or fifteen years ago, before the general introduction of furnaces, steam
pipes, gas, baths, marble basins, etc.; they find a house that suits
them, which the book says will cost $6,000, and that is just the amount,
by close figuring, that can be raised for building. The house is
ordered, put in the hands of the best mechanic to finish all complete,
and he goes ahead; he is unrestricted except by the book, and the author
of it is a man of reputation. In the way of details perhaps nothing has
been said; they are therefore extravagant in the use of materials, and
elaborate in workmanship; as it is not considered good policy for a
workman who has a good order, to make suggestions calculated to decrease
the amount of work. When the bills to the amount of $6,000 have been
settled, the house is found to be half finished, and an additional
$6,000 is necessary to complete it; less that one year's interest of
which would have amply sufficed to secure the services of one who has
spent the best years of his life to learn how to design and to manage
work to cost a specified price.
When an architect says a house can be built for a certain price, it is
to be understood that materials delivered on the ground shall not exceed
an average cost, that the payments made are to be in cash, and that he
manages the work. To hold an architect responsible or blame him for
blunders in the cost of work that he designed and did not superintend,
is manifestly unjust, yet it is a frequent occurrence. The cost of work
is a question easily answered, when one is fully acquainted with all its
bearings and has it under his control, but no one can say at what price
a novice in building operations can execute it.
DESIGN No. 17.
[Illustration: FIG. 53.--_Stable._]
[Illustration: FIG. 54.--_Stable Plan._ (_Reversed._)]
Fig. 53 is a design for a cottage stable, with stalls for two horses,
and the necessary carriage room and other conveniences. This design, in
its exterior, presents as great a degree of variety in the combinations
of form and shadow as the price will admit of. It answers the purposes
of comfortable protection and convenience, as well or even better than
the most costly structures. A horse needs a dry, well-ventilated
apartment, and enjoys fresh air, daylight, and sunlight as well as human
beings. Unless these very inexpensive wants are provided, no
compensation is afforded by elaborate detail and workmanship.
DESIGN No. 18.
SCHOOL HOUSE AT IRVINGTON, ON THE HUDSON.
Our architectural series would be by no means complete if devoted
entirely to dwellings; and as the resources of an extensive professional
practice in the arts which embellish and beautify our country may be
largely made use of, we present here a design for another class of
buildings.
A school-house is not a building which every one contemplates erecting,
and yet a large proportion are, or ought to be, interested in developing
in structures of this class such architectural principles as shall make
their impressions in early life, and influence future tastes.
[Illustration: FIG. 55.--_School House._]
This building is designed to accommodate about fifty scholars, being 25
by 40 feet, with a front projection 10 by 18 feet. In the basement a
large furnace and abundant accommodation for coal. The main floor is
divided into school-room, two recitation rooms, hat and coat room, wash
closet with sink, and water closet, above which is a large tank,
supplied from the roof. An outside cistern supplies cool drinking-water,
the purest and healthiest water known, and renders the use of ice
unnecessary in summer. The height of all these ceilings is nearly
fourteen feet, and each room is thoroughly ventilated; the belfry is
provided with a one hundred pound bell; indeed, nothing has been left
undone that is calculated to promote the health and comfort of the
pupils.
The partition between the doors to the recitation rooms is made in
sections, and can be easily removed, thus making one large room for
exhibition and lecture purposes. The stage, in this case is to be placed
at the left end of the room. The capacity of the building can be nearly
doubled by occupying the entire floor as a school-room, and building an
addition 12 by 24 feet directly in the rear, opposite to the front
projection, for recitation rooms.
The situation of this building at Irvington, on the Hudson, some
twenty-five miles above the city of New York, is in a charming, healthy,
and delightful locality; one made famous by the pen and residence of
Washington Irving, and noted for its magnificent scenery, its views of
river and mountain, and the fine taste displayed in landscape and
architectural embellishments by those who have made their homes in this
vicinity.
