THE principal feature of this issue is the estate of Mr. J. C. Baldwin. Jr., at Mt. Kisco, N. Y., known as "Shallow Brook Farm", the photographic presentation of which, at the exhibition of the Architectural League in New York last winter, brought to Mr. Benjamin Wistar Morris, its architect, the annual gold medal. We regard ourselves as being particularly fortunate to be able to give to all our subscribers an even more complete showing of this prize work of the year— including those same pictures that were originally exhibited in New York. As is indicated in the text description, the structure is the result of a series of alterations, and the problem is therefore, architecturally, one of quite unusual interest.
In publishing these views it should be stated that much of their special interest lies in the careful design and execution of all the minor details of craftsmanship which enter into the house and its surroundings. In this connection Mr. Morris is glad to acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Hutaff in the modeling and executing of much of the special interior finish and ornament. The iron work, including many special locks and hinges, along with some of the fixtures, has come from the well-known forge of Mr. Yellin, and adheres to his usual high standard of artistic craftsmanship. It has been given an unusual non-corroding finish treatment, that, nevertheless, perfectly simulates the appearance of natural results of age and weather.
The fountain of the Infant Bacchus in the little cloistered court west of the living-room, and the sculptured masks and spouts of the garden fountain, were executed by the sculptor, Edward Field Sanford, the carving of the Hermes fountain being the work of the Piccirilli Brothers.
WESTCHESTER County, in New York State, possesses a particularly individual topographical appearance that gives it not only a distinctive character all its own, but contains a peculiar appeal to those accustomed to other types of our richly varied American countryside. Westchester County, — and vicinity, — in an earlier and less thickly settled time, was also the semi-historic scene of Cooper’s best-known novel, "The Spy".
Very soon after leaving New York the road begins to climb, in a steadily ascending fashion that carries one rapidly away from the flat country along the sea-coast, and evidences the approach of rolling foot-hills. By the time that Westchester County is reached, these foot-hills are billowing in a way more reminiscent of a short “choppy cross-sea” than any other simile that immediately occurs to the observer. These curving contours are, in turn, emphasized by the old fieldstone walls that roll back and forth over the shoulders of the hills, indicating, by their close subdivision of the landscape, the age of the country and the extent to which it has been subdivided, farmed, and cultivated by past generations.
It was of course to be expected that, sooner or later, the beauty of this type of country, added to the great number and variety of building sites that, from its character, it provides, would be appreciated and made use of for country houses—especially when so conveniently accessible from New York City. While it would seem, at first sight, no easy problem to adapt a formal type of country house to such surroundings, yet on closer analysis one cannot fail but realize how nearly similar this country is to the lower foot-hills of the Apenines. It is, indeed, precisely the character of the Italian country north of Certaldo, — a town best known to fame as the reputed birthplace and family home of Boccaccio! — or again of the type found in that section north of Milan, when approaching the Italian lakes.
It may have been some recollections of this North Italian terrain that first suggested the particular type of architectural treatment adopted by Mr. Morris for the Baldwin house at Mt. Kisco. It may, on the other hand, have been merely that it was the best solution for harmonizing the many elements that entered into an unusually difficult and complicated problem, of which one of the most irreducible was probably the old house that, originally of no style whatever, and since constantly stretched and expanded, in that direction and in this, was still to be retained as the central element in the new, and more formal, composition that was being planned.
Even as it stands, an opportunity was not given to study the full problem, in the first place, in even the transition form in which it here appears. It was, in the first instance, intended merely to add a sufficiently large and spacious music room to a house theretofore composed of many livable, but over-small, rooms; along with determining a complete future scheme for a surrounding garden development that would permit the beginning of work on some of the elements located immediately around the dwelling.
