses, in New
York, reminiscent of certain places in

43 2

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

. I

Farragut Monument.

New York City. Stanford White, Architect.

Augustus Saint Gaudens, Sculptor.

Florence, and the Boston Public
Library, which, though composed of the
same elements as the Library of St.
Genevieve, in Paris, harks back to Al-
berti’s Malatestian temple at Rimini,
are two characteristic examples. The
firm soon gained a substantial following,
and the work produced was vastly bet-
ter and more appropriate than the earlier
excursions into Richardsonian Roman-
esque, though perhaps a little thin and
anaemic to eyes grown accustomed to
the bold and virile manner affected by
the men educated in the methods of the
Ecole des Beaux Arts. Of this manner
Mr. Richard M. Hunt’s old Lenox Li-
brary is perhaps the earliest example, and
Mr. Whitney Warren’s so different New
York Yacht Club, is among the latest.

Meanwhile, other and different influ-
ences were at work elsewhere through-
out the country. In Philadelphia and
its environs the delicate and individual
art of Wilson Eyre, and the more
imitative, but admirable work of Frank
Miles Day and Cope and Steward-
son was mitigating, in spots, the ugli-
ness of the earlier time. At St. Au-
gustine, in Florida, Messrs. Carrere
and Hastings inaugurated their brilliant
career with the wonderful Ponce de
Leon hotel, a building so original, so

beautiful, so rational, so suited in every
way to its environment and purpose, that
it may truly he called a masterpiece. In
Chicago, Richardson had built, in his
happiest vein, a great warehouse. Sim-
ple, severe, utilitarian, but most im-
pressive, the work of a poet in stone,
it seemed to symbolize the city’s very
soul, and it furnished the inspiration
for many important buildings erected
by Messrs. Burnham and Root, and
Messrs. Adler and Sullivan. Of these
the Auditorium Building is perhaps the
best example.

After Richardson’s death there was
need of a new prophet in our architec-
tural Israel, and to the eyes of a little
circle of devotees in Chicago, he pres-
ently appeared in the person of Mr.
Sullivan, who early developed a style oi
his own, which straightway became that
of a number of others, (with a differ-
ence, of course) — young and eager
spirits, not fettered by too much know-
ledge — not fettered, indeed, by enough !
Outside this little circle Mr. Sullivan
was either unknown, ignored or dis-
credited by those persons on whose
opinions reputations in matters of art
are supposed to rest. Engaged for the
most part upon intensely utilitarian
problems in an intensely utilitarian
city, he had no opportunity to cap-
tivate the popular imagination as

New York Yacht Club.

New York City.

Whitney Warren, Architect.

ARCHITECTURE IN THE UNITED STATES.

433

Richardson captivated it in his Trinity
Church, Boston. Yet by the power of
his personality and the vitality of his
genius, he has exercised as great an
influence upon the national architecture
as his illustrious predecessor — greater
in fact, because more abiding, for Mr.
Sullivan concerned himself with prin-
ciples, not preferences.

Mr. Sullivan's theories and his ac-
complishments will be considered at
greater length in a subsequent essay.
It is sufficient to say, in this connection,
that he has solved the aesthetic prob-
lem of the sky-scraper more success-
fully than any architect before or
since. This problem had always been
a thorn in the side of the academi-
cally trained designer, who usually en-
deavored to achieve diversity in the
exterior where none existed on the plan
by a series of superimposed motives,
separated by cornices or string courses
which had the effect of diminishing the
apparent height. Mr. Sullivan was
among the first to perceive the inherent
irrationality of such a treatment. He saw,
moreover, a great opportunity in the
problem of the modern office building.
Since loftiness was of necessity its chief
characteristic, instead of suppressing he
emphasized the vertical dimension.

The Guaranty (now the Prudential)
Building in Buffalo, and the Condit
Building in New York, are two embodi-
ments of his idea. Although these
have not been paid the sincere tribute
of exact imitation, the force of Mr.
Sullivan’s example, more than that of
any other man, put an end to the mean-
ingless piling of feature upon feature.
To emphasize, and not minimize the
vertical dimension of a high building,
has come to be the accepted practice.

The pre-occupation of the Chicago
architects with the practical and eco-
nomic aspects of the tall office build-
ing to the general exclusion of the
aesthetic, had the odd effect of render-
ing their early essays in that field super-
ior, as a general thing, to those of
about the same period in New York.
The latter show ornament for the most
part misapplied, and an aesthetic pre-
occupation misdirected. Mr. Root’s
old Monadnock building, for example,

is better architecture than Messrs. Car-
rere and Hastings’ Mail and Express
Building, though they stand at opposite
extremes in the matter of cost and em-
bellishment. The last-mentioned archi-
tects showed later, in their altogether
admirable Blair Building, that they had
learned from Mr. Sullivan or elsewhere
their lesson.

Such architectural graces as other
Western cities could lay claim to, up
to the time that I have brought this
chronicle, that is, just before the Col-
umbian Fair, they owed, for the mosr
part, to alien talent. San Francisco in
particular, before the advent of men
trained in the more scholarly methods
of the East, was a veritable chamber
of architectural horrors. It is said that
in the early days it was the custom for
the builder, at a certain stage in the
construction of a house, to appear up-
on the scene with a wagon load of mis-
cellaneous jig-saw ornaments, which he
would then hold up, one by one, in the
presence of its owner, until the latter
had selected those that pleased him
best. I have heard the theory advanced
that the nickel and mahogany Pullman
cars of the Southern Pacific first estab-
lished the California criterion of taste,
in the matter of house decoration —
being the particular order of magnifi-
cence with which her sons were first
and most familiar.