We have always thought that those educational institutions possess the
most attractions that are so situated that all surroundings shall have a
favorable influence; and there is nothing like example in early
training. Bring up and educate a boy among those who know nothing of the
refinements of life, away from the progressive examples of art and
taste, in a tumble-down, unplastered, ill-heated and ventilated
apartment, and he never can become, with all the aid of books and
teachers, as thoroughly cultivated and fitted for the duties of life, as
one who has enjoyed associations of a higher order. School architecture
has a meaning in it; there is value in proportion, harmony, beauty,
light and shade, as applied to school buildings, that is not
comprehended by all. A recent writer says better than we can say it,
that "It is the duty of teachers, as well as parents and school
committees, to see that the circumstances under which children study are
such as shall leave a happy impression upon their minds; for whatever is
brought under the frequent observation of the young must have its
influence upon their susceptible natures for good or evil. Shabby
school-houses induce slovenly habits. Ill-constructed benches may not
only distort the body, but, by reflex influence, the mind as well.
Conditions like these seldom fail to disgust the learner with his
school, and neutralize the best efforts of his teachers. On the other
hand, neat, comfortable places for study may help to awaken the
associations enchaining the mind and the heart to learning and virtuous
instruction with links of gold brightening forever."
[Illustration: FIG. 56.--_Principal Floor._]
[Illustration: FIG. 57.--_Perspective View._]
DESIGN No. 19.
This design was prepared for erection in the vicinity of Goshen, Orange
Co., N. Y., and the accommodation limited to a price not exceeding ----.
It presents in hall, verandas, and large parlor, some of the very
necessary attractions of a country house, and is a good example of what
can be done for a limited sum. While the plan is a parallelogram, and
the roof free from hips and valleys, the general arrangement is such as
to show considerable variety in outline, and one, we think, that will
have a pleasing effect.
Such houses, erected in the vicinity of New York, and many of our large
cities, would add a large value to the ground they stand on, and pay a
handsome rate of interest on their cost; better than any other class of
building investments, as the supply is in nowise equal to the demand. It
is so simple a matter, with present prompt and rapid railroad
facilities, to invite a fair proportion of the young business men of our
large cities to make their homes in the adjoining country, that we
wonder capitalists and real estate owners do not more frequently make
money for themselves and others by erecting tasteful, low-priced
suburban homes.
In former times, a house of this class erected in the country, would be
painted exteriorly a pure white, with no relief, except probably in the
violent contrast of bright green venetian blinds to the windows. This
sort of taste unfortunately still remains, although in the progress of
rural taste and art, the country is much improved in this respect.
[Illustration: FIG. 58.--_Cellar._]
There is a variety of colors, known as neutral tints, which are suitable
for exteriors, and the effect produced by them is altogether pleasing,
while a house painted white can never be an agreeable object in any
landscape, however admirable its architectural proportions and finish
may be.
The tone of color for a house will depend upon its size, form, and
situation, and it often requires a nice and cultivated eye to determine
what would be most appropriate and effective.
[Illustration: FIG. 59.--_First Floor._]
For such a house as this, we should choose a light fawn color--not
yellow--and paint the cornice, window-frames and other projecting and
ornamental parts two or three shades darker than the body of the
building. This will give a depth of shadow and expression which cannot
be obtained in any other way.
Large houses, with massive features of construction, will bear to be
painted with darker colors, but they should not be too sombre, so as to
give a gloomy appearance to the house. The country, with its bright
sunshine, its rich adornments of flowers, and its numberless forms of
beauty and grace, is eminently cheerful. It often happens that the
painter does all he can to mar this cheerfulness and beauty, by
startling contrasts of colors, and by destroying the harmony which
pervades the landscape.
[Illustration: FIG. 60.--_Second Floor._]
DESIGN No. 20.
A COUNTRY CHAPEL.
[Illustration: FIG. 61.--_Perspective._]
We present in this design a plan for a substantial and permanent chapel,
having capacity for seating about four hundred. For the purpose for
which it was designed, no distinct chancel was required. Such a
chancel could be arranged, if desired, in a recess taken off the lecture
or class room in the rear of the chapel. It could be lighted at the
roof, or on the sides.
