CHRISTMAS EVE IN COLONIAL TIMES

"CHRISTMAS EVE IN COLONIAL TIMES"
 from a painting by Everett Shinn

The Amawalk Arboretum/Lasdon Park and Arboretum

THE AMAWALK ARBORETUM

THE AMAWALK ARBORETUM dedicated to the memory of Major Orlando Jay Smith, founder of the Nursery. The plans for the Arboretum have been designed by Vitale, Brinckerhoff & Geiffert, Landscape Architects, under whose supervision we are executing the work. Plans for the executive and display building, in Colonial style, have been designed by Jame Cameron Mackenzie Jr., Architect. Estate owners, park department officials, landscape architects, architects, students and others will be welcomed to the Amawalk Arboretum, and effects of scientific planting will doubtless be of great value and advantage. The above view shows  the Arboretum as it will look from the air when completed. From an add in the back of the yearbook for Architectural League of New York 1924.

https://www.lasdonpark.org

Property was acquired by William and Mildred Lasdon in 1939. They renamed estate "Cobbling Rock Farm". The main house of the estate was built in 1933 by Dr. Voislawsky after the original house was destroyed by a fire. The house is modeled after George Washington’s home in Virginia.

***My assumption the fire ruined the plans for the arboretum.***

William Lasdon is known for establishing a major pharmaceutical company and for his philanthropist endeavors. The Lasdon estate was simply used as a country retreat. The Lasdon family had great interest in horticulture and loved to travel. Along these travels, they brought back many tree specimens and planted them at the estate.  https://www.lasdonpark.org/history/ 

INTERIOR TAPESTRY ROOM, RESIDENCE OF EDSON BRADLEY, ESQ., NEWPORT, R. I. Howard Greenley, Architect, New York

INTERIOR TAPESTRY ROOM(DRAWING ROOM), RESIDENCE OF  EDSON BRADLEY, ESQ., NEWPORT, R. I.
Howard Greenley, Architect, New York

Follow THIS LINK for more on "Seaview Terrace, the Edson Bradley, Esq. estate. 

YEAR BOOK  of the ARCHITECTURAL LEAGUE OF NEW YORK and CATALOGUE of the THIRTY-NINTH ANNUAL EXHIBITION

Fine Arts Building Two Fifteen West Fifty-seventh Street From February Third to March Second, Inclusive MCMXXIV

HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET, NEW YORK

FRONT FACADE
HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET
FREDERICK J. STERNER, ARCHITECT

VIEW FROM FOYER INTO LIVING ROOM
HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET
FREDERICK J. STERNER, ARCHITECT

STAIR HALL
HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET
FREDERICK J. STERNER, ARCHITECT

LIVING ROOM
HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET
FREDERICK J. STERNER, ARCHITECT

DETAIL OF LIVING ROOM DOORWAY
HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET
FREDERICK J. STERNER, ARCHITECT

DINING ROOM
HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET
FREDERICK J. STERNER, ARCHITECT

DINING ROOM FIREPLACE
HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET
FREDERICK J. STERNER, ARCHITECT

LIBRARY
HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET
FREDERICK J. STERNER, ARCHITECT

LIBRARY FIREPLACE
HOUSE OF WILLIAM ZIEGLER, JR., ESQ., EAST 63RD STREET
FREDERICK J. STERNER, ARCHITECT

Follow THIS LINK for an earlier post on the residence of William Ziegler, Jr.

Holiday House is returning to The Academy Mansion for 2017.

FESTIVITIES AT NEWPORT MR. VANDERBILT'S MARBLE PALACE THROWN OPEN

FESTIVITIES  AT NEWPORT.
Mr.   VANDERBILT'S MARBLE PALACE THROWN OPEN.
Newport, R. I. Aug. 19.— The marble palace was thrown open tonight for the first time since its erection, when Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt gave a select dinner party, followed by a musicale. The night was close and oppressive, with dense fog, but inside the gateway a lovely scene presented itself.

The whole space from the fountain to the iron fence was filled in with massive beds of vari-colored hydrangeas that stood out in fine relief under the blaze of numerous clusters of electric lights, illuminating the carriage drives, bringing out in distinct relief the magnificent front of the palace.

