![]() ![]() Neither of these spaces made it into the final design. We know this design must have been one of the earliest as the result was a double-depth Dining Room featuring a Dutch style door that could be opened fully or just at the top for fresh air and garden views.Įarly blueprint of Chandler's proposed renovations to the main house at Stevens-Coolidge note the "GARDEN ROOM" in the back left corner and angled extra-large pantry. ![]() This first blueprint, featuring a glassed-in room that overlooked the gardens and provided direct access to outdoor living spaces, was rejected. Most of Chandler’s clients, whether the project was a public museum or private residence, were wealthy, entitled, and accustomed to giving orders. Chandler descended from generations of Massachusetts-born Anglo-Americans, but he was never a member of Boston’s social elite. The blueprints and Thinkbook entries tell a story not only of collaboration between architect and client, but also of cross-class management. Although both wings of the house post-date the Colonial period, Helen and John felt that one of the best ways to connect with their shared Anglo-American heritage was to renovate their home to reflect their taste and ancestry. The Coolidges had a vision to transform the Stevens family home in North Andover from a rambling Victorian family farmhouse into a paragon of Colonial Revival architecture and design. While undated, they are signed by preservation architect Joseph Everett Chandler, whom Helen and John hired after visiting the House of Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1914. One of the highlights of the Stevens-Coolidge Place collection in The Trustees Archives & Research Center are the many blueprints of the main house. Image courtesy of The Trustees of Reservations Archives & Research Center, The Stevens-Coolidge Place Collection. Helen and John on their wedding day, April 16, 1909, on the old wooden terrace at Stevens-Coolidge. ![]()
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