100 year old Haverhill house has classic Shingle Style design
The Highlands of Haverhill is a neighborhood of marvelous houses. This house at 125 Arlington Street, is understated and small, compared to its neighbors, but well worth looking at.
When it was built in 1891, the Shingle Style - the extensive use of shingles to sheath walls and roof - was fashionable. Many architects simply added pieces of this style to a basic house, a shingled turret, a bowed window, a curved dormer, to please the homeowner. The architect of this house, however, understood the idea behind the Shingle Style: shingles, because they are nailed in place little piece by little piece, can cover a curved surface as a flat board - a clapboard, for example - cannot.
This house IS a curved surface, a round tower. And the design is so simple, the lines so smooth, that without its Victorian brackets, its small paned windows, it would look decidedly modern.
Everything reinforces the tower. The stone porch below supports it, heavy enough visually to carry the mass of the tower. The small windows hardly break the surface of the curve; the larger ones are set in a bay attached to the outside. The roof, a cone ending in a finial(not visible here) completes the shape. The wings and wooden porch give human scale. Without them the tower would be quite austere and forbidding.
The owner, Enoch Howes, was one of the partners of Woodman and Howes, shoe manufacturers. He moved from a classic Carpenter Gothic cottage in the center of town to the classic Shingle Style home in the Highlands.
The Haverhill Historical Society has portraits of him in his youth and later as a patriarch.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
#52 Carney's Stable, 117 Osgood St., North Andover
Carney left his mark with a magnificent carriage house
Turn onto Osgood Street at the North Common and immediately you will see this carriage house. And its mansion, which surely must be magnificent to deserve such an elaborate out-building? Where is it? Gone, without even a photograph remaining.
The carriage house was built about 1908 by Michael Carney, a successful liquor dealer from Lawrence. He bought the corner, its house and barns and about 60 additional acres when its owner, Josiah Crosby, successful at groceries but unsuccessful at real estate, sold 'Elm Vale' - his name for the property - at auction in 1885.
A carriage house is what its name implies: storage for carriages and tack, stalls for horses, a second floor for hay and living quarters for the horse men, a specialized barn. And what high style has been lavished upon this barn! The long line of the roof and the massive facade are broken by the middle section which sits out over the barn doors. The distinct sections are outlined with elaborate columns and strong returns at the eaves, as well as the horizontal band below the overhang. The Palladian window - named after the Italian, Palladio, who popularized the pattern of one arched window flanked by smaller side lights - would be acceptable in a church with its columns and brackets, its glass patterns. Just as acceptable would be that oval gable vent with its oversized keystones. Even the barn door bracing is ornamental, patterned into overlapping stars.
No wonder the corner was called Carney's Corner, and the carriage house, Carney's Stable.
Turn onto Osgood Street at the North Common and immediately you will see this carriage house. And its mansion, which surely must be magnificent to deserve such an elaborate out-building? Where is it? Gone, without even a photograph remaining.
The carriage house was built about 1908 by Michael Carney, a successful liquor dealer from Lawrence. He bought the corner, its house and barns and about 60 additional acres when its owner, Josiah Crosby, successful at groceries but unsuccessful at real estate, sold 'Elm Vale' - his name for the property - at auction in 1885.
A carriage house is what its name implies: storage for carriages and tack, stalls for horses, a second floor for hay and living quarters for the horse men, a specialized barn. And what high style has been lavished upon this barn! The long line of the roof and the massive facade are broken by the middle section which sits out over the barn doors. The distinct sections are outlined with elaborate columns and strong returns at the eaves, as well as the horizontal band below the overhang. The Palladian window - named after the Italian, Palladio, who popularized the pattern of one arched window flanked by smaller side lights - would be acceptable in a church with its columns and brackets, its glass patterns. Just as acceptable would be that oval gable vent with its oversized keystones. Even the barn door bracing is ornamental, patterned into overlapping stars.