On entering the outer gates the watchman was met, with his loose frock, knee breeches, skull cap, with golden band, an usher of the black rod. The grand portico was a blaze of light, and liveried attendants were on hand from carriage to cloakroom.

When the entire building was illuminated by gas and electricity, the sight was one never before seen in Newport. 

The guests were received in the drawing room, which needed none other than its natural adornment.

The dining room was truly royal in its appearance and the table was a picture, being laid with a golden service, embellished with the most elaborate and tasteful table decoration ever seen in Newport.

The centre and end pieces were miniature lakes of night-blooming water lilies, with their own foliage, with many other aquatics of the most choice and rare variety. In the centre were the white and blue lilies of the Danube, and towering over all was the stately lotus of the Nile. Tiny water lilies, blue and white, floated in each flutter bowl, and each of these was connected with the centre and end pieces by a tracery of sprays and layers of fancy aquatic foliage.

The appointments of the room were in keeping. The floor was covered with a very large fine rug of crimson and gold, inworked with golden fleur de lis at the corners, and the high chairs were of a roseate red velvet, with double principal chairs at the head and foot of the table.

The menu was furnished by Mr. Vanderbilt's chef. The household staff, clad in black liveries with full breast cords and the sleeves and fronts studded with gilt garters and patent leathers with buckles, waited at table.

The guests were Mr. Hoyt, Mr. J. C. Furman, O. H. P. Belmont, Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Hunt, Miss Tooker, Miss Hunewell, Miss Wetmore, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sloane, Col. and Mrs. Jay, Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Sloane, Mr. Riggs, Miss Sloane, Miss Vanderbilt, and Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Vanderbilt


After dinner a delightful musicale was given, which was attended by a few of the intimate friends of the family.

When "Marble House" was For Sale

Mrs. Belmont's Tea House

http://www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house

The Keeper of the Gate - "INISFADA"

   Among the most picturesque features of the English countryside are the sturdy lodges that guard the entrance gates to the great estates.

Built to last down the ages, they are as permanent a part of the landscape as the lordly homes they guard or the trees themselves.

 

But the charming little gate lodge pictured here is not—although it might well be—in England.

 It is the gate keeper's lodge at "Inisfada", the country home of Nicholas F. Brady, Esq., at Roslyn, Long Island.

Follow THIS LINK for more on the gate lodge of "Inisfada". 

"I LOVE THE FLAVOR OF CAMELS" says Miss Evelyn Cameron Watts

MISS WATTS'  FEATHER CAPE IS MADE OF THE PLUMAGE OF  THE TROPICAL "LOPHOPHORE" BIRD

"I never get tired of the smooth Camel flavor—the last one I smoke at night tastes just as good as the first in the morning," says the charming debutante daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Harry Dorsey Watts of New York and Baltimore. "And Camels are very mild, too—even when I've smoked a lot, Camels never upset my nerves. And if I'm tired I find that smoking a Camel seems to refresh me—gives me a 'lift' that makes me ready to start all over again."

Camels are made from finer, MORE EXPENSIVE TOBACCOS ...Turkish and Domestic... than any other popular brand

It is true that your energy is increased by smoking a Camel. It releases your latent energy in a safe and natural way. When tired, a Camel will drive fatigue and irritability away, and never affect your nerves. 



AMONG THE MANY
DISTINGUISHED WOMEN WHO
PREFER CAMEL'S COSTLIER TOBACCOS:

Mrs. Nicholas Biddle - Philadelphia

Miss Mary Byrd - Richmond

Mrs. Powell Cabot - Boston

Mrs. Thomas M. Carnegie Jr. - New York

Mrs. J. Gardner Coolidge, 2nd - Boston

Mrs. Henry Field - Chicago

Miss Anne Gould - New York

Mrs. James Russell Lowell - New York

Mrs. Potter d'Orsay Palmer - Chicago

"TREETOPS" A Small Country House Done in the Italian Manner at Oyster Bay, L. I.

A good idea of the color treatment of "Treetops" is given by the artist John Floyd Yewell. 

