"BOX HILL" The Estate of A. J. DREXEL PAUL ESQ., Radnor, Pennsylvania

The Estate of ANTHONY JOESEPH DREXEL PAUL ESQ., Radnor, Pennsylvania
 Charles Platt, Architect

     In the rolling farm country, so characteristic of the outskirts of Philadelphia, stands the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Drexel Paul, a testimonial to the merging of pasture lands and formal gardens, country living and paneled English rooms. Situated at Radnor, about twelve miles from Philadelphia, Box Hill's one hundred and twenty-five acres are part of an extensive property, some  of which  land  originally belonged  to  Mr.  Paul's family.

White wooden entrance gates swing invitingly between stucco posts covered with roses.

    From the entrance itself, guarded by a pair of cream-colored stucco gates, crowned by white woodwork, and covered with pink roses, the driveway is edged by broad paths of well-mowed lawn.

Sheep graze placidly on broad expanses of meadow near the driveway.

    Beyond the grass runs a long hurdle fence, behind which, on one side, sheep graze on the broad expanse of meadow. On the other side, are fields of corn and other crops, with the same hurdle fences separating them from the lawn and drive. It is as though farming were an intimate part of the place, yet with sufficient amenities observed to keep it in its proper relation to the rest. 

The hurdle fences surrounding the pastures are interrupted by tree-trunk panels for riders.

    At convenient intervals in the fence, the whole trunk of a tree has been placed. This makes it possible for riders to jump in and out of the fields, and, at the same time, sheep or crops are not allowed to spill over from where they are confined.

Entrance of the Georgian Colonial house, designed by the late Charles Platt, architect.

    The first glimpse of the house shows it almost hidden by elms and white pines which grow on either side of the approach, as well as by box bushes and three oak trees planted directly in front. Where a secondary drive crosses the main entrance, the fields have given way to more formal gardens.

    The exterior of the house is Georgian in feeling, with that particular quality so characteristic of its architect, the late Charles Platt. Its cream walls are of stucco, applied thinly enough to disclose the stone beneath. The pitched roof is shingled. The sash windows are shuttered; on the ground floor, in white, and, on the upper floors, in dark green. The front door is in the middle of the central section, with service wing to the right, and living room wing and gardens on the left.

    Two English lead eagles stand guardians immediately outside the front door. Inside, a vestibule bears instant witness to some of the interests of the owners. Two Audubon engraving of startled owls hang on the walls. A foot scraper and a long cane rack, filled to overflowing, make provision for country walks. A broad hall runs straight from the front door to long French windows directly opposite, opening onto the broad west terrace. The parquetry floor is in a V design here as throughout the rest of the downstairs. The walls are white like the woodwork and their unadorned simplicity is only broken by several distinguishes portraits-one by Francis Drexel, of Bolivar, one by Peale, and also one painted by Sully, of Mrs. James W. Paul, Mr. Paul's grandmother.

The dining room, with covers laid for dinner, is both formal and friendly. The paneling of subdued green, inset with landscape in tones of green, gold, and yellow, were brought over from Ireland.

    On the right, the dining room is paneled in a subtle gray-green. The romantic landscapes were, with the paneling, from an original room, and came from Ireland. They seem particularly appropriate here, where there is so much that is reminiscent of life in the more seasoned hunting countries of England and Ireland. The Sheraton dining table and the chairs, covered in cream leather, the polished mahogany sideboards, the English candelabra of delicately cut glass pendants, all make a composite picture of great distinction. There is warmth and dignity here, and a perfect background for hospitality.

English deal paneling lines the library. A study by Joshua Reynolds hangs just above Mrs. Paul's collection of crystal displayed on a table.

