From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
This wood-framed house is two stories high, two bays wide, but with a 3-story pedimented tower angled out 45-degrees from its left front corner. The roof is hipped with projecting gabled bays and dormers, and clad with asphalt. It has a molded verge board. There is a brick center chimney. Corner boards, wood banding along the top of the second floor windows and bottom of first floor windows, water-table, and vertical bay-defining boards all reveal its Stick Style design. A wrap-around porch, from front to a right side ell, has a pediment with incised decoration above its entrance, four turned posts, two engaged turned posts, scroll sawn and incised braces and valances, and a railing with millwork balusters below arches. The front door is a 2-part Dutch type with a 9-light Queen Anne-style window over three panels. A 1-story lean-to is located behind the right-side ell. A 2-story canted bay window with projecting pedimented gable roof supported by scroll sawn corner braces below is located on the left side. There are a number of original 5-o-1 and 9-o-1 windows; others have been replaced. The foundation is of rough-faced cut stone.
NOTE: On the 1876 Beers Map, there are two properties labeled Mrs. M. Newton and J. S. Smith; the houses on which appear to have been demolished and replaced by this one.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
This property was owned by Mr. Ensign Loomis until 1855 when he sold it to Mr. James S. Smith who lived at the residence until 1888. Mr. Murry A. Brown bought the property in 1888 and sold it two years later to Issac J. Newton. Mr. Newton lived in the house until 1935 when he sold the house to Mr. Adelbert I. Newton and his wife, Beatrice. In 1943, Edward and Ora Burke bought the house. In 1989 the property was sold to Doralene Davis who sold it to Marc Rosenthal in 2000.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:
1876 Beers Map
Town of Lenox Assessors Records
Registry of Deeds, Pittsfield
Lenox Town Hall records
McAlester, Lee and Virginia, A Field Guide to American Houses, p. 262-267
36 Cliffwood St., Churchill Satterlee House – c. 1880
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
The style of this house is Italianate. It features a front gable roof (from which the brackets have probably been removed) with eave returns and pedimented dormers on both the right and left sides, also having eave returns. Slate shingles clad the roof and dormers. There are two interior brick chimneys and round- or Roman-arched attic windows. A 2-story canted bay window, with flared pent between first and second floors is set well back from the front facade. It serves as the terminus for a porch that extends across the front and wraps around to the right side. The porch has seven chamfered pillars and two pilasters, incised scroll sawn brackets and braces, a spindled balustrade and a standing seam metal roof. First floor windows on the front facade are very tall. Most of the windows are intact 2-o-2 double hung sashes. There is a 2-story rear ell. The stone foundation has beaded joints. The house has been resided with metal clapboard and the window blinds are decorative. The building now houses law offices, which are posted on a ground-mounted sign in the front yard. The yard contains mature deciduous trees and shrubs. Several bluestone slabs provide a walkway up to the porch entrance.
NOTE: This house is not depicted on the 1876 Beers Map, but the lot is labeled “E. Loomis.”
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
Orginally built as a summer home, it was named Syringa Cottage because the Latin word Syringa means Lilac. Lilac bushes surround the property. This cottage was the home of Mrs. Churchill Satterlee. In the 1950’s it was the office of Dr. Harter. Dr. Harter sold the property to Charles Alberti. In 1979, Mr. Charles Alberti sold the property to Mr. and Mrs. Philip Heller.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:
1876 Beers Map
Assessor’s Reports
Lenox Town Hall Records
Mr. Philip Heller
Wood, David, Lenox Massachusetts Shire Town, p. 201
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
The design of this house combines features of the Gothic Revival and Queen Anne styles. It is wood framed with a front gable roof clad in asphalt, with a decorative verge board with a wavy edge overlaid with a sawtooth board and spire at its peak. There is a large shed-roofed dormer on its right side. An exposed and painted brick side wall chimney is on the left facade along with a large, 3-story square tower with hipped roof. The front door surround has panels on its sides, with a transom over the door only. A front porch wraps around to the right side of the house; it has a hipped roof, 7 chamfered columns, and millwork railing. A 1-story ell on the right side, with a second front facing entrance, may have been a portion of the wrap-around porch that was enclosed to provide a vestibule. The 2-o-2 windows look to be original and have authentic window blinds.