Like Peter Pan's house, Treetops, being situated on the top of a thickly wooded knoll, gives one a real impression of being high up in the trees - a situation which insures absolute privacy as well. The screened-in porch beneath the master's bedroom is an unusual and wholly delightful feature, being integral with the house and glassed in during the winter months. The brightly colored bas-reliefs set in the stucco add a characteristic Italian touch.

The French windows of the dining room open on to a little terrace commanding a lovely view of the woods below. The graceful figure on the wall fountain is done in brilliant flesh tints against a cerulean blue background.

Set in a frame of cool green foliage, the warm glow of the stucco is enhanced by the emerald note of the door and the balcony railing, and the brilliant orange of the wine jars that flank the entrance that is highly effective.

Reginald T. Townsend, Editor Country Life in America.

The house was built for Reginald T. Townsend by Architect LOUIS S. WEEKS in 1925. It was during his decade-long tenure as Editor at Country Life in America that he traveled to Alberta and took the first of many journeys with the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies. In 1952 the New England Society established the Reginald T. Townsend Award to recognize outstanding achievement representing the finest attributes of the New England character.

Its location and status is unknown to me.

"CAUSMETT" GARDEN TOUR JUNE 23, 1927

The house seen from the air over the Sound looking across Lloyds Neck to Cold Spring Harbor. To the right of the house lies the formal garden with the rock garden below it. The roof of the tennis house can be seen at the left. The gamekeeper's house and kennels appear in the center background; the farm group is in the left background.

 THE extensive estate of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Field at Lloyd's Neck, which comprises nearly 2,000 acres, has but one garden that might be described as formal. This will be shown on June 23. Many driveways traverse the parklike grounds, where native plants have been used in such manner that they seem to have been left there as nature intended. 

The main house is one of the best examples of Georgian architecture in America. The bricks were specially treated to give a pinkish buff hue.

The house is Georgian in style, with a setting of shrubs in which the kalmia predominates. 

LONG GARDEN, 1932
This area was designed by the famed landscape architecture firm founded by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park, with substantial input from Evelyn Field, Marshall’s first wife. A walk through the Long Garden today offers just a hint of the former splendor of the garden. Several statues filled the niches in the brick wall that runs along the garden. In spring the apple trees in the garden bloom beautifully, and at the end of the Long Garden is the gate that leads to the never-completed terraced garden

LONG GARDEN, 1953
NOTE THE REMOVED WEST WING

LONG GARDEN, 1953

In the garden the beds with their many colored flowers are laid out in symmetrical design like carpets of rare workmanship on closely cropped lawns. 

ROCK GARDEN
The west end of the house seen from the rock garden set in the hillside below the house. To the right is the formal garden of shrubs and flowers. NOTE THE EXTANT WEST WING

A rock garden is approached by rough steps hewn from boulders that also lead to a rustic bridge. 

WINTER COTTAGE
Set at the head of a long valley, commanding a view of the entrance, the winter cottage is framed in a veritable bower of green, with little gardens and grass walks on every side. Great plantings of rhododendrons make a gorgeous color picture in mid-June. Landscape Architect was Marian Cruger Coffin. The Fields lived in the winter cottage during construction of the main house.

Another attraction of the estate is the Winter cottage of gray stone now surrounded by flowering shrubs. 

 The Sunken Garden was located at the end of the Long Garden. It was part of a planned set of garden terraces down to the beach. It was never completed.  

There is a sunken garden whose flowers are guarded against the strong winds from the water, a tennis court surrounded by flowers, and a drive that leads to a sandy beach.

Just west of the Main House is a beach access road. The area was blanketed with daffodil bulbs. 

Sir William Orpen, 1878–1931, Title - Evelyn Marshall Field (Mrs. Marshall Field III), Date ca. 1921.

The Fields were married in 1915. When this garden tour was held in 1927 it was probable that the couple were beginning to drift apart. Marshall traveled a great deal of the time and socialized assiduously. Evelyn felt the he was bored with the refined, bridge-party social life of sedate upper-class circles. He seemed to prefer a younger and more pleasure seeking crowd. They divorced in 1930.

Caumsett meant "place by sharp rock".