    Opposite the dining room, across the same hall, is the fine library containing many first editions and sets of Dickens and Thackery that would make even the most blase of bibliophiles envious. The room was planned around the books and the Deal paneling which covers three sides of it came from England. Across from the French windows, curtained in peacock blue silk, the bookcases reach to the ceiling. The tawny coloring of the Oriental rug merges into the golden brown of the woodwork. Throughout the house are grouped various collections of decorative objects in crystal, carnelian, jade, rose quartz, and other minerals. These have been assembled by Mrs. Paul and by her mother. Mrs. Alexander Biddle—arranged together, they would make a very large group but Mrs. Paul has chosen rather to break up the collection into its separate types, letting each preserve its individuality. It has been most ingeniously done to heighten the decorative value of each piece and of each group when viewed as a whole.

Mr. Paul's office has bookcases, ceiling high, forming an alcove for his mahogany desk with red leather top. Aiken hunting prints complete it. 

    Immediately inside the front door, the stairway goes up to the right, while to the left is another long, broad hall which starts from the east-west hall and ends in the living room, facing south. The first door, on the left, from the central part of the house, opens into Mr. Paul's office. This is a long, narrow room, with bookcases running to the ceiling forming, at the end, a sort of alcove for the handsome mahogany desk, with red leather top. A long Jacobean table, in oak, stretches along one side of the room. On the other, between two windows, is an expansive dark blue leather sofa. The white walls are covered with narrow, horizontal hunting prints by Aiken, their subjects being as appropriate in this room as is their unusual and striking shape.

    Next to Mr. Paul's study, still on the left of the hall, is a Louis XIV dressing room, where pink taffeta curtains, painted furniture, and a general air of golden festivity seem, strangely enough, entirely at home among their more dignified English neighbors.

    Opposite, glass doors open into the game room. Here, against pine paneling, a series of prints have been hung. Some are by Aiken and others by John Deal Paul and C. Loraine Smith. Long windows open out on three sides of the room, giving it an air of spaciousness and light. A rose-colored Oriental rug lies on the tiled floor, and for those who are not playing any of the various games available there are comfortable chairs and a deep sofa, in rose chintz. In one corner a bridge table is set up, in another a backgammon table beckons invitingly and, most unusual perhaps in contemporary America, is the felt-topped mahogany table set for sniff. Its ivory dominoea are face down in a wheel-shaped design, as decorative when they are not in use as they are conveniently available for an immediate game.

The living room has oak paneling brought from England. The gold leather screen, nine feet high, has subtly painted Chinese scenes. Wax candles are used in the chandelier and the candelabra.

    As though to heighten its dramatic effect by its very location, the spacious living room discloses itself at the very end of the hall. The entrance is at the west end of the room, and it necessary to walk well into the center of this side to get the full effect. This is because at the back a gigantic Chinese screen, with delicate designs on a somber ground, prolongs the suspense. Once it been passed, however, a sense of serenity and dignity makes itself felt. The rich oak paneling is only broken by the French windows. Rather as though to temper the sunlight and less formal out-of-doors, however, these windows have been traced in flowing blue brocade which hangs from ceiling to floor. The Oriental rug has an all-over pattern in soft blues and golds. In the center of the room, hangs a shimmering Waterford chandelier, which Mrs. Paul has had the imagination to keep from wiring so that, at night, wax candles whose uneven gutterings make a constantly changing play of light on the glass. On the mantel, the Waterford is repeated in a pair of candelabra.

    The general tone of the room is Chinese Chippendale, although other types of furniture have been used as well. A golden sofa, with Chinese design in the most delicate petit point, vies for interest with the tall Chinese screen which is painted leather. In contrast to the somber design on its back, the side facing the center of the room is in gold, with amusing scenes drawn against it in soft blues, reds, green, and whites. 

A corner of the living room, seen above, with Chinese Chippendale sofa in golden needle-point. The portraits are of Mr. Paul's grandfathers.