NOTE: The house is sited on a large tract of land labeled “E. Loomis” on the 1876 Beers Map (no house depicted).
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
This house was first built by the Clifford family of Lenox. The Clifford family lived at this sold the house address until they sold the house to the Mole family. Mrs. Peter J. Piretti acquired the property in 1976.
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox historical Commission
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
This house was designed as a modern interpretation of the English Cottage style that became exceedingly popular in the early 20th century and is essentially intact. It is a stucco-clad wood-framed house, two stories high and four bays wide. It has a steeply pitched cross-gable roof with slate shingles. The front facade is asymmetrically organized and articulated. A front gabled entrance pavilion has a painted brick kneewall and round-arched door surround with quoining and soldier course brickwork. Within this surround is a unique multi-pane sidelight-transom combination that echoes the arch of the surround and door itself. The front door has a full-length 15-light window topped by a fanlight. On the second floor above the front entry is a 3-part window with a large 12-light window flanked by 8-light casements. To the right of the entry pavilion is a painted brick front wall chimney; to the left is mid-floor level round-arched window (indicative of an interior stair landing). A recessed ell off the left side has a lower gable roof and massive brick chimney and is fronted by a shed-roofed porch. A slightly recessed wing off the right side of the main house has a roof that extends down to the top of the first floor on the front facade. A 2-story cross-gabled rear ell has two sections, with two brick interior chimneys. Eight-light casement windows are generally grouped into sets of four. There is a c.1883 wood-framed, front gable-roofed barn located behind the house. The house is sited well back from Cliffwood Street. The grounds are extensive, with open lawns, mature coniferous and deciduous trees. An in-ground pool is located behind the house; tennis courts occupy the outer portion of the left side yard. Curvilinear driveways have access to Cliffwood at two points plus via an alley running along the left property line. Chainlink fencing surrounds most of the property.
“For many years a partner with William A. Delano under the name of Delano & Aldrich, a firm which designed many buildings of note, both public and residential. Born and educated at Providence, R. I., Mr. Aldrich prepared for a career in architecture in study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Awarded his diploma at the latter school in 1900, he returned to New York and three years later began practice in association with Mr. Delano. After their first important commission, Walters Art Gallery at Baltimore (1904), the partners enjoyed an active and highly successful career, in which their best known works were: Union Club, Park Avenue, New York; The Colony and Knickerbocker Clubs in New York; Japanese Embassy at Washington, D.C., the new Embassy of the U. S. at Paris, France; School of Music at Smith College, Northampton, Mass.; Chapel and Dormitories, Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Conn.; Riggs Foundation Building, Stockbridge, Mass.; Russell Sage Music Building at Northfield, Mass.; Sterling Laboratories and Sage Hall, Yale University; Willard Straight Hall at Cornell University (1925); and their outstanding achievement, the new Post Office Department Building at Washington, D. C., completed in 1933.
“In the field of domestic architecture the firm won added distinction. The country estates and homes designed for many prominent persons were not-worthy for their good taste, dignity and charm. Outstanding examples of these were the Estate of the late John D. Rockefeller at Pocantico Hills, summer home of Otto Kahn at Cold Springs Harbor, Long Island, residence for Vincent Astor, Port Washington Long Island, Mrs. Dwight Morrow’s home at Englewood, N. J., and at Lenox Mass., residence for Osgood Field.