Follow THIS LINK for all posts relating to "Causmett". 

The late John Foreman's BIG OLD HOUSES visits "Causmett".

The Caumsett Foundation.

"CAUMSETT" — MRS. MARSHALL FIELD — FIVE THOUSAND ROSES

Located on the northeast side of the slope overlooking the pond. A small depression had formed from the runoff water emitted by the mansion's ice-making machines and was referred to as a "river" by Audrey Field, 2nd wife of Marshall Field III. Five thousand roses plants, water loving irises and rocks in the stream with a few Japanese Maple trees to provide natural effect were planted.  A gazebo with a wrought iron roof and carved sandstone pillars was also installed.

MRS. MARSHALL FIELD — FIVE THOUSAND ROSES
GEORGE STONEHILL, 1933

Mrs. Marshall Field—Five Thousand Roses
... all chosen and set out by Mrs. Field herself on the Field estate, Caumsett, at Huntington, Long Island. Most of Caumsett's 2,000 acres are left to their native pink-flowered mountain laurel.

Though the estate is magnificent, the landscaped gardens near the house cover only six acres. The pansies in these rose beds are a favorite rose border, help conceal the great defect of the well-pruned bush—its bare underpinnings. Though rose plants like these average only $1 each, they need soil preparation to a depth of three feet (most plants need only one foot), must be frequently replaced. Modern roses are bigger, brighter, trimmer than the old ones, but less fragrant. Even now a true rosarian can tell two varieties apart in a dark room, detect slight differences in the same rose at different times (they are most fragrant before a storm). Red roses like the one to the right have the strongest fragrance, yellow roses the least.

 Read more  HERE.

Each of Marshall Field's three wives made her mark on the Main House and its surroundings. For example, even though Field was only married to his second wife, Audrey, for three years, she managed to completely redecorate the Main House and its surroundings. Inside, furniture and furnishings were changed; outside, thousands of colorful flowers were planted in place of existing, more formal plants requested by Field's first wife, Evelyn. Much of the initial landscaping design throughout the estate was heavily influenced by large planting coverage between recreation areas and employee walkways and service roads. This was due to Evelyn's insistence that nonessential staff working at Caumsett not be seen by the family or by guests.

Shown here is the landscape behind the Main House in 1932. The design was by Audrey Field. A lover of colorful flowers, she had the landscaping around the Main House reconfigured for her  desires. Note the "babbling brook" in the center of the photograph. Runoff from the iceboxes in the Main House kitchen fed this attractive feature. In a time before automatic irrigation, estate staff would feed water buckets from the brook, which wound its way down the hill to the fresh pond. 

This is another view of the Main House landscape, this time looking up from the hill toward the Main House. Married for only three years, Audrey Field made her mark on the estate. Inside, furniture and furnishings were changed; outside, thousands of colorful flowers were planted in place of existing, more formal plants installed by Field's first wife, Evelyn.

Audrey James Coates became Marshall Field's second wife in 1930, just two weeks after his divorce from Evelyn was finalized. She was the Englishborn widow of Capt. Dudley Coates and goddaughter of King Edward VII. Audrey, a well-known socialite in both England and the United States, was a member of a very wealthy English family. Here, she is pictured in a room in the Main House filled with flowers grown by the staff of the estate. Upon their divorce three years later, Audrey simply left, with no payment of any kind from Field. She returned to England and "civilization," as she bluntly put it. Field's lawyers, however, took no chances, and a major change in estate ownership took place. In 1934, Caumsett was split into two corporations. Caumsett Estates became the owner of the residential and recreation portion of the estate, and Caumsett Farms took over ownership of the farm group operations. The lawyers insisted on the corporate restructuring in case Audrey changed her mind.

This is the home of head gardener George Gillies. Under his total supervision, the greenhouses were used primarily for the raising of flowers, not vegetables. A vast variety of flowers, including calla lilies, were raised here, many from seedlings. There was also a melon house, where fruits were suspended from netting. The flowers grown here were used to decorate the tables and rooms of the Main House and the Winter and Summer Cottages. Cut flowers were also brought to Field homes in New York City. At the Main House, there was a special floral arranging workroom near the dining room, where Gillies would artistically arrange centerpieces. Additional staff at the greenhouse also arranged flowers. All floral pieces throughout the estate would be checked daily by the greenhouse staff.