Mr. A. Page Brown’s work in San
Francisco, Messrs. McKim, Mead and
White’s New York Life building in
Kansas City, Messrs. Babb, Cook and
Willard’s splendid office buildings for
the same Company, in St. Paul and
Minneapolis, and Mr. Sullivan’s St.
Nicholas hotel and Wainwright Build-
ing in St. Louis, to mention only a few
typical examples, established a standard
of excellence in these cities which had
an effect upon the profession through-
out the entire West, and when the
time came for determining into what
hands the exceptional architectural op-
portunities afforded by the World’s
Columbian Exposition should be en-
trusted, the most eminent Eastern
architects were freely given the lion's
share.

Claude Bragdon.

434

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD .

APARTMENT HOUSE IN MANHATTAN SQUARE.

West 77th Street, New York. Harde & Short, Architects.

An Apartment House Aberration

Manhattan Square, New York City

How many readers, one wonders, of
the Architectural Record, remember
when there used to stand, in Broadway,
just above Grand Street on the Western
side and adjoining or almost adjoining
the then retail store of Lord & Taylor,
the simulacrum of a cathedral window,
dedicated to the uses of the retail dry
goods trade. It was already, in 1875,
or a little later, a little antiquated. Be-
cause it was made of cast iron, painted
white to imitate marble. It had al-
ready before the middle of the eighth
decade of the nineteenth century come
to be understood that an exposed iron
skeleton was not to be trusted against
fire. That expensive lesson had been
inculcated by the great fires of Chicago
and of Boston, particularly that of Bos-
ton, where the exposed skeletons of
ironwork withered and collapsed in the
fiery furnace to which they were sub-
jected. To be sure, it was later than
that that the late R. M. Hunt essayed to
treat iron fronts idiomatically in two
store fronts, on the East side of Broad-
way somewhere about Broome Street,
one in a verv free classic, the other in
Moorish. But it was some years before
that that the late F. C. Withers had es-
sayed the same task in a store front in
Canal street, near Broadway, which was
pretty evidently of a Gothic inspiration,
though the architect had studiously
omitted any detail derived from the
Gothic treatment of masonry. These
fronts strove to make up for their at-
tenuation and for the lack of functional
modelling by pigmentation. They
were interesting experiments towards
the rationalization of a metallic con-
struction. Broadway was full of iron
fronts in those days, mostly relics of
the sixties, possibly even of the fifties.
But there was no pretence of rationali-
zation or of rationality about the
others. They were merely and frankly
imitations in metal of fronts in stone,
mostly in the classic manner, the

“mercantile Renaissance” of the Broad-
way of those days. This particular
front we are recalling asserted itself
mainly by being a reproduction of
Gothic forms instead of classic. It was
quite as far as its classic neighbors
from am r pretence of rationality or of
adaptation. It was in fact, a very richly
traceried window five stories high, or
four, since the basement was more
solidly treated, of the normal “cornice
line” of that old Broadway, by, say,
twenty-five feet of frontage, which was
also not abnormal. In point of fact, it
was in dimensions the normal mercan-
tile “unit”, only in its treatment an
aberration from the mercantile archi-
tecture of the street as exhibited in the
cast iron fronts, and an aberration not
necessarily for the worse. Practically
rather for the better, since a cathedral
window between narrow piers admits
more light than any other imitation of
historical forms in masonry. And this
was a cathedral window which may
have been literally copied from some
accredited example, possibly magni-
fied, possibly on the scale of the origi-
nal. In either case rather an impres-
sive example of “scale” in that old
Broadway. It is true that the rich
tracery of the arch-head may have been
irksome to those condemned to dwell
behind it. But, again, these were only
the janitor's family who were well
recognized to have no rights that archi-
tecture was bound to respect, and who
may have been quite as comfortable
“behind the bars” of the tracery, as the
families of the janitors of the cast iron
Renaissance palaces cooped up behind
the monumental cornices, and peeping
out through inconspicuous slits con-
ceded grudgingly to their merely human
requirements.

Long since have the Gothic windows
in cast iron, as well as the Renaissance
palaces in cast iron disappeared, sub-
merged under that rising tide of Yid-

