Kragsyde (1883–85 – 1929) was a
Shingle style mansion designed by the Boston architectural firm of
Peabody & Stearns
Peabody & Stearns was a premier architectural firm in the Eastern United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the firm consisted of Robert Swain Peabody (1845–1917) and John Goddard Stearns J ...
and built at
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts
Manchester-by-the-Sea (also known simply as Manchester, its name prior to 1989) is a coastal town on Cape Ann, in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is known for scenic beaches and vista points. According to the 2020 population ...
. Although long demolished, it is considered an icon of American architecture.
History
Kragsyde was commissioned by George Nixon Black, Jr. (1842–1928), heir to a Boston real estate fortune, who had been a
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
classmate of architect
Robert Swain Peabody
Robert Swain Peabody (February 20, 1845 – September 23, 1917) was a prominent Boston architect who was the cofounder of the firm Peabody & Stearns.
Early life
Peabody was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on February 20, 1845. He was a ...
. In 1882, Black paid $10,000 ($ million today) for the 6 acre (2.4 ha) oceanfront plot on a peninsula called Smith's Point, overlooking Lobster Bay. Local contractor Roberts & Hoare built the house, 1883–85, for approximately $60,000 ($ million today). Dramatically set upon a high rock outcropping, the rambling house was famous in its day and was published both in North America and Europe. Black and his sister occupied it every summer from May to October until the end of their lives.
Architectural historian
Vincent Scully
Vincent Joseph Scully Jr. (August 21, 1920 – November 30, 2017) was an American art historian who was a Sterling Professor of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, and the author of several books on the subject. Architect Phil ...
described Kragsyde as "a masterpiece," and stated that "Peabody & Stearns never again, to my knowledge, created a house of such quality."
Design
Kragsyde's footprint was that of broad "V" – the three-and-a-half-story main house (75 x 45 ft / 22.9 x 13.7 m) facing the Atlantic Ocean, and a secondary wing (20 x 55 ft / 6.1 x 16.8 m) set at a 45-degree angle. It was designed not only to maximize the views, but to capture the cool sea breezes. The house's most dramatic feature was a massive arch that formed a
porte cochere
Porte may refer to:
*Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire
*Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy
*John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator
*Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...
and supported the loggia (open porch) and glass-enclosed billiard room above. Guests arriving by carriage would be dropped off under the arch, enter through the front door, and climb an interior stair to the main floor, which featured formal rooms for entertaining. Service rooms and the kitchen were located on the ground floor, and a service stair kept the servants out of sight. A
dumbwaiter
A dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator or lift intended to carry food. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial, public and private buildings, are often connected between multiple floors. When installed in restaur ...
carried food from the kitchen to the butler's pantry on the main floor. A piazza (deck) the length of the house faced the ocean, and a covered section
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...
ed out over the rocks. The parlor was surrounded on three sides by the piazza and an L-shaped covered porch. Stairs led down from the loggia to a series of terraces. The second floor contained bedrooms for the Blacks and their guests. The third floor contained bedrooms for servants.
The terraced landscape surrounding the house was designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
. Some of his original walls survive.
Subsequent “Kragsydes”
The original Kragsyde was demolished in 1929. Three subsequent homes have been built upon its foundations:
* "Kragsyde" (1930s): A stuccoed house built by Boston lawyer Pierpont Stackpole.
* "Kragsyde" (1975), a.k.a. "The General's House": Like the original, it featured a wing with porte cochere set at a 45-degree angle to the main house. This was built for
Georges Doriot
Georges Frédéric Doriot (September 24, 1899 – June 1987) was a French-American known for his prolific careers in military, academics, business and education.
An émigré from France, Doriot became a professor of Industrial Management at Har ...
, founder of
American Research and Development Corporation
American Research and Development Corporation (ARDC) was a venture capital and private equity firm founded in 1946 by Georges Doriot, Ralph Flanders, Merrill Griswold, and Karl Compton.
ARDC is credited with the first major venture capital su ...
, and his wife Edna.
* "Kragsyde" (2014): In 2014, a fourth house was built upon the original's foundations.
Related houses
*"
Cragside
Cragside is a Victorian country house near the town of Rothbury in Northumberland, England. It was the home of William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, founder of the Armstrong Whitworth armaments firm. An industrial magnate, scientist, philanth ...
" (1863), a house in
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
designed by
Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...
, cited as influencing the design of Kragsyde.
* Kragsyde's carriage house (1882), also by Peabody & Stearns, stands at 29 Smith's Point Road.
* * "Kragsyde II" (1982), a house based on the original (but a mirror image) was built on Swan's Island, near
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...
.
"Kragsyde,"
''Old-House Interiors'', August/September 2001. Its location is
References
Sources
{{commons category
* ''The American Architect and Building News'', March 7, 188
* Annie Robinson, ''Peabody & Stearns: Country Houses and Seaside Cottages'' (W.W. Norton, 2010).
* Vincent J. Scully Jr., ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Richardson to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1955; reprinted 1971).
* George William Sheldon, ''Artists Country-Seats: Types of Recent American Villa and Cottage Architecture with Instances of Country Club-Houses'', volume II (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1887).
Houses in Essex County, Massachusetts
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts
Demolished buildings and structures in Massachusetts
Former houses in the United States
Houses completed in 1885
Buildings and structures demolished in 1929
1885 establishments in Massachusetts
1929 disestablishments in Massachusetts
Peabody and Stearns buildings
Queen Anne architecture in Massachusetts
Shingle Style houses
Shingle Style architecture in Massachusetts
Gilded Age mansions