[Illustration: FIG. 62.--_Ground Plan._]
This chapel, built of stone throughout, with an open timber roof and
stained glass windows, would be an ornament to any country locality, and
a credit to the taste and liberality of those who built it.
Every thing about such a chapel should be _real_, and no suspicion of
sham or unreality should be tolerated in any part of the work. The
practice of building the fronts of churches of stone, while the side and
rear walls are constructed of rough brick, painted and marked off to
resemble the stone, is very common, we know, both in town and country,
but it is a species of deceit and false pretence which ought not to be.
If the best and costliest material cannot be used for the entire
structure, let the rougher and inferior material be fairly shown, in
every part. If the means and liberality of the parish cannot provide oak
or walnut for the interior finish, let the wood work be plainly painted,
or what is better still, simply oiled, but there should be no cunning
deception of graining, to represent the costlier wood. It is not
_honest_, and, we take it, a church, built for religious worship, is the
last place that should betray our human meanness and want of honesty.
DESIGN No. 21.
We show in this design what can be done with a substantial old farm
house; how easily and beautifully it can be changed into a suburban home
of elegant exterior, and comfortable and convenient interior
appointments.
[Illustration: FIG. 63.--_View of the House at the time of Purchase._]
[Illustration: FIG. 64.--_The same remodeled._]
This class of spacious and substantial farm houses, with the gambrel,
curb, or Mansard roof, as shown in Fig. 63, is very numerous about the
suburbs of New York City, and more particularly in the "neighboring
province of New Jersey," where one finds them nestled in the valleys or
by the road side, as best fitting to the taste of our early Dutch
settlers, who prized seclusion and protection above bleak exposure and
far-reaching views.
[Illustration: FIG. 65.]
As a general thing, the better class of New Jersey farm houses of this
type were built of squared and hammered red sand-stone, laid up in
regular courses, and in many instances the character of the work
differed on all sides, the front being the most finely finished. And in
many of the most pretentious of these houses, brick was substituted for
the front, as being less common.
There is, perhaps, nothing more difficult in an architect's experience
than to make a fine thing out of a subject so destitute of beauty of
form or proportion, and yet preserve the substantial walls and other
belongings, that have stood for half a century, and are now stronger,
and promise a durability that exceeds those of other houses built in
this progressive age; and yet here is a "presto change" that will almost
defy the keen eyes of the old settlers to recognize any trace of the
ancient landmark that for fifty years has overlooked the beautiful
valley of the Tenakill.
[Illustration: FIG. 66.]
There are very many of these old houses that are equally well adapted to
wear a modern face, though but few purchasers can look through all such
changes with the eye of a professional expert, and select that to which,
at a low price, a certain beauty can be added, which, when done, shall
indicate the wisdom of their choice. First impressions many times are
sadly against all hopes of success.
"With weather-stains upon the wall,
And stairways worn, and crazy doors,
And creaking and uneven floors,
And chimneys huge, and tiled and tall."
But these difficulties are the least troublesome to adjust, if the
walls are good, and ceilings of a fair modern height. It may then be a
better choice to adapt such a house to the present cultivated tastes and
requirements, than to build anew from the foundation.
In the plans, the dotted lines show the centers of the old partitions.
Six feet have been added to the length of the wing, thus improving the
kitchen accommodations.
This house is situated some fifteen miles from the great commercial
metropolis, on one of the new lines of Railroad, and in a locality of
easy access to New York business men.
DESIGN No. 22.
[Illustration: FIG. 67.--_Stable._]
[Illustration: FIG. 68.--_Plan._]
This stable may be constructed either of wood, or of stone. It contains
stalls for four horses, and affords space for their accommodation,
together with a harness room and a tool closet. This latter is a
convenience very essential to the comfort of the owner, as well as to
the proper care and preservation of such implements as belong
especially to the carriage house and stable.
This building should be surrounded and screened with fruit trees and
shrubbery, and then, with its evident architectural effects, it will
become an attractive feature in the landscape of which it becomes a
part, with the other accessories of the elegant country home.
DESIGN No. 23.
FENCES.
