Saturday, July 21, 2012

THE RESIDENCE OF JULIAN L. PEABODY, ESQ., AT WESTBURY, L. I. Peabody, Wilson & Brown, Architects

THE RESIDENCE OF JULIAN L. PEABODY, ESQ., AT WESTBURY, L. I. Peabody, Wilson & Brown, Architects 
Photographs by Tebbs



THE RESIDENCE OF JULIAN L. PEABODY, ESQ., AT WESTBURY, L. I. Peabody, Wilson & Brown, Architects

An adaptation of the Southern Colonial style has teen used in the architecture. The unusual height of the pillars is balanced by the width of the porch, together, with the two glassed in rooms at either side. This is the garden view.

ENTRANCE PORCH

The entrance porch is an elaboration of the usual Colonial stoop, the balustrading being the same as that used on the garden side of the house. Color relief is given the white shingled walls by the green blinds and box-bordered path.


STAIR HALL


The interior woodwork of the hall is remarkable for its fidelity of detail to original Colonial designs which, by the bye, is the ultimate test of the worth of modern Colonial architecture. Landscape paper of an old pattern hat been effectively used on the wall.


LIVING ROOM

A living-room that is immensely livable. Weathered oak, hand-adzed beams support the ceiling. The walls are rough plaster painted deep cream. Some of the furniture is oak, some is painted. The hangings and upholstery are blue. There is room enough for several distinct furniture groupings: a music corner around the piano, the center table and the fireplace davenport with its refectory table behind. A view through the doorway to the right is shown on ***below***.

ALLURING LEVELS

There is a singular fascination about a house with different floor levels. Its rooms seem, to have such different personalities. That is the feeling one has on ascending these three steps. From the living-room, ***shown above***, one climbs up to the drawing-room, which is entirely different in character as it is in use. Peabody. Wilson & Brown, architects.

DINING ROOM
A small room of striking individuality whose primitive atmosphere is retained in furniture and paper.

BREAKFAST ROOM

In the exterior view of this house, shown ***above***, will be noticed two porches enclosed in glass. In one is the breakfast room, shown to the left. Antique tile, brought from Sicily, forms the floor. The tile has a dull white ground, decorated with geometrical designs in blue and orange. On it are spread rush mats. A plant shelf ranges along one side. The furniture is of the simple farmhouse pattern. Altogether it is a room in which to start the day cheerily.
THE GARDEN WITHIN WALLS 
Through the cleverness of its architects and landscape gardeners, America is fast gaining a reputation for gardens that in previous years only Continental countries possessed. We can create the semblance of age and a rustic verisimilitude that took Europe generations to make. Here in this walled garden on the estate of Julian L. Peabody at Westbury, L. I., is displayed just such clever architecture and careful landscaping. Peabody, Wilson & Brown were the architects.

Not quite the same!
Click HERE to see at wikimapia with link to Bing, historicaerials.com and oldlongisland.com. 


5 comments:

  1. The last image is what occupies the site now?!!!

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    1. Yes. If you swing the Bing view to the south you can make out the original. Mynas does not show new construction - how or why they wrapped a brick veneer around structure..... I would suspect the interiors as originally laid out by Peabody are gone.

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  2. You really, really, really almost wished that they had just tore this place down instead of mutilating it so thoroughly. What were they thinking? Very unfortunate.

    The staircase is so graceful, I mean was so graceful.

    Archibuff

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  3. The mania to make an old house new, and make the design one's own, leads to some absolutely inexplicable choices, doesn't it? What a horror story. One tries to imagine the conversation: "Darling, let's buy this house---it's by a distinguished architect, has lovely interiors and grounds. It will be a lot of work but we can gut it and put in cheap stock moldings, and make the exterior bland."

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  4. The residence suffered a fire and was demolished c. 1978. The new architects tried to rebuild while keeping as much of the original property as possible.

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