436

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

dish architecture in skeleton construc-
tion which now borders the Middle
Broadway which was then the boast
and favorite promenade of Manhattan.
But it is very vividly recalled by the
enormous amplification of it even now
completing on the South side of Man-
hattan Square, just opposite the inter-
minable fronts of the Museum of
Natural History, and so in full evi-
dence. One may have been preaching
for years the particular appropriate-
ness of Gothic to the “skeleton con-
struction." In fact developed Gothic
was the nearest approach to a skeleton
construction of which the nature and
limitations of masonry admitted. The
most advanced and typical of the
French cathedrals were those which
most nearly eliminated the wall of
masonry, leaving in its place a wall of
glass, punctuated at intervals and divi-
ded into "bays”, by buttresses, as nar-
row and deep as possible. Though the
shape of these, the narrowness and
depth, was dictated by mechanical con-
siderations, arising out of the mechani-
cal function of the buttresses, it had
the effect of reducing by so much the
area of the wall. In extreme examples,
like that of the Sainte Chapelle in
Paris, it went to the extent of abolish-
ing the wall, as wall, altogther, leaving
in place of it a mere “sash frame.”
Now the demand of the projectors and
inmates of the modern skyscrapers,
whether commercial or residential,
office-building or apartment house, is
equally for a “sash-frame.” “The
prayer of Ajax was for light.” It is
true that "light” was hardly the prayer
of the projector of the mediaeval cath-
edral, since he took pains to shut off
and “contemper” the flood of light he
obtained by filling the open spaces with
a gallery of transparent or translucent
pictures. What he was aiming at was
what has been so admirably expressed
by Milton, —

Storied windows richly dight

Casting a dim, religious light —

and the modern tenant does not want
his light either dim or, even less, re-
ligious. But, leaving out the painted

glass, the mediaeval “skyscraper” was
the most artistic “sash-frame” ever
evolved out of masonry, and to that ex-
tent seems to offer the most practicable
precedent for the newer “skeleton con-
struction.” It is true that the upright
and the horizontal members of the old
skeleton construction were of actual
stonework, of the newer only steel bars,
enclosed and protected against weather
or fire by wrappages of masonry or of
baked clay reduced to the irreducible
minimum of area. But clearly the
principle is quite the same. The cath-
edral window between its bounding but-
tresses is the most accurate historical
prototype of the modern skyscraper.

When, however, one who has been
preaching thus find his precepts sud-
denly reduced to practice in such an
erection as this apartment house in
West Seventy-seventh street, the result
makes him, to recur to Milton, “stare
and gasp.” Milton did not say anything
about a fourteen-storied window, richly
dight or otherwise. Milton could not
have imagined a human person doing
business, or a human family inhabiting,
say, transom 13, mullion X, of one of
his imaginary windows. But, after all,
why not? One’s astonishment at the
unfamilarity of this strange apparition
is nothing w'hatever against it. We
have called the front a cathedral win-
dow. But its aim is really yet more
ambitious. The motive is a complete
cathedral front, with the whole nave oc-
cupied by one huge wfindow, and each
of the towers, from top to bottom, oc-
cupied by another. One notes that the
analogy is carried out even in the asym-
metry of the flanking towers. The de-
signer simply must have been thinking
of Amiens when he put that curt, trun-
cated roof on the left hand tower, even
though he were apparently still seeking
for a properly counterparting motive
for the other which should not counter-
part too closely. The pinnacles of the
actual tower appropriately enough flank
it, and set it off. It is not their fault,
nor yet that of their designer, if they
have no very visible means of support,
if he simply could not afford the space
to detach suitably the flanks from the

ARCHITECTURAL ABERRATIONS.

4 37

centre, the aisles from the nave, still
less the space to give the towers that
air of comparative massiveness and
solidity which should properly dis-
tinguish them as flanking and framing
members. One has known the like
shortcomings in the fronts of sky-
scrapers in which there was nothing at
all of unconventional or aberrant. It
is a pity that with so generous a fron-
tage, a frontage of not far from ioo
feet, the designer did not see his way
to do more in this direction. But you
perceive he has done what he thought
he could afford to do by emphasizing
the intermediate and the terminal piers
with color. And the skeleton gable
that crowns the “nave” you must admit
to be a picturesque and even a “jolly”
feature.

Really, one can have nothing but
commendation for the manner in which
the architect has stuck to his text, and
refrained from creating a factitious
architecturesqueness at the expense of
his employer. If he had not refrained,
there would be nothing exemplary or
suggestive about his work. There is no
progress in the design of skyscrapers
to be hoped for from the work of de-
signers who seize the opportunities
that skyscrapers offer to rear monu-
ments for themselves out of these ex-
amples of a bare utility, instead of ex-
tracting from them every last dollar they
can be made to yield in revenue to the
designer’s employer, the owner. True,
one may imagine, from a view of this
front, and without knowledge of the
plans beyond what the view gives him,
that this designer has shown a needless

degree of asceticism, and that he would
not have diminished the revenue pay-
ing capacity of his work by planning to
give a little more or even considerably
more expanse of wall where such ex-
panse is so urgently needed. Even a
few feet more of breadth of plain wall
would have made an immense and bene-
ficient difference in the effort of the
front by emphasizing its main divisions.
But the fault, if it be a fault, is in the
right direction. In a building of which
the sole use and function is to yield
the greatest return on the invest-
ment, even the judicious hunter after
the picturesque would rather see evi-
dence that the architect had denied him-
self than that he had denied the owner.

This, of course, as to the general
lay-out and disposition. No reasonable
owner would or does begrudge the time
and thought his architect gives to the
devising or adaptation of the best and
most effective detail, nor object to the
additional cost of this. External at-
tractiveness is undoubtedly an asset in
a fashionable apartment house, as the
sacrifice of the essential maximum of
“accommodation” is a liability. And
this detail is in fact, very good, well
chosen, well adjusted, well “scaled”.
Compare this freakish front, for ex-
ample, with its next door neighbor, in
which there is surely nothing of aber-
rant. How much better composed it
is and how much better detailed ! How
can the humane and sensitive passer
fail to be grateful to the designer who
has given him so much, not only that
he must look at, but that he must find
so well worth looking at.