In spite of all laws to the contrary, cattle will intrude upon one's
property, and each and all must at great expense build and maintain
fences for their own protection. There has not as yet been devised any
practicable mode by which the enormous sums annually spent in fencing
might be saved. The theory advanced, that it is cheaper for each to
fence his cattle in, than to fence his neighbor's out, has not as yet
been practically illustrated, if we except a few suburban localities.
[Illustration: FIG. 69.]
[Illustration: FIG. 70.]
Fig. 69 represents a substantial fence, with a paneled base, of simple
construction, and yet quite effective in appearance. In Fig. 70 the
work is somewhat more elaborate, while the base is of stone, or brick.
Each engraving shows two panels, with a gate in the centre.
With chestnut or cedar posts, the pickets cut from 1-1/2 inch plank, and
the whole kept painted, such a fence would last many years.
DESIGN No. 24.
RESIDENCE OF CHARLES F. PARK, ESQ.
This residence of which we show only the floor plans, occupies a
commanding position on the northern end of the Palisades, on the western
side of the Hudson, some twenty miles above the city of New York, the
river, mountain, and inland views from which are exceedingly fine,
embracing the villages of Dobbs' Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown, Sing Sing,
Piermont, Nyack, and Tappan, as well as Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay,
the distant Highlands of the Hudson, and the beautiful valleys of the
Sparkill and the Hackensack, a section of country rich in historic
associations, and highly appreciated by those who seek suburban homes.
[Illustration: FIG. 71.--_First Floor._]
[Illustration: FIG. 72.--_Second Floor._]
[Illustration: FIG. 73.--_Third Floor._]
This house was designed principally for a summer residence, being nearly
fifty feet square, with wide halls and spacious verandah, and commodious
and well ventilated sleeping apartments, the plans showing the
arrangement of rooms. The style of architecture selected is that
generally known as the Rural Gothic, which, perhaps, is the most useful
and most beautiful of any that are adapted to the requirements of our
climate. The almost square form of the plan is one of the most difficult
to treat successfully in this style, yet has been carried out in the
most satisfactory manner. This style admits of an almost never-ending
variety of form and proportion, and in effects of light and shadow at
all hours of day is unequaled. Its comparative expense but little
exceeds the hipped and Mansard roofs.
The building is constructed in the most thorough and workman-like
manner, and is as well adapted for a winter residence as for summer. The
frame is built in the balloon style, (the strongest known form of
framing,) with deep studding filled in with brick, having double air
chambers, is thoroughly finished throughout, is covered with a slate
roof, and fulfills all the requirements of a substantial and commodious
country residence.
DESIGN No. 25.
CARRIAGE HOUSE AND STABLE.
The accompanying design for a carriage house and stable affords about
the same amount of accommodation as Design 22. The arrangement, however,
is somewhat different, and the exterior quite unlike it. In this plan
the portion appropriated to the stalls is more ample, and the means for
ventilation abundant.
[Illustration: FIG. 74.--_Stable._]
[Illustration: FIG. 75.--_Stable Plan._]
DESIGN No. 26.
RESIDENCE OF THOS. H. STOUT, ESQ.,
IRVINGTON, ON THE HUDSON.
Irvington is a noted locality for the higher grades of country homes,
there being many fine examples of substantial, roomy, and elegantly
appointed mansions. Far within the gradually extending circle which
limits the daily intercourse of the business man to the city of New
York, it has become, in virtue of its position, healthfulness, fine
scenery, and ease of access, one of the most favored of the suburbs of
this city; a city whose rapid increase of population and corresponding
decreasing comforts in conveyance from one portion to another, is
turning the attention of those who like ease of transit, and the quiet
and health of the country, to a residence among its beautiful and
attractive suburbs. What the last ten years have accomplished in
introducing rapid and reliable communication, and building up and
improving the country about New York, will probably be repeated several
times over in the next decade. An impetus has been given to rural life,
that will increase with every facility that is offered, and it will not
be many years before the suburbs of New York will compare with any city
in the world; and we question, even now, if elsewhere can be found a
suburban locality comparable with the east bank of the Hudson, from
New York to the Highlands.