Indeed, the other new wing, with its large dining-room and guest bedrooms, was introduced almost as an afterthought, and so, between these two rectangular arms, with their simple dominating forms, the old central house to which they are attached has now become a comparatively inconspicuous element. In fact, as it stands, it is quite impossible to realize the many architectural problems concerned with simplifying the old house’s exterior appearance (other than the merely obvious method of plastering its outer walls), taking care of the new and unexpected stresses and weights required in adding the harmonizing tile roof, and handling the difficult problem of the entrance, which, with its approach, is so closely related to the existing service portions of the dwelling that it became not the simplest part of the architectural problem.
The plan of the original house was by this time itself a development of several previous periods. The original small cottage had been raised to allow for the addition of a lower story. It was still later drawn out and extended, first in this direction and then pushed back in that, till it had taken the approximate form that is indicated in the central portion on the sketch plot plan. In the course of this process it had long ago largely lost any clear recollection of its original antecedents. But it had now to go through what was to be its greatest transformation of all, and not only become the central living organism of the larger structure here shown; which is, itself, in time to come, to be the center of a still larger scheme of landscape development, the full extent of which is only approximately indicated on the unique and interesting bird’s eye perspective study of the estate; of which, as yet, only the terrace sections immediately adjoining and west of the house are completely planted.
While the plan arrangement had necessarily to be developed from what had originally been a small house, where both the service and living ends appear to have been carried about to the ultimate limit of articulation possible from the old entrance and hall, further changes became essential — particularly at the point where the new south wing was attached — conveniently to relate the new portions of the dwelling to the old. When, therefore, the owner came to desire so extensive a further enlargement as a music room of specifically so ample a size as seventy-two by thirty-eight feet (the walls being twenty-nine feet high and the ceiling thirty-six and a half feet to the apex of the roof), nothing further seemed possible other than to throw out a separate wing paralleling the road at a slight distance to the west not to injure the existing living-room, connecting it with the house by a loggia screened on the street side, — and then develop this new portion as a separate unit, based upon its individual and special requirements, — to which there was added the necessity of providing space for a large choir and echo organ at opposite ends of the room; and a small room, opening from the balcony level, which could be used separately as a studio.
The inspiration of this magnificent room, with its noble atmosphere and proportions, was found in San Pietro at Perugia, although only the original treatment of the choir stalls themselves has been actually utilized. To obtain the best results, musically, the entire enclosed space has been constructed on the principle of the violin, with a separate floor, inner walls, and wooden ceiling, all thus capable of resonant vibration in sympathetic response to the pulsating tones of the organ pipes, and yet without echo.
Its architectural treatment has been developed by the simplest means; an oak open-truss wooden ceiling, mellowed by an interesting yet simple polychrome decoration, is overhead. Underneath, inside a Travertine border, is a floor in which oak has again been employed. On other portions of the room American walnut is utilized for all the wooden finish. The plaster surface has been interestingly worked, so as to produce a texture that is in itself beautiful; and the necessary relief and color are provided by the tapestries ~ a rather famous set of subjects of the Trojan War, dating from about 1670 ~ and the polychrome decoration of the doors, the tinted ornamented plaster cove under the end balcony, and, finally, the four beautiful silk flags of the Allies, hanging from the balcony rail at the room end.
The musical equipment of the room comprises a great organ and choir organ at one end, with an echo organ at the other, and an antiphonal organ, placed beneath the floor and opening into the room through the spaces under the stalls around the walls. All are played from the console, located in front of the door to the garden terrace, and their tone is not only greatly helped by the construction of the room itself, but is also aided by the apsidal crowning of the niche, in which the large organ is placed, at the principal end.
Other than the end entrance doors, which were made abroad, all of the walnut carving and necessary modeling was done in this country by John H. Hutaff, and artists working under the combined direction of Mr. Morris and himself.
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| H&G 1918 |
When the large dining-room or banqueting-hall — in association with the necessary extra guest bedrooms — was suggested, a similar solution, in a separate wing, seemed obviously inevitable, and so the wing at right angles to the music room, articulating from the service end, to which it is related by the addition of a new serving-room on the opposite side of the kitchen, was developed; and the two wings, aided by the beautiful tree that shields the rear of the old house, so tend to subordinate it that it required merely the adoption of the harmonious roof covering of Spanish tiles and the stuccoing of the walls to match the new stucco on the terra-cotta walls of the two wings, to transform the entire group into a successfully complete and harmonious whole, as it here appears.
