Latest Structures Page 147

St. Davids Church, Radnor Pennsylvania

St. Davids Church, Radnor Pennsylvania

The cornerstone for this church was laid on May 9, 1715. The east gable has a 1715 date stone, which is a modern recutting. The church opened in 1717. The original church was a simple, one-room rectangular stone structure with a gable roof. The design was adapted from Welsh country church architecture. The original rectangular section is still one-room in plan, and measures 40' x 27'. It has increased in size by the addition of an exterior stairway and a rear addition. Its exterior is largely unaltered, and the originality of its design is evident here. The arched windows and the main south entrance still remain. Its interior, in contrast, has been altered over the years, although its simple appearance has

Tower Hill 2 Mine & Coke Ovens, Tower Hill Pennsylvania

Tower Hill 2 Mine & Coke Ovens, Tower Hill Pennsylvania

The Tower Hill No. 2 mine is situated adjacent to the south side of its associated company town (also called Tower Hill No. 2) in Luzerne Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Tower Hill No. 2 was a bituminous mine that contained both extractive and processing facilities in addition to the company town. Tower Hill No. 2 was constructed in 1907 by the Tower Hill-Connellsville Coke Company of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and coal was first extracted in September of the same year. Beehive and rectangular ovens were utilized on the site for cooking the coal to produce coke. By 1913, the Tower Hill-Connellsville Coke Company was the third largest coal producer in the 16^th Bituminous District, producing 621,278 tons. With short periods of closure,

Tuller Hotel, Detroit Michigan

Tuller Hotel, Detroit Michigan

The Tuller Hotel was one of the largest luxury hotels in Detroit in the early twentieth century, with 800 rooms, each with a private bath. It was also the first hotel built in Detroit's Grand Circus Park district. Lew Whiting Tuller (1869-1957), who erected and operated this hotel, was a major builder of hotels and apartment houses in Detroit in the 1900s and 1910s. The three distinct buildings which comprise the Tuller Hotel share a common Italian Renaissance styling.

Singer Tower New York City New York

Singer Tower New York City New York

One of the outstanding works of architect Ernest Flagg, the Singer Tower was for sixty years a familiar silhouette on the New York skyline. Ironically, the height of the building had established two records: in 1908, at 41 stories, it became the tallest building ever constructed, and in 1967 it became the tallest building ever demolished. The lobby was renowned for its elegant marble and bronze decor. Perhaps most importantly, the tower exemplified Flagg's ideas on city planning, which were incorporated in part into the New York City zoning ordinances of 1916. In order to provide adequate air and light for all offices, Flagg envisaged a city of towers, in which the first five or six stories of every building would

Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation, Geismar Louisiana

Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation, Geismar Louisiana

Seven miles above the Darrow ferry, facing the Mississippi River across a great mall and backed by enormous oaks, stands Belle Helene, one of the most impressive examples of the Greek Revival in Louisiana. Its faded yellow washed walls, the gray woodwork and the small peak of purple slate roof showing above the heavy Greek cornice leaves an unforgettable impression of simplicity as achieved by the plantation builders during the most affluent period of Louisiana's history. We have become so accustomed to seeing the plantation house through the vista of a large avenue of oaks that we sense a realization of new ideas. Was it perhaps inspired by the romantic trend of England where the houses were being placed with extensive

Oak Alley Plantation Vacherie, St James Parish Louisiana

Oak Alley Plantation Vacherie, St James Parish Louisiana

Originally named Bon Sejour, Oak Alley was built in 1837-39 by George Swainey for Jacques Telesphore Roman, brother of Andre Roman who was twice governor of Louisiana. Joseph Pilie, Jacques Telesphore Roman's father-in-law, was an architect and is thought to have provided the design of Oak Alley. Oak Alley's most distinguishing architectural feature is a full peripteral (free-standing) colonnade of 28 colossal Doric columns. Such plantation houses were once scattered along the Mississippi valley, though Oak Alley is probably the finest of those remaining. In 1866, Oak Alley was sold at auction to John Armstrong. Several owners followed Armstrong, and by the 1920s, the house was is in a state of deterioration. Andrew and Josephine Stewart purchased the property in 1925

Rosedown Plantation, St Francisville Louisiana

Rosedown Plantation, St Francisville Louisiana

No house in Louisiana gives a better idea of an old Louisiana plantation home than does Rosedown, built at the end of an avenue of oaks. Between these oaks is marble statuary, copies of well known classical works bought in Italy by the Turnbulls in 1851. On each side of the avenue is a Victorian garden laid out in a Victorian manner reminescent of the French naturalistic gardens of that date. The two summer houses in these gardens were built in 1895. To the right of the house is a box garden similar to many in this area that were done in the 20's and is a reflection of late Eighteenth Century box gardens of Virginia, The small summer house in

