The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1914-07-25
SHOW INFLUENCES
OF FRENCH DESIGN
Washington Homes Recently
Erected Suggest Period of
Louis XVI.

Architecture in Washington, which fol
beauty Of design and convenience Of ar.
rangement will compare favorably with
that Of any American city. 10 beginning
to show increasingly the influence Of the
French design. and while Residences
conforming entirely with this type are
rare, there are many which In minoi
details are suggestive Of the Gallic
taste of more than century ago.
French architecture. as It IL under.
stood today. dates from the Inflated
throne in 177l. The architscture Of the
Louis XIV period was Of fanciful,
tasteless design. generally character
lied as rocco. But as the monarchy
crumbled, the taste and genius Of the
artists and designers increased. and
beautiful Marie Antionette came a
more tasteful. subdued and permanent
type of building.
For the last 100 years. the French
architects have been distinguished for
their economy OF room and their In
q certain amount Of floor space they
will utilize II to q maxium advantage
and out Of the endless number Of pos
sibilites will place windows. exits and
partitions to the best possible advantage.
Detail Rather Than Mass.
In fact, French architecture Is distin-
quished by detail. rather than by the
mass The formal holdings, a mantel.
or the arrangement Of a stairway, win
speak strongly Of the French, while
there may be nothing in the arrange
ment Of the walls to suggest any single
period.
The frst American architect to feel
strongly the French influence was the
1@AA nj n ~
city. who spent ten years in France. 1t
has not been thirty years since he re-
turned. but in that time. other Ameri-
cans have studied under French mas
tiers. French architects have come to
this country and the result IL most
beneficial. It is characteristic Of the
French schools Of architecture that
planning lie one Of their strong features.
Their students are not bound to any
one type or committed to any single
''composition'' lust as one who is study
ing music or painting. AS a result the
graduate OF the French school Is able
to plan houses economically and at the
The Vanderbilt homes in Fifth ave-
nue.. New York. and Biltmore. the
country home Of George Vanderbilt, are
some OF the best SAMPLES OF the work
of Richard Hunt. These are true
models of French chateaux.
Some Washington Examples.
Both the French and English archi-
lecture was Influenced by the discovery
of the ruins Of Pompeii. late In the
brothers in ENGLAND and the French
architects Of that period both drew
somethine from the beauty OF the
buried city and that IL one reason why
French houses Of the Louis XVI period
correspond more nearly to our Colonial
houses than anv other European style.
The new residence Of c. Peyton Rus
sell. at 224s r street northwest, design
ed by Nathan c. Wveth. shows q strong
French influence in the delicate sim
plicitv of its interiors and its ingenious
Advancement. In this house Mr. wyeth
copied nothing outright from the old
world. but handled IL with an origf-
nalitv that was directed and developed
bv several years Of study In the French
capital.
The Russian embassy, designed By
Mr.. wyeth as q residence for Mrs
George Pullman. IL probably nearer the
pure type Of French house than any
other In WashinEton. Every detail is
ELOQUENT OF the period Of Louis XVI.
and the new chancerv which IL 70 be
added TO II will be OF the same type
The house Of Norman williams, l27
Sixteenth street. 10 another house by
the same architect which shows the
French influence.