Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1882-10-21

How Money Has Been Lavished on the Art
Decorations of the New Edifce.
AHoUsE THAT WILL COST $5oo,ooo.

While the unsubdued Pashas of the
Tammany and Irving Hall tribes are
drilling their Bedouins for active
service at the State Democratic Con
vention in Syracuse, 'Uncle Sammy
Tilden, New York's political Khedive
is III retirement, wrestling with q
private architectural problem. A
year or SO ago he decided to trans
form his famous Gramercy Park re
treat into a mansion that would throw
Nanderbllt's new palace completely
in the shade. At that time it was
said that the house, with its owner
and other curios. was to form a sort
of matrimonial prize package for a
st. Louis belle, but as there is no
nursery in the new ediiice the story
is now believed to have been made
out of whole cloth Be that as it
may, the mansion is undoubtedly the
hobby of Mr. Tilden's life. and when
completed it will have cost something
like half million dollars and
eclipse in artistic finish anything of
the kind in this country. For
months past he has spent one or two
days every week in his architectural
temple, and when he does not appear
on the scene Of action he sends
down tri-weekly documents of in
struction from his five million dollar
place on the Hudson.
When he began the alterations Mr.
Tilden intended to spend about $50
600 on them. But that sum was
swelled to 100000, and it is thought
that 100000 will be required to
finish the decorations. The building
fronts on Gramercy Park, and takes
in No Is, Mr.. Tilden's old house,
which has been remodeled through
out and united to an adjoining
building of the same size This
gives the new place, which is four
stories high, a frontage of sixty and
a depth of ITO feet.
THE STYLE OF THE STRUCTURE.
Traces of Gothic style of architect
IRE are noticeable in many parts of
the building, but no conventional
rules have been carried out The
architects have worked under the
personal supervision of Mr. Iilden
and the result is one of the most
unique and beautiful residences in
America. The front of the building
is based on brown sandstone from
Belleville, n. j., with a superstruc
ture of delicate pink Scotch sand
stone. The prevailing tone of the
facade is pink and a brilliant con
trast is brought about by narrow
belts of Maine granite which sepa-
rate the native and imported sand
stone. These black granite belts are
highly polished and prettily engraved.
The arches and window trimmings are
all of black granite
There are two entrances to the
front of the mansion and
the main one, leading into Mr..
Tilden's old house, is remarkably
beautiful -Four columns of polished
red notified granite support the
handsome porch over the main On
trance, and above those columns are
four colossal feminine busts, repre-
senting the seasons. These were
carved from Scotch granite and are
framed in craven foliage, typical of
spring, summer, autumn and winter.
A slab of black granite, so highly
polished that its under side reflects
like a mirror, forms the top of the
porch.
The stone trimmings of the porch,
and indeed the whole front of the
house, are beautifully and elaborate
ly carved, and the designs are rs
quaint as they are varied. In the
countless clusters and garlands of
foliage are birds, rabbits, squirrels,
frogs, toads. turtles, snakes, lizards,
bugs and butterflies the whole
forming marvelously executed
study in natural history 1t would
take hours to examine the foliated
carvings in the pink sandstone, for
these carvings are representations of
no less than 159 varieties of foliage,
ranging from fern and clover to ma
pie and oak In this mass of foliage
are over 300 animals, birds, reptiles
and insects.
| A CLASSICAL GROUP OF HEADS.
Between the two immense bay win
dows is found one of the most strik-
ing pieces of decoration on the bnild-
ing. In large panel of brown
sandstone are five inches containing
the heads of Shakespeare, Milton,
Goethe, Dante and Benjamin Frank
lin, the latter occupying the center,
with the others at the corners OF the
tablet. The high roof is broken by
dormer windows of modern Gothic
style and finals ornament the coping.
Notwithstanding the artistic beauty
of the exterior Of the mansion it is
the interior that will excite the most
general admiration from lovers OF
profuse decoration. The front
rooms,a parlor and a library, flank
the hallway, and one of the huge
bay windows affords light for eacL
apartment. The library, which is
twenty feet wide and sixty long, is
the largest room in the house. Mr.
Tilden has ono of the largest and
most valuable private libraries in
America, and the twenty thousand vol
umes it contains will fill this new de-
partment to OVERLOOKING. The book
cases are of solid rosewood, richly
carved. The main parlor is thirty
feet long and twenty wide, and the
work IF frescOinr II and the librar,