    There are four generations of Paul portraits hung against the oak background. The two Paul great-grandparents were painted by Francis Drexell, the artist member of that distinguished family. Curiously enough, it was not until two generations later that the families were mated by marriage, as the present Mr. Paul s mother was a Miss Drexel. The two grandfathers, Mr. Paul and Mr. Drexel, were painted by Benjamin Constant and their portraits hang opposite one another. There is also a portrait of the Paul grandmother, done from a miniature by the late Julian Storey. Mr. Paul's father's portrait, also painted by Storey, hangs at one end and his wife's at the other. Finally, between the French windows hang the two Laszlo portraits of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Drexel Paul. This is not exclusively a picture gallery, however, for though filled with tradition, this room remains very alive and lived in. There are several more varieties of Mrs. Paul,s collections here. On one table is the carnelian set and, on another, the rose quartz collection. These are made contemporary by being made a part of every day living, for among the objects collected are ash trays of the particular mineral and silver match boxes, set with the stone of that set. In countless Lowestoft bowls are roses, columbine, or other flowers in season—always roses, for these are Mrs. Paul's special and favorite flower. There are even bowls of dried rose petals on piano and table; in fact, everywhere there is evidence of the superb rose garden of the luxuriant and well-tilled cutting garden.

Mrs. Paul's oyster white bedroom has a mantel of pickled pine mahogany table with a Sheraton gold-framed mirror.

The west terrace, reached by the hallway running from the front to back, is flagged, and furnished with umbrellas, chairs, and tables for dining. Note the large pots of oleanders.

    The living room gives onto the south terrace, an intimate flagged outdoor sitting room with the trunks of two apple trees rising up through its floor relics from the old orchard on whose edge the house was built. Forming a sort of wall, with a path in the center, is some of the luscious box for which the place was named. To the left of the terrace, stretched a broad lawn, edged by white pebble path and shut in by undulating masses of box. On the left, the the driveway, shuts out any view of the front of the house. Running along its full length is the box, planted with lavish hand.

The box garden landscaped for greens and white effect with sweet-william and alysum.

Image Title: Mrs. A. J. Drexel Paul Residence

A view from the rose garden through the a wrought iron gate, by Yellin, to the box garden.

Image Title: Mrs. A. J. Drexel Paul Residence

    At the end of the garden, a raised terrace is massed with white geraniums in pots and white oleanders. Two fountains trickle from either side of the gate in the high wall, which divides the green garden from the rose garden. The wall and garden were designed by Charles Willing, and the wrought-iron gate, like all the wrought iron which is to be seen on the place, was designed by Yellin.

Image Title: Mrs. A. J. Drexel Paul Residence

The rose garden, with arborvitae hedge, rotates box-edged rose beds in wheel design around a fountain-pool.

    Once in the rose garden, it is apparent that this was what was hidden from the driveway by the arborvitae hedge. Immediately opposite the gate are chairs, a table and gayly striped umbrella. In the center is a blue pool with pink geraniums on its edge, forming a low background for the lead child's figure which is the fountain. In four alcoves, cut into the hedge, are marble pots on pedestals about five feet high filled with fuchsias. The box-edged rose beds spread out in wheel design from the round pool in the middle. The only red roses used have been placed in two long beds against the wall, separating this from the main garden. For the rest, there are countless varieties in different shades of pink, yellow, and white, with the most profuse bloom.

One of the English lead figurines placed at intervals in the midst of the box, and white sweet-william beneath.

    At the end of one of the white pebble paths which run between the beds is an opening in the arborvitae hedge through which is reached the swimming pool, surrounded by lawn and apple trees. Beyond, down a lilac-bordered path, is the cutting garden. Protected by another hedge of arborvitae, it is on two levels, with a cold frame running the width of each terrace. On the upper terrace, brick paths divide the eight beds, in four of which are roses of different varieties from those in the garden proper. In the other beds are columbine, delphinium, and chrysanthemums. In the upper cold frame, there is some of the sweet-william used in such profusion throughout the garden, as well as pansies and johnny-jump-ups and small white clapboard tool houses, with green trim, just outside the hedge, make it possible to conceal all the necessary tools on the very edge of this lovely garden.

    Another lilac-edged walk, informally planted and merging with the lawn, leads back to the south terrace outside the house. From here, a path runs around the house to the west terrace where there are groups of iron chairs and comfortable, gaily colored outdoor furniture. Two yellow umbrellas shelter tables used for dining.

The formal herb garden, of the west terrace, has a vast variety of herb-beds traversed by paths of shredded cedar.

