Stately American Colonial

The provenance of this picturesque colonial, built in 1905, is almost as intriguing as the home itself. It is rumored to have been designed by the legendary architect, Stanford White (1853 – 1906), of the renowned firm of McKim, Mead & White. Heralded as the most prominent architect of The Gilded Age, White’s sensational murder by the husband of a former mistress tragically cut short a glittering career. While no architectural plans for the house exist, the extraordinary quality of the home is consistent with White’s work. Originally built in typically American Colonial fashion, the residence exhibited the rectangular symmetry associated with this style. Over the years, however, it had been added on to resulting in an asymmetrical composition that caused the front door to lose its prominence. This loss of stature created confusion for guests as they mistook a side door for the front entrance. As part of an extensive renovation to update and remodel the residence, Wadia restored the hierarchy of the front door by replacing the entrance porch with a larger portico. Its wider opening provides greater functionality while many graceful flourishes, including the double Doric columns, carved dentils and leaded glass windows in the sidelights and transom, give it a much grander presence.

Wadia also replaced an existing window on the front façade with a highly decorative Palladian window. Comprised of an arched central window flanked by two smaller symmetrical windows and framed by an Ionic entablature, the shape and ornamentation of the Palladian window lends charm to the house while softening its otherwise severe lines. New arched dormers, which echo the rounded shape of the window, offer additional visual appeal as does the overhead balcony above the new rear porch. In true American fashion, the renovation of this gracious home—which also involved gutting and remodeling the interior of the house, replacing all the windows, re-shingling the roof, incorporating all new stonework, and adding a small addition—represents an inevitable progression of Colonial style. Its timeless beauty is a tribute to the evolutionary process inherent in architectural design in which the past must be reinterpreted to keep pace with the present.