43§

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

TOWERS AND FACADE OF THE CHATEAU OF LE LUDE, FACING THE PARK.

(Built by Guy de Daillon.)

EASTERN FAQADE— CHATEAU OF LE LUDE.

Notes on Some Famous Chateaux of the

Sarthe

Almost imperceptibly our summer in
Touraine had slipped away. September
had come, and with it autumn’s mes-
sengers. In the early morning, before
the sun had had time to warm the air,
the cobwebbed furze-bushes at the sides
of the lanes of Touraine were covered
with myriads of tiny dewdrops, whose
sparkle strangely mimicked the hoar-
frost of winter. The long rows of pop-
lars, which were rapidly changing their
green foliage for one that was yellow
and scanty, faded into a misty distance.
On low-lying meadows near the Loire
and the Cher the ground was purple
with thousands upon thousands of col-
chicum blossoms. As to the grapes, these
were rapidlv reddening on the vines, and
in a few weeks’ time would be gathered
in amidst laughter and song.

On the recommendation of Balzac,
who writes with his usual enthusiasm on
the subject of the vintage and autumn
of Touraine, we were much tempted to
linger on in the ancient province. But
the call of the city was unfortunately im-
perative, and our departure thence was
now a question merely of days. Besides,
the main purpose for which we had come
to this part of France had been accom-
plished, and I can assure you that we
prided ourselves not a little on the fact
that there was not a chateau or a ruined
castle of importance which we had not
visited.

“I see that you have seen everything,'’
said someone to whom I had enumerated
the places at which we had called. “That
is, everything in Touraine. But what
about the chateaux of the Sarthe? Geo-
graphically, they are out of the district
you proposed to explore. But, now that
you are here and within such a short
distance of them, you must not think of
neglecting the principal one amongst
them — Le Lude. Palustre, the authority
on the French Renaissance, says that it
would be difficult to find a more elegant
example of the architecture of the Ren-
aissance than that beautiful castle.”

As this suggested excursion would
add, we were told, but a couple of days
to the length of our sojourn, we decided
to undertake it. Tours, therefore, saw
us once more. We made a quick run
in our car from that town to Chateau-
la-Valliere, which is noted for its pic-
turesque lake and forest, and thence to
Le Lude, an ancient and prosperous lit-
tle town on the Loir. The scenery we
encountered on the way consisted largely
of woodland. In fact, the whole of the
Sarthe has the aspect of an extensive
forest, the department gaining this ap-
pearance owing to the numerous hedges
which separate the fields and the clumps
of tall trees which are dotted here and
there.

Our adviser was certainly right in
recommending us not to miss the Cha-
teau of Le Lude. Its stateliness, the
beauty of its ornamentation on pilasters
and dormer windows, and the charm of
its gardens place it on an equal footing
with some of the most important of the
chateaux of the Loire. The gardens,
which are even finer than those at Che-
nonceaux, are especially noteworthy.
The jar din d V anglais e is situated on a
raised terrace overlooking the Loire and
facing the southern fagade of the castle,
and it is embellished along its entire
length of two hundred yards with su-
perb marble vases — Italian work of the
sixteenth century. At the end of the
terrace is also a fine marble group, rep-
resenting Hercules and Antaeus, by
Mongendre, a Mans sculptor who lived
about the end of the reign of Louis
XIV. Beneath, and bordering the Loir,
is the French garden, set out in that
formal manner which accords so well
with the lines of the eastern or eigh-
teenth-century fagade of the chateau
facing the river.

The Chateau of Le Lude, which forms
a large quadrilateral, surrounding a
rather diminutive courtyard, was built
by members of the Daillon family.
Jacques de Daillon began to build it on

440

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

CHATEAU OF LE LUDE— ENTRANCE FROM THE TOWN.

CHATEAU OF LE LUDE— THE FRENCH GARDEN.

NOTES ON SOME FAMOUS CHATEAUX OF THE SARTHE.

441

CHATEAU OF LE LUDE.

442

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Marble Vase (XVI. Century), one of a number
ornamenting the grand terrace and the Eng-
lish garden at the Chateau of le Lude.

the site of a feudal castle about the year
1520; the work was continued by his
widow, Jacqueline de la Fayette, on be-
half of their son Jean; and it was com-
pleted by Guy de Daillon, the son of
Jean. Jacqueline de Daillon’s work,
which was carried out during her hus-
band’s absence at the wars, in which he
met his death, consisted of interior dec-
oration. In 1777 there could still be
seen in the salons and in the galleries
of the castle numerous French, Italian
and Spanish emblems and devices, inter-
laced with arabesque. An interesting
discovery made in 1853 by M. Delarue,
the architect who assisted in the resto-
ration of the chateau, confirmed this.
He brought to light, in a little oratory
in one of the towers, a number of re-
markable mural paintings by artists of
the school of Rosso and Primatice. The
principal picture is one representing a
lady of Lude sorrowing over the death
of her husband. The news that he was
killed at the Battle of Pavia is brought
to her by a messenger, who is showing
her the hero’s cloak stained with blood.