Magnolia Plantation, Natchitoches Louisiana

Magnolia Plantation, Natchitoches Louisiana

Lands within Magnolia Plantation have been owned and cultivated by the same family since the French land grants of 1753. Magnolia remains one of the South's most complete plantation complexes, with buildings and landscape features spanning its entire 250-year history. Noteworthy are the oak alley, a nationally significant cotton press, the brick slave quarters later used for tenant housing, a slave hospital, a blacksmith shop, the plantation store, and the big house with private chapel. The Magnolia Plantation big house is an 1890s interpretation of the raised Creole cottages constructed on the Cane River plantations since the early 1800s. The balloon frame house was built in the 1890s on top of the walls and foundation of a two-story brick raised Creole

Bolingbroke Mansion, Radnor Pennsylvania

Bolingbroke Mansion, Radnor Pennsylvania

Sections of this home date from 1700 and 1792. However many additions and alterations, mostly in the early 1900s transformer this early fieldstone farmhouse into a mansion. The first floor of the home consists of a center hall plan, with one large parlor on the left, and three other main rooms on the right. There is also a kitchen and service wing. The second floor has nine bedrooms and four bathrooms. The third floor has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Ownership pre 1792 is unknown. From 1792-1811 it was owned by David Brooke, from 1811-1828 it was own by David Brooke heirs, from 1828-1866 John Stacker, from 1866-1887 John Staker Jr, from 1887-1901 heirs of John Stacker Jr, from 1901-1950 Ledyard

Fort Hunter Mansion, Fort Hunter Pennsylvania

Fort Hunter Mansion, Fort Hunter Pennsylvania

The first settler at this place was Benjamin Chambers, a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, in 1720. Three brothers joined him and in 1735-6 one or more went south to Cumberland County, where they founded Chambersburg. Joseph and Thomas Chambers seem to have remained and built buildings and two grist mills and a saw mill. At any rate the Land office records show that the whole property was resurveyed in 1763 to William Foulke and Samuel Hunter in trust for the heirs of Joseph and Thomas Chambers. In 1773 it was divided and resurveyed to William Foulke and John Garber and patented, the northern part to Foulke and the southern part to Garber. By the County records both tracts were sold in 1787 by

Mayfield (Willaim Ebbs House), West Chester Pennsylvania

Mayfield (Willaim Ebbs House), West Chester Pennsylvania

William Ebbs, who built the house, died in 1861. His widow continued to live there until her death in 1878. Her daughter, Elizabeth Ebbs, was married in 1879 to Henry Pepper Norris, who died in 1892, leaving a son, Henry Pepper Norris. John Chatley, Jr., bought the house from Mrs. Henry Neel, a relative of Henry Pepper Norris, in 1970. A kitchen wing was added to the north of the house in about 1915. The original kitchen was located in the basement. Also at that date the original conservatory, located on the west wall of the house, was rebuilt. In 1972, the glass sides and roof of the conservatory were removed, leaving only the brick walls. The porch to the east

George Ege Mansion, Robesonia Pennsylvania

George Ege Mansion, Robesonia Pennsylvania

The Ege Mansion is a large, two-story, stone house with fine Georgian details. The house has been enlarged by an open porch on the west side and a large kitchen and service wing on the east. The south (front) and north (or garden) facades have not been changed. The house is in excellent condition and is well maintained by the present owners. The walls and foundation are of stone, the porch on the west side is frame. Two interior chimneys rise above the gable roof, marking the center of the rooms that flank the central hall. The central door of the south front is a finely detailed Georgian type with the arch above the recessed entry projecting into the classic pediment.

Edison Hart Electrical Power Substation, Detroit Michigan

Edison Hart Electrical Power Substation, Detroit Michigan

The Detroit Edison Hart Substation is typical of the kind of electrical substations built for the Detroit Edison Company in the early 20^th century to step down (reduce) high voltage incoming electric current before distribution to residential lines and industrial customers; original equipment also converted incoming alternating current into direct current for streetcar lines. The Detroit Edison Hart Substation is a two-story, steel and reinforced-concrete structure located on the southwest corner of the intersection of East Vernor and Hart on the far east side of Detroit. The building is approximately 43 feet in height. Basically rectangular in shape, the substation measures 167 feet long on the west and 84 feet wide along Vernor. However, a small section of the rectangle (25'

John F. Singer House Mansion, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

John F. Singer House Mansion, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

John F. Singer was a partner with Alexander Nimick in Singer-Nimick & Co., iron manufacturers. The house was completed in 1869 at a reported cost of $65,000. Originally part of a large country estate in the small village of Wilkinsburg (now included within the Pittsburgh city limits), the house and chapel stand alone at the center of a residential area bordering on an urban commercial district. Occupied by the Singer family until the early 1880's, the house stood vacant for a time before being used as a bachelors' club, known as Dixon Manor. In the 1920s it was purchased and split into a two family apartment. The house, completed in 1869, was known as the most pretentious and elegantly appointed as