The interior of the banqueting-hall has a floor of gray Knoxville, honed Tennessee, marble; and, by the way, the furniture shown in the picture is temporary, as these particular pieces are intended for later use outdoors, although the final furnishing of the room will be very similar in its simplicity.
The large size of this room, twenty-eight by fifty-six feet, and sixteen and one half feet high, with the severe and restrained treatment of its plaster walls and marble floor, made it seem possible that an undesirable echo might also appear in the use of this room; and consequently Mr. Morris devised a heavy felt filling of the space on the ceiling between the walnut beams, which felt surface has been covered with carefully selected silk damasks in harmony with the draperies. Limestone mantels relieve the severity of the room ends, and tapestries have again been placed against the attractive background provided by the warm texture of the plastered wall. Rather more than a word of commendation is deserved for the ironwork, fixtures, hardware, and fittings, which are so simply appropriate to each of these principal rooms that a passerby might easily fail to appreciate their fitness in scale and taste. The exterior of the building is a plaster stucco of a pleasing pink tone, made by using a white Atlas Cement, pink marble grindings, and white quartz, of equal parts, to the same amount of cement, which has one-quarter inch grits of one quarter white quartz and three quarters pink feldspar thrown on while fresh, and then floated into the plaster surface, the whole producing a light vivid tone keyed to harmonize with the Spanish tile roof and forming an agreeable contrast to the Travertine stone trim and the music room door — which has an external stone border of Pouillenay marble.
The garden walls and pool are of masonry, plastered, buttressed, and topped with Travertine, in important locations — and occasionally with cement and stucco of contrasting color and surface texture. And yet the development of this portion of the garden nearest the house, now completed, already conclusively proves the far greater possibilities and interest of the dwelling-site in the valley, or on the lower hillside, over that carrying the greater extent of open view on the hilltop. The sensation of intimate privacy, of being chezsoi on a large terrain, is absolute. Looking down along the flank of the rising slope toward the western distances below (which vista it needs considerable local experience to realize is almost directly along the line of the country highway, from which the house is approached, which is dipping out of sight into the valley beyond), there is as charming and intimate an outlook, across intervale and hillside, as can be found or imagined in any place as conveniently accessible to one of our larger American cities.
Reversing the point of view, the observer should be quick to recognize how, seen down through this western vista, the surroundings form as perfect a setting for the Italianate villa itself; while it is not until one has had a chance to observe the many different distant views, already framed by the more formal surroundings near to the house, that it is possible to realize with what little apparent effort this very classical garden treatment has been adjusted to the great informalities natural to the original site.
It must have been no easy matter first to establish and then to maintain the mere scale of the gardening layout so successfully as these views show has been done, for instance, and while the huge tree outside, the old dwelling helps greatly to simplify its mass and beautify its composition with the wings, it requires rather a closer study to appreciate the less obvious and more subtle ways in which minor informalities have been introduced into the house design — probably, in themselves, great aids in the process of harmonizing it, in scale and treatment, with the natural landscape.
Of course, in some part at least, these informal details were occasioned by the fact that parts of the problem — as is always the case in alteration work — were concerned with the difficult adjustment of the new portions to the old, as in the corner of the courtyard where the roof of the loggia is broken and recessed, in order to leave an old window unobstructed. But in other cases they almost appear to be individual variations provided to introduce this informal element — or possibly they themselves, in turn, resulted from the architect’s endeavor to adjust and harmonize the increasing requirements of the owners with a scheme the main outlines of which had already been established and accepted as the probable best method of treating the whole problem.