“A distinguished member of the profession, Mr. Aldrich was admitted to the A.I.A. in 1907 and in 1916 became a Fellow. He was an active member of the New York Chapter, A.I.A., the Architectural League of New York, the Society of Beaux Arts Architects, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the National Academy of Art, and many social organizations. Mr. Aldrich remained a bachelor all his life. He spent many years visiting in Italy, a country for which he had deep affection, and his death occurred during a stay in Rome.” [Cited a New York Times obituary: 12/27/1940.][1]
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
This house was built as a summer home by Mr. and Mrs. George Folsom in 1884. Mr. Folsom was the law partner to President Grover Cleveland. Miss Frances Folsom married the President in the first White House wedding. She was 22 years old and President Cleveland was 50 at the time. In 1925 the original house was destroyed by fire and it was rebuilt the following year. The next owner was William T. Barnum sold the house to Mr. James G. Fletcher who was the Superintendent of the Lenox Public Schools. In 1948 Mrs. Bonnie Siegal sold the house to Mrs. Janet Upjohn Stearns. Mrs. Stearns sold the house to Louis and Doris S of Schroeter in 1970. In 1974, the Delvechio family bought the house and lived in it until 1986 when they sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Uwe Wascher.
Sylvie M. Nathanson of Sarasota, FL. acquired the property in 1991.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:
Town of Lenox Assessor’s Report
Lewis, Arnold, American Country Houses of the Gilded Age, p. 13
Lenox Town Hall Records
Registry of Deeds, Pittsfield
Mrs. Christina Wascher
Wood, David, Lenox Massachusetts Shire Town, p. 201
Owens, Carol, The Berkshire Cottages, A Vanishing Era, p. 24
(copies of selected articles with original Form B)
[1] Henry F. Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey. Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased). Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc., 1970, (facsimile edition), pp. 13-14.
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
This wood-framed Colonial Revival-style house is two stories tall and has six bays on its atypical asymmetrical front facade. It has a hipped roof with projecting gable sections and a long hipped dormer on the back. There are four brick chimneys; two are massive side wall chimneys with flared tops, one each on the left and right sides of the main house. The front entry porch has a flat roof with fluted Doric columns and pilasters. The front door surround has full-length 7-pane sidelights and a 3-light transom. To the right of the front door is a 12-o-8 Palladian window at a mid-floor level (indicating a stair landing on the interior) with tracery in its arched upper section, and narrow 4-light sides. There is a 2-story, hipped roof rear ell which has a side wall chimney between it and a 1-story screened porch on its northerly side. A slightly projecting left side ell with a lower gable roof has a broken-eave shed dormer. Attached to its left is a 2-story, 2-bay-wide, front gabled pavilion with saltbox form and a large brick center chimney. A small 1-story bump-out with corner pilaster is located at the inner corner of these left side ells. On the rear side of them is a glazed conservatory with French doors giving out onto a large terrace, supported by a low stone retaining wall. A recent large addition included a 1-story hyphen extending from the left side of the pavilion. It has eyebrow dormers with fanlight windows on front and back, and an arched opening flanked by pilasters to a recessed entry with French doors. This recent addition also included a forward projecting wing on its left, with exposed brick chimney on its front gable end. The rear facade of the new left-side additions has French doors. The windows look to have been replaced, but most of the window blinds are authentic.
A semi-circular gravel driveway off Cliffwood Street is centered on the front entry. A metal fence runs along the front lot line. The lot is double fronted with Yokun Avenue bordering the rear lot line. A tennis court is located close to Yokun Avenue. An in-ground pool is located behind and right of the house, along with a gazebo. There are numerous mature deciduous and coniferous trees and shrubs and ornamental objects on the extensive grounds.
NOTE: this house is not depicted on the 1911 Sanborn Map, but is on the October 1911 – June 1939 updated Sanborn Map and is labeled “G. K. Livermore.”
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
After the division of the Stokes property, Three Acres became the home of Mr. & Mrs. Fenno. Mr. Fenno was the Choir Master at Trinity Church. Mrs. Fenno was the former Miss Trenor. After the death of Mr. Fenno, his widow married Mr. G.K. Livermore. She lived at Three Acres until her death. The home was then sold to Mrs. Ralph Pulitzer.