    At the far end of this terrace, which runs the full width of the central wing of the house, is that delight of all gourmets, a well-filled herb garden. Although easily accessible to the kitchen, it is developed as a decorative garden. Two sides are enclosed by high walls, covered with euonymus and one corner nestles happily into a corner of the house. On one side is a high hedge of box; low box surrounds each bed in the formal design, and there are occasional bushes of box and hawthorn to give height.

    To understand the quality of Mr. and Mrs. Paul's place is to know the personal interest and effort which they have put into it. This is no casually run house or garden, but a complete entity, conceived with real imagination, worked over with affection, and maintained with scrupulous care. It has that warm, rich feeling which results from its owners' lavish use of plants, paintings, furniture, and accessories. But it also has an air of tempered good taste and restraint in the handling of details. It is, indeed, a welcoming house—hospitable in the best tradition of a country gentleman.

       The interiors were a stylish setting for family antiques, sporting art, and noteworthy paintings.   When not involved in financial matters, A. J. Drexel Paul would likely be found playing polo, fox hunting or pursuing other sports.  Although the house itself had extensive damage after a fire in the late 1940's, it was preserved and remodeled, reduced in size and made more manageable for a modern style of living.

1948 aerial showing the burnt out shell. 

1950 aerial showing the altered remains

BING VIEW today.

    
    Below are renderings and photos of a project for the Paul's designed by Mellor & Meigs around the same time the Charles Platt design was built. The project is labeled "Woodcrest Farms". According to the Athenaeum of Philadelphia the house was demolished and property incorporated into the St. Davids Golf Club.  The stables and polo barn were built. I can not find anything more on the house itself.

Image Title: Garage and the House Project: Paul, Country House Near Philadelphia, PA Client: Paul, A. J. Drexel, Esq.

Image Title: First Floor Plan

Image Title: Second Floor Plan

Image Title: Barn & Polo Stable Project: Paul, Barn & Polo Stable, Radnor, PA Client: Paul, A. J. Drexel, Esq.

Image Title: Exterior: Overall: Project Paul, Barn & Polo Stable, Radnor, PA Client: Paul, A. J. Drexel, Esq.

BARN AND POLO STABLES FOR A. J. DREXEL PAUL, ESQ., RADNOR, PA.
 Mellor & Meigs, Architects

BARN AND POLO STABLES FOR A. J. DREXEL PAUL, ESQ., RADNOR, PA.
 Mellor & Meigs, Architects

    
    

Image Title: Exterior: Barn Yard: Project Paul, Barn & Polo Stable, Radnor, PA Client: Paul, A. J. Drexel, Esq.

    A. J. Drexel Paul built his own 25-room house in 1914, "down island", where most of the summer colony was located. Each summer, Isabel Biddle Paul would pack up the couple's two sons and two daughters to begin the long trek to Maine from Philadelphia.

    "We'd take a train to Bath, then a ferry across the river there, and then we'd hook up with another train, to Rockland, Maine. We'd hop on a boat - well not exactly hop - then we'd come to Islesboro, where we were met by carriage after carriage and taken to the house. We came with five or six of the help and about 10 Vuitton trunks." SOURCE

The A. J. Drexel Paul Cottage Islesboro, Maine

    

    Named for its situation at the crest of the Radnor Hills, "Woodcrest" was the estate of James W. Paul, Jr., father of Ellen Drexel Paul, born 1880, A. J. Drexel Paul, born 1884, and Mary Astor Paul, born 1889.

    Long before the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport became so well known, there were many families with multiple large houses on their country estates, often sharing some of the service outbuildings and recreational facilities.  This was true of the Pauls at "Woodcrest".  After the death of his father in 1908, Paul and his new wife, Isabel Biddle, took possession of the acreage north of Upper Gulph Road.  SOURCE

    In 1915, both Isabel and A. J. Drexel Paul and Ellen and Paul Mills built new homes on the estate. “Box Hill” contained state of the art heating and plumbing systems. In that same year, the Mills built the Georgian Colonial “Woodcrest Lodge”, designed by Charles Barton Keene, at a cost of $40,000. Mary Paul and her new husband, Charles A. Munn occupied the large Tudor style main house. 

