Thursday, March 3, 2011

'Indian Neck Hall'

'Indian Neck Hall', the Frederick Gilbert Bourne estate designed by Ernest Flagg c. 1897 in Oakdale. Click HERE for more on 'Indian Neck Hall'.

17 comments:

La Petite Gallery said...

That is amazing how he could get permission to dig a canal to his house for the big yachts. Can't imagine owning 1000 acres and that mansion. Oh well, guess he sold a ton of Singer sewing machines.
Thanks for this great post.

yvonne

The Ancient said...

Any opinions as to whether the building would be improved with a different shade of white on the trim and columns (or several different shades)?

Doug Floor Plan said...

Ancient, I'm guessing you mean a color(s) that would soften the exterior. To me the current 'hard white' shade is fine because to me Indian Neck Hall has never looked like a private residence ... it's always had an institutional look to it, especially in the front.

Kellsboro Jack said...

The Commodore wasn't from money originally, but through the years with his professional connections to the Clark family (Singer Sewing) he did accumulate a fortune. He would have a large clutch of Board of Director titles with a wide range of businesses.

His Dark Island/The Towers up in the Thousand Islands is a far more fascinating architectural effort then Indian Hall in my view.

http://boldtcastle.wordpress.com/stories/other-places/dark-island/

In the last couple decades it was peddled for years off for well under $2M. That is until a noted island purveyor acquired it and was most recently pitched at $24.5M. It's a crazy world.

Anonymous said...

I know many don't, but I find Indian Neck Hall grand. Are the interiors preserved, or have they been stripped to make room for offices.

Also what's up with windows to the left of the rear-view?

The Devoted Classicist said...

To answer Ancient's question, I think the white colossal columns, entablature/eaves, window frames, etc., should be painted to match the color of the stone (limestone?) quoins, splayed lintels, loggia columns, etc. I would prefer the window sash and doors (except the main doors) to be this same stone color as well, although white for these elements would also be "correct".

As for the institutional scale, it could be eased with sensitive landscaping but there's no real getting around it. Not being familiar with the house, I thought those wings were over zealous later additions when I first saw the earlier post.

Security word, gynati: those who are all-knowing about lady parts.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Oh, let's just go Timothy Leary and paint each column a different dayglo color and be done with it. The hell with subtlety. Indian Neck Hall is about as subtle as Sophie Tucker anyway----although its size is indeed satisfying to the size queens amongst us.

lil' gay boy said...

Amen, DED!

No getting around it; this was a statement, not a residence ––– only fitting it should wind up as it has. From first brick to last, it was meant to be over-the-top, and has achieved that in spades.

One can only imagine the fun to be had in building something so completely out there, with nary a price tag in sight. When you look at the historic photos, it not only dominates the landscape but looms over it, even subsumes it.

Security word - prockin: family of the doctor who does an annual prostate exam.

ROS said...

What a glorious home!

wooded bliss said...

Its scary to me.. Growing up, I was constantly threatened with La Salle military Academy, when I was naughty.
Quite the mob alumni roster.

Doug Floor Plan said...

Ancient, see what you started; now Wooded Bliss is going to have nightmares! But what color(s) are the columns in these nightmares, Wooded?

Ancient, Classicist, DED, too bad we don't (yet) have the technology here to just try out a few colors; but I suspect a military academy would still buy what's on sale.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Oh, but Mr. Floorplan, we all have photoshop---we can try out all the colors we want!

The Ancient said...

I agree with DC: The building could be made less brutal, more or less for free.

(But it's irreducibly ridiculous as a piece of architecture.)

The Devoted Classicist said...

Sorry, but I forgot to say that I would paint the dormer trim and dormer windows to match the roof in this case. The dormers are utilitarian rather than decorative, so they should be less prominent in the decorative scheme.

Gary Lawrance said...

It's such a quirky house!
Some of these early houses were still stuck in the Victorian age. It had an elaborate greenhouse attached and the tower, while great for the view, doesn't seem to go with the style of house at all. I once had a basement to attic tour, and it is a fascinating house, and the interiors where intact then, about 20years ago, and I think they still might be. My one problem as an architect, is I never liked the round portico on the back of the house, not lining up with the front entrance. A Georgian style house like this was all about symmetry. But many of the gilded age houses, did sort of make a salad of architectural styles.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Mansions, so agreed with you about the odd shift in axis from front to back porticos.

Turner Pack Rats said...

addition to the Devoted Classicist definition = "gynati" -"those who are all-knowing about lady parts" and are well dressed to boot.

as usual, the biggest problem that makes this place look even starker than when it was built is that now there is nothing but token landscaping. that said, you'd have to have pretty dramatic shrubbery to overcome this place. i'm one of the "if you've got it, flaunt it" crowd. no point to having a sh**load of cash if people can't see it and you can't lord it over the peons.
as far as the symmetry thing goes, this isn't a shotgun shack so if the front door and back door don't line up, who cares. the only way you can tell is from the air and i ain't up there. Maybe Mansions and DED have put on "airs" and so can see both at the same time.

security word def - "nonvi" - text word for "you're not my type ie human"