Frank Cousins

“ It is in the excellent detail and nice proportion of the wood trim, both without and within, that this house excels. Interest focuses upon the deeply recessed doorway with its sturdy Tuscan columns and pediment, and the great, attractively paneled door. The fenestration is admirable with twenty-four-paned windows set in handsome frames with architrave casings and beautifully molded sills, the lower windows having shutters and the upper ones blinds. A notable feature is the heavy cornice with large modillions, and beneath a relatively fine-scale, double denticulated molding or Grecian fret. ”

“ White-painted woodwork, however, furnishes its prime embellishment,—doors, windows, porches, dormers and such necessary appurtenances of comfortable living punctuating its various parts with high lights which brighten the effect, balance the form and mass and lend distinctive character. One has but to examine the accompanying illustrations of a few notable homes of the Colonial period to appreciate the undeniable charm of white-painted woodwork in a setting of ledge stone. ”

“ At the northeast corner of Third and Pine streets is to be found a very narrow doorway of this character, its double doors paneled like those of the Shippen mansion and its graceful fanlight pattern more like that of the doorway at Eighth and Spruce streets, though differing considerably in detail. Like many others in Philadelphia this doorway is reached by four stone steps leading to a square stone platform, the entire construction being on the brick-paved sidewalk. The simple, slender rail of wrought iron, its chief decoration a repeated spiral, is the best feature. ”

“ Invariably one associates a house with its front entrance, for the doorway is the dominant feature of the façade, the keynote so to speak. Truly utilitarian in purpose, and so lending itself more logically to elaboration for the sake of decorative effect, the doorway became the principal single feature of a Colonial exterior. When designed in complete accord with the house it lends distinction and charm to the building as a whole. ”

“ The fine old plastered stone houses of Philadelphia comprise one of the distinctive and most admired types of its Colonial architecture. Those with pebble-dashed walls which seek to simulate no other building material or form of construction possess the added charm of frank sincerity. Fire-proof in character, pleasing in appearance, and readily adaptable to varied home requirements, they point the way wherever rubble stone incapable of forming an attractive wall is cheaply available. ”

“ And so in building the modern Colonial home we find ourselves ever going back to study the creations of the master builders of provincial times in America, when fireplaces meant even more than they do to-day, and finding in their achievements ideas and inspiration of great beauty and practical value. The neighborhood of Philadelphia is as rich in its collection of fine old mantels and chimney pieces as in its splendid interior woodwork generally. ”

“ These charming old ledge-stone mansions, and others of lesser architectural merit and historical association, too numerous for description here, constitute the chief distinction of Philadelphia architecture. Whereas the city residences of brick differ little from those of several other not far distant places, and the country houses of that material recall many similar ones in Delaware, Maryland and even Virginia, the ledge-stone house of greater Philadelphia is a thing unto itself. It has no parallel in America. ”

“ Opposite the famous Chew house on Germantown Avenue, amid a luxurious setting of splendid trees, clinging ivy and box-bordered gardens, stands Upsala, one of the finest examples of the Colonial architecture of Philadelphia. A great, square two and a half story house with a gable roof, three handsome dormers in front, a goodly sized chimney toward either end, and an L in the rear, it speaks eloquently of substantial comfort. ”

“ And so we look with particular admiration at the fine old countryseats of local rock-face and surfaced stone which abound in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, especially at Germantown, finding among them the most homelike and picturesque stone dwellings of the past and the best prototypes for present-day adaptation. Nowhere can one discover better inspiration for rock-face stonework, and nowhere have the architects of to-day more successfully preserved and developed the best local traditions of Colonial times. ”

“ Philadelphia occupies a unique position in American architecture. Few of the early settled cities of the United States can boast so extensive or so notable a collection of dwellings and public buildings in the so-called Colonial style, many of them under auspices that insure their indefinite perpetuation. These beautiful old structures are almost exclusively of brick and stone and of a more elaborate and substantial character than any contemporary work to be found above the Mason and Dixon line which later became in part the boundary between the North and the South. ”

