Thursday, February 16, 2012

'Woodley'

'Woodley', the Cornelius W. Provost estate designed by Henry Otis Chapman c. 1912 in Muttontown. Provost was a partner in the brokerage firm of Provost Brothers. Click HERE to see 'Woodley' on google earth and HERE on bing. Photo from Examples of Work by Lewis & Valentine, 1916.

12 comments:

The Devoted Classicist said...

What an unusual placement of columns! I like the use of awnings, but would have been tempted to remove the shutters and use the same treatment for all the windows. And I like the ground floor at grade level; it is appropriate for this villa with access to the garden.

Anonymous said...

Current house looks completely different from original from window arrangement to roofline.

The Ancient said...

There's a picture of the current front here:

http://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/01/39/13/88_big.jpg

The Down East Dilettante said...

well, this one doesn't require much thought.

chipon1 said...

all,
are you sure that it is the same house. between the bow window, the steep roof , and added wings i am unable to see anything that leads me to believe that it is the same house.

Anonymous said...

The front facade with the large stair landing window also makes the current home look very different from the original. I presume it underwent a significant rebuild back in the day.

Zach L. said...

Well here's what we know...

The home was subsequently called 'Woodstock Manor' by the next owner. Woodstock Court dead ends at this residence.

SPLIA and Spinzia list the house as being extant and on Mill River Road which is about 400 feet from the residence. Clearly there was a later subdivision of the property as the entrance would have originally been from Mill River Rd.

I didn't create the Wikimapia tag that I linked to, it had been there for quite some time. So I suppose my question would be...if this isn't it...which house is?

Doug Floor Plan said...

I don’t know where ‘Woodley’ is today but I’m pretty certain it’s not this house. I found this house on Historic Aerials with the earliest photograph being 1966. In 1966 this house looked pretty much as it does today & is surrounded by a square of acreage bounded by Northern Boulevard, Mill River Road, the tree-lined road to the west, & the unnamed road just to the north of Woodstock Court. The only other structure in this square in 1966 is what appears to be a barn/stable to the southeast (where a big, rectangular swimming pool sits now). Woodstock Court doesn’t exist in 1966 & the entrance drive is from the previously-referenced unnamed road & the drive first curves to the east (this portion still exists) & then back west towards the house. In the back of the house there is an alee all the way to Northern Boulevard, part of which still survives.

I looked around for something that might be ‘Woodley’ today & this is the closest thing I found: http://binged.it/Aezk8X … but I don’t think this is it, either. Another mystery to add to a long list.

Anonymous said...

Well the alternative looks alot closer to the original with a hip roof and wide overhaninging eaves and allowing for obvious renovations/additions over the past 100 years, it certainly might be Woodley.

Woodstock was subdivided in the late 70's and its interesting to see that with all the surrounding land and infinite possibilities for locating a new home, one was built smack in the middle of the formal allee of trees, directly on center with the sight lines from the old home, so the original landscaping composition is forever destroyed and whats left doesnt benefit either home.

Anonymous said...

That is not Woodley. I owned the home until 2 years ago and had the original plans and photographs. The house was never modified, although the property was severely subdivided.

The house sits at the end of what is now Woodstock Court and retains its original footprint, cypress siding, windows, columns, etc. The bow window was added in 1939.

Brian Baugh said...

My parents built the house that winds up in the middle of the formal Garden/ alee area in 1981. I lived there from 81 until 96. Building a house in that spot was really the best place to do it. A long pergola sits right outside French doors the main living room and it looks beautiful out there. When building a house you decide what's going to look best for your house necessarily how it looks historically to the original House it belong to. my parents still live there if anybody wants to take a look you're more than welcome. just contact me and I can set it up. I would love to find original photographs of the Garden area to see what it look like back in the day

Brian Baugh said...

My parents built the house that winds up in the middle of the formal Garden/ alee area in 1981. I lived there from 81 until 96. Building a house in that spot was really the best place to do it. A long pergola sits right outside French doors the main living room and it looks beautiful out there. When building a house you decide what's going to look best for your house necessarily how it looks historically to the original House it belong to. my parents still live there if anybody wants to take a look you're more than welcome. just contact me and I can set it up. I would love to find original photographs of the Garden area to see what it look like back in the day