George Gillies (left) confers with a staff member in the greenhouse area. To the south of the garden lay an extensive greenhouse complex, which still stands today in a state of radical disrepair. It is protected by landmark status. Interestingly, head gardener Gillies always wore a jacket to work—even on the hottest days. He was meticulous in the way he carried out his job functions.

New Life Beyond the Garden Wall
September 16, 2000

George Gillies was the head gardener for more than 35 years until the property was sold to the state in 1961, five years after Marshall Field died. Louise Gillies and her husband lived in a four-bedroom cottage just outside the walled garden facing the 10 greenhouses - two devoted to orchids and another two to melons. 

Louise recounts her memories at Causmett in a story relating to the restoration of the walled garden - "Field was married three times, you know. George had to please each of the wives. The first wanted a sunken garden, but she and Mr. Field were divorced before it was finished. So it was never completed. Wife number two wanted a rose garden. So George put in 5,000 roses - it was like rivers of roses. But wife number three didn't want a rose garden so he tore it out."

Marshall and Audrey Field.

Read an excerpt from The Marshall Fields: The Evolution of an American Business Dynasty describing the relationship between Marshall and Audrey during the Depression years HERE. It disputes the above information that she left with no payments of any kind.

LIFE Oct 18, 1943 - On his 50th birthday last month Marshall Field III (center) signed the documents bringing him into full control of his grandfather's immense fortune (over $100,000,000). Near $1.5 billion in today's money.

 Caumsett meant "place by sharp rock".

Follow THIS LINK for all posts relating to "Causmett". 

The late John Foreman's BIG OLD HOUSES visits "Causmett".

The Caumsett Foundation.

RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Calif.. Burlingame—C. H. Bennett Building Company awarded contract for the erection of a new home to cost $100,000 at Menlo Park for Robert S. Moore, head of the Moore Shipbuilding Company. Engineering & Contracting, 1920

Albert L. Farr

When Albert Farr created the home of Robert S. Moore in Menlo Park, a dream came true. With an author's privilege, let us translate his thoughts and visions into speech.


"It is Mexico, the golden; Mexico, land of sunshine, of fruit and flowers; Mexico, the 'New Spain' of the West. The traditions of the early colonists from the mother country have become a settled heritage in language, customs, buildings, modified sufficiently to meet local conditions of climate and soil.

"In my veins flows the blood of the conquerors.   The home I build must recall the land of my forebears; in it I wish reflected the pride and pomp of a noble race, softened by the charm and romance of its devotion to family ties.

"The spirit of hospitality must be evident—that traditional hospitality of the Orient which has become also a tradition of Spain, revered and handed down to Spain's children.

"And, indeed, there must be more than a suggestion of the Orient itself. For Moorish art and imagery are entwined in the life of Spain. Let there be felt, then, subtle influences of Grenada, of the Alhambra; the cool tinkle of water in a thirsty land, a tiled fountain in a courtyard, delicate arabesques and arches, interlacing grilles, recessed balconies. 

"But there must be no discord between the old world and the new. Our actual conditions are to be considered ; our climate and countryside, the wealth of verdure, the spread of branch, and the riots of color that succeeding seasons bring. And all the accessories and devices that add to the comfort and convenience of modern life are to be provided. To weld together all these varying elements of the past and the present into a harmonious ensemble—this is the ideal for which I will strive."

ENTRANCE DRIVEWAY - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Accepting the differences between Californian and Mexican vegetation, this is the ideal which Mr. Farr has accomplished. An alluring picture greets you as you turn from the highway into this broad avenue with its sentinel guard of tall, straight poplars. 

MAIN FACADE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Straight through the outer court gate goes your eye, to the focal point of the picture—the richly modeled Churrigueresque doorway "chiseled like a jewel," as Ibanez says of the Toledo porch. The charm of this bit of fanciful ornament is emphasized by its axial importance, the surrounding simplicity of wall surface, and its sentimental significance.

