Architectural Styles

All Souls Church, Onteora Park // 1894

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Onteora Park is one of many notable summer colonies in the Catskill Mountains that were developed in the late 19th and early 20th century. Onteora Park is located in Hunter, New York, and is comprised of a development of over 100 residential properties along with club buildings and the All Souls Church. The development of Onteora Park is largely credited to Ms. Candace (Thurber) Wheeler, one of America’s first woman interior and textile designers and co-founder of the Society of Decorative Art in New York City. In 1883, she and her wealthy brother, Francis Beattie Thurber, purchased land here with sweeping views of the Catskill Mountains, and built two summer houses for their respective families. By 1887, Candace Wheeler and her sister-in-law, Jeannette (Mrs. Francis B.) Thurber, decided to expand and develop their property as a vacation community of like-minded people dedicated to the arts. Years after the first cottages were built, Candace asked her son, Dunham Walker, an architect, to furnish designs for a community summer chapel. After the site had been secured, Canadian architect (and summer resident of Onteora) George Agnew Reid, was asked to put Mr. Wheeler’s plan into acceptable form and to supervise construction. The original wooden church was changed over to stone, all in a Victorian Gothic style. By 1910, the building was enlarged with the addition of the chancel and addition of transepts and possibly the square bell tower. At this time, the church was also electrified. Today, the church is lovingly maintained and open for the summer season and special ceremonies.

Crossways Cottage // c.1890

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Tucked away in the town of Hunter in the Catskill Mountains of New York, the summer colony of Twilight Park has stood as an exclusive and private resort community established in the late 19th century. Twilight Park was born out of the Twilight Club, a Manhattan social club in the late-19th century and brought to life by founder, Charles F. Wingate. Mr. Wingate traveled to the mountaintop in 1887, and became enamored by its natural beauty. He arranged for the purchase of a former sheep’s meadow and led the construction of the first cluster of cottages in what would become a large community of over 100 summer homes. Cottages were laid out on roughly parallel roads at different elevations and on old connecting paths that later became roads with all lots built on ledges overlooking the Catskills. The first cottages were log cabins, and quickly followed by larger, Queen Anne style “cottages” as others invested in the development. Crossways Cottage is one of the many unique late-Victorian summer “cottages” in the exclusive Twilight Park colony in the Catskills of Hunter, New York. The cottage stands out for its cross-gable roof with overly deep eaves which are supported by rustic twig brackets, diamond sash windows, and the use of varied clapboard and shingle siding. 

Union Chapel, Twilight Park // 1897

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The Union Chapel in the summer colony of Twilight Park in the Catskill Mountains of New York, is one of the finest late Victorian chapels in the region. The edifice was built in 1897, a year following the erection of the All Angels Episcopal Church, in Twilight Park, and was designed to complement the rustic character of the surrounding cottages. The chapel was built as a non-denominational, or Union church, for summer residents of the colony who preferred an alternative to Episcopal sermons down the dirt road. The church was designed by Alice Hands, of the New York firm Gannon & Hands, the first all-female architectural firm in the United States. The chapel was eventually closed in 1970 and converted to a private residence, with some stained glass windows donated to the Episcopal Church in Twilight Park.

Memorial Church of All Angels, Twilight Park // 1896

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The Memorial Church of All Angels is located in the center of the summer colony of Twilight Park, found in the town of Hunter in the Catskill Mountains. The founding of the church began shortly after the colony was established in 1888, when two years later, the Rev. H. M. Baum from Evanston, Pa., an early visitor to the Park, realized the need for an Episcopal Church, and funds were raised to build a small chapel, known as the St. Paul’s Church. The church was foreclosed upon in a matter of years. In 1895, church services were again reinvigorated when the Rev. Henry Yates Satterlee, the first bishop of Washington, then the Rector of Calvary Church, New York, had taken the cottage of his cousin, the artist Walter Satterlee, for his summer home. He set out to establish a summer chapel for Episcopalians in Twilight Park, and he hired architect Alexander Mackintosh, to furnish plans for the church. The church opened in 1896, and it would be expanded in 1909 with an addition and porch and again in 1915 with the belltower. The church opens every summer for services and is one of the finest Episcopal chapels in the Northeast.

Sans Souci Cottage // 1894

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Tucked away in the town of Hunter in the Catskill Mountains of New York, the summer colony of Twilight Park has stood as an exclusive and private resort community established in the late 19th century. Twilight Park was born out of the Twilight Club, a Manhattan social club in the late-19th century and brought to life by founder, Charles F. Wingate. Mr. Wingate traveled to the mountaintop in 1887, and became enamored by its natural beauty. He arranged for the purchase of a former sheep’s meadow and led the construction of the first cluster of cottages in what would become a large community of over 100 summer homes. Cottages were laid out on roughly parallel roads at different elevations and on old connecting paths that later became roads with all lots built on ledges overlooking the Catskills. The first cottages were log cabins, and quickly followed by larger, Queen Anne style “cottages” as others invested in the development. This cottage, known as Sans Souci Cottage, was built in 1894 in Twilight Park, during the “rustic” period, where Queen Anne Victorian styles made way for a more rustic, Arts and Crafts mode. The cottage was built for owner John McClure and it is notable for its varied siding, diamond-pane windows and large porch overlooking the Catskills.

