Ament House, 1204 Hulton Road, Oakmont

Hi! Sorry ... it's been awhile!

I'm really excited that since my last update, several people have reached out to me with questions, comments, and additional information for my blog. I'm so happy that fans of Frederick Scheibler have been finding their way here. This always felt like such a solitary hobby, until people like you spoke up. Thank you so much for the comments and messages. Please continue to chime in to let me know you're out there!

It's been a while since I've worked on this blog. I'm sad to say that I got discouraged when I had some run-ins with residents who weren't pleased about my visits or comments. I also had a career change, got engaged, and today, I bought a house! Some of those updates are on my other blog, MissAdventures in Pittsburgh. 

But, tonight I was inspired to go digging online. And … jackpot! I found some gorgeous photos of 1204 Hulton Road in Oakmont. I am absolutely in love, and you will be too. (I got a familiar thrill as soon as I saw exposed i-beams! Look for them below, in the kitchen!)

According to Martin Aurand's The Progressive Architecture of Frederick G. Scheibler, Scheibler designed this masterpiece for Silas M. Ament, proprietor of a Wilkinsburg insurance business, in 1907. Aurand writes about the prominent roof and gallery than runs "through the house to connect the front entry and a three-bay rear porch on the garden facade. 

My favorite shot! Wow!

He also writes that later owners, Charles and Marie Blue, added another wing and a garage. The added-on wing houses a single oval-shaped bedroom, which you can see here. Aurand writes that the exterior additions follow Scheibler's original detailing to the letter. But as for the bedroom, he says, "The story is that the Blues had this wing built by an Italian craftsman after a trip to Europe. The bedroom's rather florid classical decor is assuredly not in Scheibler's palette."  

I think the extensive gardens make this house really exciting! It's set on a 3/4 acre lot near Oakmont County Club. It has five bedrooms and three bathrooms. 

Check out the absolutely stunning interior and exterior grounds. I'm tagging this entry by the dates Aurand provides for initial design (1907) and additions (1911 and 1940). 

And P.S. I'd like to offer a heartfelt thank you to Martin Aurand, if you've ever seen this blog, for so generously allowing me to quote from your book in nearly every entry. I hope this has not bothered you.

Enjoy … !

I would love to know where these wonderful statues came from!

C'mon inside ….

So much great light! This amazing arches!

P.S. Porter says Hi.

Inglenook Row Houses and my last trip to Homewood

Today I drove to Homewood in search of the Inglenook Row Houses.

(Turns out, I'm not going back to Homewood. The rest of the Homewood buildings will be posted using photos that I can dig up online!)

Today I found the very short stretch that is Inglenook Place, which is almost entirely, if not exclusively, lined with Scheibler's row houses. I had checked out the properties online ahead of time and found that recent sale prices hover around $2,000, so I knew that they were not very desirable these days.

In 1907, Frederick G. Scheibler designed 7908-7930 and 7909-7923 Inglenook Place. 7900-7906 and 7901-7907 Inglenook Place were designed in 1909.

The yards and porches were full of people -- who did not appreciate a blogger with a camera. As a result, I only took these two photos.

Look - arches.

Here is a photo from Martin Aurand's The Progressive Architecture of Frederick G. Scheibler.

I wonder when this photo was taken. The yards look very different now.

Scheibler was a leader in the progressive movement to improve housing for the working and middle class. This movement took shape in England as the Garden City Movement, which Aurand writes, "was intended to be a vast improvement on the crowded conditions and architectural monotony of typical urban housing." I like how Aurand adds, "Special emphasis was laid on plantings and the provision of pleasant views and sunlight."

The Inglenook Row Houses, or Group Cottages, as Frederick Scheibler would have termed them, are an example of urban living that rescues us from monotony.

Aurand writes that Scheibler must have advocated for this kind of housing to his clients Robinson and Bruckman.

The Ingelnook Row Houses have planer brick walls, minimal detailing and flat roofs. Their front porches differentiate individual units. Aurand writes that the only exterior decoration is a checkerboard motif incised onto the butt ends of timbers at the eaves of porch roofs.

I am really glad that I visited the Meado'cots before I developed a healthy fear of Homewood.