“ The dining room occupies the west front, and back of it, in an L extension from the hall, a handsome staircase with gracefully turned balustrade leads to the bedrooms on the second floor. Throughout the interior the wood finish is worthy of the exterior trim. Beautifully tooled cornices, graceful pilasters, nicely molded door and window casings, heavy pedimental doorheads,—all are of excellent design and more carefully wrought than in average Colonial work. ”

“ Beyond and above are many spacious rooms with excellent woodwork and handsome chimney pieces.
No handsomer Colonial façade is to be found in America. Classic in feeling and symmetrical in arrangement, it is excellently detailed in every particular. Above a slightly projecting water table the repeated horizontals of the limestone belt at the second-floor level, the heavy cornice with prominent modillions and the roof line impart a feeling of repose and stability quite apart from the character of the building material itself. ”

“ The proportion and simple, clean-cut detail throughout are exquisite. The engaged colonnettes of the mullions contrast pleasingly with the pilasters of the frame, each of the two supporting an entablature notable for its fine-scale dentil course, and these two in turn supporting a keyed, molded arch. The central window has twelve-paned upper and lower sliding sashes with an attractively spaced fanlight above. The narrow ten-paned side windows are stationary. Unusual as is the use of these Palladian windows, their charm is undeniable, and they are among the chief distinctions of the house. ”

“ Toward the middle of the eighteenth century American carpenters and builders everywhere, Philadelphia included, were materially aided by the appearance of handy little ready reference books of directions for joinery containing measured drawings with excellent Georgian detail. Such publications became the fountainhead of Colonial design. They taught our local craftsmen the technique of building and the art of proportion; instilled in their minds an appreciation of classic motives and the desire to adapt the spirit of the Renaissance to their own needs and purposes. ”

“ As the architecture of Philadelphia is almost exclusively in brick and stone, there were none of the architrave casings and ornamental heads consisting of a cornice above the architrave and often of a complete entablature which characterized much contemporary New England work in wood. Brick and stone construction require solid rather than cased wood frames let into the reveals of the brick wall and have no projections other than a molded sill, as on the Morris house, while a stone lintel or brick arch must replace the ornamental head, often such a pleasing feature of wood construction. ”

“ They not only charm the eye as interior features, but when viewed outdoors relieve the severity of many ranging square-headed windows and provide a center of interest in the fenestration,152 lending grace and distinction to the entire façade. No Palladian windows in Philadelphia so thoroughly please the eye or so convincingly indicate the delightful accord that may exist between gray ledge-stone masonry and white woodwork as those set within recessed arches at The Woodlands. ”

“ The wide, flat casings and single-panel doors seem severe indeed by comparison with most of the earlier doorways with their greater flexibility of line.
Generally similar, the doorway of the old Shippen mansion, Number 1109 Walnut Street, with its straight flight of stone steps unadorned in any way, is less attractive except in the paneling of the doors. It lacks the grace of the winding stairs and the charm of the iron balustrade so much admired in the former. The fanlight pattern, good as it is, fails to make as strong an appeal as that of the other doorway. ”

“ Just as men have personality, so houses have individuality. And as the latter is but a reflection of the former, a study of the architecture of any neighborhood gives us a more intimate knowledge of contemporary life and manners, while the history of the homes of prominent personages is usually the history of the community. Such a study is the more interesting in the present instance, however, in that not merely local but national history was enacted within the Colonial residences and public buildings of old Philadelphia. ”

“ Like the houses, the doorways range in architectural pretension from the unaffected simplicity of Wyck to the stately elaboration of Cliveden and Mount Pleasant, and possess distinctive characteristics not seen elsewhere. Wealth made Philadelphia the most fashionable American city of the time, with all the attendant rivalries and jealousies of such a condition. Desiring to put the best foot foremost, elaboration of the doorway provided a ready means to display the self-esteem, affluence and social position of the owner. ”