Coincident with the development of the two right-angled wings, Mr. Morris has also projected a complete future garden treatment, based on two axes, established at right angles to each other,— one being an extension on the longitudinal axis of the banqueting ell to the south, the other being developed on the line of the cross axis of the banqueting-room to the west. Three minor cross axes are then introduced into this landscape treatment, — one based on the cross axis of the music room; another on a cross axis midway the length of the southern arm, between the greenhouse at the right and a proposed open-air outdoor theater on the slope to the left; and the third is an east and west cross axis through the rose garden, which intersects with the cross axis of the music room near the new squash court.
Of this garden treatment, as yet only those portions necessary to completely enclose the east and west axes of the banqueting-hall, and the one or two elements most immediately adjacent and to the south of the music room, have been finished. The new farm-building group is also now finished and occupied, and some of the preliminary rough grading around other portions of the estate has been accomplished.
The little garden in front of the bath-house and tennis court, at the extreme west of the terraced lawns, is not yet constructed. The photographs, therefore, show the various views immediately adjacent to the new wings, and across the lawns and bathing pool, the fountain and ramps opposite the music room. and the views from the flower garden toward the banqueting wing. The grading and planting around the east of the new dining-room is as yet only partly done, and the planting has not yet grown up sufficiently so that photographs of this portion of the residence can be taken to advantage; but the architectural elevation to the east is practically a repetition of the facade that is shown to the west. Included in the new construction work was a necessary rearrangement of the entrance approach to the house on the south at the carriage courtyard, and here reference to the plan will give some idea of the method that has been successfully adopted to shield a too nearly adjacent service portion from the visitor arriving at the front door.
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FULLY DEVELOPED PLAN FOR THE ESTATE ADJOINING THE DWELLING
"SHALLOW BROOK FARM" - MT. KISCO, N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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PLAN OF THE HOUSE AND PORTION OF THE PROPERTY IMMEDIATELY ADJOINING
"SHALLOW BROOK FARM" - MT. KISCO, N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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THE DINING-ROOM WING FROM UPPER GARDEN LEVEL
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
***From the upper garden level a broad road winds down between wall and arborvitae hedge to the dining-room wing. From this point the details at the architecture can be appreciated — the pink stucco walls capped by the red Spanish tile roofs, the arch of the windows and the wrought iron balcony above the middle French door. H&G 1918***
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THE MUSIC ROOM WING FROM THE GARDEN LAWN
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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THE MUSIC ROOM WING, LOOKING OUT FROM DINING-ROOM END, ON THE WESTERN VISTA
"SHALLOW BROOK FARM", MT. KISCO, N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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DETAIL OF MUSIC-ROOM DOORWAY
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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THE MUSIC ROOM WING, VIEWED FROM ACROSS THE POOL, LOOKING NORTHEAST
"SHALLOW BROOK FARM", MT. KISCO, N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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DINING-ROOM WING FROM THE END OF THE SWIMIMING POOL
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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LOOKING OVER POOL AND LAWN FROM THE DINING-ROOM WING
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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THE MUSIC-ROOM WING, AS SEEN FROM THE COUNTRY ROAD WHEN APPROACHING THE HOUSE
"SHALLOW BROOK FARM", MT. KISCO, N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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A TOUCH of ITALY in NEW YORK
Given the setting, the architect and the means, one can recreate in our American environment even the most subtle spirit of Italian architecture. The foundation of the study here is a strip of lawn and red bricked terrace. An arched loggia opens on this, and above it the end of the house wing covered in pink plaster stucco with stone trim and wrought iron balcony, and roofed in red Spanish tile. The fountain, the Italian marble benches, the bow window and the shadows cast by the broad eaves over the facade have caught and held the Italian feeling successfully. H&G 1918 |
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LOOKING FROM LOGGIA COURT OUT TOWARDS ROSE GARDEN TERRACE
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
STATUARY in the GARDEN PICTURE
***Having recovered from those dark days when the ultimate taste in garden statuary was satisfied with a cast iron stag on the front lawn, we at last approach an appreciation of the role of satatuary in the garden picture. We view the garden as a composition in which the flat planes of lawns, the colors and contours of flowers and shrubs and shadowy background of walls combine to form a setting for the focal point which is marked by some seemly piece of sculpture. Thus the statuary is given an environment worthy its art, and the setting, in turn, is enriched by its presence. This fundamental of garden esthetics is well exemplified in the placing of the fountain in the loggia court at "Shallow Brook Farm", the estate of J. C Baldwin, Jr., Esq, at Mt. Kisco, N. Y. Edward Field Sanford was the sculptor of the fountain, and Benjamin Wistar Morris the architect. H&G 1918***
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FOUNTAIN OF THE INFANT BACCHUS, IN LOGGIA COURT
"SHALLOW BROOK FARM", MT. KISCO, N. Y.