    It appears to have been the custom at the time in the Pauls’ social stratum to be in constant motion. Summers were spent in Newport or Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, Dark Harbor, Maine, or in the case of Mary and Charles Munn, with his mother in Manchester, Massachusetts. Winters often found the couples in Palm Beach or Aiken, South Carolina. SOURCE

Mary Astor Paul Munn (1889-1950)
Oil on canvas, 1927. Philip de Laszlo

    Side note to Mary Munn's middle name Astor - Her fathers sister, Mary Dahlgren Paul married William Waldorf Astor and became a member of the British aristocracy.


  

COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS

DOORWAY TO COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

FEW among recent creations of American architecture will excite more interest than this latest work of Walker and Gillette, the house of Mr. H. H. Rogers, at Southampton, Long Island. This deserves our notice, because not only is it a perfectly wrought design of unusual merit in itself, but it brings to the front certain fundamental principles of mass and color at the root of the highest art. How is it that architects occasionally allow themselves to be so absorbed in the technique of form that they grow indifferent to the needs of color and of mass? In this respect, Messrs. Walker and Gillette have been of great service, in repeating the warning that technique is a means, not an end - moreover, which they have emphasized in such definite terms of three dimensions that, unlike mere words, it cannot be very well ignored. 

Southampton, an old American town, with nearly three centuries of history, lies along towards the eastern end of the island, about a mile from the sea, where the country is flat and rather sandy. The landscape of the district is one of dark wind-swept heaths and white dunes along the ocean, changing inland to a neighborhood of level farms. Because of these attractions and its soft sea-climate, which permits outdoor life through the greater part of the year, Southampton has become well-known as a place of country residences. 

Only a few of these houses front directly on the ocean, and one of them is the Rogers house. What a rare picture it presented when I saw it last autumn in the soft October sunshine! ***John Taylor Boyd Jr. - 1916*** Perched astride the dune, its roofs of a mellow deep claret red and walls of rich ochre gray, spotted with blue gray shutters, it stood out boldly against the blue sky. Along the crest of the dune the dark green beach grass tossed in the wind above the white sands, where the blue waves broke into glittering mist scarcely fifty yards away from the house. The whole scene, house, gardens and sunlight, seemed almost Italian, and the incessant wind reminded me of the gale in the oak trees of the Villa Farnese on the mountain top above Caprarola. 

It was by thus braving the exposed situation that the owner attained a character and effect hardly to be acquired in the more placid neighborhood of Southampton village. I have said that the dunes form a rampart astride which is the house. This placing of the dwelling brings the first floor on a level with the top of the sloping beach, and allows the basement floor to be above ground on the north, at the garden level. Through this arrangement, the kitchen, laundry, etc., of the service wing, situated in the basement, obtain plenty of cheerful light and air. 

 HOUSE AND FLOWER-GARDEN  - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. Walker & Gillette, Architects.

To protect the planting from the never ceasing winds, high stucco terra cotta walls surround the gardens and traverse them at intervals, sub-dividing them into a series of courts. Around the outside walls, a screen of tree masses will still further shelter the shrubs and flowers, besides furnishing them with a background. One is struck with the unusual distinction of these high stucco walls, and wonders why they are not used oftener, for besides providing a background, the shadows of the foliage play on the wall surfaces with a fine sparkle of light and shade in the brilliant illumination of our summer sun. Such frequent use of walls adds a sense of comfort and protection, for through them the gardens acquire an intimate, cozy, sequestered air the charm of old cloisters, of old religious enclosures. Yet there is nothing imitative about all this, since the protecting walls are a necessity of the wind-driven site. 

