Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-08-21
Crazy Quilt Architecture.


The following from the pen of Bill Nye,
in the Chattanooga Times, The american
architect and Building NciUs thinks con
tans more truth than fiction:
1t may be premature perhaps but | de-
sire to suggest to any one who may be
contemplating the erection of summer
residence for me, as Il slight testimonial
of his high regard fOn my sterling worth
and symmetrical escutcheon-a testimoni-
al more suggestive of earnest admiration
aud warm personal friendship than of
great intrinsic value, etc.-thgt l nope he
will not construct it on the modern plan
of mental hallucination and morbid de-
lirium tremens peculiar to recent archi
! lecture.
Of course, a man ought not to look
gift house in the gable end but if my
friends don't know me any better than to
| build me a summer house, and throw in
odd windows that nobody else wanted, and
then daub 1t up with colors they have
! bought at auction, and applied to the
house after dark with shotgun, | think
it is time that we had better understand
ing.
Such structure does not come within
either of the three classes of Renaissance.
1t is neither FlOrentine, Roman, nor We
| netlan. Any man can originate u style of
architecture if he will drink the right
kind OF whiskey long enough, and then
titSCIlDtS HIS letIISS 10 all dlilunueUSlS.
Imagine the sensation that one of these
modern, sawed-otf cottages would create
a hundred years from now, if 1t should
survive But that is impossible. The
only cheering feature of the whole matter
is that these creatures of a disordered i'm
agination must soon pass away, and the
bright sunlight of hard horSe-sense shine
in through the shattered dormers and
gables OF gnawed off architecture of the
average summer resort. A friend of mine,
II few days ago, showed me his new house
with much pride He asked me what |
rate Then | went home and wept all
night. 1t was my first talsehood.
The house taken as a whole looked to
me like skating rink that had started out
to make money. and then suddenly
changed its mind aud resolved to be-
come IA tannery. Then ten feet higher it
had lost all self-respect, and 5lossomed
into a full-blown drunk and disorder
ly," surmounted by the smoke stack of a
foundry, and with the bright future of
thirty days ahead with the cham gang.
That's the way it looked to me.
The roofs were made of little odds and
ends of mistt rafters and distorted shin
giles that somebody had purchased at
oneriif's sale, and the rooms aud stairs
Atre gIddy in the extreme. | went in
md rambled around among the cross-eyed
Harnesses and other Nightmares till reason
nd stnnd on The architecturai \yart called
~. .'dp nnrch tn oct fresh mir mis-
n,ch w,t nninted q ann rod and if had
,,,,l4n rostttes at the corners that looked
Ike - brand new carhuncle ON the nose
"a snrI,,i wreck Further mn ON the de-
mor.li1ad iumhar nile 7 saw now and
',' - oc.s where the workman,s mind
,,L vo,',lrr.d and he had NAILED an his
,'Ianh",rds wron@ side mn and then
nniIteG th.m viii the paris green he had
intand.d tnnse ON something else n was
an odd lookin0 structure indeed If nv
f,.i.nI gnt ali the materials for nothin9
from nennIr who had FRAGMENTS Of nninf
f'nI lumfrr lrf1 over after they failed,
and thn, # he workmrn CONSTRUCTED if
'I,,h1s ,nr mem nj relnxation and intellec.
tn,7i rarnsn witnout,rhnrge If course the
.,,E.n,,i v.,,s - 6u,.ucini success INT archi.
trrtnrnlIv he hons. il ;, ross VIOLATION Of
. t,,. sfnt,,ta. in such eases made and nro
vi,I.I ,,ud ar,inst the neace and diynity
Of tbn s,inta
Thera 10 , look nf eytreme novertv
about the structurp when = man mipht
.trn'y,,ln for vears tn aro,irn and thru
fail Eo one cnnId look rinon if without
fanlin - henrt,che for the man who huilt
thnt bouse and nrobablv struprled on
vnnr aftnr va,r h,,ildino alittIe ~ If at +.
limo 49, ho co,ild stanj he Inmher oetttnr
a new workman earh vear hu;idinp :,
knoh hera and a nrntu berauce there mn
point ana yellow Tile or Wau OF UlOkell