To Guy de Daillon we owe the towers
and the faqade facing the park, as shown
by a date, 1577, and the general style of
the architecture. Later owners made
additions or alterations. Thus, Thimo-
leon de Daillon. whose sundial, bearing
the arms of his family and those of his
wife, with their initials and the date
1649, stands in the garden facing the
eighteenth-century facade, directed his
attention principally to the gardens ;
whilst the Marquis de la Vieuville, who
restored the castle at a cost of over
$55,000, pulled down the western wing
which connected the two towers nearest
the town, replaced it by the present
buildings and a three-arched portico,
and built the eastern faqade. This
three-arched porch, which supports an
open terrace ornamented with a balus-
trade, was a happy change, for it opened
up the courtyard, which, up to then,
had been somewhat dark. This court-
yard is oblong, 20 meters by 10, and it is
ornamented on three of its sides with
pilasters separated by empty niches.
Between these niches the walls are deco-
rated with plaques of colored marble,

Ancient Sun-Dial at the Chateau of le Lude.

THE CHATEAU DE JARZE.

CHATEAU DE JARZE— PETIT SALON.

CHATEAU DE JARZE— GRAND SALON.

444

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

NOTES ON SOME FAMOUS CHATEAUX OF THE SARTHE

445

CHATEAU DE JARZE— FORMER GUARD ROOM.

446

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

symmetrically and tastefully arranged.
The restoration of Le Lude was con-
tinued in 1853 by the present owner,
the Marquis de Talhouet, and has only
recently been completed. The northern
fagade, with its modern equestrian
statue of Jacques de Daillon, and the
monumental entrance to the grounds
from the town, form part of the work
he has had carried out.

The interior of the chateau, in spite
of the richness of its decoration, proved
a disappointment in comparison, with
what we had seen outside. The four
huge machicolated towers give the idea
that the building is a very roomy one,
but on entering you find that this is not
so. ,With the exception of the large and
small drawing-rooms, and the Salle des
Fetes, the rooms are small, and, withal,
astonishingly dark. The electric light
had to be turned on even in the fairly
large Salle des Fetes in order to be able
to see the sculptured mantelpiece to ad-
vantage. Yet the sun outside was shin-
ing magnificently from a cloudless sky.
This sombreness is caused, of course,
by the immense thickness of the walls
and the equally unavoidable narrowness
of the windows, and is one of the dis-
advantages, from the modern point of
view, of most of these ancient castles.
Otherwise, the apartments are above
criticism. On all sides — in the dining-
room, library and drawing-rooms — are
choice furniture, pictures, tapestries and
other works of art. The recently com-
pleted carved stone staircase is a fine
example of modern work ; and the bed-
rooms, in one of which Henry IV. slept
during his visit to Le Lude in 1593, as
shown by a framed letter preserved
there, are interesting for their contents
or their historical associations.

It was inevitable that, having come
so far as Le Lude, we should proceed
a little further towards Jarze, which
held forth the prospect of an interesting
chateau, since we were informed it had
been built by Jean Bourre, the builder of
Langeais. On our way there we came
first to La Fleche and then to Bauge,
both famous places. The former is cele-
brated for its military school, which,
founded by Napoleon in 1808, in eccle-

siastical buildings dating from about the
middle of the seventeenth century, has
produced many of France's finest sol-
diers. But this Prytanee interested us
less than the pretty Chateau des Cannes,
a former convent near the bridge that
crosses the Loir. There is also a cha-
teau at Bauge — a picturesque, weather-
beaten building of the fifteenth century
which is attributed to King Rene, who,
according to legend, was very fond of
this town and district. The former resi-
dence of the good King of Naples (he
was surnamed “Le Bon," on account of
his paternal character, his pacific gov-
ernment, his constant serenity under ill-
fortune, and his love for art and litera-
ture), is now the Mairie and Gendarm-
erie. The best preserved portions are
the sculptured doorway to the tower,
facinp- the Place du Chateau, and the
winding staircase within, a staircase sur-
mounted by a fan-vaulting on which are
armorial bearings supposed to be those
of Rene. Whilst on the road from
Bauge to Jarze you get a view, on the
left, of the towers of the Chateau de
Landifer, which should be visited if you
wish to be able to say that you have
explored the Sarthe thoroughly. Not
professing to have set out to do that, we
did not find the time to see this partly
Renaissance, partly modern, castle.

Jarze is a plain, a very plain, country
house, situated on an eminence, whence
an extensive view can be obtained of
much of the surrounding country, even
as far as Angers (twenty-seven miles
away), when the weather is good. Hav-
ing Langeais in our mind’s eye, we ex-
pected to find something a good deal
more castlelike than this. But it ap-
peared we had paid our visit a little
more than one hundred and ten years
too late, for nearly the whole of the
castle built by Jean Bourre in 1500 was
burnt down in 1794. Two paintings
over the doors in the Petit Salon of its
comparativelv modern successor show
its outward appearance. The still re-
maining portions of the old castle con-
sist of a small guard-room and a little
oratory with vaulted ceiling, on which
are paintings of cupids. The other rooms
are frankly modern. Yet they have one

NOTES ON SOME FAMOUS CHATEAUX OF THE S ART HE.

