Friday, April 22, 2011

The 'Erchless' Tea House / Pool Cabana

One of the two tea houses/pool cabanas at 'Erchless', the Howard Phipps estate designed by Adams & Prentice c. 1935 in Old Westbury. Click HERE for more on the tea houses.

23 comments:

Turner Pack Rats said...

hmmm - i don't think i'd mind slipping in there and smokin a little "tea" or am i thinking about the wrong kind of tea but there's enough houses so you could take your pick. it's nice to see these little details that were so often lost over the years preserved. now don't be koi with me.

security word def - "kershi" - a small town in pennsylvania famous for its candy dogs.

Turner Pack Rats said...

leaving this comment here rather than at the end of 48 others. in addition to jen ross's sensitive treatment, i find some consolation in the Dorothy Parker quote in the Observer article re:King Kong. that one will keep me laughing for quite some time.
One more slam and that's for that dimwitted reporter following the devil around on the CBS video. not exactly BBC level investigative journalism as in "And Mr. B, how did this pristinely kept mansion get so run down under your ownership?" instead she just gawked and nodded like a 3 year old. Candy, little girl?

Security word def - "sclan" - a text word referring to almost any real estate deal on Long Island (and in Maine for that matter)

Doug Floor Plan said...

In the enlarged photo you can easily see this pool cabana has the astrological male symbol on the door; which is much nicer than if they had used the international male symbol you see at the airport. I think we shouldn’t be surprised that a grand old estate like ‘Erchless’ has not gone unisex. I wonder how different the interiors are?

Beautiful structure, beautifully maintained.

The Devoted Classicist said...

A pair of outbuildings are always much appreciated and these are particularly charming. Also, I like the pair of spouting stone koi.

Doug Floor Plan said...

Since no one else has opined on the possible interior differences between the male & female cabanas, I will.

The interior of the female cabana: yes, the red door is the first hint that inside awaits something akin to the pampered world of Elizabeth Arden.

The interior of the male cabana: concrete, metal, wood with splinters, a clean window would be helpful.

Anonymous said...

No....the male cabana was very nice...not at all how you make it to appear.

Anonymous said...

What Anon 8:36 said.

Turner Pack Rats said...

DFP - and the seat is up

security word def - "doggido" - OMG - the computers have taken over - a word that defines itself. i feel more vestigial than ever.

Doug Floor Plan said...

TPR, I'd be impressed if the seat is attached so you even have the option of raising it.

While in the female cabana: the fluffy, warmed, monogrammed towels perfectly match the veining in the marble sinks.

No new post today – so I’m running with this one.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

New link added to the Smithsonian archives with color photos of the grounds of Echless taken in 2002.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.776658&lon=-73.5873485&z=16&l=0&m=b&show=/2121785/Erchless


Look for this book for B/W photos of Echless from an earlier time.


Many more estates from the area can be found by entering here.

Searching mansions, gardens in general could foretell a stiff neck!!!

lil' gay boy said...

Kiddies, in my day "tea houses" were something entirely different (although most did come with a "pool boy")...hmmm.

Make of it what you will.

I've always loved driving by Erchless, even though it's mostly obscured from the road ––– just knowing those lovingly manicured acres lie just beyond view are fair comfort indeed. The gardens' true beauty lie in their simplicity.

Security word - aventske: de rigueur equipment for a fixed-window poolhouse.

Anonymous said...

If no one else is going to ask I will...Anons 8:36 and 10:46 what are they like inside?

Anonymous said...

Off subject...but I was driving down Post today on my way to Coe Hall and passed Knole with the missing gates....my heart instantly ripped too pieces.

I'm trying to pinpoint what it is, or what mythic quality it conjure's in me as to why I take it so desperately to heart when one of these homes are demolished, sub-divided or altered....maybe it's a feeling that we've become a total disposable culture....everything is faux and not meant to last.... we destroy true art and craftsmanship in place of cheap mass-produced rubbish.....I'm not sure what I'm trying to say...had one too many wines and find myself longing for a past I never lived....and possibly is much romanticized.

lil' gay boy said...

For me it's always been the allure of association ––– of being just a little bit closer, or a little more "in-the-know" about an event in our social history that is common knowledge outside of our own little world, i.e., the great unwashed. That people and events well known to many are somehow more intimate details for us cognoscenti.

All the architectural minutiae, amusing social mores and scandalous couplings & recouplings are more than just the window dressing, but somehow less than the trappings of history.

"The night Ann shot Billy? Goodness, I never dreamt they'd even make it home alive! You know how aggressive he always got behind the wheel of that Studebaker with the custom Cadillac engine he was always boasting about ––– and, as you well know, when it rains Berry Hill Road can be very, very treacherous..."

Or some such scenario.

Security word - qualog: homemade horse tranquilizer usually cooked up in double-wides deep in the New England backwoods.

lil' gay boy said...

Sorry, I simply cannot resist:

"...what are they like inside?"

Heaven, my dears; absolute heaven...

;-)

Anonymous said...

I don't think that's it....I'm not very interested in the personal stories of the people that lived in these homes...nor am I impressed or entertained by the more scandalous intrigues. For me, its all about the architecture...the details....the gardens and statuary....the art and furnishings...it's the loss of those things that leaves me feeling very empty...

lil' gay boy said...

"...it's the loss of those things that leaves me feeling very empty..."

I hear you, and feel the same, too. I guess I just didn't convey that sense of "loss-of-ownership" as eloquently as you. We may not own it, but it still belongs to us.

lil' gay boy said...

For some of certain faiths, today represents renewal, and the promise of new life.

Brought to you courtesy of Planting Fields Arboretum, Mussorgsky's "Promenade" from his Pictures At An Exhibition, and my trusty Nikon (with a little help from Mother Nature), I offer a brief respite from all the Lands End mishegoss (see how I cleverly weaseled in that interfaith political-correctness?)

;-)

Happy Easter ––– enjoy!

Anonymous said...

LGB....that's beautiful!!! I was just there this past Saturday...and even though it was overcast...the gardens were still a joy to the senses.

Let it also be said that various pagans sects also believed in rebirth at this time of the year......

lil' gay boy said...

Here it is ––– a little late for the vernal equinox, but my best effort at Coe Hall as seen by Paganini through my lens finder (so far).

Enjoy!

Laura from RI said...

LGB,
Was it the Studillac ? I thought Billy & Ann took their 1954 T-Bird...hmmm. The one that Nashua paid for.

Turner Pack Rats said...

Laura - not to be politically incorrect here but don't women know anything about cars - there is no such thing as a 54 T-bird. the first was built in 55.

Anon - you sound depressed by the loss of those gates. i think you and LGB should get together and chug-a-lug a couple pints of this fine vintage qualog i'm sending you. mmm-mmm good. Betty Lou and I will drive in down in the Studillac or perhaps my new Studamino (that's my truck to you city boys)

security word def - "chorpin" - what ahm goin to hit you brats with if'n you don't get to work. or a little known composer famous for incorporating bird calls (live) into his compositions. Sadly, deceased when carried off by a condor.

Anonymous said...

TPR...I am more than depressed...and wouldn't mind chugging down a few pints in remembrance....