Pulling it all Together

When I visited Marblehead last month, someone commented that they wondered if people in Marblehead noticed all the beautiful details in the homes they walked past every day.  I thought, how could not not?  A few weeks after I first made the posts, I got the following comment:  "As a resident of Marblehead, you often take the town's architecture for granted until the arrival of guests."

Well, I'm here to admit, I'm guilty of the same offense.  After going through all of the options for sidelights and doors on the Simpson website, my tour of East Cambridge as well as my own library of Greek Revival photos, the answer was two doors down the street from me.  This little cottage (above) built in 1841 is exactly the same size as my house and, although, altered very differently through the years, still has its original sidelights.  Although I envisioned mine much differently, they are exactly the same width...

...as the skinny (lavender or puce) spaces we found under the trim and vinyl siding on both sides of my door.

Don't I feel stupid!

I can't even express how much I love my new windows.  The gaps left after the old trim was removed have all been plastered in while we wait for the casings to be made.  A few people commented that the windows reminded them of old places in the South.  

That's a very astute observation.  Many of the southern plantation mansions right down to the gunshot houses of New Orleans...

...we built during the Greek Revival period and have many of the same details.

Here's a view of the windows looking into the living as one walks down the stairs.  My first feeling is that I want to keep them unobstructed which will be difficult in a 11.5 x 11.5 foot room.   The room has a much more elegant feeling...

...dare I say a little Cote de Texas elegant.  Silk drapes aren't really in the budget right now but it's fun to dream.  Think how fun it would be for the cats to climb some nice new silk drapes!

These are the four crown moldings that still have to be put on the house.  I've really come to trust the contractors judgment so I let him pick.  I would have really suffered through a week of sleepless nights picking these.

One crown molding is going here under the porch soffit.

Here's one little piece installed.  It just softens all the sharp corners a little bit.

One goes at the top of the frieze about the second floor windows.  This will go all the way around the entire house.  And then more up under the rake where the attic vent is attached.

And then another one goes up inside the porch around the edges of the beadboard.  This beadboard will get painted the traditional New England sky blue color. 

The original sky blue color was quite electric...

...as seen here on this old house in Marblehead.

I'm using Benjamin Moore's "Clear Skies" which is a little softer.

I think it will look nice with the gray too.

Body color

 Trim color

Door/shutters

The trim has been added on the new living room windows.

The clapboard siding is done on the front.  The first floor and third floor will be getting a tongue and groove cedar siding which, again, is a traditional treatment.  The flat boards were used to make the facade look more like a stone temple but I can't figure out why the clapboards on the second floor.  

Maybe it's a mistake but...

...a lot of houses have the same treatment.

And remember this?

This is what it looks like how.  Still some work to do on the soffits and gutters.  They did most of this siding in one day.

My poor garden.

And just a little reminder of the "before" and the "now."

I think they might install the columns tomorrow!

I Can't Help Myself

I had to leave work early today to pick up my updated blueprints to get them to the Zoning Board by tomorrow's deadline so I thought I'd stop by this great little import store that's near my architect's house/office. I've wanted a little table for my back porch to set a cup of coffee or a cocktail and some snacks for guests. I found this little metal table from Africa made from a vintage sign. I liked that it didn't look new and I love the vintage green color. Sitting out in the weather, I even hope it gets rusty.

I'm never caught without my camera anymore, not just because of the blog, but I'm really trying to capture house colors and details like wrought iron railings, light fixtures, etc. As I was on my way back to the car with my new little table, I saw this huge Greek Revival house down an unassuming side street. And I just can't help myself. I had to snap a few photos.
This house is presently being operated as an inn so it's had some alterations that aren't typical such as the bridge with the big round window. The bridge was created to leave a driveway that dips down to a parking lot. This is the first Greek Revival I've seen that has pilasters that go right up the center of the house rather than just at the corners.