The Chain of Title is as follows:
1963 Mrs. Englebert Krichels
1972 Peter & Brigitte Berger
1978 James S. & Harriet O. Cole.
1981 David and Rose Dortort
1983 Mr. George Krupp.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:
1911 Sanborn Map, October 1911 – June 1939 updated Sanborn Map
Town of Lenox Records
Lenox Massachusetts Shire Town, David Wood. P. 201
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
This is an Arts and Crafts-style house, the inspiration of which was rooted in English Cottage architecture. The 2-story, 4-bay house is constructed of clay tile and has a stucco finish. Bricks face the foundation. It has a gable roof clad with asphalt shingles. There are four large interior brick chimneys with caps. The entry porch has a steeply pitched gable roof with flaring eaves and exposed rafters, supported by massive wood pillars atop painted and stucco’ed brick knee-walls. The door surround has 2/3rds-length, 4-pane sidelights. A 2-story cross-gabled pavilion is on the right side of the front facade. Its roof extends down to the first floor on the right side with a shed-roofed dormer. The pavilion contains a secondary front entry flanked by 4-light windows and a 1-story gabled garage wing with two left-facing vehicle bays extends forward of it, attached with a breezeway. Behind this pavilion there is a small lean-to with porch and rear entry that extends from the rear right side of the main house (facing Yokun Avenue). There are two rear ells: One is two stories with a cross-gabled roof located near the center of the main gabled section. The second is a single story porch under an extension of the main roof with a dormer. Sets of three and four 8-light casement windows are located on the first floor front and side facades, while paired 4-o-4 double hung windows are on the second floor and on the first floor to the right of the entrance. The second floor windows have authentic window blinds.
There is a stone wall along the front property line of Cliffwood Street right-of-way with curved sections at the driveway entrance off of Cliffwood Street. The driveway circles around in front of the house with a treed median. There is a brick patio that extends along the rear of the house. An in-ground swimming pool is located in the rear yard. Yokun Avenue borders the right side and rear property lines.
This house was almost certainly designed by Seaver since Harding died in 1921.
NOTE: The 1905 Sanborn Map depicts the previous property, labeled “Homestead” with two accessory buildings at the corner of Yokun and Cliffwood streets.
Harding and Seaver Architects
George C. Harding (1867-4/23/1921)
“Senior member of the firm of Harding & Seaver, architects of several noted public buildings in the New England area. Mr. Harding was a native and life-long citizen of Pittsfield, educated in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and had been active professionally since 1896. After working alone for a time, in 1902 he formed a partnership with Henry M. Seaver, and under the firm name acquired a wide and successful practice. His most important works include the following buildings: Museum of Natural History and Art at Pittsfield, 1907; the Y.M.C.A. Building, 1908; Lathrop Hall, 1905, and Memorial Chapel, 1914, at Colgate University, Hamilton, N.Y.; Town Hall at Lenox, Mass., 1903, and Colby Academy at New London, N.H. Mr. Harding also designed a number of fine homes, one distinguished example being the country house of former Senator Crane at Dalton, Mass.”[1]
From MACRIS List – Sept. 16, 2008
Inv. No
Property Name
Street
City/Town
Year Built
LEN.25
Lenox Town Hall
6 Walker St
Lenox
1901
LEN.296
Slater, William House
249 Under Mountain Rd
Lenox
1901
LEN.23
Curtis Hotel
6 Main St
Lenox
1829
LEN.19
Hagyard, Frank C. Store
36 Main St
Lenox
1910
LEN.100
Hegeman, Annie May House
61 Cliffwood St
Lenox
1925
LEN.26
Lenox Fire House
14 Walker St
Lenox
1909
LEN.29
Peters, Leonard C. Block
46-50 Walker St
Lenox
1917
Henry M. Seaver (3/6/1873 –
The Edward A. Jones Memorial Building was designed by Pittsfield architect Henry M. Seaver. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1897 and began his own architectural firm in 1901.[2] By 1903 he had entered into a partnership with George C. Harding that lasted until Harding’s death in 1921.[3] During that period the firm designed the YMCA Building in Pittsfield; the Chapel at Colgate University in central New York; the Museum of Natural History and Art in Pittsfield; the Colby Academy in New London, New Hampshire; and the Lenox Town Hall.[4] After Harding’s death in 1921, Seaver kept the office open through 1933, during which time he designed the Jones building at the House of Mercy. Other buildings for which he was responsible in this period include the R.J. Flick Residence; an addition to the Berkshire Life Building in Pittsfield; and an addition to the Pittsfield Boys Club Building. He was also an associate architect on the Pittsfield High School Building.[5]
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
The home was built by Miss Annie May Hegeman in the 1920’s after the Homestead property was divided. The house stayed in the family until 1973 when William and Aleid Channing sold the home to Charles and Beverly Capers. The Capers sold the house in 1977 to Haldor B. Reinholt and in 2002 it was acquired by Eugenia D. Reinholt.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:
1905 Sanborn Map
Lenox Town Hall Records
Mrs. Haldor Reinholt
Lenox: Massachusetts Shire Town, David Wood p. 187
[1] Henry F. Withey, AIA and Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased)(Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc., 1970) p. 264.
