Adirondack Architecture refers to the rugged architectural style generally associated with the
Great Camps
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The Great Camps of the Adirondack Mountains refers to the grandiose family compounds of cabins that were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century on lakes in the Adirondacks such as Spitfire Lake and Rainbow Lake. The camp ...
within the
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...
area in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. The builders of these camps used native building materials and sited their buildings within an irregular wooded landscape. These camps for the wealthy were built to provide a primitive, rustic appearance while avoiding the problems of in-shipping materials from elsewhere.
Elements
Elements such as whole, split, or peeled logs, bark, roots, and
burl
A burl (American English) or burr (British English) is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from do ...
s, along with native
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
fieldstone
Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...
, were used to build interior and exterior components. Massive
fireplace
A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design.
...
s and
chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
s built of cut stone are also common within the Great Camp architecture. The use of native building materials was not only for promoting a natural appearance, but also to avoid the expense of transporting conventional building materials into a remote location.
Influences
The style drew upon Swiss
chalet
A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-suppo ...
architecture, which had been introduced to America by
Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing (October 31, 1815 – July 28, 1852) was an American landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival in the United States, and editor of ''The Horticulturist'' magazine (1846–5 ...
around 1850. Log construction was popularized by Downing's protégé,
Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...
, in his pattern book ''Villas and Cottages'' in 1857. Downing's design principles emphasized utility, structural expression, and conformity to natural surroundings. The building form was influenced by
Stick style, but using log framing instead of dimensional lumber to express the structural system of the buildings.
Charles Eastlake
Charles Locke Eastlake (11 March 1836 – 20 November 1906) was a British architect and furniture designer.
His uncle, Sir Charles Lock Eastlake PRA (born in 1793), was a Keeper of the National Gallery, from 1843 to 1847, and from 1855 its fi ...
's book ''Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and other Details'' also influenced the Adirondack rustic style. Interior decorations such as rustic and
Mission Style furniture, mounted trophies of fish and game, Japanese fans and screens, and American Indian artifacts were influenced by Eastlake's ideas.
Camp Santanoni,
Newcomb, New York
Newcomb is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 436 at the 2010 census.
The town is on the western border of the county. It is by road southwest of Plattsburgh, southwest of Burlington, Vermont, northeast of ...
, built for Robert C. Pruyn of Albany, was the first Adirondack camp to be comprehensively designed as a unit by a professional architect,
Robert Henderson Robertson
Robert Henderson Robertson (April 29, 1849 – June 3, 1919) was an American architect who designed numerous houses, institutional and commercial buildings, and churches.
Life and career
Robertson was born in Philadelphia of Scot ...
of New York, who designed the Main Camp Complex.
(New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) Camp Santanoni Historic Area
/ref>
Style
The Adirondacks buildings were recognized for their rugged finish and outstanding craftsmanship especially by the wealthy locals. The Adirondacks style of architecture can be specialized into custom homes, rugged roofing, log cabins, boat houses, rustic furnishing, rustic kitchen, birch and cedar furniture, log and twig work
Twig-work is the term applied to architectural details constructed of twigs and branches to form decorative motifs in buildings and furniture. Carpentry or woodworking using wood that has not been milled into lumber and is still in its natural sh ...
s.
This style of architecture is found most prominently in and around the area of Adirondack Park
The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...
.
Image:St Regis Presbyterian Church.jpg, Saint Regis Presbyterian Church, designed by William L. Coulter
William Lincoln Coulter (1865–1907) was an American architect who came to Saranac Lake, New York, in the spring of 1896 in an effort to cure his tuberculosis, and stayed to design some of the finest Adirondack Great Camps and Cure Cottages ...
Image:The Jordan Cottage.jpg, The Jordan Cottage, Saranac Lake
Image:Boathouse at Katja.jpg, Camp Katia on Upper St. Regis Lake
Upper St. Regis Lake is a part of the St. Regis River in the Adirondacks in northern New York State. Along with Lower St. Regis Lake and Spitfire Lake, it became famous in the late 19th century as a summer playground of America's power elit ...
Image:Brighton Town Hall.jpg, Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
Town Hall, by Benjamin A. Muncil, 1914
Image:Hotel Wawbeek - Stoddard - 1890.jpg, Hotel Wawbeek, Upper Saranac Lake
Upper Saranac Lake is one of three connected lakes, part of the Saranac River, in the towns of Santa Clara and Harrietstown, near the village of Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks in northern New York. Upper Saranac Lake is the sixth largest lak ...
(1890, Stoddard)
Image:Wawbeek Lodge on Upper Saranac Lake.jpg, Wawbeek Lodge, 1900
Image:Raquette Lake Hotel - 1889 - Stoddard.jpg, Raquette Lake
Raquette Lake is the source of the Raquette River in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. It is near the community of Raquette Lake, New York. The lake has of shoreline with pines and mountains bordering the lake. It is located in the t ...
Hotel, (1889, Stoddard)
Image:Echo Camp - 1916 - Stoddard.jpg, Echo Camp, Upper Saranac Lake
Upper Saranac Lake is one of three connected lakes, part of the Saranac River, in the towns of Santa Clara and Harrietstown, near the village of Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks in northern New York. Upper Saranac Lake is the sixth largest lak ...
(1916, Stoddard)
File:FL Princess Place Estate lodge03.jpg, Cherokee Grove
The Princess Place Preserve (also known as Cherokee Grove) is a historic site in Palm Coast, Florida. It is located between SR A1A (Florida) and I-95, on Pellicer Creek, just south of the St. Johns/ Flagler county line. On May 2, 1997, it was ad ...
, near Bunnell, Florida
Bunnell is the county seat of Flagler County Florida, United States, with a population of 2,676 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL metropolitan statistical area and is named after an early resi ...
References
External links
Adirondack Architectural Heritage
See also
{{commonscat, Adirondack architecture
* Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
* Great Camps
__NOTOC__
The Great Camps of the Adirondack Mountains refers to the grandiose family compounds of cabins that were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century on lakes in the Adirondacks such as Spitfire Lake and Rainbow Lake. The camp ...
* Sagamore Camp
Great Camp Sagamore is one of several historic Great Camps located in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State.
History
Great Camp Sagamore was constructed by William West Durant on Sagamore Lake between 1895-1897. Prior to Sagamore, W ...
* Santanoni Preserve
The Santanoni Preserve was once a private estate of approximately 13,000 acres (53 km²) in the Adirondack Mountains, and now is the property of the State of New York, at Newcomb, New York.
History
Santanoni Preserve was established by Robe ...
* Adirondack Park
The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...
*
American architectural styles
01
Rustic architecture in the United States
American Craftsman architecture