The Gateway Houses

As you enter Guilford from the south, the road divides and forms a triangular park, with Greenway to the east and St. Paul Street to the west. At the base of the triangle, there are two houses, mirrors of each other, which are known locally as the Gateway Houses. I wrote about one of them here in 2013. 

These two houses are separate from every other house, with parkland both in front and in back of them, even though only the south park shows on this map. 

The houses were built in 1926, and one is listed as French Renaissance Revival, and oddly, the other is listed as Colonial Revival. 

The houses were built for brothers, and share a common garage area. One house's garage is now a study and the other remains a garage. 

This house has four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths, one of which takes advantage of the variable roof-line.

It looks like, in most cases, this house has retained its original windows, which have panoramic park and garden views. 

One of the most wonderful features of this house is the covered vaulted loggia, a perfect venue for dining al fresco.

Just outside of the shared drive/garage ares is a small pond, and a vast expanse of grass, which the owners pretend is theirs, but it's really not.

The house has a wonderful curved staircase, overlooked by a double-height window with a view of the south end of the park and towards the city. 

There are some historic images of the two houses from the collection of the Library of Congress, which shows the houses just after they were built. 

You can see the door to the loggia in this image. 

These are such wonderful houses, and they don't come on the market very often.

This listing is from 2016, and the other was on the market in 2013.

The houses were originally whitewashed brick, but they have mellowed to a rosy hue.

On the Market: 115 Woodholme Avenue

I am pretty sure that Palmer & Lamdin would be rolling over in their graves if they saw what became of the beautiful house they designed on Woodholme Avenue. 

Interestingly, when I started this project exactly a year ago, someone sent me some P&L blueprints of this house. It took a while to figure out where it was, and whether it had built or not. The date on the plan is July, 1922 and they were done by William Lamdin. This house has had so many additions and alterations, that it's nearly impossible to see the classic lines of the original house. 

The interior of this house has been faux painted to within an inch of its life! A little accent here or there would have been great, but the sheer volume of faux painting, covering almost every square foot of the house, is a bit much. But then, it was done when faux painting like this was a thing!

From the real estate listing:

Designed for entertaining on a grand scale, as well as intimate gathering areas!

Marble foyer leads to 45-foot living room with fireplace & wide entry with columns to 45-foot great room.

Formal dining room,

library, vaulted family room with fireplace & stained glass windows.

Gourmet kitchen with granite counters and large dining area with French doors to stone terrace.

Sun room with wet bar and French doors to pool area.

Master Bedroom with fireplace,

vaulted master bath with fireplace and additional master bath.

Three additional large bedrooms and two baths.

Incredible pool in garden setting,

detached garage with guest suite above. Listing is here.

231 Chancery Road

This six bedroom, 4.5 bath, spacious four-level home has been brought back to life with attention to beautiful original details. 

This 3,700+ square foot, Palmer-Lamdin historic home with 10-year historic CHAP credit will save you thousands annually. Designed by William Lamdin, built in 1920, this all brick Georgian Tudor Revival-style home has been renovated with new amenities and restored with its original charm. 

The grand foyer, original winding staircase with chandelier, arched windows and door ways, high ceilings, butler staircase, details in the wood work and even the door knobs will make you feel like you stepped into the 1920s. The restored original hardwood floors, custom lighting, new dual zone HVAC, new plumbing and electric give it the comfort of modern amenities. 

A new custom built bright and airy kitchen with stainless steel appliances, hood range, marble counters and an over-sized island. French doors from the kitchen and living room lead to a brick patio. (I have a suspicion that they eliminated the dining room and combined it with the kitchen to make one huge room.)

Cozy living room with a fireplace and built in window bench seats.

Large finished basement includes a full bath and a bedroom. The second floor master bedroom has an amazing en suite bathroom. Includes a double vanity sink, large soaking tub and walk in shower. Exposed beams, marble counters and custom tile add the finishing touches. The attic has been convert to two bedrooms and an office space, also with a full bath.

To read about the renovation of this house, which had been long neglected,

please click here. 

On the Market: 200 Ashland Road

This is one of the more unusual Palmer & Lamdin properties I've seen, although technically, they only did the conversion from a school to a residence in 1929. 

Here's what the listing says:

The former Ashland School, aka Baltimore County School No. 7, located at the entrance of the Ashland Development was an iron mill village, that operated from the mid- to latter 1800s.

The structure was individually listed in 2000 on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a Maryland Heritage Property, and a Baltimore County Landmark.

It is one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival/Queen Anne architectural style in Maryland. The structure is built of rough-cut marble ashlar from the nearby Butler/Beaver Dam Quarry, approximately one mile to the west. Stone from this quarry was highly prized and was used to construct the Washington Monuments in Baltimore & DC, the US Mint, and countless other major buildings in Washington & Baltimore. 

Frank E. Davis, prominent Baltimore Architect, the architect of record, was one of the founding members of the American Institute of Architects. Robert G. Merryman was the general contractor. The school remained in service from 1882 until 1929 when it was sold by the Baltimore County Board of School Commissioners and converted to a private residence by the notable Baltimore design firm of Palmer and Lamdin. 

The exterior reflects the influence of the Queen Anne Style, with gabled windows, elaborate cornice work, fan-shaped attic vents at the roof peak, and numerous large banks of multi-paned windows. 

While the exterior has remained largely unaltered, the interior of the building was altered in 1930 from the two-room schoolhouse configuration, to that of an upscale private residence, still incorporating the 25-foot barrel-vaulted ceilings, with exposed beams and trusses.

Very attractive architectural details were added, such as a large foyer or reception hall paneled in Southern "gumwood" with ebony beads, with two sets of double French Doors that lead into the two main rooms. The "Great Room" (Living Room) is wainscoted with the same "gumwood" paneling. 

All of the floors in the house are finished with 2" by 1" thick heart pine flooring, all run on the diagonal. Also included in the 1930 conversion was an elegant stairway with unique wood and iron railings that lead to a loft that is enclosed by a glazed curtain wall with an unusual wedge-shaped door. 

Other notable features from the 1930 period are a beautiful stone fireplace with an "Inglenook"-style sitting area across from it that together separate the Dining Room and Great Room.

The Dining Room has a built-in cabinet that is Federal in style, and the walls are covered with a faux stone simulating varied stone blocks that was popularized in England in the 19th century. 

The Ashland School is a noteworthy example of the Queen Anne style applied to a rural school building. In its architectural elaboration and its substantial masonry construction, the building marks a departure from the standard frame school buildings that had been erected by the Baltimore County School Commissioners since the 1860s. 

The school is significant for its association with the Ashland Iron Works, an early 19th century industrial enterprise in Baltimore County, a company town. The school was constructed on property donated to the County by the iron company and primarily served the iron workers who resided in the company town

More images here and the HABS report here.