SAMUEL M. NICKERSON HOUSE

This substantial house was designed for Nickerson in 1881 by Edward Burling (1819–1892) of the Chicago firm of Burling and Whitehouse. Later architecture has encroached upon the property, the site originally consisting of the house with a sizable porte cochere and stables behind the rear court. From a ground plan that measured roughly 50′ × 90′, Burling designed a dwelling consisting of 28 rooms on three floors and a basement. Its exterior was spare for a major Chicago mansion of these years. This was due in part to modest use of ornament, which was concentrated in the stringcourses, cornice and lintels and sills of the windows, and also to the heavy but simple blocks of the wall. Contemporaries predicted that the house would last forever; miraculously, new uses have been found to protect it from deterioration and movements to demolish it. In 1919 Chicago citizens contributed money to purchase the house, which was then given to the American College of Surgeons for its national headquarters.

Samuel M. Nickerson (June 14, 1830–July 20, 1914) and his wife, Matilda P. Crosby, who died about two years before her husband, were natives of Chatham, Massachusetts. In 1858 they moved to Chicago, where Samuel started a distilling business, a venture that did not prosper until he received a contract from the Union Army to provide alcohol used in the manufacture of gunpowder. Shortly afterwards, he was able to retire from manufacturing and concentrated on banking and transportation. One of the founders of the First National Bank of Chicago in 1863, he became its president in 1867. In 1865 he was elected president of the Chicago City Horse Railway, later renamed the Chicago City Railway Company. He was a prominent member of the Chicago Historical Society, was active in the city’s musical circles and donated part of his collection to The Art Institute of Chicago. In 1901 the Nickersons sold their house and moved to New York City.

103. Hall, Samuel M. Nickerson house, 40 East Erie Street, Chicago, Illinois; Burling and Whitehouse, architects, 1881–83; standing. Like A. T. Stewart’s famous house in New York (nos. 1–8), Nickerson’s was also called the “Marble Palace,” but in Chicago one had to go inside the house to understand why contemporaries had given it this label. The stern, even drab exterior of the mansion did not alert visitors to the glistening surfaces of the palatial main hall. Here the reflections are so dominant that they tend to underscore the plastic properties of lintels, cornice, Corinthian columns and even the ceiling. In this photograph there were no members of the family and no furniture to block one’s concentration on these shining planes. The columns were made of marble, as were the wall panels and ceiling slabs, the latter a rare use of the material. The balusters of the stairway were of alabaster. To support all of this weight, Burling required fireproof-brick partition walls from basement to roof and mortared floors laid over brick-arch construction supported by iron joists. Floor strips embedded in the mortar supported wooden floors on which the marble layer was laid. The double staircase leading to the ballroom on the third floor was framed in iron. Durable construction and the expense of the finishing materials contributed heavily to the final bill of $450,000.

On the right of the hall were the reception room, seen through the doorway, and the dining room behind it. Opposite this doorway was the entrance into the drawing room that was connected by sliding doors to the two rooms in the northwest corner of the main floor—the library and the picture gallery.

104. Library and picture gallery, Samuel M. Nickerson house. Bric-a-brac was kept to a minimum in the library, probably because of the skillful handling of the ebony woodwork in the mantel, the Renaissance-inspired bookcases and the bracketed ceiling. None of the walls of the main part of the house was finished either in wallpaper or in plaster; here the space above the bookcases was covered with gold and green silk. Olive, red and gray accents were painted within the black frames of the ceiling. The windows on the left, overlooking Cass Street, were draped with crimson silk plush embroidered in green and edged with gold cord.

From the rear of the house, the high gallery projected like a no-nonsense mausoleum. Within, it was the final segment of a long vista that began with the sitting room and continued through the drawing room and library. This final segment was framed by the two marble Doric columns. In the middle of the floor was the Flight from Pompeii, a marble group by Italian sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni (1809–1873), whose theme combines danger and heroism as the man shields the woman and the woman shields the baby. The largest painting visible in this photograph was Interior of St. Mark’s, Venice by David Neal (1838–1915). Finished in 1869 and now in the Nickerson Collection of The Art Institute of Chicago, it depicts a wedding party of nobles emerging from the chancel of the cathedral. Above and to the left of this work was Bouguereau’s study of a gypsy girl preparing to tell fortunes through the seeds of a pomegranate she holds in her hands. Many of these and other works of art in the house were purchased by the Nickersons on their worldwide trip taken while the house was being built. Their collection of paintings, which included works by Schreyer, Diaz, Mignot, Hubner, Verschnur, Koekkoek, Escosura, Corot and Dorē, was regarded as one of the most important in the Midwest.