DETAIL OF MAIN ENTRANCE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The branches of a magnificent oak cast delicate tracery of light and shade upon the near corner of the house, still further enriching the setting of the door ; and the mass outline, above and around, frames a background with a well-defined "informal balance".

THE MIRROR POOL - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR. ARCHITECT

While all these elements of the picture do not consciously register at once, it is certain that the mellowness of color causes an instant stir of pleasure.  Walls of a soft salmon pink; tile of varying shades from tan to reddish brown, with occasionally one of warm blue; woodwork and grilles of that tone which is the borderland between blue and green; the emerald base of lawn and the sapphire crown of sky—here is a luscious combination which would disarm the severest critic.

CARRIAGE COURT GATEWAY - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Passing around the house, each side has its own special interest.

THE LAWN - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The living rooms and living porch lead to a broad open terrace overlooking lawn and rose garden. 

OAKS AND LAWN - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

This lawn, with its splendid surrounding oaks, is obviously intended by nature and art for an open air annex to the living quarters of the house ; and the walled rose garden for similar use when greater seclusion or shelter is desirable. 

ROSE GARDEN FROM TERRACE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR. ARCHITECT

There is a fascinating atmosphere of the Old World in the rose garden; long, curving, tile-capped walls, with high arched gates, posts crowned with urns, silhouetted against the background of feathery pepper trees and trembling poplars—one might well be in the "Forbidden Garden" of some Andalusian convent.

THE HOUSE FROM SOUTH GARDEN
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

On the opposite side of the house, the guest chambers look out over a bright garden border to an oblong lawn in which lies a long, narrow pool surrounded by stepping stones. This will in time be shielded by a high hedge, so that it will form a little retreat of absolute privacy.

THE HOUSE FROM WEST GARDEN
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE  - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The service court is surrounded by flower beds and orchards, and from this side the house presents a picturesque grouping of roofs and chimneys far removed from the usual utilitarian aspect.

MAIN FLOOR PLAN
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE  - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

A square, high-vaulted hall connects the entrance directly with the patio, which is the heart of the house. 

FOUNTAIN IN PATIO - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

It is practically impossible to describe any patio; there is an elusive charm that must be experienced in person. 

PATIO - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

 This one, indeed, is not just an enclosed court; it has a romantic air; one expects something to happen, but nothing except what is peaceful and joyful.

PATIO TOWARD LIVING PORCH - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Only the growth of vine and shrub is needed to perfect it, especially in the case of the urns cropping out of the roof along the sides, and the balcony at the rear. 

PATIO - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Incidentally, the corresponding pinnacles along the outer terrace side of the living porch do not quite justify themselves.  A clear sweep of roof would have been somewhat more pleasing there.

PATIO AT NIGHT - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

                 THE INTERIORS

LIVING PORCH - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The living porch itself, with its walls of sliding glass between patio and terrace, is a long room in pleasant tones of tan with an extremely interesting Moorish tile wainscot of blue and grayish white with touches of yellow. The wooden ceiling is noteworthy, stained a soft dove gray. 

FOUNTAIN IN LIVING PORCH
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Living and dining rooms are treated with plain plaster walls painted a creamy white, and with rich honeycomb ceilings. They are dignified, restful rooms, and furnish a good foil for the more brilliant portions of the house.

STAIR HALL TO PRIVATE SUITES - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The stair hall opening from the patio and leading to the private suites in the upper story has quite the flavor of Grenada with its tiled wainscot and floor, its curving stairs with delicate metal railing, and its fountain under the broad Moorish arch.

When these rooms are completely and consistently furnished the interior of the house will acquire the distinctive character which the exterior already possesses; for, although barely finished, this house and its setting have already acquired individuality and harmony.

                 THE GARDENS

PLOT PLAN
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

Probably the feature that has caused the greatest comment in the gardens recently developed at the R. S. Moore home at Menlo Park is the rapidity with which these new gardens have taken on an old and mature effect. Only three months after the gardens were completed attention was called to the fact that they looked to be at least five years of age. Most new places look new, and do not take on the time-worn feeling for several seasons and only after nature has been given time to do her work. In this case, however, time was "taken by the forelock" and nature by the "ears" and given a premature push into early maturity. As in business Mr. Moore demands maximum results in a minimum of time, so in this work maximum results were sought for in the shortest possible period.