[Illustration: FIG. 76.--_Residence of Thos. H. Stout, Esq., Irvington,
on the Hudson._]
The accompanying engravings illustrate a country house that embraces
many of the best features of exterior variety, and interior compactness
and convenience. The workmanship and materials throughout have been of
the best description, and no pains have been spared to make it first
class in every respect.
Situated on the slope of the eastern bank of the Hudson, it overlooks
the broad expanse of "Tappan Zee," and commands the views peculiar to
this locality, that reach from the Highlands to the ocean.
To build well, and to do so at a low price, is always desirable; and to
build artistically, imposingly, attractively, does not imply elaborate
finish or profuse ornament. Sand paper and decoration will never make an
ill-proportioned building attractive to an educated taste, while a rough
exterior of harmonious lines and forms will pass current with those who
have an eye to the artistic.
One of the most important lessons that the art student learns is that of
effect; that effects can not be produced by smoothly finished surfaces
or details; and that in architecture, as well as in sculpture or
painting, there must be a strong bold manner of execution, when there is
a desire to convey an impression of strength or power.
[Illustration: FIG. 77.--_Cellar._]
Where stone is conveniently obtained as a building material, its use in
rural architecture deserves far more consideration than is usually
bestowed on it; and in its unchiselled, quarried form it becomes
desirable in an economical point of view. There is an imposing grandeur
in the unhewn stone that asserts its presence in both near and distant
views, and, with the proper combinations of proportion, and light and
shade, will illustrate the finest architectural effects. Prevailing
prejudices are too apt to consider it not only cheap, but inferior in
protection and durability to finely wrought surfaces and smooth,
close-fitting joints. We are too apt to estimate the value and beauty of
a stone house by the amount of labor lavished on its exterior, as if the
chisel possessed the power to make the joints more impenetrable, and
bestowed an endurance commensurate with the story of expense that it
tells. So long as we build well and honestly, with a proper regard to
protection from the weather, in a substantial and workmanlike manner,
good taste and sound sense will uphold the use of quarried rock, and
discover a permanent strength and power in this Cyclopean masonry that
elaborately finished surfaces and delicately wrought ornaments fail to
express.
[Illustration: FIG. 78.--_First Floor._]
Dressed in squared blocks and hammered lines, stone becomes an expensive
building material, and preference is then given to something else less
costly; but if used in its quarried form, irregular in size and shape,
it becomes, wherever conveniently obtained, among the economical
materials used for building, and is unsurpassed for its impressiveness
and durability. No paint is required to preserve it from the weather,
and no color is so good as the color of the stone; time softens its
tints, and the clambering vine that lays hold of the massive walls is a
decoration beyond the resources of architecture.
[Illustration: FIG. 79.--_Second Floor._]
"If a building," says Mr. Ruskin, "be under the mark of average
magnitude, it is not in our power to increase its apparent size by any
proportionate diminution in the scale of its masonry; but it may be
often in our power to give it a certain nobility by building it of massy
stones, or, at all events, introducing such into its make. Thus it is
impossible that there should ever be majesty in a cottage built of
brick; but there is a marked element of sublimity in the rude and
irregular piling of the rocky walls of the mountain cottages of Wales,
Cumberland, and Scotland.
"And if the nobility of this confessed and natural masonry were more
commonly felt, we should not lose the dignity of it by smoothing
surfaces and fitting joints. The sums which we waste in chiselling and
polishing stones, which would have been better left as they came from
the quarry, would often raise a building a story higher.
"There is also a magnificence in the natural cleavage of the stone to
which the art must indeed be great, that pretends to be equivalent; and
a stern expression of brotherhood with the mountain heart from which it
has been rent, ill-exchanged for a glistering obedience to the rule and
measure of men. His eye must be delicate indeed who would desire to see
the Pitti Palace polished."
DESIGN No. 27.
A CHAPTER ON GATES.
We present in the following designs, several illustrations of the
principle of the truss applied to wooden gates. It was described by us,
several years ago in the _Country Gentleman_.
[Illustration: FIG. 80.]
[Illustration: FIG. 81.]
[Illustration: FIG. 82.]
[Illustration: FIG. 83.]