447

peculiarity which is certainly worthy of
being mentioned: their beauty may lie
hidden beneath their lath and plaster
ceilings. For beneath these, in all prob-
ability, are other ceilings with painted
beams. One of the sons of the owner,
M. Cloquemin, took us into a bedroom

where the ceiling had been pierced, and
through the hole, sure enough, we could
see the original plafond, with its orna-
mentation almost as fresh as the day it
was painted. The restoration of Jarze
might, therefore, be worth undertaking.

Frederic Lees.

There have appeared
in these pages from
time to time articles
under the title “Archi-
tectural Aberrations.”
The buildings which
are the occasion for
these articles are for
the most part examples of deficient scholar-
ship combined with a desire to do the original
thing at any cost. They are as good as can
be expected from their origin. They exer-
cise a useful function in educating the pub-
lic in matters architectural in arousing in-
terest by their utter lack of propriety.

BuL there is another species of architect-
ural design, the influence of which for evil
is as great as the common run of “aberra-
tions” for good. An occasional example
of the latter is about sufficient to de-
stroy the confidence in the integrity and
efficiency of the architect which the building
public has so slowly acquired. We refer to
that class of architectural design which has
all the ear-marks of scholarship in its elab-
oration and detail, combined with a most
inexplicable and astounding lack of common
horse-sense in its conception. A building
which has recently been completed in New
York City for the New York School of Ap-
plied Design for Women fairly typifies the
sort of thing alluded to.

The number of people who take an interest
in the appearance and adaptability to pur-
pose of our buildings is increasing and their
interest in the subject is deepening. A col-
lection of massive columns supporting en-
tablatures and pediments no longer consti-
tutes architecture for the layman of dis-
criminating judgment. He may be attracted
by these elements and sometimes pre-
judiced by their presence, but generally
he will attempt to reach some conclu-
sion as to the merits of the solution
which has been adopted as the best under
the circumstances. If the building be costly
he will inquire whether or not the money has
been well spent and judiciously distributed,
with due regard for the practical considera-
tions of the problem. He will recognize the
fact that the design of a building is a work
of art wrought not to be beautiful merely

ABERRATIONS

AND

OTHERS

for its own sake, but rather to give expres-
sion to the purpose for which it was built.
Purpose, then, will be one of the very first
things to be inquired into. That being
stated, the general character of the accom-
modations required will give the necessary
information on which an intelligent lay
opinion of the design would be based. Such
a process applied to the building shown on
the opposite page leads to a conclusion so
obvious as to need no expert to give it ex-
pression. We forbear and leave the reader
free to express himself in his own terms.

N. P. LEWIS
ON CITY
PLANNING

Some very sane and
interesting remarks
that there was need of
making were included
in an address recently
delivered by Nelson P.
Lewis, engineer of the
Board of Estimate and
Apportionment in New York, before the
Rochester Engineering Society, at its annual
meeting. The subject was the now familiar
one of city planning, and he said that while
a city could be guided, it could not be
clubbed, in its growth. The best oppor-
tunities for effective work were in the un-
developed parts, and here, he thought, there
should be a plan to which the city should
gradually adapt itself. As to the sort of
man who should be the controlling spirit in
the planning, Mr. Lewis said he was asked
whether he should be an engineer, archi-
tect, landscape architect, or president of
the chamber of commerce. His reply was
that he should not be chosen simply because
he is a member of one of the professions or
because he is at the head of a great com-
mercial organization. He should be chosen
because he is a man of broad views, clear
vision, and with foresight. The plans should
contemplate many, many years of growth.
As a rule, “we keep our eyes too close to the
drawing board; we should view things from
the housetop occasionally.” He thought
that in Germany, where men are working on
municipal projects which they cannot live to
see completed, the results were most far-
reaching and intelligent.

45 °

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

The demolition of the
old Park Square Sta-
AN tion in Boston invites

ELEGANT reminiscence and archi-

OLD tectural comparison.

STATION The latter is rather too

obvious, with the cur-
rent periodicals full of
vast station projects — the Grand Central and
Pennsylvania, approaching completion in
New York; the lately finished Union Station
in Washington, and the Chicago & North-
western station beginning in Chicago. But
reminiscence involves unconscious compari-
son and is interesting in itself. In the Bos-
ton “Transcript” a writer, delving in the
files of thirty odd years ago, quotes a news-
paper account of the opening of the Park
Square Station. “The magnificent edifice
. . . this modern railway palace,” the article
begins. It “was brilliantly illuminated for
the occasion. The great hall of the head-
house. 180 feet long and 44 feet wide, was
packed solid with people, five thousand at
least being present.” “The public are loud
in the praise of the perfect manner in which
the work has been done. No richer designs
or finer finish can be found. Marble founts
supply water, and great pendant chandeliers
afford light. Upon the walls are painted
maps of Long Island Sound and the Shore
Line to New York, with all the railroad con-
nections. In addition are the different sta-
tions with their distances.” The station is
declared actually to include, such is its com-
pleteness, “a fully equipped barber shop”
and a cafe which is “an elegant room.” Yet
this was as late as 1875, and in the “Trans-
script” itself. The writer of this article in
question says that he oan remember wander-
ing through the marble spaces of the “great
hall,” marveling at the “finish,” and “al-
ternately charmed and repelled by the
‘marble founts.’ Those founts seemed at
times to take the likeness of strays from the
‘fully equipped’ barber emporium — no, it was
only a simple shop in those days — and at other
times the sparkling water raised visions of
baptismal days in churches, an impression
heightened by the upholstered oaken set-
tles, so like to church pews.” He recalls
that nothing was too good for the Park
Square station. Architects were invited to
submit plans in competition, and “about six
different schemes were presented.” The king
of Hawaii was present, Reeves’ American
band furnished music, and the officers and
their lady friends filled the gallery. But
leaving these frivolous matters, it is quite
to the point to learn that the successful
competitors were the present day firm of

