Ammadelle is a historic house at 637 North Lamar Boulevard in
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Oxf ...
. Built in 1859, it is an Italianate mansion designed by
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 ...
, which he regarded as one of his finest works. It was designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1974.
[ and ]
Description and history
Ammadelle is set on a landscaped parcel on the west side of North Lamar Street south of its junction with Price Street. It is a red brick building, two stories in height, with white
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
trim and black shutters. It has an irregular plan, with porches flanking a projecting central gabled entry pavilion. The porches, single story in height, have Italianate trim and low balustrades above. Windows on the second level are set in round-arch openings, with deeply projecting bracketed cornices above. The entry is recessed deeply within the pavilion, which has an open arch to the left porch.
The house was designed by
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 1857, and construction of the building took place between 1859 and 1861. Final details were incomplete when the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
started, and the missing details (balconies across the rear, and a wine cellar) were never finished.
[ Vaux was at the time of the commission just 34, and had recently struck out on his own after having worked with ]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 ...
, a major proponent of the Italianate style. That Vaux thought Ammadelle was one of his best works is suggested by his inclusion of a similar design in the second and third editions of his book ''Villas and Cottages''.[
The house was built for Thomas E.B. Pegues. It has been very well preserved, with only minor alterations. Vaux's original plans are with the owner of the building.][
]
See also
*List of National Historic Landmarks in Mississippi
This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in Mississippi. It includes current National Historic Landmark, National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), and also National Park Service areas in Mississippi that overlap.
National Historic Landmarks in Mis ...
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places
National Historic Landmarks in Mississippi
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi
Houses in Lafayette County, Mississippi
Houses completed in 1859
Oxford, Mississippi
National Register of Historic Places in Lafayette County, Mississippi
Calvert Vaux designs