EDWARD FIELD SANFORD, SCULPTOR |
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| A Garden Path from the Loggia End |
***Off the end of the music room wing is an arched gate that lets out on to the bottom of the lawn shown above. The path here skirts a low wall banked with boxwood and leads up broad stairs to another level where, set in a grass plot, lies the swimming pool. Oil jars have been effectively used for accent points and their ruddy tone mingles well with the pink of the walls and the green stretches of path side grass and clipped box. Beyond, the trees are silhouetted sharply against the sky. H&G 1918***
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| Looking across the Lawn from the Loggia Arch |
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PORCH AND LOGGIA TO HOUSE
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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PORCH AT END OF MUSIC-ROOM WING
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM",
THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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The Garden Ramps to the Upper Terrace |
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| To one of the lawns background is given by a wall in the center of which are ramps leading up to the higher level. The top landing breaks out into a balustraded balcony and below is a wall fountain that plays out to a flat basin. Cedars and boxwood mass on either side, finding a rich background in the pink stucco walls. This fountain forms the terminal of the cross axis of the music room lawn. To one side lies the outdoor swimming pool; to the other, the stretch of lawn and the loggia. H&G 1918 |
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| The Fountain below the Ramp |
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THE DINING-ROOM WING FROM THE FLOWER GARDEN
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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GENERAL VIEW OF DINING-ROOM
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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DETAIL OF ORGAN CONSOL AND DOOR TO LAWN, MUSIC-ROOM
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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DETAIL OF LOGGIA DOORWAY IN MUSIC-ROOM
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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THE MUSIC ROOM TOWARDS ORGAN GRILLE
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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THE MUSIC ROOM TOWARDS BALCONY
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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| In San Pietro at Perugia was found the inspiration for this music room in the Baldwin residence at Mt. Kisco, N. Y. The walls are old gray plaster with window openings and gallery brackets decorated in the Italian manner. Old choir stalls line the walls. The roof supported by heavy painted oak trusses. A musician's gallery is at one end. A famous set of tapestries of the Trojan War is hung on one wall, and from the gallery the flags of the Allies. Doors are of carved walnut and American walnut comprises the other woodwork. Wistar Morris, architect. John Huttaf, decorator. H&G 1918 |
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GUEST BEDROOM
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT
***This bedroom photo was featured in the ad from John H. Hutaff, Inc.*** |
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GUEST BEDROOM
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO "SHALLOW BROOK FARM", THE ESTATE OF J. C BALDWIN, Jr., Esq., MT. KISCO, N. Y.BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
***Italy of the 14th Century - that pivot of the medieval cycle - is perpetuated in this chamber. The walls are of old gray plaster, against which are hung curtains of deep rural damask with a heavy fringed valance. The bed is an antique, a 14th Century piece, in walnut and polychrome. A richly figured damask cover with a deep fringe maintains the dignity of the bed. The little bedside chair, also a 14th Century antique, has a seat pad tied on with tasseled cords—a quaint device, Orientals are used on the floor. H&G 1918***
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| On the other side of the chamber is a wide fireplace with a carved mantel. A tryptic and a pair of fine old K'ang-Hsi beakers in coral ornamentation are used for mantel decoration. The doors are solid oak fitted into the openings without wood trim. The ceiling is arched and in that rough plaster one finds universal in Italy, its rough texture giving it rich values and a variety of light and shade that is pleasing in a room. H&G 1918 |
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| Another Italian chamber has a little 14th Century bed raised, as was the custom of the day, on a platform. A pair of old commodes make bedside tables. Behind a Flemish tapestry that is in perfect character with the rough plastered walls. A coverlet of velvet bound with heavy fringed galloon is thrown over the bed and the fool-board. A stool is covered in the same material. One object typical of the 14th Century chamber, oddly enough, seems lacking some religious symbol. H&G 1918 |
The contour of the ground sometimes makes a “ bank barn ” economical and advisable as shown in the barn at Mt. Kisco, and is a custom followed by many farmers, as they are warm in winter and cool in summer.
