CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FINE ARTS LIBRARY - Find Cuts 1401S” : GREEK REVIVAL AND COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE 1G. BF IN IPHACA N.Y. AND VICINITY 2 SB Of domestic Greek Revival work we hear little. We may explain this in many ways. It violated the technique of wood design by following a style perfected in stone and hence jarred on the sensibilities of a people accus- toned to regard the native delicate Colonial style as the only true domestic style developed in our country. And who wants to live in a Greek temple any- w= As one party said who lives in an old Greek Revival house in the town, It's like living in a tomb." Yet why do we stop to look twice when we pass one of these old buildings and examine the subtle lines and undercuttings in the moldings and cornices, the refinements that show a true appreciation of the old Greek work? Surely this work must have unconsciously affected the taste of those who saw it every day. You may say that the only ones who appre- strate the buildings were the carpenters and they probably took the lines straight out of the book, but I believe in the idea that there was in general groping for culture that manifested itself in these neat little white build- tags which dot the countryside. | We should not attempt to judge the old work by our standards of to- day for we would find them sadly lacking in many points of comfort and conven- idnce. Plan was almost completely subservient to elevation, the lighting was. pdor due to heavy porticos, and in the case of the little farmhouse the second story was dwarfed to half-size and lighted by little windows in the frieze of ie order called "Lie-on-your-stomach" windows. Yet we never pass. them without being conscious of the contrast they make with the average cheap modern house however completely equipped it may be to make life comfortable. It is another nd a nearer of the countless echoes of that mighty style developed two thousand years ago in another continent and as such cannot be passed without remark. | But Ithaca also had its share of good Colonial work. This was a result of the building of-éarly settlers from New England and the South and occurred before Greek Revival work began. A sketch of the town history and a discussion of its typical buildings will make this clear. | Ithaca was a settlement in the late part of the 18th century, was iacorporated as a town in 1821 and saw its first newspaper in 1819, an eight- d gossipy sheet treating of local items, sales and exchanges of classic books salt in bulk, want-ads for stray cows, stage arrivals and departures, and lled-for mail at the postoffice but no reference to local buildings or their builders. The local histories revel in flourishing tributes to the natural scenery, the first steamboat on the lake and its thrilling initial voyage, ex- _fended evlogies on the big citizens but no clue is given as to the old architec- ture. The only authentic account of any of the builders is one Ira Tilletson who came here in 1810 and did most of the early building among which was the Judd use, illustrated elsewhere. There is preserved his account with Charles Hum phrey the owner in the form of an itemized bill of costs of everything from the lid for the cellar stove to the screws in the stair-hand-rail. A page of this is réproduced here. We may assume that most of the work including the emall farm fases around were done by men of his stamp and from examination of the buildings we also may assume that they often rendered original versions of the classic ele-. ments, as for instance in the House at Forest Home. Lo —2— Nearly all of the early mayors of the town were from New England, usually Connecticut or Massachusetts or from the South, usually Virginia. As representitives of the population this accounts for the Colonial buildings. There are illustrated here four Colonial buildings- The Wells House, The Judd House, the Old Bank of Newburgh and the house at Cayuta Lake, near Ithaca. I shall discuss them in this order. Lucius Wells came from Lenox, Massachusetts about 1810 and shortly after built a residetice, now occupied by his grand-daughter, Miss. Ackley, on the corner of Cayuga and Green Streets. It is a brick structure done in Flemish bond, very carefully worked out and displaying a high grade of craftmanship. The work is consistent in spirit within and without. The moldings are quite “delicate and graceful in line and in the case of those of the mantel in the parlovr are carved entirely by hand. The undercutting is carried to the limit. The elliptical recesses over the door and windows add quite a little charm to the facade. This is practically the only example of a colonial brick building in the town and is an example of building influenced by settlers from other districts. The Judd House takes its name from the people now occupying the house who have carefully preserved and even restored the house with the aim of retain- ing its original appearance. It was built by Captain Charles Humphrey, a veteran of the war of 1812 and an energetic and philanthropic early citizen of the town. It was built in 1828 on its present site, Cayuga and Mill Streets. The itemized bill of costs referred to before contains some interesting contrasts with present ‘day prices. Labor worked for a dollar a day, the cost of digging the cellar was nine dollars and sixty-two cents, one item for hauling lumber, seventeen cents, the "collums" of the portico cost six dollaré and the total cost of the house and the barn included was two thousand, one hundred and five dollars and sixty-six cents. The contrast of the matched siding under the portico and the clapboards on the sides is quite pleasing. It will be noticed that the cornice on the left end of the house does not return on the side at its full projection. I am told this was done to save money as that side was the property line and hence little seen. The frieze is a wide board upon which the architrave is nailed. The portico pediment space is used inside for a sewing room. It is three steps up from the second story level and is more spacious than might be imagined from the outside. There is projection sufficient for modillions on the main cornice but they were never applied. The house is quite nice in character and attracts much attention from passers-bye (\8\2) the 01d Bank of Newburgh is commonly known as the George House due to a family of that name taking it in a dilapidated condition, fixing it up and f 4ts original site on State Street to its present site beside the Ft oe on Mill streak. It was built by Charles Humphrey as the Ithaca branch of the Bank of Newburgh. In spite of its public function the design retains much of a domestic character. The interior is spacious and contains a well-designed stairway as well as some interesting mantel-pieces. The