A brochure advertising '
Chateau Ivor', the
Charles A. Gould estate designed by
John Russell Pope c. 1908 in
Dix Hills, with landscaping by the
Olmsted Brothers. Gould, an accountant from Buffalo, organized a steel coupling manufacturing company named the
Gould Coupler Company and was also in charge of the Gould Realty Company which had numerous land holdings in New York City. Click
HERE for more on '
Chateau Ivor'. The house has since been demolished but click
HERE to see where it would have stood on google earth.
A brochure advertising 'Chateau Ivor', the Charles A. Gould estate designed by John Russell Pope c. 1908 in Dix Hills, with landscaping by the Olmsted Brothers. Gould, an accountant from Buffalo, organized a steel coupling manufacturing company named the Gould Coupler Company and was also in charge of the Gould Realty Company which had numerous land holdings in New York City. Click HERE for more on 'Chateau Ivor'. The house has since been demolished but click HERE to see where it would have stood on google earth.
Brochure from the Gould family collection.
13 comments:
I can't decide if I love it or hate it- the central block appears tall to the point of ungainly and the wings out of proportion. I think i love it though. But what a location.
I never have resolved the great contrast between the main block and the wings and cannot help but think a different roof scheme all together might have made a difference. There was the minimum (or less) of closets, but that could have been worked out.
Here's a bit more on Chateauiver.
Isn't this just the ODDEST house? Beautifully detailed, elegantly conceived, and completely strange. Pope designed a very similar house at Bar Harbor for Evalyn Walsh McLean (owner of the Hope Diamond), which was never built, Mrs. McLean choosing instead to enlarge and remodel the existing house on the site. I mention this because the drawings were published in Architectural Record in 1911, and show a more evolved version of the design, better proportioned, which sort of blends his best French house, the Moses Taylor house in Portsmouth RI, and Chateauhuiver. The drawings can be seen by clicking the link below. It's rather as if Pope said 'let's try this again, and see if we don't get it right this time'.
http://thedowneastdilettante.blogspot.com/2010/02/mystery-house.html
Interesting if only because its unique and for that I can appreciate it being outside of traditional expectations. Does the design work? I cannot say to my eye that it comes off as charming or even terribly regal. I wonder if Pope viewed this as an exercise to keep a client happy.
Harrie Lindeberg in 1916 executed a lovely home in Lake Forest IL - Wyldwood - for Clyde M. Carr that is far more pleasing to the eye. It has that same tall French chateau center hall at its core but didn't so naked with its wings.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RgnEUF_cbQk/SLH6plDLMwI/AAAAAAAAAFE/XuPbBRXJcRY/s320/WyldwoodBack.JPG
I must admit that I love the eccentricity of that madly elevated roofline, sort of Louis XV on acid, no?
Interesting to compare this also with Pope's neo-classical English design for the Ogden Mills house at Syosset---sort of the same thing, only without the mad roof.
If you read from "The Acient's" link, it sounds as if it was planned to be much larger than it was..20 bedrooms?
I am fortunate enough to be in possession of a number of photos of Ivor showing it from mid-construction through life as the Gould residence. Much more to follow on the estate in the coming weeks.
1911 Architectural Record referenced in link Ancient posted{thanks Ancient!} -
http://books.google.com/books?id=2X5TAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=pope&f=false
Page 442 Recent Works of John Russell Pope - page 468 covers Gould. Other L.I. estates plus McLean's Washington D. C. home.
As mentioned in above article "It is one of those houses which will acquire charm from maturity". I like the French shooting box roof. Gardener's Cottage still stands and can be seen using Google Street view. Steep red tile roof matching main house -
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8127049&lon=-73.3482885&z=19&l=0&m=b&show=/13794152/Chateauiver-Gardener-s-Cottage
Updated HistoricAerial link showing house still standing.
I think the roofline is fantastic and I love it...not that my opinion matters. In examining the floor plan, it appears that the first floor bedroom at the end of that wing (on the left) can only be accessed by walking through another bedroom or a bathroom. That can't be right, can it?
Quirky look with a very traditional plan. The brochure mentions that the property was originally part of a much larger estate. Anyone know what larger estate? The Garrison book mentions 1,000 acres but no name.
I Googled the name of the then current owner (on the brochure) - Philippo Amari, and found Filippo "Phil" Amari prominent Jersey mobster c. 1930s-50s. I'm guessing it's the same guy.
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