Peabody and Stearns, a firm then so young
that this was its earliest large undertaking;
that the style was “Victorian Gothic,” which
was then having a run in this country,
though the Park Square Station may have
been the first use of it in America for rail-
road purposes; and that the arrangement of
the station was really exceptionally con-
venient, especially in regard to exits and
entrances. This was due in part to its ad-
mirable location. The writer says: “In the

dimness of closing day”— when the station’s
“ornament” was lost in shadow — “the front
of the station took on almost the dignity of
a cathedral; and from the Common, near the
monument, the picture of the stream of
human beings flowing beneath its entrance
arches was one of peculiar charm. Here in
Boston, as elsewhere in America, our good
buildings suffer from the difficulty one often
has in seeing any one of them as a whole.
This advantage the Park Square Station had
in remarkable measure, and it was peculiarly
fitted for its place at the end of certain long
vistas across the Common.”

In a long interview
printed in The New
York Sun, Whitney
Warren, of Warren &
Wetmore, architects,
of New York, is quoted
as taking a very hope-
ful view of the city’s
present and future architecture. He thinks
there has been extraordinary improvement in
the last few years, and is reported as saying:
“Take a walk along Fifth Avenue by the
park and you may be discouraged by the
lack of uniformity in the houses of recent
construction. But it will come out all right,
and when we get through New York will be
one of the most picturesque cities of the
future. There is a square in Brussels which
has the same lack of uniformity in color and
in detail and yet is beautiful. For one rea-
son or another the problem of making New
York better architecturally and a more
agreeable city to live in and get around in
has been looked upon as more or less im-
possible. As a matter of fact, when we
think of what Rome was. of what Paris
looked like once, and London, too, the prob-
lem of New York, an unfinished and in many
parts an uncommenced city, is not so diffi-
cult after all.” There is a large element of
unfamiliar truth in this, and doubtless it is
more encouraging and helpful to look on
the bright side than on the dark. But New
York ought to be a great deal more, or bet-

NEW YORK
TO BE

PICTURESQUE

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

451

ter finished a city than it is. The great
streets and squares that make European,
and South American, cities so handsome
have been built since New York was old
enough, big enough, and rich enough to do
the same. The spirit that prevented has not
quite passed yet. We are building better
than we have before — note the railroad sta-
tions, for example. But we still locate even
stations meanly, and through cross-roads
economy are most likely to tuck public
buildings on side streets and shiver at the
thought of great improvements. We may
be making New York, more or less uncon-
sciously, as Mr. Warren says, picturesque;
but picturesqueness is not the character best
fitted to a metropolis. We should not be
quite satisfied, as he himself points out. He
closes with the interesting prediction that
“ten years from now the building all over
this country will be terrific. Everything has
got to be rebuilt because it will be inade-
quate. Look at the way we are growing and
figure it out for yourself.”

Of recently prepared
city plan reports, the
PLANS most elaborately pub-

FOR lished is that made by

CALIFORNIA John Nolen, fortheCivic
TOWNS Improvement Commit-

tee of San Diego. San
Diego is not very big —
yet; but in this matter, it has set an ex-
ample to a great many large cities. As for
the report, it is prepared with the conscien-
tious care characteristic of its maker’s
work. It is not very long in itself; but it is
supplemented by many quotations, admirably
chosen as a whole, “by illustrative extracts”
and by a brief bibliography. Since the San
Diego Report was published, another Cali-
fornia town, Santa Barbara, has been ob-
taining a report on its improvement possi-
bilities. Charles Mulford Robinson was the
author of this report. It was prepared for
the Civic League, but the Chamber of Com-
merce, the Commercial Club, the Realty
Board, the city, and the local improvement
clubs as well as the Civic League united to
receive it, and then and there formed a
Central Committee, made up of representa-
tives from all the organizations, for the
purpose of securing the carrying out of the
plans proposed. It may be well in this con-
nection to note a recent newspaper refer-
ence — in New England — to civic improve-
ment plans. It is coming to be felt, the
writer declared, that the agitation of the
past in this direction has been wrongly
based. “It has been assumed,” he says,

“that the aesthetics are simply a more or
less artistic veneer engrafted upon ugliness.
The growing conception is that civic art is
only an attribute of utilities, and that the
way the people develop their utilities is
simply an indication of what is within them
desiring expression. If this idea is correct,
we shall have civic art only when it is in
people to express themselves in artistic
ways in the development of their utilities.
Civic art will not be developed by tidying
up around aimless streets.” This is well
put; but it ought to be added that one value
• — perhaps, indeed, the really greatest value —
of such a report as that lately obtained by
San Diego or Santa Barbara is its effect on
the people themselves, is the putting not
merely into their minds of a concrete vision
of what their town might be and should be,
but the putting into their hearts of the wish
and purpose to make it so.

