The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-01-02
ALONG THE ELECTRIC.

Along the line of the Broad street cleo
| tric cars, beyond the intersection with
| GreeLesich street is one of the most
| rapidly developing sections OF the city.
Here, where a short time ago were broad
| fields and orchards heavy with blossoms
| i'm spring, the prospect OF rapid transit has
! caused hundreds of new houses TO be
| built or projected. The region is purely
a residential one and as the land lies high,
with here and there glimpse OF the river
| not far away, houses Of a very respectable
| character have as a rule been erected,
though there are very few of great cost.
| Here. then. may be studied to advantage
| the latest work which Providence archi-
| tects and builders are doing in the erection
of dwellings of moderate cast.
On the whole, the impression made by
| this considerable body of new work is de-
the region along the Broad street route
may be called, will be one of pleasant,
| tasteful homes, with well considered ex-
| teriors, presenting pleasing variety OF
| style More than half show decided
| leaning toward the Queen Anne, Queen
| Annish or Queen Annesque. For l can
not. without apology, apply to our single
| decorated frame cottages term first APP
| piled in England to construction very diff
| ferent in character. An appreciable num-
Der are Colonial. These are chiefly Of the
| larger and more costly kind, for the style
| is not one which is so available for small
cottages as builders Queen Anne. Com
| paratively few are of the nondescript style
common twenty years ago which Down.
| ing called American or "bracketed," ana
which builder would term "just plain
house."
One of the most frequent faults Of the
| electric belt houses is often forced upon
| the builder by the shallowness Of the lot,
| though il is as often noted where no such
excuse exists. The houses are, in many
| cases, too near the street giving il and
them a crowded appearance. OF course,
! the desire for n generous back yard and
! the necessity TO get las far out as the
others do" account for this, but when
semi-circular porch is thrown out beyond
the house line to the very edge of the
! sidewalk, one wonders whether such
porches are ever used for summer re-
treats, so fully exposed would the occu-
pants be to the gaze of every passerby.
Where there is space enough at the side,
| greater privacy il usually secured for the
| porch by the device of side entrance,
pretty we'll withdrawn from the street. A
1 huusc- ON Blackstone street nearly oppo-
site Taylor has porch of this character
which swells to generous dimension at the
|
| pleasing exterior, simple in its roof line,
the overhanging attic well supported by
| bays Its simplicity rather shames its
| neighbors cccentricities. Such house
would make a pleasant home and not in
volye needless expense in building. The
| Comstock house on Comstock avenue-a
| fine, If rather over ornamental piece of
| Colonial work-has also side porch and
nearly half n dozen upper balconies whose
occupants would enjoy entire privacy. A
builder ON Whitmarsh street has solved
| this porch or piazza difficulty rather clev-
erly. In front he places only an ordinary
| square porch of moderate size. At the
| left rear corner OF the house is much
larger piazza reached from the dining
room, overlooking pretty yard and both
| Broad and Whitmarsh streets at just
about the right distance.
Further along Whitmarsh street to the
west is house Of moderate size which is
rather a curiosity in New England, as it
| is modelled upon the Dutch rather than
the English or New England colonial. 1t
would look more at home in New Jersey
or western Long Island, with its long pill
| Jared 'stoop," heavily covered by the
overhanging roof immediately beyond
this comes a fine square house of shingled
sides and well composed roof one of
whose street fronts-it stands on a corner
-juts uncomfortably close upon the side
walk.
One pleasing feature of the electric belt
building is that as much pains and care
are apparently bestowed upon the tene
| ments or 'two-family houses" as upon
| the single houses. Some of these upon
| Dartmouth street are exceedingly well de-
signed. and of course |. Il. Mason's mag
| nificent residence on the corner of that
street and Broad forms a fitting close to
detailed inspection.
| 1t Is impossible to avoid the conviction
! that of these new houses those will prove
! in the end most satisfactory which are the
simplest and least .'gingerbready. They
! have quiet dignity which their more
over, cheaper TO build and cheaper to keep
in repair. Every added gable dormer or
turret is an added initial expense and an
added possibility of leaks. Simplicity
means best. IL is SO with the houses of
thirty years ago. OF a pillared, huted,
that date we say "how ugly or, chari-
tably, show oddp' while the unpreten-
! tious home passes unnoticed.
In their interior arrangements the new
| houses are great Improvement over past
examples of like size. In one respect they
are inferior, being certainly more liable
to drafts. The practise of throwing rooms
| en suite by wide portiered arches without
doors is very pretty, but should not be
carried to excess. Certainly the hall
should be fully shut off from every room
! by doors unless it is very large aud pro-
vided with vestibule. These wide arches
aud frequent bay windows also fritter
away wall space, SO that there is scant
room to hang pictures or set book cases.
! The room called library" i'm most Ga
! the newer houses il one wherein IL would
! puzzle Philadelphia lawyer 10 stow 800
books without closing "a window or an
arched passage. Another frequent fault.
at least ia houses designed for leasing -
/ an Mnwise economy in ChimneYs. one or