105. Hall, William H. De Forest house, 12 West 57th Street, New York, New York; Lamb and Wheeler, architects, 1879–82; demolished. W. H. De Forest was born in New York City in 1837. As a youth in the years before the Civil Warjie became actively involved in the city’s burgeoning silk business. At the time his house was built, he had a reputation as one of the most effective and engaging silk jobbers in New York. Through his contacts with the silk merchants of Paris and Lyons—he served as the American agent of Guanet Brothers, a well-known French firm—he had the opportunity to become acquainted with the latest Second Empire fashions. De Forest was also an investor in local real estate, amassing a considerable amount of property. However, little is known about his family life except that his wife died about 1889, and that they had two sons and a daughter.

In 1882 De Forest was at the height of his business career and able to afford not only this luxurious city residence but also a country estate at Summit, New Jersey. Six years later, suffering financial reverses, he failed in business. A short time later he was committed to an insane asylum at Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1891 De Forest was back in the news after escaping from the asylum and returning to New York. Identifying himself as a wealthy businessman, he aroused suspicion by buying numerous items on credit, by offering a million dollars apiece for certain New York buildings and by boasting of plans to acquire all of New Jersey. De Forest died on July 16, 1896 at his estate at Summit.

De Forest had his hall decorated to recall early English manor houses. Associations with this style were signaled by the dark woodwork, extensive paneling, carved-oak relief in the mantel frieze and the coved frieze above and the vigorous three-dimensional quality of the fireplace. This sculptural strength is particularly noticeable in the caryatids at either side of the opening. But this was a day when consistency in revivalism could look limiting in comparison with creative eclecticism, and Sheldon was a critic who liked the latter. The architect, he claimed, had “introduced into his very eclectic and interesting scheme the salient and most enticing qualities of various schools and epochs, thus avoiding what otherwise might have been some loudly-resounding clashing. In this hall, for instance, the ceiling decoration is Japanese, but, being not of a rabid sort, one experiences no sense of incongruity.”

106. Library, William H. De Forest house. After the tightness of the hall, its area partially consumed by the mantel and stairway, the library’s modest, right-angled space seemed generous. Here the paneling of antique oak played a commanding role, expressing a sparer and flatter series of planes than the visitor had encountered in the hall. Paintings and objects were really accents that did not upset the room’s serious manner. Despite the generous dimensions (50′ × 100′) of this six-story town house, the only source of natural light in the library was a window to the left of the fireplace. Artificial illumination came from the sconces, table lamps, mantel lamps and the chandelier. The fire screen was embossed brass, the table and chair early eighteenth-century.

107. Parlor, William H. De Forest house. The French influence of this room is seen in the lighter colors, the delicate character of the decoration and the floral hangings and coverings brought from Paris. The scheme of this room was based loosely on Louis XVI, a style common in the late nineteenth century and often used in one room as a foil to the darker and heavier character of the other rooms. The parlor was colored in a salmon yellow that served as a relatively neutral background for the floral plush coverings. The ceiling was finished with stucco tiles in variegated designs.

108. Dining room, William H. De Forest house. This room has a more classic look than the hall and library and was inspired by the English Adam style as reflected in early American Federal architecture. Of course, the aggressive vigor of its surfaces and its relatively graceless space distinguish it from a close interpretation of the style. In contrast to the hall and library, this room was paneled—overpaneled may be more appropriate—in mahogany, which appears quite light in comparison with the wood of the other rooms. The fireplace was huge and overscaled for the classic lines of the room, but its power was underscored by the stained-glass window of the overmantel, which L. C. Tiffany & Associated Artists installed in 1881. The ceiling was also paneled in mahogany. The deep gold plush, embroidered with floral patterns, was not a common material for a frieze. The drapery around the windows was of sapphire-blue plush, embroidered with orange blossoms, and the chairs were covered with alligator skin.

109. Entrée room, John H. Shoenberger house, 43 West 57th Street, New York, New York; architect unknown, 1883–84; demolished 1920. Born in 1810 at Juniata Forge, Pennsylvania, Shoenberger received his education at Jefferson College. In 1833 he moved to Pittsburgh to join his father, Dr. Peter Shoenberger, in the emerging iron and steel industry. In addition to owning plants in Pittsburgh and in Huntington County, he was active in banking and was involved with the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago and the Allegheny railroads. After the death of his first wife, the former Margaret Cust, Shoenberger married Alice E. Taylor in 1880, an event that probably influenced his move to New York at the age of 70. He died there on November 12, 1889, leaving an estate of more than $2 million that was dispersed generously to his family and to churches, hospitals and charities in Pittsburgh.

In this small entrée room there were three major attractions. Above was a “Renaissance” ceiling. Opposite the doorway on the left was the elaborate fireplace of oak outfitted with shelves and mirrors and topped by a peculiar window or panel. Directly ahead was the principal attraction, an allegorical painting of Phoebus Apollo after Guido Reni (1575–1642). Rarely do we encounter originals or copies of Baroque paintings in these houses. Despite the fact that the painting was framed in fresco and placed against a neutral ground of silver and gold, implying that that wall had been planned with the painting in mind, the Shoenbergers have disturbed the setting with smaller pictures to either side. D. S. Hess and Company decorated this house.

