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Charles R. Crane residence (main house), alterations
Purcell, Feick and Elmslie
Crane Estate, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 1910
Text by William Gray Purcell
Parabiographies entry, Volume for 1910
Job Date (in Parabiographies): September 14, 1910
CHARLES R. CRANE, Woods Hole, Mass.
Main residence alterations, working drawings, February 13, 1911. Stable alterations, working drawings, October 8, 1910. W.G.P., M.A.P.,G.F.,Jr.,G.G.E
The day before George Elmslie married Bonnie M. Hunter, Charles R. Crane who had been Louis Sullivan's lifelong friend, admirer and client and who had put up with an occasional exhibit of temper by Sullivan, had reached a temporary parting of the ways. Sullivan had demanded payment for services on the Bradley House in Madison which had not yet been rendered.
Our Best Client
Mr. Crane phoned George to go to Woods Hole for some repair work on the estate there. George explained that he was being married that evening, and said he would send me over to see what could be done.
Crane, who was soon to become president of the well known Crane Company in place of R. T. Crane, his father and founder of the company, was the man who later became Woodrow Wilson's financial backer. He was appointed Minister to China and recalled when he reached San Francisco under pressure from Wall Street, because he was a known liberal and they feared his interference with the raids which American business men were making on the rich profits from Chinese railroads and other modern projects. These business opportunities, especially in Chinese railroads, had been opened up by my classmate in the Architectural College at Cornell, Willard D. Straight, who incidentally made many millions for himself. Paradoxically enough, Straight, a Morgan partner, married Miss Whitney, daughter of more millions, but so "liberal" in her views that during the '20s she was referred to by New York tycoons as a leading "parlor pink." She gave the beautiful International House at Cornell in memory of her husband.
Mr. Crane was a quiet and listening sort of man. When I was taken into his private office he merely said that "Mrs. Crane wished to build a sleeping porch or something, and to revise some plumbing, and could I go down to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and see what it was she wanted."
Prosperity Appears
Thus began a series of commission extending over many years, and representing not only a considerable part of our business income, but many opportunities for further expression of our architectural philosophy. The sleeping porch and bathroom referred to above proved to be a series of revisions to the main dwelling at Woods Hole, the plumbing bills for which alone amounted to over $10,000. All piping and tanks were changed to brass on account of climatic conditions and water. This first work at Woods Hole was interesting because it involved a number of specialized problems in design, in construction, and in executive management. It was important that we should not disturb the character and general home atmosphere of an estate that had been built in the '80s and yet was not cast in any of the traditional styles. We did well in this because the many changes we made in the main house in the hill had a certain saltiness and liveliness without attraction undue attention. You felt that the house had always been that way, but yet was more interesting than the things usually produced in those days.
The house we remodeled, #93, was quiet, peaceful, stayed put where it always stood. The new buildings, one after another, Gardener's Cottage, #127; Ice House and Tool House; #143, Crane four Cottages; #147, Crane Cottages on Buzzard's Bay, #149; Crane Fence, #160; Crane Library and Boat House, #162; Crane Swift Cottage, #183; Greenhouse, #188; Crane Pier Boat House, #189; etc., were all tuned to their settings. The "Bradley" bungalow, #131, on the Point, was only starling because its forms were new. Basically, it grew out of its environment with perfect naturalness and simplicity.
In executive work we were obliged to insure perfect satisfaction to our best client, whose affairs were handled by many diverse organization which had been built up through long growth and set standards of which we dare not fall short. Many years of continuous service for this family, and no complaints, were the result of the detailed care we gave every aspect of creating the buildings and handling their business.
Collection: William Gray Purcell Papers, Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota [AR:B4d1.4]
research courtesy mark hammons