Architectural Elements of Plum Orchard's Entrance

My enjoyment and love for architecture doesn't ever seem to go away. I thought it would be fun to dissect the front entrance that the architects Peabody and Stearns designed for George and Margaret Carnegie's Plum Orchard. Throughout history, architects and builders have continued to revived Greek architectural styles and combined them within their own designs. Certain styles and themes have emerged from the Greek styles that Peabody and Stearns have adapted to their own design for Plum Orchard. Below is a quick view.

Common to the period in which it was built, the portico is supported by the facade and four columns that are in the Ionic order. Visually, columns are an important design element in a Classical Revival house. Open to the air, piazzas are located to each side of the portico. Derived from portico is the word porch.

Across the top of the portico is a triangular gabled pediment with horizontal and raking cornices that follow the slopes. The area where the fantastic ornamental shaped embellishments and the bulls eye window are located is called the tympanum.  Notice the partial seashells at each end of the pediment. This flowing and almost moving design may indicate that the architects possibly had the nearby seashore in mind.

The entablature is the horizontal ornamental section that is located below the pediment and resting on top of the capitals of the colonnade below. The entablature is made up of three sections that consist of a cornice (top), frieze (middle), and the architrave (bottom),

The crowning projections of the cornice and eaves has many decorative molding of which the two most distinguishing features are the dentil and horizontal rectangular shaped modillions.  The very top molding in the cornice design is an area called the cymatium.  The molding in this area is called a cyma recta because of the upper concave curve and a lower convex curve.  The bed-molding is located right under the modillions. 

The unadorned frieze and architrave is divided by a decorative band of egg and dart molding. This area in which the molding runs is known as the tanta.  The three stepped bands of the architrave below is a commonly used feature in the Ionic order.

The soffit, the underside of the entablature, rests on top of the varying detailed Ionic capitals. From the beading at the neck of the column, bell-flowers run down the shaft.

Different views of the detailed molding of a coffer in the ceiling of the portico. I played with the contrast of the photo above so that the detailing stood out better.

Pilasters are common features of Georgian revival designs. There are four that project slightly from the wall and rise the full height of the facade.

Above the fanlight on top of the main entry doors are decorative plaster "it could be papier mache" detailing of ribbon work, flower garlands, bell-flower garlands and rosette. These rich projecting details are an important element in the overall design of the entrance as to welcoming guest as they progressed inside to the entrance hall. Notice the detailed "keystone" within the fanlights molding.

After looking at these photos for so long, I wonder how many gallons of white paint it takes to paint Plum Orchard?



For more history and older photos of Plum Orchard, click the link below to view the Historic Furnishing Report by Sara Olson.  
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015013975472

Click the link below for a previous blog post on the history of Plum Orchard.
http://bubbajunk-asmalltownboy.blogspot.com/2012/01/plum-orchard-brochure.html

Plum Orchard - Brochure

Plum Orchard, the George L. Carnegie estate

 designed by Peabody and Stearns of Boston,

as seen from an older brochure.

Plum Orchard Carriage House

At the Georgia Archives last week, while researching through the Carnegie Collection, I came across a folder with letters of correspondence between the architectural firm of Peabody and Stearns in Boston, Massachusetts and the Carnegies. The letters were mainly addressed to William E. Page, the estate manager for Lucy Coleman Carnegie. The Page family lived in "The Grange" on Cumberland as an occupier and not as an owner.

The Grange around 1970.

Peabody and Sterns was responsible for designing additions to Dungeness, The Pool House, and the building of Plum Orchard around 1898 and it's additions on Cumberland Island for George Lauder Carnegie.

Plum Orchard mansion

Below: A Couple of Reader's Digest Tales

My graduating senior class in 1986 made no plans for a senior class trip, so I decided to get the heck out of dodge. I went to Cumberland Island by myself and stayed at Greyfield Inn. Greyfield is another story in itself; the history, architecture, clan, and the NPS avoidance of the Fergusons.

Now, back at the archives, there was a letter in the folder talking about how nice the simplistic nature of the carriage house's structure would be and how they could make changes to architectural details of the building "to sweeten it up" at a low cost.

Photo of Carriage house in 1986.

As anyone can see,

the right side of the carriage house

is starting to collapse inside of itself.

The year was 1986, on record - twelve years after the park service was officially established, but not necessarily only 12 years after the NPS took control of the island properties.

My father, mother, brother, sister, Uncle John, Aunt Brenda, Uncle Joe, Aunt Doris, and other relatives visited the island on the last week before the NPS took control of the southern end of the island. My Uncle Joe, who worked at NASA - actually in a certain division of it, had contacted Charles Fraser the owner of the southern tract at that time and obtained permission to camp on the island. I guess Uncle Joe had seen the writing on the wall for Fraser was selling the land to the NPS at that time. My Aunt Mallette (really a kin cousin) cried for years because her young son Jamie was sick and she couldn't go and camp out on the island with them. My mother still talks about catching the fish and cooking them. Daddy, that is a different story.

They were on Cumberland the summer of 1970 when the NPS officials actually started to arrive on the island. They were told by the officials that the NPS was taking control of this section of the island the next day and then were told that they had to leave the following morning. That is your Reader's Digest version. Kinda interesting, is it not, if you are a history loving fan of the island.

Below, is a photo series taken by Troup Nightingale of Brunswick, Georgia. Troup has graciously allowed me to post a series of photos of the Carriage House at Plum Orchard from his site on Smug Mug. Please check out Troup's site at: http://www.southeasternphotography.com/History/Plum-Orchard-Area-Cumberland/8119245_CYjU5#529369316_Ar3Yg

Troup Nightingale is a direct descendant from Phineas Miller Nightingale, the owner of Dungeness mansion and property before and after The Civil War. Thomas and Lucy Carnegie, after buying the property, tore down this Dungeness and built their own mansion on this site.

This is the Plum Orchard's Carriage House today.
It is like Austin Power's saying, "yea baby, you complete me."

Or better yet!

Guess who Goldmember is?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRtNfb6D3Mc&feature=related