Two big factors enter into the element of quick results in garden construction: First, broad sweeps of lawn, and second, the purchase of large-sized nursery stock. By largest size nursery stock, we do not mean a full grown tree, but simply the largest size of stock that a nursery can handle with practical results. Thus in our selection of the nursery stock for this place only the very finest and largest specimens were purchased. It is a peculiar fact that there are no single nurseries in this State that contain the best stock of all varieties. The immense number of ornamentals which thrive successfully in California make it impossible for nurseries to specialize in everything, and we have found after much experience that it usually takes at least a dozen nurseries to supply every variety in a large plan if the best stock is desired. In this garden seventeen nurseries were patronized to obtain the stock necessary. Incidentally this is one of the big reasons why it does not pay to place the development of a garden plan in the hands of any one nursery.

John William Gregg

The main landscape plan in this garden was first conceived and designed by Professor John W. Gregg, of the University of California, and the excellence of the scheme as worked out has more than demonstrated Professor Gregg's ability in landscape design. The general scheme was of a two-fold nature: First, the carrying out of axes and lines of the house into the garden, thus tying in the garden with the house and making of the two a closely bound and harmonious unit, and second, to divide the garden into a number of separate and distinct compartments, as out-of-door rooms, each with its own function to perform. Only a visit on the ground can show how perfectly these effects have been worked out.

 SUMMER HOUSE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

As the work progressed the writer had the privilege of developing some parts more in detail than the original plans indicated. Such an area was originally devoted to a gardener's plotting shed and hot beds, but was later redesigned to contain a garden house, a rockery with tree ferns and a naturalistic pool and waterfall, with an open-air fireplace for summer evening entertainment. A number of these details are shown in the illustrations. 

OPEN-AIR FIREPLACE - RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

This compact little group of attractions exemplify the out-of-door living-room idea, and will be used continually in good seasons of the year.

GARAGE
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT S. MOORE - ALBERT FARR, ARCHITECT

The property in 1941 showing the long driveway of poplars.

The property today, now in the town of Atherton.

Across the street is Moore Acres with a Robert S Drive.

The house today minus its Churrigueresque.

Moore Dry Dock Company

The Stanford Daily, Volume 77, Issue 19, 27 February 1930

ROBERT MOORE WILLS $30,000 TO UNIVERSITY

Bequest Giving Memorial Scholarship Is Probated In Redwood City Court

University of California Receives Like Gift From San Francisco Financier

By the terms of the will of Robert S. Moore of San Francisco and Menlo Park, filed for probate yesterday in the superior court in Redwood City, Stanford is to receive a gift of $110,000 for a scholarship fund to he Known as the Robert S. Moore scholarship. The University of California received a similar bequest to establish a Florence Moore scholarship. According to Acting President Swain, the University authorities have not been informed of the exact nature of the scholarship or its purpose. Dr. Swain declared that the gift had come out of a clear sky. Moore, a prominent San Francisco capitalist, was president of the Pacific Securities Company, chairman of the hoard of directors of the Paraffine Companies Ltd., and associated with the Risdon Iron Works and Moore Shipbuilding Company, he left an estate of over a million dollars, the greater part of which will go to his wife, Mrs. Florence Moore. One bequest of $50,000 goes to the San Francisco Community Chest. Another gift is one of $5,000 to the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Besides the two universities and Mrs. Moore, there are a number of smaller beneficiaries of the will. The well-known Menlo Park resident died February 16 in San Francisco. Moore was 73 years of age at the time of his death.

Florence Moore Hall

Designed by Milton Pflueger, head of California’s oldest architectural firm, Florence Moore Hall was deliberately built to be asymmetrical. The often-recounted story is that Florence Moore, who donated $1 million for the residence, provided the money on the condition that ice cream be served each day in the dining halls. She also specified that closets in each room accommodate a woman’s formal gown. Florence Moore’s husband, Robert S. Moore, joined her in having a residence named after him - the Row house called Robert S. Moore South or, more commonly, BOB.