Executed Design for the House of H. L. Pratt, Esq. , Glen Cove, Long Island, NY

Executed Design for the House of H. L. Pratt, Esq. , Glen Cove, Long Island, NY

Brite & Bacon, architect(s)

October 27, 1900

This image is of a plan for a home to be built on Long Island in 1900. What is featured here is an original plan drawn by Brite & Bacon, architect(s) and featured in American Architect and Building News. For years Long Island, New York was only able to be reached by boat, but upon the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, the people of New York gained increased access to Long Island. That, along with the newly developed Long Island subway and elevated rail system spurred a surge of population to the outer boroughs of New York City. By the early part of the 20th century, Long Island housed both immigrants spilling over from Manhattan, as well as the Manhattan elite of the time, seeking to build secondary and vacation homes. The plan featured here is of a house built for the latter and could be described as a rare find because very few architectural plans of that time included coloring.

Long Island plays a roll in The House Of Mirth as the place where the Gromers, a family who lives among the elite class in Manhattan, are building their country house. This item depicts plans for a house that is very similar to that which this well-to-do fictional family could have been building in the early 20th century. These houses were some of the first fully electrically wired houses of their time, allowing Mrs. Gromer to “plunged into problems of lighting and sanitation,” as the novel states.

Whitney Olson

Brite & Bacon, Architect(s). "Executed Design for the House of H. L. Pratt, Esq. , Glen Cove, Long Island, NY." American Architect and Building News (October 27, 1900): n. pag. Web. 7, April 2015. Retrieved from http://www.stcroixarchitecture.com

Original document is out of copyright (it was published before 1923). Every effort has been made to comply with the provisions of any licensing agreements associated with digitization of the original document. For further information, please see the “about” page.

Still Image