[2] Berkshire Athenaeum/Pittsfield Library, History Department, Architects file.
[3] Henry F. Withey, AIA and Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased)(Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc., 1970) p 264.
[4] Massachusetts Cultural Resource Inventory System (MACRIS) online at: <http://mhc-macris.net>
[5] Berkshire Athenaeum/Pittsfield Library, History Department, Architects file.
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
This is a 2-story, 5-bay, center entrance, wood-framed house designed in the Colonial Revival style. It has a hipped roof with asphalt shingles, modillions on the eaves, dentil bands on the cornices throughout, and several dormers. Porches have standing seam metal roofing. There are six large brick chimneys. It is clad with wood clapboard and shingles with corner pilasters. Fluted pilasters delineate the central entrance bay—a front gabled dormer is centered above, while a porte-cochere extends forward of it. The porte-cochere is supported by fluted Ionic columns and fluted pilasters. A 2-story, slightly recessed ell off the right side has gabled wings off its front and rear. A 2-story turret is nestled between it and the main section. It has a curved porch with three Doric columns that extends forward to be flush with the front facade. There is a double gabled dormer on the right side. The left facade has a Palladian window at mid-floor level (indicating a stair landing on the interior) that is flanked by two 1-story canted bay windows. Centered on the roof above is a hipped dormer. A glazed sunporch off the rear is topped by smaller gable-roofed second story room. Intact 6-o-6 windows have substantial molded headers and authentic wood window blinds. The foundation is stone. A circular driveway that runs in front of the house and under the porte-cochere is accessed from Yokun Avenue. An in-ground swimming pool is located behind and right of the house and garage. The property is heavily wooded with mature coniferous, deciduous and ornamental trees and shrubs, particularly along the property boundaries.
NOTE: This property was once part of Dr. R. C. Greenleaf Jr.’s estate per the 1876 Beers Map.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
The home named “Rocklawn” was built in 1886 by Mr. & Mrs. William Bacon as a summer residence.
The Chain of Title forward is as follows:
1922 Mr. & Mrs. George Higginsons Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Whipple.
1969 Mr. & Mrs. Desmond Tivy
1977 Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Skinner
1986 David Hurwitz and Carolyn Dubrofsky
1990 Eugene P. Nesbada
1996 Reid White
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:
1876 Beers Map
Lenox Town Hall Records
Lenox: Massachusetts Shire Town, David Wood, p. 199
50 Cliffwood St., Catherine McDevitt House – c. 1873
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
The style of this house is undetermined, and can simply be referred to as Vernacular Gothic (built in the Gothic Revival period). It is wood framed, two stories high, clad in wood clapboard with a 3-bay with a pedimented center entrance front façade, hip and gable roof and rectangular double-hung sashes with crowns and sills.
The house is oriented to the south (right side yard). It has a gable roof (based on its orientation) with asphalt shingles. There is a small brick center chimney.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
The property was once owned by Ensign Loomis. In 1873 he sold it to Miss Catherine McDevitt. In 1882 the home was sold to Mr. Victor Schmitt. In 1936 the house was sold to Barbara Byrne. In 1960 she sold the house to Mr. & Mrs. Robert Field. In 1986 the house was owned by Collen Engle and Susan Peters. They sold the house in 1987 to Georgina M. S. Jaquiss.