The place provides a whole series of pictures, one after the other. It brought joy to the photographer, who could forget the injunction to "show the architecture clearly" and turn himself loose in his picture-making. The house is a succession of combinations in masses, shapes, colors and textures, with but little regard for architectural machinery. In fact, right here is the chief secret of Messrs. Walker and Gillette's success in the Rogers house. The architect may well be thankful when painters or photographers find in his achievements opportunities for the brush or the camera, for these artists will not be deceived by any correctness of architectural technique, or by elaboration of design; rather will they seek to eliminate or to suppress all details and aim for whatever fundamental design may be discovered in the architect's work. This is one of the chief necessities in architecture today to maintain the painter's point of view, the painter's sense of the dramatic. 

FLOOR PLANS - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS. 

The free treatment of Mr. Rogers' house characterizes the plan as well. The scheme is symmetrical, but not obtrusively so, and the architecture is not forced upon the beholder. As you progress through the house from the main entrance, you are aware of axes, but not of balanced symmetry. 

SOUTHWEST CORNER OF HOUSE SEEN FROM TOP OF THE DUNES - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. Walker & Gillette, Architects. 

Besides, the most symmetrical front of the house, the ocean front, is the one least seen. What impresses one is the bold treatment of symmetrical balance, the big striking contrasts ; large openings and small ones, broad wall surfaces of fine texture relieved by bits of decoration in the shape of sculptured ornament, iron grilles, furniture and hangings, emphasizing and enriching the design, preventing baldness. This bold, honest treatment in mass and color, this skilled sense of form and refinement, this discard of conventional formulae and of ostentation, this informality the good sense and sentiment and gaiety of it all are not these the qualities most precious to Americans? Such an effect of simplicity and informality with a dramatic effect could we have anything better in architecture? 

SOUTH ELEVATION ON OCEAN - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

NORTH ELEVATION ON GARDENS - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

The numerous drawings reproduced in these pages illustrate admirably the principles of design outlined above. It will be seen that they represent little more than plain walls and door and window openings. In this regard they will remind the readers of The Architectural Record of the simple drawings of McKim, Mead and White for the Harvard Club plunge published in the November issue. To a certain type of client, who loves display, they would be extremely disappointing, and on paper they would make but a sorry showing against a more conventional design of pilasters, cornices and Ornament, elaborately drawn and tricked out. But as executed, as built, how infinitely superior they are! They prove the more ostentatious effects to be but idle glitter, mere soap-bubbles of architecture! 

'Tis the old, old conflict between paper architecture and real architecture, a conflict which harasses both architect and client. Fortunately, the more discerning part of the public today is willing to accept a simple drawing from an architect, and to stand by him loyally in carrying it out in construction. 

Of course, Walker and Gillette have not deserted tradition in the Rogers house. It provides reminiscences of very early Renaissance Italy, with many medieval touches and some high Renaissance ones. Its contrast of plain wall surfaces with sparkling bits of detail, its virility and dramatic effects are distinctly Spanish. But if this house were side by side with any villa in Italy, it would reveal more differences than appear at first glance its American qualities would be brought out. For one thing, there are the more generous window openings, the lower story heights of the Rogers house, besides its greater air of comfort and hospitality, its atmosphere of an American home. Indeed, why may not Americans seek inspiration in the Middle Ages? Just as the Renaissance Italians turned to classic antiquity, so do moderns discover in themselves a real sympathy for the picturesqueness and the romance of medieval times. 

How consistently the Rogers house embodies these principles! With the cooperation of architect and client, bits of sculpture, fragments of decoration and color, columns, fireplaces, etc., have been carefully selected and given a right place in the design. This is as true of the long expanse of garden walls as of the house itself. The gardens teem with odd bits of interest, likewise all the interior decorations furniture, hangings, art objects have been chosen and built into the scheme of architecture to become an integral part of it, just enough to complete each room and nothing more. The result is a really impressive collection of art objects. One is reminded somewhat of Mrs. John L. Gardiner's Fenway house, in Boston, and also of the Davanzati palace in Florence, the opening of which to the public caused such a stir several years ago. 

HOUSE, WALLS AND STABLES-VIEW PRESENTED IN APPROACHING THE COUNTRY PLACE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. Walker & Gillette, Architects. 