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First Floor Plan of Farm Barn at Mt. Kisco, N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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GENERAL VIEW FROM APPROACH, ESTATE OF J. C. BALDWIN. JR.. ESQ., MT KISCO. N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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| Cross Section through Farm Barn at Mt. Kisco Showing Bridge to Bank Method of Framing and Large Hay Space. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS, ARCHITECT |
In the barn at Mt. Kisco a particularly good working arrangement has been secured in its plan. The silo, and root cellar, which has been built into the bank extending as far as a rock formation permits, adjoin the feed room. Here the roots are ground and a direct line for the feed leads to the aisle between the cows. A similarly direct line is provided for the manure trolley. At the other end of the barn, on the second floor, sleeping rooms are provided for the men, and due to the height of the roof hay storage space is afforded over them. A small balcony adjoining the men’s rooms furnishes a comfortable spot for summer evenings.
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View of Bank Side of Farm Barn, Estate of J. C. Baldwin. Jr., Esq., Mt. Kisco. N. Y.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
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| VIEW OF FARM GROUP FROM HIGH GROUND AT REAR FARM BUILDINGS, ESTATE OF J. C. BALDWIN. JR.. ESQ., MT KISCO. N. Y. BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS, ARCHITECT |
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Details of Root cellars on Estate of J. C. Baldwin, Jr. Mt. Kisco, New York
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS. ARCHITECT |
These are built into a bank and entered as far as a rock formation permits. Outside walls are of durable hollow tile.
"SHALLOW BROOK FARM" - TIME LINE
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| Joseph Clark Baldwin, Jr., 1871 - 1937 |
Joseph Clark Jr., merchant, He was educated at St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H., and studied three years in Europe. He began his business career in 1893 as a clerk in the office of Dodge & Olcott, oil merchants of New York. Soon afterwards he became associated with the New York & Boston Dyewood Co., of which his father was president and a director and in 1901 was made vice-president. When the American Dyewood Co. was organized in 1905, his father retired from active business, and Mr. Baldwin continued as vice-president and treasurer of the new concern. In 1908 the United Dyewood Co., formed as a holding company, acquired control of the American Dyewood Co., and also the French Dyewood Combination and the West India Chemical Works, Ltd. of England and Jamaica, and Mr. Baldwin was made treasurer of the new concern. He is president and director of the Compagnie Haitienne and General Colors Co.; director of the New York Tannning Extract Co., and director of the Argentine Quebracho Co. He is commissioneer of the New York State Board of Charities, ninth judicial district. He served four years in squadron A, New York City. In politics he is a Republican, and has served as justice of the peace of Bedford, N. Y., his home town. His favorite recreation is farming. He is a member of the Down Town Association, Brook and Union League clubs of New York, the Metropolitan Club of Washington, the Rittenhouse Club of Philadelphia, the Union Club of Boston, and the Knollwood Country Club of White Plains. Mr. Baldwin was married at Mamaroneck, N. Y., Apr. 15, 1896, to Fanny, daughter of Alexander Taylor, Jr., and they have 3 sons, Jospeh C. Baldwin, 3rd, Alexander Taylor Baldwin and Peter Baldwin, and five daughters, Fanny Taylor, Cynthia Bradley, Phyllis, Priscilla(twin of Phyllis) and Jane Baldwin. SOURCE - Includes fathers history as well, William Mood Baldwin.
