c.1900
The Teahouse
16
Welcome to the Teahouse.
At the turn of the 20th century, Samuel and Eleanor Bodine hired George F. Pentecost and Ferruccio Vitale to design a series of Beaux Arts-style gardens at Stoneleigh. Vitale (1875-1933) is known for his landscape design for estates of the wealthy, as well as public gardens on the National Mall, at the Washington Monument and National Gallery of Art.
This structure is set on the far north property line of the Oakwell Mansion. The south elevation features a long wall with a flat roof that is centered on this wall and supported by a pair of narrow brick walls. Each of these supports has a recessed center with a narrow arched window, flanked by brick pillars with stone Doric capitals that give the appearance of Doric columns. The roof is hipped with an exposed wooden structure that corresponds to that of the lych gate at Stoneleigh–which lies on the pathway that Olmsted created to run between the Teahouse and the Stoneleigh Estate. The roof tiles are Ludowici. These also match the lych gate at Stoneleigh. Originally, the Teahouse wall was a complete semi-circle but was opened up and steps were added on some time before 1906.
This structure was built as a Teahouse. It was a long stroll or drive away from the main gardens, a secret garden of sorts; a place for afternoon tea, to discuss horticultural practices, to read. It was originally accessed from the main house at Stoneleigh by long, winding woodland paths. Later, the Olmsted Brothers added a direct allee called Linden Lane, presumably lined with Linden trees. Linden Lane stretched all of the way across the property, to a lychgate and the stone pergola at Stoneleigh. There is a row of Atlas Cedars behind the Teahouse. These trees are native to the Atlas Mountains in north Africa. There is also a long row of oak trees along the north property line that would have shaded the paths from the Teahouse to the Cottage.
There are symmetrical pairs of steps leading to arched doors at both ends of the back wall. A narrow path is accessed through these doors and leads to the Superintendent’s Cottage.
Notice the telephone line that runs behind the Teahouse and the empty phone box hidden on the inside of a pillar. This telephone would have been used to send orders to the estate staff. A telephone line runs behind the Teahouse and an empty phone box is hidden on the inside of a pillar. This telephone would have been used to send orders to the estate staff. There is a corresponding call box in the corner of the Cottage. There is a shelf behind one of the columns which contained a phone box connecting to the Cottage.
This Teahouse was built in close proximity to the Superintendent’s cottage from where staff would serve visitors by following a path and entering through either of the hidden doors. The people behind the scenes, doing the work in the homes, on the farm, and in the gardens, answering the phone calls from the Teahouse and delivering refreshments were hidden from sight. There are doors at both ends of the Teahouse so they could arrive and depart and follow a path to the Cottage or Oakwell Mansion without being seen by Teahouse guests.
The date of Teahouse construction is assumed to be after 1900 because the 1900 atlas does not note any structures on the northernmost property line. The Teahouse is first seen on the Pentecoste & Vitale blueprints from 1906. At the turn of the 20th century, Samuel and Eleanor Bodine hired George F. Pentecost and Ferruccio Vitale to design a series of Beaux Arts-style gardens at Stoneleigh. Vitale (1875-1933) is known for his landscape design for estates of the wealthy, as well as public gardens on the National Mall, at the Washington Monument and National Gallery of Art. The Beaux-Arts style of architecture developed from the French Louis XIV's Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris that was founded to educate the most talented students in the arts. After the Revolution, Napoleon III changed the name to "L'École des Beaux-Arts". The Beaux-Arts style became widely popular in cultural and government institutions and homes for the wealthy during the late 19th and early 20th century. Some defining characteristics of Beaux-Arts architecture were flat roofs, a focus on symmetry, arched and pedimented doors and windows, hierarchy of spaces ("noble spaces" such as grand entrances and staircases to smaller utilitarian spaces), statues and figures embedded within the façade and the use of stone or stone-like materials.
The architects were at first assumed to G.F. Pentecoste Jr. and Ferruccio Vitale because the Teahouse does possess some defining characteristics of Beaux-Arts architecture: flat roofs, a focus on symmetry, arched and pedimented doors and windows, hierarchy of spaces ("noble spaces" such as grand entrances and staircases to smaller utilitarian spaces), statues and figures embedded within the façade and the use of stone or stone-like materials. There are Byzantine arches and a flat roof evocative of the Japanese tea houses. There is an impressive wooden meander, or Greek key pattern, between the vertical brick. The brickwork is a Flemish bond, much like the Cottage. We see the hierarchy of spaces with the gracious steps and the cozier interior.
The Greenhouse Complex and Cottage were built prior to 1903, as evidenced by their being featured in several 1903 publications and, since the Teahouse possesses many of the same architectural features, it is now thought that the Teahouse was built at the same time as these other two structures and also by Frank Miles Day. This structure, like the Cottage and the Greenhouse Complex, adheres to the three principles of Frank Miles Day. Delicate architectural features match the delicacy of the organic greenery surrounding the structure. A wide, long, curved step and open paths that connect garden and structure, as if to invite one in for shelter or out to explore the gardens. Horticulture and architecture in harmony.
The Teahouse arches and the Jacobean or Flemish curve at both ends of the wall correspond to those that he sketched while in Europe, those described in his brickwork publications and those found on Day’s north elevation of the Greenhouse Complex. The mix of Asian roofline, Byzantine/Jacobean arches, Doric columns and brickwork contrasted by the wooden meander is distinctively “Creative Eclectic” in style.
The 1914 Olmsted map shows the closeness in proximity of this structure to the Morris Clothier Estate, Clairmont. There are photos from the construction of the Clairmont Teahouse which would have been quite similar to that of this structure. The Clothier Teahouse, along with the Horace Trumbauer designed residence and outbuildings, was demolished in order for the Lower Merion School District to build the Black Rock Middle School.
Now imagine what could become of this Teahouse. It could fall into disrepair or be razed as was the Teahouse at the Clothier estate. Or, it could be preserved or even restored to its original condition. Can you envision students performing dances, playing musical instruments, hosting open mic, wellness practices? By the way, there are great acoustics.
Specimens of Note
Note the row of Atlas Cedars behind the teahouse. These trees are native to the Atlas Mountains in north Africa. There is also a long row of oak trees along the north property line that would have shaded the paths from the Teahouse to Acorn Cottage.
Sources:
Chicago Architecture Center: Beaux-Arts