Here are those windows that go to the floor and check out the little wreath details on the entablature of the porch. Also notice the tongue-and-groove siding. The entire front facade of this house in done in the same siding. This was done to make it look more like stone, just like a Greek temple.
I'm not sure if this right-hand side of the house is original or not but this portico entry with square columns is beautiful. What do you think of the light? There were no electric lights when this house was built so who's to say what's appropriate. But I feel this light feels too colonial.
Here's a close-up of the fluted ionic columns. Fancier columns for a fancier house. And no porch railings. I'll bet their lawyers (or insurance carriers) made them put up the railings to limit access to the railing-less deck.
Here you can see the underside of the porch, painted sky blue just like many New England homes. And the deck is a dark green which is pleasant compared to the typical gray. Except for the Paul Revere light, I think this place has been beautifully restored.

Inverted Porch Greek Revivals

If porches were belly buttons, these Greek Revivals would have innies. These inverted-porch Greek Revivals, are a less common variation of the style--at least around the city--but no less beautiful. In fact, I think these look more like the Greek temples they are meant to emulate.

This one has some great stonework. Love the granite stairs.

I saw this one on the news when a bank robbery suspect fled the scene, broke into this house and was up on the roof to escape the police. I tracked it down from the news reports.

This one was just restored and it's really beautiful.

This one is just to the left of the one before. It's got a real vintage charm.

And this one just cracks me up. Those columns are crazy. The first floor windows open up like french glass doors which is really unusual. And I love the little detail over the attic window.

Happy President's Day, Mr. Jefferson

President's Day is normally reserved to celebrate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I don't think these great men will mind sharing the spotlight today with Thomas Jefferson, the father of Greek Revival architecture.

After the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the new United States of America wanted to distance itself from all things England including its architecture. Jefferson, a big fan of ancient Greek and Roman styles, appointed Benjamin Henry Latrobe as surveyor of public building to execute his vision. Latrobe interpreted these ancient styles often incorporating his own elements of decoration such as:

Corncobs,

tobacco leaves,

and magnolias.

Latrobe's Second Bank of the United States is a fine example of Greek Revival architecture.

Sympathizing with Greece's struggle for independence from the Ottoman empire, America fell in love with all things Greek. The appetite started with public buildings but spread to the homes--the temples--of America's wealthy merchants, quickly becoming called the "National Style."

Architectural pattern books such as Asher Benjamin's The Practical House Carpenter, then made the Greek Revival home available to everyday Americans, from farmhouses in Vermont and Upstate New York to coopers in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

All along the Eastern United States, you will find these homes in communities built in the first half of the 19th Century. This style dominated the landscape until the Civil war.

So, on this President's Day, we salute you, Mr. Jefferson, for this beautiful American invention.

Urban Perspectives

Yesterday morning we were getting a little bit of snow from the big storm that hit Washington, D.C. and I decided to go out for a walk to look for more Greek Revival houses around the neighborhood. (Note the car matches the front door! Maybe a new trend?)

When I was trying to get a close up of the profile of the top of the rear pilaster, I was engaged by this view. Even though this is a fairly large two-and-a-half-story house, it's totally dwarfed by the four-story apartment building behind it. I thought was a great urban perspective.

Greek Revivals in the Neighborhood

Here are some wonderful examples of Greek Revival homes right my own neighborhood. Many of them are quite large but others such as the blue one in the middle are cottages just like mine. As small as they are, the "cottages" were sometimes two-family homes occupied by new immigrants that worked in local factories.

This home below was the home of Charles Valentine who owned and operated a large soap factory in Cambridgeport. He built many of the cottages in which his workers lived. Some of the "soapworkers cottages" are now on National Register of Historic Landmarks. This home won a preservation award when it was restored several years ago.

I particularly love the ones that have the floor to ceiling windows on the first floor.

It's Greek to me.

I have to admit, when I bought my house I didn't know a lot about Greek Revival style. I had previously lived in a condominium in a Greek Revival house that had a large porch across the front but my new house was oriented differently. This is that Greek Revival house with its flank side turned to the street.

It wasn't until I came across this house (below left) by Harvard University that I really understood what my house should look like. I've pasted the two photos next to each other so you can see what my house should look like. My porch is missing and all the characteristic details have been presumably covered up by the vinyl siding...at least I'm hoping they're still there. I'm excited to find this example of Greek Revival architecture so I can use it as model to restore my house.

As it turns out, there are quite a few other examples of the Greek Revival style right in the city so I'll set out to find them. I'll also see if the local Historical Commission can help.