No wonder the corner was called Carney's Corner, and the carriage house, Carney's Stable.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
#45 126-8 130-2 Main St. N., Andover
Victorian extravaganza seen in North Andover store fronts
On August 24, 1901, North Andover held a Firemens' Muster, an opportunity for the town to admire its fire equipment and the skill of its firemen. The downtown merchants added to the festivities by decorating their stores.
Here are the results: layers of bunting and flags, draped and tied, almost obscuring the buildings themselves. The building on the left houses John P. Murphy's Drug Store. On the right was the store of James W. Leitch, tinsmith and plumber, who also sold stoves and kitchen goods.
Both structures are basic boxes, adapted to the fashion of their times. The shapes are generous, broad and high, with lots of large windows. These were gracious flats for those who lived above the store. Both store fronts are recessed, welcoming the customer on the street by making a protected space, out of the sun or rain. The large plate glass windows, made possible by the latest technology, showed off the interior, and what was for sale, to the passer-by.
The builder of the drug store added his details to the front of the box: the corner tower, the second floor bay and the trim line (a 'belt course') above the third floor windows. The builder on the right cut into his shape. Not only did he recess the store front below the bay windows, he hollowed out a marvelous semi-circular balcony under the gable, creating quite private porch on a main street.
When you drive by, enjoy the combination of Victorian extravaganza, the fancy cut shingles and brackets at the eaves with the more sober Colonial Revival dentils and corner boards.
On August 24, 1901, North Andover held a Firemens' Muster, an opportunity for the town to admire its fire equipment and the skill of its firemen. The downtown merchants added to the festivities by decorating their stores.
Here are the results: layers of bunting and flags, draped and tied, almost obscuring the buildings themselves. The building on the left houses John P. Murphy's Drug Store. On the right was the store of James W. Leitch, tinsmith and plumber, who also sold stoves and kitchen goods.
Both structures are basic boxes, adapted to the fashion of their times. The shapes are generous, broad and high, with lots of large windows. These were gracious flats for those who lived above the store. Both store fronts are recessed, welcoming the customer on the street by making a protected space, out of the sun or rain. The large plate glass windows, made possible by the latest technology, showed off the interior, and what was for sale, to the passer-by.
The builder of the drug store added his details to the front of the box: the corner tower, the second floor bay and the trim line (a 'belt course') above the third floor windows. The builder on the right cut into his shape. Not only did he recess the store front below the bay windows, he hollowed out a marvelous semi-circular balcony under the gable, creating quite private porch on a main street.
When you drive by, enjoy the combination of Victorian extravaganza, the fancy cut shingles and brackets at the eaves with the more sober Colonial Revival dentils and corner boards.
Monday, August 31, 2009
#44 256 Haverhill St., Methuen
Date of Methuen farmhouse uncertain, but its grace is certain
Stop at the light at Lowell and Haverhill Streets in Methuen and admire the house across the road at 256 Haverhill St. The land at the intersection sets off the house and allows it to be seen much as it must have appeared in the 1850's, a simple Greek Revival farmhouse with Italianate details.
The written records for the house are sketchy. Oral history says it, along with the house on the corner of Haverhill and Forest Streets, and the farm across from it on Lowell Street, were built by the same carpenter. Certainly the Greek Revival details of this house can been seen in the others: the gable turned to the street, the wide roof overhang, its return at the eaves to create the capital for the columns on the corners of the house, the hoods over the windows and the arched window in the attic.
Here the porch has light, graceful Italianate arches with drops, little turned balls, at the center points. These are repeated on the ends of the brackets carrying the roof overhang.
The house has been owned by Vincent and Douglas Cox since 1941. Their grandfather, Patrick Cox reportedly bought the house and its farmland in 1850. But there is no record of the house on the 1846 map of Methuen. The house has a cut granite foundation and post and beam framing which could indicate construction about 1830. Italianate details weren't fashionable until the 1850's. Did Patrick Cox add the brackets and arches after the bought the house?
So when was it built? It doesn't really matter. The house itself, especially with its new coat of paint, has grace enough.