Seven Oaks Plantation (Petit Desert), Westwego Louisiana

Seven Oaks Plantation (Petit Desert), Westwego Louisiana

This Once Grand Greek Revival Mansion was Demolished in 1977

At Westwego across the river from uptown New Orleans stands one of the most impressive of Louisiana's great Greek Revival plantation mansions. Only Oak Alley in St. James Pariah exceeds it in architectural merit among the surviving plantation houses which are completely surrounded by a colonnade running through two stories and with an upper gallery. But whereas Oak Alley stands beautifully restored behind its magnificent avenue of oaks in a lovely park-like setting, Seven Oaks, neglected by its railroad owners, is rapidly crumbling to ruin surrounded by huge black oil tanks and the remnants of its once beautiful oaks. This was once the proud residence of a wealthy sugar planter, Camille Zeringue, undoubtedly a descendant of one of New Orleans' first

Parlange Plantation House, New Roads Louisiana

Parlange Plantation House, New Roads Louisiana

On the high banks of False River in Pointe Coupee Parish, stands Parlange at the end of an avenue of cypress and against a grove of oaks. It is one of the last of the plantation houses built in the tradition that was brought to Louisiana from the French Islands of the West Indies. This Parish was an early French settlement; traditions have lingered long and the only innovations were decorations and details of new styles brought to the plantation from New Orleans, but the forms are the survivals of another day. Well can believe the tradition, that the house was built by the Marquis Vincent de Ternant at the middle of the eighteenth century when he acquired the land through

Fannie Riche Plantation House, New Roads Louisiana

Fannie Riche Plantation House, New Roads Louisiana

New Roads in Pointe Coupee Parish is one of the few portions of Louisiana that to-day still has marked French characteristics, and, though it is doubtful if any of its buildings go back to the French days, what remains was built in a tradition that had been inherited, and, as is so interesting in Louisiana architecture, the older forms are clothed in the details of the newer generation which was imeriean. Fannie Riche so well represents this peculiar phase - a West Indian house raised higher than usual with a porch on three sides. The roof is hipped with an over-hang of cut brackets and on the front are two small dormers with engaged columns similar to the mantels in the

Guarantee Trust and Loan Company, Ltd. Detroit Michigan

Guarantee Trust and Loan Company, Ltd. Detroit Michigan

The Guarantee Trust & Loan Company building has a Neo-classical designed facade with influences of the Chicago commercial style. Its granite facade has a bracketed cornice, one large plate glass window to one side, and a doorway to the other. It is a single-story rectangular structure with a basement. The ground floor contains three rooms, one of which is a vault. The structure also has a basement. There is a second entryway at the rear. The building is flanked on both sides by other commercial structures. To its rear are residential buildings. The Guarantee Trust and Loan Company was founded in 1915. The structure was constructed in 1932 by Samuel L. May to house the Guarantee Trust and Loan Company and

Leonard W. Jerome Mansion, New York City New York

Leonard W. Jerome Mansion, New York City New York

This complex of buildings, which was very elegant when built, originally consisted of a residence, stables, and private theater. It was part of the exclusive residential neighborhood surrounding Madison Square and was built by the well known banker and broker, Leonard W. Jerome, who was Winston Churchill's grandfather. Its subsequent tenants, various private city clubs, continued its original associations with a luxurious way of life. The Jerome Mansion was actually a group of three buildings which form a continuous facade along East 26^th Street. Occupying the western two-fifths of the lot is the house proper, and on the eastern portion of the lot are the stables, originally with a ballroom above. Between these two buildings is a connecting structure, originally a

Hyde Hall Mansion, East Springfield (Cooperstown) New York

Hyde Hall Mansion, East Springfield (Cooperstown) New York

The main part of the house was completed in 1815 in the Colonial style by by George Clarke, a great grandson of the Colonial governor of New York. It is two stories high and 200 feet long. Later the present facade was added in the Empire style - 100 feet in length with two rooms on either side of a large entrance hall (1832). It was noted in the Freemans Journal on June 4, 1891 that that part of Hyde Hall which was left unfinished by George Clarke the elder, who constructed it at periods from 1816 to 1832, has just been finished by his grandson G. Hyde Clarke, the present occupant. This two-story stone house has a portico with an

Book Title Abandoned America: Dismantling The Dream

Abandoned America: Dismantling The Dream

Book Title Abandoned Palaces (Abandoned Places)

Abandoned Palaces (Abandoned Places)

Book Title Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences (Jonglez photo books)

Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences (Jonglez photo books)

Book Title Lost Places: Images of Bygone America

Lost Places: Images of Bygone America

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