Four Winds Cottage // 1889

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Tucked away in the town of Hunter in the Catskill Mountains of New York, the summer colony of Twilight Park has stood as an exclusive and private resort community established in the late 19th century. Twilight Park was born out of the Twilight Club, a Manhattan social club in the late-19th century and brought to life by founder, Charles F. Wingate. Mr. Wingate traveled to the mountaintop in 1887, and became enamored by its natural beauty. He arranged for the purchase of a former sheep meadow and led the construction of the first cluster of cottages in what would become a large community of over 100 summer homes. Cottages were laid out on roughly parallel roads at different elevations and on old connecting paths that later became roads with all lots built on ledges overlooking the Catskills. The first cottages were log cabins, and quickly followed by larger, Queen Anne style “cottages” as others invested in the development. This cottage, known as “Four Winds”, was built in 1889 during the first phase of development in Twilight Park, and it is notable for its varied siding, wrap-around porch, bay window, and elevated siting to provide better views of the landscape.

Braeside Cottage // 1888

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Tucked away in the town of Hunter in the Catskill Mountains of New York, the summer colony of Twilight Park has stood as an exclusive and private resort community established in the late 19th century. Twilight Park was born out of the Twilight Club, a Manhattan social club in the late-19th century and brought to life by founder, Charles F. Wingate. Mr. Wingate traveled to the mountaintop in 1887, and became enamored by its natural beauty. He arranged for the purchase of a former sheep meadow and led the construction of the first cluster of cottages in what would become a large community of over 100 summer homes. Cottages were laid out on roughly parallel roads at different elevations and on old connecting paths that later became roads with all lots built on ledges overlooking the Catskills. The first cottages were log cabins, and quickly followed by larger, Queen Anne style “cottages” as others invested in the development. This cottage, known as Brae Side Cottage, was built in 1888 during the first phase of development in Twilight Park, and it is notable for its varied siding, diamond-pane windows, complex roof form with dormers, and the laticed entry.

Cosy Cabin // 1887

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Tucked away in the town of Hunter in the Catskill Mountains of New York, the summer colony of Twilight Park has stood as an exclusive and private resort community established in the late 19th century. Twilight Park was born out of the Twilight Club, a Manhattan social club in the late-19th century and brought to life by founder, Charles F. Wingate. Mr. Wingate traveled to the mountaintop in 1887, and became enamored by its natural beauty. He arranged for the purchase of a former sheep’s meadow and led the construction of the first cluster of cottages in what would become a large community of over 100 summer homes. Cottages were laid out on roughly parallel roads at different elevations and on old connecting paths that later became roads with all lots built on ledges overlooking the Catskills. The first six cottages were log cabins, with this example, likely in the first batch. From maps and a report on the area, this early cottage appears to have been named “Cosy Cabin” and was first occupied by Mr. Wingate, the founder of the Twilight Club and Twilight Park. The cottage is unique for its vertically laid logs still containing their bark, and the rustic porch balustrade and detailing.

Joseph Royall House // c.1770

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This is one of the oldest buildings in Boston! The Joseph Royall House is located at 770 Washington Street in the Ashmont section of Dorchester, set back from the street and passed by thousands who likely do not know its history and significance. The house dates to around 1770 and was built by Joseph Royall, of the infamous Royall Family of Cambridge, Medford, and Antigua, who made much of their money through sugar plantations in the Caribbean and enslaved Africans. Joseph was a nephew of Isaac Royal Jr., the patriarch of the family who resided at what is now the Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford. Upon the outbreak of the American Revolution, the Tory Royalls were forced to flee for protection, Joseph would move to England. Isaac’s daughter (and Joseph’s cousin), Penelope Royall Vassall had her Cambridge home confiscated as a Tory property during the Revolution, causing her to flee to Antigua. When she returned to Boston after the war she was a widow and lived in poverty. Her cousin, Joseph, would sell her this Dorchester estate in 1782 nearly for free, allowing her to sell the property for money to survive in Boston. The house would remain here for another two-and-a-quarter centuries, as Ashmont grew around it. One-story stores were built in the front yard, completely obscuring the Georgian residence until later owners, Bob and Vicki Rugo, restored the house and demolished the stores in front, preserving this house for centuries to come. While the house is one of the oldest in Boston, it is not a landmark or listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lynch House // 1889

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One of the most unique and enchanting houses in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood of Dorchester is the Lynch House (aka the Sunflower House) at 102 Ocean Street, a landmark example of the Queen Anne architectural style. This residence was designed in 1889 by architect Samuel J. Brown, who worked in the firm of Cummings and Sears before opening his own office in Boston, where he specialized in residential designs. The first owners were Edward C. Lynch, a stair builder, and his wife, Petronella P. Lynch, who was born in Sweden and emigrated to the United States. Architecturally, the Lynch House features a prominent gambrel roof that swells out over the second-floor inset windows, clapboard and shingle siding, sawtooth shingled details over the windows, and the sunflower motif in a panel at the third floor.