The Ames Gate Lodge is a celebrated work by American architect Henry Hobson Richardson. It is privately owned on an estate landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, but its north facade can be seen from the road at 135 Elm Street, North Easton, Massachusetts. In 2013, the Ames Gate Lodge was protected by a preservation easement held by Historic New England.
The lodge was designed and constructed in 1880-1881 for Frederick Lothrop Ames, son of railway magnate Oliver Ames Jr., as the northern entrance to his Langwater estate. Although Langwater dated from 1859 with 1876 additions, its northern regions had until then remained unfinished. Ames thus engaged Richardson and Olmsted in collaboration on its creation. Olmsted's landscape designs were implemented in 1886–1887.
The Gate Lodge is a remarkable synthesis of oversize stone wall, arched gate, and gatehouse building, perhaps based in part on Richardson's appreciation of the Central Park bridges designed by Calvert Vaux. It forms a long, low mass lying directly athwart the estate's entry road, which runs southward within its dominating, semicircular arch. The massive walls appear to be crude heaps of rounded boulders from the estate soil -- "cyclopean rubble" in Vincent Scully's memorable phrase—trimmed in Longmeadow brownstone. The blocky, two-story lodge proper stands west of the arch, and originally housed the estate gardener on the lower floor with rooms for bachelor guests above. Across the arch is a long, low wing ending in a circular bay, once used for storing plants through the winter.
The lodge's public (northern) facade is relatively flat and austere; its southern facade, by contrast, is highly shaped with protrusions and a large porch featuring carvings by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Capping all is the lodge's prominent, hipped, reddish-tiled roof with its eyelid dormers. As Frank Lloyd Wright once wrote, "The presence of a building is in its roof, and what a roof the Ames Gate Lodge has!"
The nearby F. L. Ames Gardener's Cottage (1884–85) was also designed by Richardson, and built some 400 feet (120 m) east of the Gate Lodge when the gardener's family outgrew the lodge. It was later enlarged by Richardson's successors, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, and has subsequently been shingled and otherwise modified.
Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works, MIT Press, 1985, page 46. ISBN0-262-65015-0.
Francis R. Kowsky, "H. H. Richardson's Ames Gate Lodge and the Romantic Landscape Tradition", in The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 50, No. 2 (Jun., 1991), pp. 181–188.
Francis R. Kowsky online
Vincent J. Scully Jr., The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: architectural theory and design from Downing to the Origins of Wright, Yale University Press, 1971, page 92. ISBN0-300-01519-4.
Linda Flint MacClelland, Building the National Parks: historic landscape design and construction, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, page 93. ISBN0-8018-5583-7.
ames, gate, lodge, celebrated, work, american, architect, henry, hobson, richardson, privately, owned, estate, landscaped, frederick, olmsted, north, facade, seen, from, road, street, north, easton, massachusetts, 2013, protected, preservation, easement, held,. The Ames Gate Lodge is a celebrated work by American architect Henry Hobson Richardson It is privately owned on an estate landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted but its north facade can be seen from the road at 135 Elm Street North Easton Massachusetts In 2013 the Ames Gate Lodge was protected by a preservation easement held by Historic New England Ames Gate LodgeU S National Historic Landmark DistrictContributing PropertyU S Historic districtContributing propertyLocationEaston MassachusettsCoordinates42 4 25 N 71 5 43 W 42 07361 N 71 09528 W 42 07361 71 09528Built1880 1881ArchitectHenry Hobson RichardsonArchitectural styleRichardsonian RomanesquePart ofH H Richardson Historic District of North Easton ID87002598 Significant datesDesignated NHLDCPDecember 23 1987Designated CPNovember 3 1972 The lodge was designed and constructed in 1880 1881 for Frederick Lothrop Ames son of railway magnate Oliver Ames Jr as the northern entrance to his Langwater estate Although Langwater dated from 1859 with 1876 additions its northern regions had until then remained unfinished Ames thus engaged Richardson and Olmsted in collaboration on its creation Olmsted s landscape designs were implemented in 1886 1887 The Gate Lodge is a remarkable synthesis of oversize stone wall arched gate and gatehouse building perhaps based in part on Richardson s appreciation of the Central Park bridges designed by Calvert Vaux It forms a long low mass lying directly athwart the estate s entry road which runs southward within its dominating semicircular arch The massive walls appear to be crude heaps of rounded boulders from the estate soil cyclopean rubble in Vincent Scully s memorable phrase trimmed in Longmeadow brownstone The blocky two story lodge proper stands west of the arch and originally housed the estate gardener on the lower floor with rooms for bachelor guests above Across the arch is a long low wing ending in a circular bay once used for storing plants through the winter The lodge s public northern facade is relatively flat and austere its southern facade by contrast is highly shaped with protrusions and a large porch featuring carvings by Augustus Saint Gaudens Capping all is the lodge s prominent hipped reddish tiled roof with its eyelid dormers As Frank Lloyd Wright once wrote The presence of a building is in its roof and what a roof the Ames Gate Lodge has The nearby F L Ames Gardener s Cottage 1884 85 was also designed by Richardson and built some 400 feet 120 m east of the Gate Lodge when the gardener s family outgrew the lodge It was later enlarged by Richardson s successors Shepley Rutan and Coolidge and has subsequently been shingled and otherwise modified Lodge seen from road Arch seen from road Bay seen from road Ames Gate Lodge from southwest Gateway south facadeSee also editH H Richardson Historic District of North Easton North Easton Historic District Historic New England Frederick Lothrop AmesReferences editJeffrey Karl Ochsner H H Richardson Complete Architectural Works MIT Press 1985 page 46 ISBN 0 262 65015 0 Francis R Kowsky H H Richardson s Ames Gate Lodge and the Romantic Landscape Tradition in The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians Vol 50 No 2 Jun 1991 pp 181 188 Francis R Kowsky online Vincent J Scully Jr The Shingle Style and the Stick Style architectural theory and design from Downing to the Origins of Wright Yale University Press 1971 page 92 ISBN 0 300 01519 4 Linda Flint MacClelland Building the National Parks historic landscape design and construction Johns Hopkins University Press 1998 page 93 ISBN 0 8018 5583 7 Dell Upton Architecture in the United States Oxford University Press 1998 page 96 ISBN 0 19 284217 X Great Buildings online ArchiPlanet Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ames Gate Lodge amp oldid 1172270673, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