DENVER

ENTERPRISE

On February 20, the
city of Denver
began the publication
of a weekly news-
paper. It appears each
Saturday, is entitled
“Denver Municipal
Facts,” is well printed,
is amply but not too profusely illustrated,

and is so admirably edited as to be most in-
teresting reading — even outside of Denver.

Locally it keeps the people in touch each
week with current civic history, and as it
is sent free on request, no voter need be
without the information which it contains.
There is nothing dry about the paper. Its
whole tone is inspiriting and calculated to
increase civic pride in Denver. It has al-
ready had the sincere flattery of imitation
in several cities, and these papers may yet
be the means of injecting a new and very
powerful force for good into our municipal

life.

An article of general interest in one num-
ber was an account of the artistic lighting
apparatus now used on the Denver business
streets. The 'selection of the fixtures was
put in charge of the Art Commission and
original designs were obtained. On each
street which receives the ornamental poles
— the system is being gradually extended-
all wires except those for the trolleys are put
underground. This is required as a first
step. Sixteenth Street, a central highway
in the retail district, was the first street to
be so improved. By agreement with the
street railway people, and to avoid the mul-
tiplying of fixtures, it was arranged to use

45 2

THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

the trolley poles as a basis for the lighting
fixtures. Now these poles, to bear the weight
and strain of the trolley wires, are set to
slant out at a slight angle from the tracks.
The Art Commission observed that while the
slant was not great, it was yet sufficient to
destroy the artistic effect which it was de-
sired to obtain by suspending lights from
them. Accordingly there were designed cast
iron casings large enough to cover the trol-
ley poles and allow for the slant. There re-
sults a large, heavy-looking standard, but
their even spacing, four to the block on each
sidewalk, their black color, the “art nouveau”
base and well designed top, and finally
their double lamps hanging from decorative
arms, give to them a stately and quite strik-
ing aspect that rather grows on one. They
serve well also as standards for bunting and
flags on gala occasions, and are so used by
the city during important conventions. At
Christmas time, by order of the mayor,
large wreaths of evergreen were suspended
from the side arms. The next street to be
taken in hand was Fifteenth, and an en-
tirely different style of fixture was installed.
The trolley poles here were set at so slight
an angle that the slant was not noticeable.
Instead of a casing, therefore, Chairman
Read of the Art Commission, who is an
artist of note, designed a decorative base,
two collars and a headpiece that could be
used on the existing wrought iron trolley
pole. These fixtures carry one lamp, which
hangs over the roadway by an ornamental
side arm. An interesting feature of this
bracket is that, at its lower terminus con-
siderably below the arc lamp, it has a little
IG-candle power incandescent light under a
red shade. The effect as one looks down the
street is unique and charming. For some
reason, the lighting company supplies the
current for the little red lamps free of
charge. For the boulevards and parkways
the Commission has secured a design for a
columnar pole surmounted by a special lamp

The recent exhibition
of plastic art, conducted
by the Municipal Art
League of Chicago, in
Humboldt Park in that
city, is said to have
proved a greater suc-
cess than even its
friends had anticipated. Most of the exhibits
were loaned by the Field Museum; but the
purpose of the exhibition was not so much
to arouse public interest in sculpture as to

in an opal globe.

PLACING

PARK

SCULPTURE

give some popular education as to its proper
outdoor setting — a point on which there is
great need of education. A discussion of this
subject at the annual dinner of the Munici-
pal Art League last spring was, indeed, the
forerunner of the exhibition. The arranging
was done mainly by Lorado Taft, Charles J.
Mulligan and Jens Jensen — the latter the
gifted superintendent of Chicago’s West
Park system. The exhibit, which was uni-
que, consisted of formal and informal divis-
ions, the first in the circular rose garden,
while the informal groups were distributed
along winding walks, on gentle slopes, and
against the naturalistic planting on the
banks of a stream. Thus the Boy and Frog
was set in the actually runing water where
a litle streamlet tumbled down to join a
larger pool. Lorado Taft, in a talk preced-
ing the opening of the exhibition, disarmed
some of the criticism that would naturally
have been offered by saying: “We would
people our parks not with long-coated states-
men and restless warriors, but with figures
of airy grace, fit denizens of woods and
meadows.” The result was a very beautiful
as well as an instructively suggestive ex-
hibition.

A Municipal Art So-
ciety has lately been
formed in St. Paul,
under the aus-
pices of the Institute of
Arts and Sciences. At
the initial meeting an
address was made by
on “the urgent need
arrangement in mu-
nicipal architecture.” He spoke of the
apparent demand for the creation of
handsome approaches to the Capitol and the
new Cathedra], and urged the promotion in
every practical way of a higher class of
architecture and of artistic street improve-
ment. The address was a recognition of the
part which good architecture, if adequately
set off, can play in handsome city building.

The country residence of Mr. Francis C.
Huntington, at St. James, Long Island, pub-
lished on page 319 of the May issue, was
erroneously credited to Messrs. Ford, Stewart
& Oliver as architects and designated as
located at Lawrence, Long Island. The credit
for its design, we are informed, belongs
jointly to Mr. Lawrence S. Butler and
Messrs. Ford, Stewart & Oliver as associated
architects.

ARCHITECTS

AND

CIVIC ART

Grant Van Sant
of harmony and

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