the architect who designed the house (Howard Greenley) patterned it after an actual French chateau of the Renaissance period.
The style of architecture that Seaview Terrace falls into is called the French Eclectic Style. It was its most popular between 1915 and 1940. And what's probably most interesting about Seaview Terrace is that it was sort of made over into the French Eclectic Style because architect Howard Greenley took an already existing structure that had been built in 1882 and, through a series of makeovers and additions that were completed in 1925, transformed it into the Seaview Terrace we're familiar with today. (Personally, I'd love to come across some photos of what the original building looked like - but I've yet to find even one in any of the books on the architecture of Newport, RI.
) As such, Seaview Terrace contains a few features that are not commonly seen in houses of the French Eclectic Style - namely the gables. However, French Eclectic is, well, very eclectic, and the shapes/designs of this style of architecture are usually varied, in part because its precedents encompass elements taken from both formal symetrical manor houses and informal asymetrical farmhouses. To say that Seaview Terrace features an asymetrical design would be putting it mildly.
But quite honestly, the fact that it is so asymetrical is one of the reasons I really love the design of the house. Designwise, it just has so much going on for it.
Typically, these are the features of the French Eclectic Style:
- 1) tall, steeply pitched and often hipped roof, most often without dominant front-facing cross gable, but often featuring one or more dormer windows.
- 2) eaves frequently flared outward at roof-wall junction.
- 3) brick, stone, or stucco walls, sometimes with half-timbering
However, often it will also feature:
- circular or octagonal tower(s), often with a decorative capping.
- prominent chimneys.
- upper story balconies and porches.
- and a roof covered with heavy tiles.
features that Seaview Terrace definitely possesses to beautiful effect.
The illustration above is of a house name Falaise, which is an excellent example of French Eclectic and which is located in Sands Point, Long Island, NY - and it's interesting to note that it's front facade features a design that can also be seen in the facade of a wing of Seaview Terrace's which is rarely seen on DS and which is never seen once the show switches to color:
Originally, the bottom floor of that wing at Seaview Terrace was used as the kitchen and the top floors as servants quarters. But nowadays the bottom floor is used as a communal laundry room and the top floors are used as (very small) dormatory rooms and bathrooms/showers.
these days it's quite sad to see that the stucco is actually falling off the building in a few places
As you can see below, the bricks are actually exposed in spots where the stucco topcoating of Seaview Terrace has cracked and fallen away:
And in closeup:
Though, quite sadly, much of the house has fallen into disrepair and ruin...