attenuated pilasters with their curious capitals and the delicate cornice give quite a graceful char- acter. to the building. The combination of matched siding and clapboards which is often done in this region affords a nice contrast of light and shade. The door-. way has a deep inset. on the sides which was undoubtedly done to light the hall a thru the side-lights and also so as not to interfere with the relation of the door width to the spacing between the two central pilasters. The iron railing may have been added later. The simplicity of the design is especially to be commended as evidenced in the treatment of the window trim The cast-iron grille in the basement window was probably put in later, having been taken from some old Greek Revival House in the vicinity. It is typical of this kind of grille, the design being based on the anthemion. The house at Cayuta Lake is the best Colonial example in the vicinity and compares favorably with any work in the country of its kind. It was built about 1825 by Southern settleré who it is said brought slaves with them and one is shown sheds reputed to be the old slave quarters. At any rate things are laid out on a luxurious scale and it seems no expense was spared to make an ideal country home. The house is situated at the end of a long lot, facing a long vista bordered on either side by great locust trees out to the road where the lot ends with an old picket fence. The back of the house faces on a gentle slope with summer houses done in trellis work and looks down on Cayuta Lake which lies some fourteen miles south-west of Ithaca. The service wing is teated simply and the door which is in splendid scale with the main part of the house is paneled in a@ most attractive manner. It is a dummy door I am told. At any rate it has no means of being opened now. The portico columns were turned from solid whitepine logs. The story goes that they were hauled by oxen to New York City to be turned. They must at any rate have been hauled some distance for there were no mills in the vicinity large enough to do the job. The portico railing is quite an ornament to the house. Matched siding and clapboards are combined very effectively. The front door is very attractive with its leaded fan-light and side-lights. The in- terior is very spacious and quite well lighted. A stair hall runs through and con tains a broad staircase with spindle balustrade running up to the third floor. The rooms are large and six of them contain Italian marble fire-places. - The Greek Revival-work came later and extended from about 1820 to 1850. | It took a strong hold on the community and the majority of the old buildings are in this style, including the out~lying farmhouses. These buildings developed into a definite type, a classic pediment entablature returned a short ways on the front of the building, small "Lie-on-your-stomach" windows in the frieze on the side, occassionally pilasters on the corners, and a doorway of classic detail on the -—. front. The classic refinements were used such as breaking the architrave at the top undercuttings on the moldings and a slight batter on the jamb. Of course in adapting classic elements to a small house many inconsistencies occurred. It was impossible to make things entirely symmetrical but they greatly reflect the charm of Greek design. If any one ever made a sacrifice for art, they did in point of comforte These buildings varied in detail in various localities but in general followed a set formula. This may seem monotonus but it was a good formula. We never object to good sonnets though they follow a set metrical arrangement. The large town-houses were usually of the Doric order and often Ionic with free-stand- ing colonnades of four or six columns with great heavy entablatures carried out in almost absolute stone character. Here and there in the country near the towns situated on well-chosen sites commanding beautiful vistas are the homes of the wealthy. ‘They are nearly all deserted now and were built during a period of finan- cial inflation. These Greek temples are quite striking as one comes upon them standing solitary and neglected. ohn | I have chosen the three best local examples which show an attempt to - translate this stone style into wood design. They are: The House at Forest Home ; the Dean House and the Giles Homestead. The little house at Forest Home departs Leonsiderably from the customary formula and displays a great deal of ingenuity “on the part of the builder. Entablature although rather heavy in mass is quite , interesting in detail as the profiles show two octagonal moldings which take the “place of the conventional bed moldings. They have an undercutting which forms a ‘deep shadow which is attractive. The slope of the pediment forces the upper -windows out of alignment with the lower which probably hurts the design. The columns are quite unusual, the fluting stops about an inch below the cap abruptly and gives the appearance of a jacket about the shaft. The door is considerably lightened by delicate paneling which also occurs on the side and soffit of the architrave. This building never fails to attract favorable comment by those who have seen it. The Dean House on Tioga Street is an isolated example of the Corin- thian Order. It has been re=modelled to its detriment and I show only the old part of the house. The porch is too shallow to be useful. The side pilasters may be criticized as being too light but the detail is very nice especially the cast-iron capitals, the decoration over the door and the cast-iron grille in the front. The cornice is light and graceful. The Giles Homestead was built about 18230 by two brothers named Giles. Their object, so the story goes, was to live under the same roof with their fami- lies and yet insure family felicity so the house was built symmetrical on the main axis and communication between the two parts could only be had by opening the sliding door in the parlor or meeting in the stairhall. Each entrance had its own walk and front gate. The site was well selected and the house well placed on the lot. The elder Giles willed the house to the University. Professor Corson bought it and lived in it until his death. Then it became the Sturges Preparatory School and now it is the Lutheran Chapel and home of Reverend Horn. The timbers under the first floor are of enormous proportions, rough-hewn and fastened with ' wooden pegs through mortise and tenon. The walls are built of two-inch vertical planking. The design of the house reflects an intelligent knowledge and true sympathy for the lines of Greek architecture. The outside is finished with matched siding of variable widths. The parlor is especially attractive and the pilasters are lovely in detail. (Vegred: Char/eg “Yorve Coe Z c \qz24 ity Libra NA 7238.18S88 reek revival and colonial architecture 24 014 765