The property was purchased by Mark H. Usow in June of 2000 and then by Thomas Wessel in July of 2001.
The name of this house should be “The Catherine McDevitt House”. However, the house is not depicted on the 1854 Clark Map, which labels a large property across Cliffwood Street as “E. Loomis.” It appears that Loomis sold off lots on the East side of the street for development after this time.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
1854 Clark Map, 1905 Sanborn Map
Middle Berkshire Registry of Deeds, Pittsfield, Ma
35 Greenwood St., Wilbur F. Newton House – c. 1860
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
This house was originally oriented to the south-southwest and numbered 62 Cliffwood Street. This early front facade clearly expresses the Italianate architectural design of the house, which is a wood-framed, 2-story building with gable roof and a 3-story square hipped-roof tower. Eaves on the gable ends have double scroll sawn brackets—another typical feature of the Italianate style. There is a large brick center chimney and an exposed brick rear wall chimney. To the left of the tower is the original front door. Its surround is round-arched with a fanlight transom and ½-length sidelights with tracery. A broad veranda with nine chamfered pillars, scroll sawn and incised brackets and braces and matching pilasters wraps around to the left (west) side of the house (and once probably continued around to the rear or current front facade). French doors provide access from the first floor to the veranda. A 2-story canted bay window with smaller scroll sawn brackets on both first and second floor eaves fronts the tower. A 2-story ell, with a lower gable roof, extends to the right (east) of the tower and is fronted by another veranda—this time arcaded with two chamfered pillars and details matching those of the left side wrap-around porch. It has a balcony above with millwork railing. At the far end of the right-side ell is an octagonal second story turret with hipped roof above an open porch with geometric frieze above the arcading. On the north facade, which in now treated as the front, a remodeling introduced the Colonial Revival style—thus it is likely to have occurred in the last decades of the 19th century or early 20th century. This entry porch has an arched roof supported by two Doric columns; the door has ½-length sidelight like the original front door on the south. It is flanked by French doors, strongly suggesting that the veranda originally wrapped around from the west end to the north side as well. This section of the veranda would have been removed at the time of the remodeling and replaced with the new entrance porch (allowing more light into the interior). Windows are 2-o-2 double hung sashes with molded cornices and authentic window blinds. The foundation is stone. The lot is large with an expanse of open lawn. A stuccoed wall extends from the house eastward along the Greenwood Street right-of-way. It has an arched opening, allowing access to the east side yard.
This house has a side-gabled roof with three pedimented dormers. The cornice has paired decorative brackets off its molding. There are leaded glass fanlights and sidelights on both the doors (facing Cliffwood and Greenwood Streets). The north-facing door is outlined by a decorative crown which is supported by slender columns. The 1886 finial was removed while the crown was being repaired in the 1990’s and is missing. A porch wraps around half the house and detailed spindlework supports have side brackets. There are one exterior and two interior chimneys. The first floor dining and living room windows are French doors. The have crowns with designs in the frieze. The remaining first floor windows and second floor windows are rectangular with crowns above them and molded windowsills below. On the third floor there is a full arched window with a crown; another from the 1886 remodel was removed in 1931. There are first and second story bay windows on the side of the house facing Cliffwood St, which originally had shutters.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
1870-1872 The property is owned by well-known Lenox builder, ensign Loomis, who lived for many years on the other side of Cliffwood St. Loomis probably built the earliest part of the house on speculation
1872-1882 Local businessman Wilbur F. Newton owned the house (on one acre and 40 rods). Newton bought the place from Loomis for $1200 and sold it a decade later to Mrs. Jonathan Williams Biddle of Philadelphia for $10,000. Property values in Lenox escalated as the popularity of the resort grew in the Gilded Age.
1886 Second owner, Emily Meigs Biddle (Mrs. John) added French doors, wrap-around porch and two colonial revival doors added. Original barn removed; garden with fountain and small fish pool created inside the foundation. A stable was added (52 Cliffwood St.) The first floor was expanded to include a butler’s pantry, back stairs, staff dining, lavatory and larger kitchen. Above, on second floor: more bedrooms for staff and a third floor.
