by John Griffin
he Centennial
Exhibition in 1876 celebrated 100 years of American independence. It was
a display of late 19th-century materialism, not a romantic depiction of
our colonial origins. But it sparked a renewed interest in the colonial
architecture and decorative arts of the Atlantic seaboard colonies. The
restoration of Williamsburg was undertaken, and the Colonial Revival style
swept the nation in the 1920s and '30s.
The
simple Colonial house was a stark contrast to the richness of preceding
Victorian forms, and even the concurrently popular Tudor and Mediterranean
styles were typically asymmetrical and volumetrically more complex. The
earliest proponents of the Colonial Revival must have felt intellectually
smug in their simplicity, very modern in their self-imposed restraint.
Furniture got lighter, too. Windows were numerous and meant to be thrown open. Bare wood floors were an option, where 20 years before, rugs on rugs were de rigueur. The most favored new furnishings for a Colonial Revival living room were a spinning wheel and an un-upholstered, high-backed rocking chair.
This house is classic Colonial Revival. Perfectly symmetrical save for the sunroom hidden off the south side by an evergreen chinafir (Cunninghamia lanceolata `glauca', if you really must know). Windows are paired. The entry portico with curved underside and delicate paired columns is a more accurate copy of the refined Adam style than you find on most Colonial Revivals.
Inside, a spacious center hall is graced by a well-turned balustrade ornamenting the staircase. Two elements here also remain: an Eastlake pier mirror, with its marble-topped console, and a Karastan runner that carpets the staircase. It's an elegant entry. One side of the main floor is given over completely to the living room, which runs 30 feet from front to back. The sunroom adjoins, and extends, this space. The fireplace at the far end of the living room has an appropriate delicately carved Colonial mantel, with marble surround and hearth.
The other half of the ground floor is a spacious dining room with eat-in kitchen behind. All these public rooms have random-width pegged-oak floors and wood-paneled wainscotting. The kitchen was renovated in the 1960s, when a St. Charles kitchen was installed. The layout still works well. A simple paint job and new countertops would do wonders. The '60s renovation included a cathedral-ceiling den addition, with exposed beams and massive brick fireplace. This family area connects to backyard entertainment areas and a guesthouse.
Upstairs, the master bedroom has a private bath with double sinks at a marble-topped vanity and dual walk-in closets. A connecting sitting room has a fireplace marking the living room. Two of the remaining bedrooms have walk-ins, and the last bedroom, with its cherry bookcases, would double as home office or guest bedroom. The main bath has been redone, but retains its marble shower and pedestal sink. Plantation shutters grace every window upstairs, allowing privacy and views out to the rolling landscape of Hein Park.
Hein Park was laid out in the 1920s, when Rhodes College's initial building campaign was announced. Its streets follow Cypress Creek, giving it a naturalistic feel quite distinct from the city grid. It was built with houses large and small to encourage a diverse community within its borders, and has rarely suffered for lack of buyers at either end of the scale.
The houses in Hein Park are a compendium of '20s
and '30s styles but largely Tudor -- as a more than passing nod to the Gothic
college -- and Colonial Revivals. This week's house is at the larger end
of the scale. It sits, as do most homes in the neighborhood, well back from
the street, with a scattering of large trees across its deep lawn. Note
there aren't even sidewalks here, which, with the deep setbacks, reinforces
the obvious Arcadian intentions. What better setting for this restrained
Colonial classic?
600 Center Drive
Approximately 3,600 sq. ft.
4 bdrms, 2 1/2 baths; $347,000
Realtor: Hobson Co., 761-1622
Agent: Mary Frances Pitts