Let us consider the details. Approaching the house, the first impression is of the long west wall and the stable at one end, and the house at the other - a view of the whole estate. 

MAIN ENTRANCE ON THE WEST - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

WEST (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION, COMPARE PHOTOGRAPH ***ABOVE*** - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. Walker & Gillette, Architects. 

As we turn into the entrance court on the south, we notice a long pool with white marble curb in the foreground, beyond it the fine entrance doorway. This doorway is the main feature in an unsymmetrical elevation. The door itself is a heavy paneled, medieval-looking thing, as are all the doors in the first story of the house. 

INTERIOR OF ENTRANCE HALL - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

Entering from the court, we find ourselves in a lower hall paved with tile, with walls of tinted plaster, somewhat the color of sandstone and spanned with an undercoated groin-vaulted ceiling. Off this entrance hall open two dressing suites for visitors, finished in tints of faded old rose.

ENTRANCE HALL AND STAIRS - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

Unusual indeed is the main stairway of brick treads and risers, topped with an extremely simple iron rail. 

DEN - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

At the head of the stairs in the main floors an attractive little den, decorated with an oak beamed ceiling, bookcases at one end, and a small fireplace of tall, whimsical design at the other. Here is a noteworthy feature of this little room: it has not a bit of trim in it. The floor is laid with small hexagonal red tiles, with a tile base at the walls some 6 inches high, and above this base is a band of yellowish gray about 20 inches high. Instead of using wooden architraves, the panelbacks of the doors and windows are splayed back in the thickness of the walls, and painted gray with a gray edging around the opening. All the rest of the walls, except this gray base and the gray strip around the doors and windows, are a deep rich blue. In fact blue, of one shade or another, is the color one notices most in the house, which has indeed a great variety of color. The dimensions of this room are 21 feet by 14 feet 8 inches, with clear ceiling height of 14 feet 4 inches. 

RECEPTION ROOM - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ. SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. Walker & Gillette, Architects. 

ELEVATION OF RECEPTION ROOM - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

 Also at the head of the stairs do we find the large reception room, the windows of which look south on the sea and north over the main axis of the garden. There is a long oak table down the centre of the room, and at the opposite end a large old stone hooded fireplace, brought from Italy. The floor is of oak. 

DETAIL OF RECEPTION ROOM CEILING - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

Unusually effective, the ceiling of this drawing room is paneled in squares, three across the room and five the length of it, of oak and plaster, very dark, picked out in deep colors. The hangings and furniture coverings are of a soft clear blue of medium value, with faint gold threads running through the material. The walls are plaster tinted somewhat the color of sandstone. 

DINING ROOM SHOWING FIREPLACE IN DRAWING ***BELOW*** -  COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

EAST ELEVATION OF DINING ROOM - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. Walker & Gillette, Architects.

The dining room has much the same treatment as the reception room plaster walls, oak ceilings, marble fireplace and oak floors. The dimensions of the reception room are 44 feet 4 inches by 29 feet 3 inches, with clear height of 14 feet 2 inches - of the dining room, 29 feet 4 inches by 24 feet, height 14 feet. These are the principal rooms and well do they typify the spirit of the whole design. In them the architecture is subdued to make a background for the furniture and hangings without any competition between the two. It is a principle that is coming more and more into modern art, though it is as old as anything we know. What a sense of rest these rooms give us! What harmony of color and of form! No spottiness, no ostentation, no surfeit anywhere. 

As part of the main floor layout are the two loggias, opening off the main rooms south and north, which are more traditional than most of the Rogers house.

FOUNTAIN IN THE LOGGIA WHICH CLOSES THE CROSS-AXIS OF THE GARDENS ON THE WEST - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

The south loggia overlooking the sea has a red tile floor and elliptical vaulted ceiling with penetrations, painted a light clear blue. This blue field is relieved by the narrowest of white vault ribs and medallions showing the signs of the Zodiac. 

NORTH LOGGIA OVERLOOKING GARDEN - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

Delightful indeed is the north loggia, overlooking the garden, to the left of the main axis, the walls of which are covered with some remarkable frescoes. 