110. Dining room, John H. Shoenberger house. This well-illuminated dining room had an exceptionally high ceiling, tall enough to contain easily the complex carpentry of the overmantel. There were windows in the niche at the northern end, a recess that could also be used as a smoking nook and could be cut off from the dining room when the portieres of dark olive plush and tapestry were drawn. Opposite the fireplace were two windows and between them a niched and built-in mahogany sideboard with a stained-glass panel above. With the exception of the gasolier, right-angled forms dominated the part of the dining room shown here. If these squares and rectangles suggest the simplicity and flatness that was to mark American interior decoration in the early twentieth century, the dominant mahogany mantelpiece reflected the past. A complex unit, it contained a large mirror and closed and open cupboards that extended to the right and to the left above the wainscoting. The ceiling of the dining room was executed in al-pasto work: Gold and other forms of metal leaf are applied directly to plaster to create various patterns and colors. Here the golds and bronzes in a geometric design were surrounded by a floral border. At the top of the walls was a broad frieze of canvas on which was painted scenes of animal life. The lower portion of the walls was covered with embossed leather.

111. Dining room, Samuel J. Tilden house, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, New York; architect unknown, 1844–45; standing but altered. Though generally considered an effective governor of New York State (1874–76) and popularly regarded as a reformer who stood up to the Tweed Ring in New York City, Tilden (February 9, 1814–August 4, 1886) could also be interpreted as an ambitious politician who lacked the conviction, consistency of position and endurance to fulfill his promise. Troubled throughout his life by poor health and wounded by his loss of the national presidency in the Electoral College in 1876 after he had won the popular vote, he walked slowly and indecisively away from public life.

Purchased in 1863, 15 Gramercy Park South became Tilden’s address in 1865. Between 1881 and 1884 Calvert Vaux and George Radford joined this house to an existing one on the west that Tilden had bought in 1874. The ground floor of No. 14 became the Governor’s library, containing one of the largest private collections in the city, and the ground floor of No. 15 held the drawing room and dining room.

An avid reader and collector of books, Tilden was not deeply moved by art, music or theater. Nevertheless, the author of Artistic Houses wrote of the dining room: “Here is the last word of modern art in this fascinating sphere of effort; or rather, we may say, the first word of this later American Renaissance, which our painters, turned decorators, are creating.”

The dining room was distinctive. Its character was inspired by the black-walnut bookcases Tilden had inherited and by the 4′-high black-walnut wainscoting. Black walnut was also chosen for the molding above the relief panels and for the frames of the doors and windows. Ivory-colored panels of satinwood, contrasting with the dark walnut, displayed branches, leaves and birds in a free, asymmetrical, overall pattern. Gold leaf was applied to the background of these panels; alternate blocks in the satinwood diapered frieze above were also gilded.

The ceiling, 31′ square, was divided into four sections by satinwood beams that met in the octagonal centerpiece from which hung the heavy gasolier. Smaller satinwood ribs divided the ceiling into squares, each containing a turquoise encaustic tile. The color of the ceiling was picked up by a band of blue tiles that separated the wainscoting from the relief panels of the walls. The firmly built dwelling is now occupied by the National Arts Club. The dining room, now a gallery, has been simplified to meet exhibition needs.

112, 113. Hall, Samuel J. Tilden house, 847 North Broadway, above Lake Avenue, Yonkers, New York; architect unknown, 1868–69; demolished 1948. Following the advice of doctors that he spend more time in the countryside, Tilden found and leased in 1879 the estate “Greystone” at Yonkers, a 63-acre property overlooking the Hudson River. Tilden preferred the spelling “Graystone,” but historians have generally used the former spelling.

To avoid contacts, Tilden spent an increasing amount of time in the country, playing the role of intellectual farmer with vigor, and even experienced a moderate improvement in his health. He moved many of his books to “Greystone” and kept all new titles there.

“Greystone” was an asymmetrical and ungainly mass of gneiss rock articulated with Italianate, Gothic and Second Empire detail. From the front door, seen at the end of the hall, the visitor viewed the entrances to the reception room, drawing room and library on the left and the secretary’s office, stairhall and dining room on the right. In this traffic hall, the mahogany open armchairs served primarily to fill the long space and soften the atmosphere. The portieres that partially hid the heavy doors to the various first-floor rooms added warmth and color. There were relatively few works of art in the hall: an urn-topped European clock that rested on Corinthian columns, a pair of Chinese urns and several framed pictures. The only identifiable works are two-dimensional reproductions of a Roman copy of the Discus Thrower by Myron and Moses by Michelangelo. Reproductions in the main hall of a proper New York town house would have been a rarity. The moosehead, somewhat incongruous in the side hall, would have been considered more discordant in the main hall.