Large Home in Arkansas was Built for a Local Lumber Barron

Bottoms House, Texarkana Arkansas

Date added: August 05, 2024

Categories:
Arkansas
House

Do you have an update on the current status of this structure? Please tell us about it in the comments below.

The Bottoms House is an extraordinarily fine example of the "modern" residential architecture of the early twentieth century, outstanding in interior and exterior design alike. This property was built in 1910 for George W. Bottoms, a native of Virginia who moved to Texarkana in 1873 to become one of the town's most successful "lumber kings" during the turn of the century. Bottoms' house well reflects the prosperity of this gilded age in Texarkana's history. The design of the house harmoniously combines the sweeping horizontal lines and massing of the Prairie Style with the decorative interest of the Craftsman Style. Reflective of the Prairie Style are the building's dominant porch with its horizontal orientation enhanced by cast stone banding, its broad gambrel roof and its cast stone urns. While the influence of the Craftsman Style is apparent in the pseudo half-timbering, brackets and rafters that enrich the exterior, the impact of the movement is most apparent in the building's tulip-patterned beveled glass doors and windows and its interior expression, including rich woodwork replete with Tudor-arch decoration and built-in seating. The unique style and grand scale of the Bottoms House create an architecturally rich contribution to Texarkana's residential streetscape.

Building Description

Situated on a vast corner lot just a few blocks from Texarkana's oldest residential neighborhood, the Bottoms House suggests a transition into a modern idiom for residential architecture. The house's formal grounds are built up with berms, raising the house above grade and vesting it with a quality of grandeur. Built in 1910, the two-and-one-half-story, nearly symmetrical buff brick structure capped with a broad tile-covered clipped gable roof with a prominent gable-roofed dormer is the work of Texarkana architect Bayard Witt out of the C.H. Hill firm in Dallas, Texas. The house's scale and proportions, especially as captured in the sweeping horizontal lines of its one-story porch, reflect the influence of the Prairie Style while its decorative spirit, depicted in its pseudo half-timbering exquisite Tudoresque interior woodwork and art nouveau-inspired beveled glass, evokes the imagery of the Craftsman Style.

The principal (southwest) facade of the Bottoms House is dominated by its one-story hip-roofed porch. Raised slightly above grade, two ranges of low concrete steps lead to the porch's central entrance which is dramatically articulated by two huge brick piers. These piers penetrate the porch roof to flank the balustrade of a second-floor balcony where they terminate in stylized cast stone capitals surmounted by cast stone urns. Two brick platforms project from the base of the piers to frame the porch stairs and to form a pedestal for two period light fixtures. Brick piers of smaller dimensions but similar proportions, with bases articulated in cast stone trim, carry the porch's tile roof with exposed rafters and form the porte-cochere located at the western corner of the building. A low brick wall with cast stone coping forms the porch balustrade which terminates at the south end of the facade in a low brick pier surmounted by an urn.

The central focus established by the two dominant piers that flank the principal entrance carries through to the second story where the gambrel roof sweeps low on brackets to shelter the balcony. A pair of narrow multi-light doors leads to the balcony and two small square windows flank this doorway. To either side of the balcony, two twelve-over-one double-hung windows pierce the facade. Cast stone banding appearing above the windows wraps around the building to organize and define the second-floor elevations. Exposed rafters accentuate the lines of the gambrel roof which is penetrated by two brick chimneys. Capping the facade, a gable-roofed dormer with four diamond-paned windows, half-timbering in the gable ends and decorative brackets rises from the center axis of the house.

The principal elevation's fine fenestration and grand entrance are deeply shadowed by the porch roof. A very wide, solid wood door with a transom and sidelights set in a Tudor-arched opening comprises the principal entrance to the house. - The transom and sidelights feature beautiful beveled glass embellished with a tulip pattern that captures the essence of the decoration of the Craftsman era. To the west of the principal entrance four beveled glass windows with transoms, all composed of diamond-shaped panes, light the dining room and to the east, three windows light the parlor.

New stained glass, sympathetic in design to the decorative glass of the period, has replaced the original tulip-patterned beveled glass of the parlor windows. A now enclosed one-story porch that projects from the parlor on the southwest side of the house is visible from the principal elevation.

The house's side (northwest and southeast) elevations are quite similar in design. Both are characterized by the profile of the clipped gable and the pseudo half-timbering that enriches the gambrel end. On the northwest side of the house the porte-cochere impacts the almost symmetrical elevation while the enclosed side porch creates an analogous horizontal orientation on the southeast elevation. Twelve-over-one double-hung windows like those of the principal facade light the second story of the side elevations. On the southeast side of the house a range of concrete steps, articulated by flanking concrete pedestals with urns, provides access from the street to the elevated house site.

With regard to proportional relationships and formal elements, the rear (northeast) elevation of the Bottoms House reflects the articulation of the principal facade. The east end of the elevation is distinguished by fenestration of two narrow beveled glass windows flanking a wider window with stained glass transom that light the rear parlor. In contrast, the west side of the first floor rear elevation is dominated by a screened service porch. Upstairs, a central balcony that reiterates the design of the front elevation's balcony and a gable-roofed attic dormer command attention. The twelve-over-one light windows typical to the upper story of the house light the bedrooms that flank the balcony.

The grand proportions and fine detailing that characterized the exterior of the Bottoms House are reflected in its interior design. Nearly symmetrical in plan, the various dwelling rooms are situated around a massive central stair that commands a prominent vista from the entrance foyer. The staircase is rendered even more dramatic in the large foyer by the construction of an arcade of five Tudor arches that extends along the width of the foyer at the base of the stairs. The Tudor arch figures significantly in the decorative scheme of the Bottoms House interior appearing in its stair balustrade, paneling, and mantels. Under the stairs is a small alcove with built-in benches and panels of beveled glass in the tulip pattern typical to the house penetrates the wall behind the stair.

The entrance foyer affords access to a vast parlor that extends the entire width of the east side of the house and to the west, to the dining room. Although the parlor appears as one large room the rear section of the parlor is raised approximately six inches and a Tudor arch spans the room, further distinguishing the rear parlor which has been used by previous owners of the house as a music room. A door with beveled glass sidelights and transom in the front parlor leads to the enclosed porch, perhaps used in the past as a sleeping porch. Dark wood cornice moldings and baseboards, and built-in seating are reflective of the Craftsman influence. The dining room features rich paneled woodwork and exposed ceiling beams. The remainder of the first floor of the house is given to a kitchen that is located directly behind the dining room and to the side of an informal dining area. A service stair is located behind the main stairway and an elevator was added to the house circa 1950.

Upstairs, the central hall plan of the Bottoms House remains dominant. At the foot of the stairs, a den, generously lighted by its balcony's glass door and flanking windows, provides an attractive point of arrival. Built-in seating in the den was designed to conceal radiators. The second floor of the house contains four bedrooms, two on either side of the stairs. Each pair of bedrooms is served by a bathroom placed between the two. Double doors at the rear of the stair hall lead to the rear balcony. The architectural detailing of the second floor of the house does not exhibit the strong influence of the Craftsman Style that characterizes the downstairs spaces. Simple Classical baseboards, window and door surrounds, and mantels appear in each of the bedrooms.

A one-and-one-half-story carriage house is located to the north of the Bottoms House. In spite of its traditional utilitarian function, the building is attractively conceived and very much in harmony with the proportions and design details of the dwelling house. Of particular note are the carriage house's clipped gable roof with exposed rafters and brackets, and its multi-paned windows with articulated lintels.