“ The broad staircase with its plain rectangular box stair ends is one of unusually simple stateliness, yet typical of the sturdy lines of Philadelphia construction, the window with its built-in seat on the landing being an ever pleasing arrangement. Severely plain square newels support an exceptionally broad and heavy handrail capped with dark wood, while attractive turned balusters of distinctive pattern complete a balustrade of more than ordinarily substantial character. A nicely paneled dado with dark-capped surbase along the opposite wall greatly enriches the effect. ”

“ Rarely occurred a doorway having a complete entablature above a fanlight surmounted by a pediment. The east and west entrances of Mount Pleasant offer two splendid examples, massive and dignified. While much alike in several respects, they differ sufficiently in detail to afford an interesting comparison. In size and general arrangement in their double three-panel doors and smooth columns, they greatly resemble each other. Although not pure, the doorway of the west or river front is essentially Tuscan and of the utmost simplicity. ”

“ Like many others the door itself is dark painted and in striking contrast to the other white wood trim. One notices at once the strange placing of the knob at the top rather than in the middle of the lock rail, and the footscraper in a separate block of marble in the sidewalk at one side of the marble steps, the inference being that one should scrupulously wipe his feet before approaching the door. ”

“ A long wing extends back from the main house, and beyond is a workshop with many old tools and a numerous collection of interesting clocks in various stages of completion. Still farther back is an observatory with its telescope, also a box-bordered formal garden in which still stands a quaint rain gauge. Indoors, the hall and principal rooms are spacious but low studded, with simple white-painted 63 woodwork, and in the kitchen a primitive crane supporting ancient iron pots still remains in the great fireplace. ”

“ Thus from the very outset brick construction has been favored in preference to wood in Philadelphia. Homes in the city proper were built of it chiefly, and likewise many of the elegant countryseats in the neighboring townships, now part of the greater Philadelphia of to-day. The wealthier residents very early set the fashion of both city and country living, following in this custom the example of William Penn, the founder, who not only had his house in town, but a country place, a veritable mansion, long since gone, on an island in the Delaware River above Bristol. ”

“ The molding is the same; there is the same upward sweep of the ramped rail, and it is also capped with dark wood. On the landing dainty little fluted pilasters support the surbase, their fine scale lending much grace and refinement. One notices there also the beautiful beveled paneling of the window embrasures, the paneled soffit of the Palladian window and its built-in seat. The balustrade is of sturdy conventional type characteristic of the period. Two attractively turned balusters grace each stair, their bases alike and otherwise differing only in the length of their tapering shafts. ”

“ The squatty little two and a half story houses with picturesque doorways and dormer windows have become the homes of numerous clubs representing the best art interests of the city. Poor Richard Club, Plastic Club, Sketch Club, Coin d'Or and Franklin Inn are among the names to be seen painted on the signs beside the doors. The houses and their gardens in the rear have been restored and provide excellent club, exhibition and lecture rooms, at the same time preserving some fine examples of a rapidly passing type of early American architecture. ”

“ It is an oblong structure of brick, with marble and white wood trim, two stories high, hip-roofed and surmounted in the center by a well-proportioned, octagonal open cupola. On the front a pediment springs from the cornice over a slightly projecting central section of the façade, while a three-sided bay breaks the rear wall and enlarges the building. The stoop and doorway are of simple dignity, the double doors having the appearance of being four separate, very narrow four-panel doors, and the graceful fanlight above being in accord with the round-headed windows of the lower story. ”

“ In outward appearance Bartram House is a simple gable-roof structure two and a half stories in height, of large, roughly hewn stones with east and west fronts and three dormers lighting the attic. The east or entrance front has a characteristic trellis-shaded doorway with quaint Dutch seats at each side, while the west front has an odd, recessed porch between rude Ionic columns of native stone, the same as the walls and built up like them. Crudely chiseled, elaborately ornamental window casings, lintels and sills form a curious feature of this façade. ”