Photos from Architecture, 1900.
Monday, May 21, 2012
'Martin Hall'
'Martin Hall', the James E. Martin estate designed by Little & O'Connor c. 1900 in Great Neck. Following Martin's untimely death in 1905 his widow, Florence C. Brokaw, remarried Dr. Preston Pope Satterwhite. The house burned down in 1932 and the property was subdivided in 1937. Click HERE for more history on 'Martin Hall'.
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Great Neck
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Well, ugly or beautiful is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but no one can argue that it certainly is exuberant. Really exuberant. That hall is practically psychedelic.
To me the exterior of ‘Martin Hall’ bears a passing resemblance to ‘Indian Neck Hall’ (both built 1900) – I make the comparison because I’ve complained that ‘Indian Neck Hall’ doesn’t look like a private residence but, for some reason ‘Martin Hall’ does … at least on the exterior. On the interior ‘Indian Neck Hall’ looks like a private residence (of huge proportions); & while the interior of ‘Martin Hall’ also looks like a private residence as HPHS previously observed: it also looks like the interior of a Mississippi Steamboat.
The center portion of the stables is amazing – the James E. Martins seem to have had a preference for over-sized entrances.
Funny, to me Martin Hall, particularly on the rear facade, looks about as residential as a sanitarium.
Here's a link to a couple of photos of the Satterwhite's Palm Beach house, speaking of over the top interiors.
Is the large brick stable the carriage house/playhouse with the Spanish ballroom that supposedly survives? DED I think you forgot the link to the Palm Beach photos. Certainly is a showy place.
Okay once again uneven criticism abounds. While a certain other architect would be flogged and stung up if his name was listed in the credits for this place, (you know the one who supposedly mistakes ornamentation for architecture) but here we just get architecture that is exuberant? Thats it? If CPH designed this there would be belly aches and critical scorn in spades. Did Little and O'Connor own a woodworking business because this home is crammed full of enough details and finished carvings for eight separate houses.
This is more like steam boat/New Orleans bordello on crack to me. That being said, its also funny, but I like the place, but where is the call to count the number of window types used on this home? I think I counted 7 or 8 on that first photo alone. I do like an architect who tried to do something different from the typical and boring staid and proper center hall Georgian and Italianate Villas which are drowled over on this blog again and again and extolled and praised. Oh so boring. Here we have something as far from boring as possible.
That stairhall is catering sized gargantuan as is the rear two storey portico. Wonderful IMO. In fact that rear facade grows on me the longer I look at it. Yet this house is definitely heavy handed and way over the top in every single imaginable way, but again, all is forgiven because 3 initials are not on the design credits. The stables could pass for their own mansion. Thumbs up for the wonderfully in your face design.
Archibuff, my only argument ever about CPH is when he's mentioned in the first string of designers, which he is not, or when Winfield or the like are referred to as masterpieces, which they are not. I really don't single him out. Plenty of other ardhitects designed bad buildings---and this is one of them---although it's also sort of fun. Trust me, if someone started calling Little & O'Connor geniuses, or this house a masterpiece, I'd take up the battle. But nobody does.
Here's the link I once again forgot to paste in for the Satterwhite's 'Casa Florencia' in Palm Beach.
http://www.floridamemory.com/solr-search/results/?q=%28casa%20florencia%20OR%20tt%3Acasa%20florencia^10%29&query=casa%20florencia
DED, thanks for the link -- Addison Mizner knew what he was doing (I hope we all agree on that); but I don't like the Gothic dining room because I could never hide my peas under the mashed potatoes in there because I'd always know that God was watching. (Yes, I'm a meat & potatoes guy)
Here are some photos of the stair hall after the house was redecorated in the 1920s. http://garylawrance.blogspot.com/2012/05/martin-hall-martin-satterwhite-estate.html
At first blush I was kind of reminded of the Ambrose Clark place -- although on the interior of this is way-over-the-top, Magnificent Ambersons country.
But what a delightfully Victorian plethora of bibelots, brick-a-brak and whatnot on that hall table!
Great link to the post-renovation home. The house was tamed. Mississippi River Boat became Trans-Atlantic Steamer.
The Palm Beach Link is also fantastic. While not exactly suitable architecture for a beach house, that dining room apse is spectacular.
For those interested, the stable remains here, minus the west wing:
http://www.bing.com/maps/#JnE9Lm1hcnRpbiUyYmNvdXJ0JTI1MmMlMmJncmVhdCUyYm5lY2slMjUyYyUyYm55JTdlc3N0LjAlN2VwZy4xJmJiPTYyLjA2OTk0MDA4MTk5MzElN2UtNDUuNjc4MjM3OTE1JTdlOS42Mzc1ODE3OTAxNzk0OCU3ZS0xMDIuMjc5ODAwNDE1
I want to take this opportunity to align myself with archibuff --
"This is more like steam boat/New Orleans bordello on crack to me."
lil's link pointing to the converted stable sited on the South curve of Martin Ct horseshoe, a stones throw from where Martin's brother-in-law Wm Gould Brokaw's 'Nirvana' main residence stood -just where Beach Rd takes a sharp North bend- remains permanently undeveloped county wetland, i.e. prone to local seepage.)
Best news is ample new material on it and its vicinity's Homes And Haunts to keep websites like this running in perpetuity!
It needs more arches.
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