Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a fascinating historic housetour at
National Park Seminary with my friend
Maxine who I have mentioned a few times before. She's lucky enough to live in this unique neighborhood and invited me to join her!
The seminary, located at the northern tip of Rock Creek Park outside of Silver Spring, has a long history, many uses and owners, and now has been redeveloped as a condominium and townhouse community (more on that later).
The site started as an estate but in the 1880s a resort was built here, high in the hills above Washington DC, so that people could escape the heat of the city. You can see the original inn below.
The resort was a failure due to difficulty in reaching the site and an economic recession at the time.
It was soon bought by a couple in the 1890s who started an exclusive girl's school on the site which remained for many years until being requisitioned by the army as auxiliary hospital space. These odd structures you see here were club houses and out-buildings which, similar to the Columbian Exposition in 1893 were meant to educate the girls on different cultures; expose them to things they hadn't seen before. Pretty cool, huh?
They are all now private houses or still for sale by the
developer who has given new life to the Seminary.
There has been a lot of negative feedback, many believing the developers have disregarded the detailing and history of the building. They claim the developer turned the main building into a generic suburban condominimum. Given the high cost of renovations, I forgive them this offense as the exterior restoration has been impeccable. Many of the interior details have been retained, as you will see later in this post. This is a HUGE undertaking and I applaud their efforts -certainly better than wrack and ruin, no?
You can see the disrepair the campus had fallen into above in some of the un-renovated parts of the property (which are still available for sale); Serious, gross neglect on the part of the army.
Above you can see how the developers funded much of this work by turning some of the open land into townhouses detailed similarly to many of the more unique buildings.
My friend Maxine lives in one of these new townhouses which are nicely finished. In this group above, you can see how they copied details from existing buildings (the dilapidated buildings in the center).
The main building, as I said earlier, is an enormous structure added onto over the years. The main inn remains the nucleus which the girl's school extended somewhat randomly in Victorian fashion. Above you can see the grand ballroom to the left which was surrounded by dorm rooms.
On the opposite side of the inn were mechanical and service spaces connected to the main building with this enclosed bridge.
Greek temples adjacent to French chateaus next to Tudor revival - it's quirky and fabulous.
Can you imagine something like this being built today?
To the left of the drive here is the "American Cottage" which a young family is currently renovating to suit their needs.
The stone work throughout is really nicely detailed and restored; Original sculptures dot the grounds.
The Grecian temple you see behind the main building is attached in rambling fashion (of course) and now houses 2 apartments that I would die to see!
Near the mechanical spaces is this 'colonial house' below which is available. In better shape than some of the abandoned buildings you can see it still needs a thorough renovation! What a fun project this would be.
This stairhall below is on the first floor just off the porch, the center fan topped french doors is a coved living room following the shape of the transom. On the opposite side is a large kitchen and the main entrance. Still quite a bit of the original building left to save.
The proceeds of the tour were to fund rehabilitation of the statuary.
This lead lion is hollow (who painted these yellow??).
This Indian is in far better shape.
This bronze sculpture is really lovely.
The aloha building (more apartments) has semi-caryatids surrounding the porch.
While much of the interior doesn't follow the original plans, details such as staircases, paneling, and fireplaces have been saved (even if they sometimes make no sense in the new layout).
This carved stone plaque below was in the 'president's mansion' entryway in an enormous inglenook. The house is now split into 12 generously sized apartments!
Wonder what it's like to live in one of these converted structures?
One of the first to be snapped up was the chapel; separate from the main building but attached by walkways.
The bulk of the interior is open living space with a corner filled-in with a mezzanine office over a master bedroom suite.
A truly unique space although maybe a bit too much 'church' was kept for my personal tastes.
The altar makes a perfect spot for the grand piano.
Remember the ballroom I mentioned earlier? It seemed like a fitting way to close.
Originally the upper levels were all dorm rooms (now they are apartments and storage spaces).
These plaster brackets are in perfect condition. The stone fireplace at the far end has sadly been painted but is still gorgeous.
So tell me, what do you think of this development? Would you live here?
Yet another interesting not so small house from "Small country houses of to-day" is Upmeads, designed by Edgar Wood in 1908.
Like many of the other houses in the book, the house has been lovingly cared for in private hands and remains in nearly the exact condition in which it was built. 
Down to the monogram of the original owners who commissioned the house above the front door. 
The only change I can see is that a chauffeur's apartment has been sympathetically added on top of the original garage in the forecourt. 
The house is shocking for its' base modernity. Can you believe this was built in 1908?
Flat roofed with a boxy plan, it is a hint of what was to come in the future.
Perhaps the house was a bit before its time even as Weaver proclaims in the book "The house is unusual to the point of oddness". 
Even the rear terrace remains intact.
Lets step inside to the original interiors (as far as I can tell). The entryway features beautifully softly groin-vaulted ceilings and herringbone oak floors.
Doors have been installed between the original hall and vestibule in favor of curtains (one of the concessions to the time period).
Weaver makes much of the custom fireplace mantels in the book and they still exist. 
I love being able to find these color photos to fill in the blanks left behind by the B&W photos.
The lincrusta and other wallpaper found throughout the house appear to not be original.
The groin vaulting continues in the 2nd floor hall.
New heating systems have obviously been installed.
More lincrusta upstairs.
Color images and some history found via Manchester History and interior photography via Andy Marshall.
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