'
The Orchard', the
James Lawrence Breese estate designed by
McKim, Mead & White between 1898-1907 in
Southampton. Breese was a member of the brokerage firm of
Breese & Smith and was well known in
Southampton as one who constructed and operated race cars which he entered in various races held out East. His obituary also credits him with introducing "the hobby of amateur color photography" which he practiced at his studio on West 16th Street in Manhattan. The core of '
The Orchards' was an 18th century farm house that was moved to the site. He was friends with both
Stanford White and
Charles McKim and had a hand in the design of his house. According to SPLIA, McKim handled the exteriors while White was responsible for the interiors, including the remodeling of the music room. Two other office assistants lent a hand as well, Frederick J. Adams and
Harrie Lindeberg. Breese died in the home on Christmas of 1934 at the age of 80. The estate was later owned by
Charles Merrill and has since been converted into condominiums. Click
HERE to see
'The Orchard' on google earth and
HERE on bing.
Pictures from House & Garden, 1903.
8 comments:
Were those aerials taken before the conversion to condos? Just wondering since there doesn't seem to be any on site parking.
You must read about Breese and The Orchard in his daughter Frances Breese Miller's charming memoir "Tanty: Encounters with the Past" (Sag Harbor: Sandbox Press, 1979).
if you are in the room all the way to the left and you left the keys to the rolls in the room all the way to the right, you're gonna be late. what a rambler - i know - they were masters but its like they kept saying, "oh, just one more room". love that run on loggia or grape arbor or whatever and glad to see it survived unlike most of the gardens.
security word def - (had to mistype it as it was an actual word - oops.
there - that's better - 2nd security word def - "schipho" - mental condition where people driving only talk on their cell phones half the time - extremely rare - patients should be treated with extreme caution as they exhibit short periods of intelligence and lucidity which they are unequipped to deal with. if one is encountered, call the Guinness book of world records - it hasn't happened yet.
Read more on The Orchard pages 173-181 - http://www.archive.org/details/americanestatesg00ferruoft
sorry zach - i guess those cell phone users are feistier than they look.
i forgot to mention that for all the rambling this house does, all the features that MM&W tacked on are fantastic. they just kept adding all their signature pieces in one house. a neo neo-col. way cool.
security word def - "reckle" - facial characteristic that doesn't enhance your looks OR make you look cute.
A great favorite of mine. When McKim etc. were good, they were very good.
Glad to see the developers saw the house's potential and didn't replace it with a ticky tacky building.
Post a Comment