***Stairs to bedroom floor***

FLOOR PLANS - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

In the bedroom floor it is not surprising to find a slight change of character. Heavy oak tables and chairs would be something of a nuisance in bedrooms, and there is provided instead simple, graceful modern furniture, painted in the lightest of tones. The rooms themselves show a surprisingly simple, uniform treatment; delicate trims, a slight "picture" mould, painted blue from which pictures do not hang and a 6 inch cove above the picture mould at the ceiling, of which the clear height is 9 feet. The usual mantelpiece treatment is missing; instead the small fireplaces are merely openings in the face of the plaster wall, edged with vitrified figured tile, and built with a raised cement hearth and a little shelf supported on four brackets above the opening. The door and window trims are detailed with a flat band, which is tinted a rich blue or else decorated in a flower pattern, to harmonize with the painted furniture. All the rest of the trim is a strong gray and the plaster walls are painted in extremely light tones. Altogether, it would be impossible to exaggerate the good taste of these bedrooms. 

In such a design of large plane surfaces, careful treatment of texture is absolutely a necessity. The tile, ironwork and woodwork of the house and gardens are all selected to this end. Inside, the plaster walls have a texture somewhat resembling that of painted burlap or the very roughest water color paper. As for the outside, to equal the tile roofs, one must visit Segovia or Salamanca in Northern Spain, where perhaps the finest roof tiles in the world are found; and it is interesting to learn that the architects have even gone so far as to soften the lines of the roof by making them slightly uneven, as if they had become wavy through age. The photographs give some idea of the effective finish of the stucco walls, and, as a further example of this careful attention to detail, the ironwork has been hand wrought by Belgian workmen. 

GARDEN ELEVATION ON NORTH - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

DETAIL OF TERRACE ON MAIN AXIS OF GARDEN - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTH AMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS. 

A slight notice of the gardens completes the description of the Rogers house. The design was supervised by the architects, and the planting is the work of Mr. Gallagher of the Olmstead Brothers' firm of landscape architects, of Brookline, Mass. I have mentioned the situation on level ground to the north of the house, and the big stucco walls that surround and intersect the planting. There are really three long parallel axes that lead down from the house, divided by these high enclosures. 

VISTA ALONG MAIN AXIS OF GARDENS SHOWING POOL AT CROSS AXIS - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. Walker & Gillette, Architects. 

FIGURE IN POOL AT THE CROSSING OF THE GARDEN AXIS - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS. 

The main axis, on the reception room of the house, shows an expanse of greensward, with a large pool in the centre of the nearest court, marking the cross-axis. 

GARDEN DETAIL - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. Walker & Gillette, Architects.  

The west parallel axis runs from a gate in the entrance court, and follows through a series of delightful flower gardens of intricate geometrical paths, in delicate scale, where a multitude of dainty, reed-like Gothic columns about 6 feet high are outlined admirably against the foliage and flowers.

PLAYHOUSE IN CHILDREN'S GARDEN, CLOSES EAST END OF CROSS AXIS - COUNTRY HOUSE OF H. H. ROGERS, ESQ., SOUTH AMPTON, L. I. WALKER & GILLETTE, ARCHITECTS.

In contrast to the other two long vistas, the third parallel axis, opposite the service wing, is cut up into three cozy little square enclosures beyond the service court from which they are separated. First is a little grass court called the croquet garden; next, at the cross-axis, an exquisite garden of roses and cedars; and further on, a children's garden with a quaint playhouse in it. 

All this work, house and gardens, is conceived in the spirit of true architecture. The practical needs are completely fulfilled, and are expressed in terms of mass, shapes, colors, and textures, in the most perfect way. Fortunately the day of architecture copied from books and "examples" is passing, and we are glad to hail a work so free, so sure, and so splendidly dramatic. There is nothing so difficult as to be dramatic, without ever being theatrical.

House demolished in the 1930's.

Click HERE to see surviving outbuildings and perimeter walls.

Visit oldlongisland.com for more on "Black Point". 

Click HERE for link to view color photos of this property.