Baldwin Genealogy goes back to Milford, Connecticut - John Baldwin being one of the original settlers, sailing from England on the "Martin" in 1638.
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| Joseph C. Baldwin - 128 Acres - 1930 |
What I can piece together from The New York Times(some links will be visible to all, other links only to subscribers - refresh page if page shows removed) is that the Baldwins enjoy their estate through out the years until his death in 1937. Numerous articles can be found highlighting plays(1922), a children's garden party(1928) and Moonlight concerts (1933) by Archer Gibson benefiting local charities. Another moonlight concert with Gibson and soprano Astrid Fjelde was held in 1934.
In 1935, in a ongoing dispute with the state, Baldwin appealed what he called a inadequate judgement for land taken that cut his estate in half for the Mt. Kisco-Bedford Highway(Route - 172).
"Baldwin pointed out that his huge estate was situated among other gentlemen's estates or a high type and that the architect had received the gold medal first award of the Architectural League in recognition of his arrangement and design of improvements on the Baldwin land.
"In the taking of a narrow strip comprising 5.65 acres through his estate, Baldwin claimed through the testimony of an expert appraiser, the main house, banquet hall and music hall were damaged to the extent of $109,000: other buildings and the swimming pool suffered damage totaling $55,104, and damage to land and fencing totaled $70,037." SOURCE
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| 1949 - Showing the Mt' Kisco-Bedford Highway cutting through the estate |
Ad from The Field Illustrated 1922 has him selling "ENTIRE HERD OF JERSEY CATTLE including the famous Sybil's Gamboge 3rd" because of his frequent absences from America.
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| From 1949 Showing M. Drinkhouse as Owner |
In the late 1940's New York Restaurateur Micheal Drinkhouse became owner and converted its cow barns into stables and set up a horse racing and breeding operation called Somerset Farms. It appears the connection built between the original structure and the Music-room addition was removed, leaving two separate structures. Micheal Drinkhouse died in 1998.
Mud, Mortgage's and Malaria
"Visions of the vacant swampland on the edge of the city, Brooklyn's last patch of frontier(Canarsie), caught the eye of real estate promoters. They anticipated the bullish demand for land by those still pent up in the old immigrant quarters, where younger residents, second-generation Jews and Italians living with small children in walkup apartments, had been lifted to modest prosperity by postwar affluence. The state eased the flow of credit, subsidizing middle-class debt with Federal Housing Administration loans and veterans' mortgage guarantees.
Two builders, Harry and Sidney Waxman, turned the possibilities into a brisk trade in private homes. They covered the two hundred acres of Seaview Village with forty blocks of modest Cape Cod, ranch style, split level, and attached brick row houses. The first two-bedroom model, squeezed onto its 42-by-100-foot plot, sold for $13,750 in 1956. Other builders imitated the Waxman lead in the following decade, and nondescript multifamily brick row homes soon filled the vast tracts west of Rockaway Parkway." SOURCE
In 1980, Temple Shaaray Tefila, a Reform Jewish congregation, acquired "Brook Hollow Farm" from the estate of Harry Waxman. The Music-room is now the Sanctuary and is used for weddings. The dining-room for Bar/Bat Mitzvah. The farm complex is extant and appears to be in use.
F all the social events which have made New York society famous, both for lavishness of expenditure as well as for taste, none has attracted such widespread attention as the Bradley Martin ball, but lately passed into history. For many weeks prior to the affair social circles on both sides of the Atlantic have been agog with excitement, not unmixed with speculation, as to the ultimate success of the ambitious attempt on the part of the hostess, who had declared that it was her intention to make her ball surpass anything ever given in this or any other country.