Note: This column was published in August, 1990. A few years later the house was torn down to make way for a new subdivision.
Stop at the light at Lowell and Haverhill Streets in Methuen and admire the house across the road at 256 Haverhill St. The land at the intersection sets off the house and allows it to be seen much as it must have appeared in the 1850's, a simple Greek Revival farmhouse with Italianate details.
The written records for the house are sketchy. Oral history says it, along with the house on the corner of Haverhill and Forest Streets, and the farm across from it on Lowell Street, were built by the same carpenter. Certainly the Greek Revival details of this house can been seen in the others: the gable turned to the street, the wide roof overhang, its return at the eaves to create the capital for the columns on the corners of the house, the hoods over the windows and the arched window in the attic.
Here the porch has light, graceful Italianate arches with drops, little turned balls, at the center points. These are repeated on the ends of the brackets carrying the roof overhang.
The house has been owned by Vincent and Douglas Cox since 1941. Their grandfather, Patrick Cox reportedly bought the house and its farmland in 1850. But there is no record of the house on the 1846 map of Methuen. The house has a cut granite foundation and post and beam framing which could indicate construction about 1830. Italianate details weren't fashionable until the 1850's. Did Patrick Cox add the brackets and arches after the bought the house?
So when was it built? It doesn't really matter. The house itself, especially with its new coat of paint, has grace enough.
Note: This column was published in August, 1990. A few years later the house was torn down to make way for a new subdivision.
#42 Salem St. and Holt Rd., Andover
Window provided clue that revealed house's true identity
At the corner of Salem Street and Gray Road in Andover stands a two story house with delicate Greek Revival detailing. Even the triangular window in the attic is ornate. But its windows are not placed in a classic pattern to match the trim, except on the east end. The front doors seems an afterthought, facing neither south to the weather nor presenting a welcoming face to the street.
It is one of those houses I kept on my list of puzzles until this week when I decided to write about a Holt house in honor of the Holt family reunion this weekend.
Nicholas and Elizabeth Holt came to Andover from Newbury in 1644. They settled on Holt Hill and prospered. The Andover Historical Society has a list with photographs of Holt properties, so I went to take a look. When I saw that unusual fancy window in the gable of the Holt School, I knew I had solved the puzzle.
William Jenkins built the new Holt School, the one in the picture, in the summer of 1869 for $1,642. The newspaper called it an "ornament to that part of town".
The old Holt School was moved to West Andover near Shattuck Farm.
In 1900, when the town decided to close the Holt School on Salem St., and transport students to the center of town, the school was sold to become a private home. The new owners added another floor and windows. The front doors, one for girls and one for boys, were blocked, no longer needed. The gable window remained.
Today, when I see the house, I still see the school children around it and children playing as in a Winslow Homer painting.
At the corner of Salem Street and Gray Road in Andover stands a two story house with delicate Greek Revival detailing. Even the triangular window in the attic is ornate. But its windows are not placed in a classic pattern to match the trim, except on the east end. The front doors seems an afterthought, facing neither south to the weather nor presenting a welcoming face to the street.
It is one of those houses I kept on my list of puzzles until this week when I decided to write about a Holt house in honor of the Holt family reunion this weekend.
Nicholas and Elizabeth Holt came to Andover from Newbury in 1644. They settled on Holt Hill and prospered. The Andover Historical Society has a list with photographs of Holt properties, so I went to take a look. When I saw that unusual fancy window in the gable of the Holt School, I knew I had solved the puzzle.
William Jenkins built the new Holt School, the one in the picture, in the summer of 1869 for $1,642. The newspaper called it an "ornament to that part of town".
The old Holt School was moved to West Andover near Shattuck Farm.
In 1900, when the town decided to close the Holt School on Salem St., and transport students to the center of town, the school was sold to become a private home. The new owners added another floor and windows. The front doors, one for girls and one for boys, were blocked, no longer needed. The gable window remained.
Today, when I see the house, I still see the school children around it and children playing as in a Winslow Homer painting.
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