1882-1938 The Biddle family came to Breezy Corners each summer over a fifty-year period. In 1885, Mrs. Biddle was in her 60s and her unmarried daughter, Emily W., in her late 20s. Thomas, the bachelor brother of Miss Emily, often summered here as well as his sister, Christine Cadwalader. Christine Biddle Cadwalader had seven sons (her only daughter died at one month in 1887.) Over the years the Biddles enlarged Breezy Corners with a third story tower, embellished the two-man entrances with grand colonial revival doorways. Architect Joseph Vance of Pittsfield is known to have worked on the house. Miss Biddle, one of the founding members of the Lenox Horticultural Society probably created the walled garden. Some of her plantings survive including the mature Japanese lilac on Cliffwood St. She has been described as a “student of bird life” and participated in Tub Parades. Her charming Gabled carriage house was located at the end of the sloping lawn on Cliffwood St. Emily Biddle died in 1931, leaving the house to her Cadwalader nephews who sold it sever years later.
1907 Upon Mrs. Emily Meigs Biddle’s death, daughter Miss Emily W. Biddle inherited the house and enlarged the 3rd floor removing the gabled roof line and single window in small bedroom, and creating a full bath with tub next to new bedroom in a tower with two windows.
1938-1946 Eaton Crane Paper executive Sherman Hall and his wife Lee DeMulder Hall and their three sons made Breezy Corners a year round residence
1946-2008 Martha Quisenberry Pelton Shirer owned Breezy Corners. Carriage house/garage on Cliffwood St sold to become a separate residence in 1947.
2008 to present The property is now owned by Suzanne W. Pelton, Martha Shirer’s daughter, and her husband David Horton Stroud.
The property was first owned by Wilbur F. Newton until 1882 when he sold the property to Emily Meigs Biddle and Emily Williams Biddle. In 1907 Mrs. Biddle left the property to Emily Williams Biddle. In 1931, Emily Williams Biddle left the property divided into six sections to the Cadwalader family. The Bible family was originally from Philadelphia. The family was involved in many Presidential administrations. The Biddle and the Cadwalader families were relatives of many of these men. In 1938, the house was sold to Sherman and Lee Hall. The Halls sold the house in 1948 to Richard and Martha Quisenberry Pelton. The Peltons sold the carriage house which was later converted into a home.
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Society
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
This Tudor Revival style building has two stories, a wood shakes shingle roof and is intact. It has arched roofed dormers; a stucco front wall chimney on projecting front ell; 3 stone interior chimneys; a small front entrance vestibule with a steeply pitched gable; sets of 3 windows with transoms, some diamond-paned leaded glass windows; early gambrel-roofed extensions; a 1-story conservatory ell with French doors off left (east) side; and a faceted 2nd story oriel on the south side. It is landscaped with many mature trees & shrubs; wood picket fence & row of evergreen trees along Greenwood St. right-of-way and arched arbor at the entrance. There is a stone retaining wall supporting a patio at 1st floor level on rear (south) side of house.
This does not appear to be the original 1820 style building – Tudor Revival style is the result of much more recent renovations in early 1900’s.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
Hillside was built by Mrs. Hartman (Grace) Kuhn of Boston in 1870, and used by her during the ‘season’. Mrs. Kuhn, who also purchased Butternut Cottage, owned the entire lot along Main St. from Greenwood to the Kingsland House (at the junction of Main and Cliffwood Streets). By 1890 the house was being rented to Mrs. Cruger of New York, and around 1911 it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Ross Whistler, who renamed it Hidden House. Today it is “Whistler’s Inn” owned by Richard and Joan Mears since 1978.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:
The Book of Berkshire, Clark W. Bryan ( N.Y.L Clark W. Bryan & Co., 1886) p. 45
The New Book of Berkshire, Clark W. Bryan ( N.Y.L Clark W. Bryan & Co., 1890) p. 45
Lenox: Massachusetts Shire Town, David H. Wood (Lenox: Town of Lenox 1969) p.194
